Cymbalta (duloxetine) has been allegedly causing numerous people to suffer from severe withdrawal symptoms when they try to stop taking the drug.

Cymbalta, the popular antidepressant, has earned its manufacturing company, Eli Lilly & Co., unwanted negative press as well as numerous Cymbalta lawsuits, for allegedly failing to warn them against the adverse effects of their drug.

Cymbalta is a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) medication, primarily prescribed to treat anxiety and depression. Like other drugs in the SNRI family, Cymbalta restores to the brain’s chemical balance by streamlining the levels of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain.

Cymbalta has been a popular choice amongst depression patients for its mild physical and mental side effects and has reportedly worked quite well for patients. Unfortunately, the benefits this drug provides does not cancel out the number of complaints patients and doctors have submitted, describing the terrible side effects patients endure after their Cymbalta prescription.

There are a number of symptoms associated with Cymbalta withdrawal, including nausea, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, and “brain zaps.” These zaps are electric-shock sensations patients feel in their brain, which is often accompanied by intense headaches, nausea, and dizziness.

Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms have become so widespread, the condition has earned its own clinical title, called Cymbalta Discontinuation Syndrome. The title appropriately describes the symptoms patients start to feel after their Cymbalta prescription ends. These withdrawal symptoms often become so unbearable that patients are forced to continue using Cymbalta, when they do not necessarily need to.

Overview of Cymbalta Withdrawal Allegations

Many patients have complained that these severe Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms had interrupted their everyday lives, and had even prevented them from working; a number of lawsuits demand compensation for lost wages from Eli Lilly.

According to the Cymbalta withdrawal lawsuits filed against Eli Lilly, experts allege that the company had deliberately misled consumers regarding the occurrence rate of Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms, stating that they only occurred 1 percent of patients. Studies show that the percentage is actually between 44 and 78 percent, indicating that the majority of Cymbalta patients could suffer these withdrawal symptoms. Minor cases can last only several weeks, with the most severe cases lasting three months or more.

Even though Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms have become a recent concern amongst legal experts, the concern of this problem has been around for several years. According to a study published in the 2005 issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders, researchers observed how often withdrawal symptoms occurred in Cymbalta patients.

In six double blind trials of Cymbalta conducted by Eli Lilly, approximately 44 percent of patients had experienced withdrawal symptoms; 50.6 percent of these reports were considered moderate cases, while 9.6 percent were severe.

In another open-label study, 1,279 Cymbalta patients, or 51 percent of the patients in this study, had suffered withdrawal symptoms. According to the results, 46.3 percent of these cases were mild while 17.2 percent of the cases were considered severe.

Despite the combined results of these studies indicating that half of all Cymbalta patients suffer withdrawal symptoms, medical experts state that the results are insufficient. In 2009, the FDA assessed the drug’s warning label after the number of Cymbalta withdrawal injury reports reached an alarming level. The FDA had ultimately found that not only was Cymbalta’s warning label insufficient, but that the company had instructed doctors to put patients back on Cymbalta if the withdrawal symptoms occur.