A recently filed class action lawsuit brought by eight men and women across the United States alleges personal injuries and damages suffered as a result of drug manufacturer Eli Lilly’s failure to provide adequate instructions for stopping Cymbalta and adequate warnings that fully informed consumers about the severity of symptoms associated with Cymbalta withdrawal.

Lead Plaintiff Terri H., a South Carolina resident who was prescribed Cymbalta in 2004 for treatment of depression, alleges Eli Lilly knew, or should have known, of the significantly increased risk of Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms. Terri claims within days of stopping Cymbalta in February 2012, she suffered severe and dangerous Cymbalta withdrawal side effects including extreme mood swings, agitation, irritability, nightmares, sleep disturbances, insomnia, vertigo, dizziness, suicidal thoughts and nausea a result of attempting to wean off Cymbalta.

Terri and the other named plaintiffs claim that Eli Lilly should have been aware of the significance of the antidepressant withdrawal because Eli Lilly had previously researched and publicized the issue with its antidepressant Prozac. Cymbalta withdrawal lawyers claim that if Eli Lilly adequately, accurately and properly warned about the withdrawal risk associated with Cymbalta, including the high risk of experiencing them and their frequency and severity, Terri and the other plaintiffs would not have taken Cymbalta.

Cymbalta Withdrawal Side Effects

Cymbalta was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2004 to treat major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder in 2007. It is a serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), which in addition to supposedly increasing the amount of serotonin in the brain, also increases the amount of norepinephrine (a neurotransmitter and hormone associated with cardiovascular regulation).

Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms are not connected to a patient’s underlying condition but rather the body’s physical reactions to the drug leaving the system. While many SSRIs and SNRIs cause withdrawal symptoms, the initiation, frequency and severity of withdrawal symptoms correlate to a drug’s “half-life.” The half-life of a drug is the time it takes for the concentration of the drug in the body to be reduced by half.

The shorter the half-life, the faster the body eliminates the drug from the system, thus creating a higher risk of withdrawal symptoms. This information is one of the basic pharmaceutical properties of a drug and is known to researchers developing the drug.

Cymbalta has one of the shortest half-lives of any SSRI or SNRI. Since 2004, the Cymbalta label has stated that the half-life of Cymbalta is approximately 12 hours (in contrast, the half-life of Prozac is seven days).

Because Cymbalta’s half-life is less than one day and Cymbalta is administered once daily, it is possible for users of Cymbalta to experience withdrawal symptoms after simply forgetting to take one dose. This also means that users cannot safely taper off of the drug by taking a capsule every other day.

Cymbalta’s withdrawal side effects include:

• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Fatigue
• Diarrhea
• Paresthesia
• Vomiting
• Irritability
• Nightmares
• Insomnia
• Anxiety
• Hyperhidrosis
• Sensory disturbances
• Electric shock sensations
• Seizures
• Vertigo

Cymbalta Withdrawal Lawsuits

The Cymbalta withdrawal lawsuit is seeking compensatory and statutory damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and punitive damages for Eli Lilly’s alleged knowledge of the dangerous risks associated with Cymbalta withdrawal. The filed complaint indicates a demand for a jury trial.

The Cymbalta Withdrawal Lawsuit is Case No. 1:15-cv-00141-LJM-DKL, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division.