Because pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly failed to warn about the side effects when patients cease taking the antidepressant Cymbalta, a Tampa woman suffered “severe and dangerous” symptoms, according to a Cymbalta lawsuit filed in a Florida federal court by plaintiffs Rachel and Kenneth K.

Rachel’s doctor prescribed Cymbalta in 2011 to treat symptoms of osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia. In 2014, she decided it wasn’t effectively relieving her pain and also had concerns about the potential long-term side effects of the medication and opted to wean off it under her doctor’s care and supervision, according to the Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms lawsuit.

She allegedly experienced “severe and dangerous” withdrawal symptoms including “brain zaps, nauseas, dizziness, nightmares, depression, withdrawal and changes in her personality.”

In 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, approved Cymbalta for major depressive disorder and three years later approved it for generalized anxiety disorder.

Lilly has failed to adequately warn about the risks of the drug to both patients and healthcare providers, according to Rachel and Kenneth’s Cymbalta lawsuit, in addition to dozens of other plaintiffs who have sued Eli Lilly.

There is a Cymbalta class action lawsuit against Eli Lilly accusing the pharmaceutical giant of misleading consumers about the risk and severity of Cymbalta withdrawal side effects.

Researchers, including Lilly’s own consultants, have theorized that structural changes in the brain occur as the result of the medication, Rachel and Kenneth’s Cymbalta withdrawal lawsuit states.

Not only should Lilly have included a strong warning about the drug’s risks, the medication should also have been designed to easily taper off the drug without severe withdrawal symptoms, the Cymbalta lawsuit alleges.

Lilly’s own clinical trials showed between 9.6 percent and 17.2 percent of users suffered severe withdrawal symptoms.

Users become “prisoners” to Cymbalta and Lilly financially benefits by having a legion of patients physically dependent, long-term Cymbalta users, the Cymbalta lawsuit alleges.

Eli Lilly allegedly did not warn of the frequency, severity or duration of the withdrawal symptoms. Rachel and Kenneth accuse Eli Lilly of product liability, negligence, defective design, failure to warn, fraud and breach of warranty.

Cymbalta is FDA-approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder, general anxiety disorder, fibromyalgia (a chronic pain disorder manifested by body pain and tenderness in the joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues), chronic muscle or joint pain (such as low back pain and osteoarthritis pain) and pain resulting from nerve damage in people with diabetes, a condition known as diabetic neuropathy.

Since 2004, the Cymbalta label has stated that the half-life of Cymbalta is approximately 12 hours, compared with Prozac, which has a half-life of seven days. The shorter the half-life, the faster the body eliminates the drug from the system, thus creating a higher risk of withdrawal symptoms.

In 2012, Eli Lilly amended its label to add the following precautions addressing stopping Cymbalta: “Discontinuation symptoms have been systematically evaluated in patients taking duloxetine (Cymbalta). Following abrupt or tapered discontinuation in placebo-controlled clinical trials, the following symptoms occurred at 1% or greater and at a significantly higher rate in duloxetine-treated patients compared to those discontinuing from placebo: dizziness, nausea, headache, paresthesia, fatigue, vomiting, irritability, insomnia, diarrhea, anxiety, and hyperhidrosis . . . .”

The Cymbalta Withdrawal Symptom Lawsuit is Case No. 8:14-cv-02792-MSS-TGW, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division.