Losing Weight after HORRIFIC Cymbalta

I went off Cymbalta about 3 weeks ago, largely because I blamed it for gaining so much weight. I had done Insanity on it and hardly lost any weight at all. I was on it for depression, but how big I was made me more depressed so I decided enough was enough. I did a little research into holistic treatments, and am currently working through a Therapeutic Lifestyle Change group based on the book "The Depression Cure" by Stephen Ilardi. I am interested in sharing my experience and supporting others if you need it.

I stopped Cymbalta last Feb., and I am STILL losing weight!! I have lost nearly 70 pounds now, and they kept telling me that I was eating too much. Different people react differently to medications, Anyway to know side effects, drug interactions you can visit here http://www.internationaldrugmart.com/cymbalta.html

Cymbalta isn't a drug associated with weight gain, actually the reverse. Drugs don't make you gain fat, eating too much makes you gain fat.

some drugs can mess up your hunger/full signals which means that someone who's always maintained a healthy weight through listening to their hunger/full signals (which IMO is a good habit to be in) will gain or lose weight through doing the exact same thing they've always done which helped them to maintain a healthy weight, i.e. listening to their hunger/full signals. If a drug has messed those up, the person taking the drug rarely knows that this is going on, few doctors even mention all the side effects of the drug, and if weight gain is mentioned, there's no discussion of *why* this happens (e.g. whether the drug actually slows the metabolism, whether it disrupts the hunger/full signals) or what to do about it, so the inevitable result is that someone gains weight without actually changing any of their habits.

People who've maintained a healthy weight throughout their life have done it through listening to their hunger/full signals, they don't weigh or measure their food, they usually don't know how many calories they're eating, they barely pay attention to that, they pay attention to "I'm full, stop eating now" - and if that signal doesn't come when it should because of the drug, then yes, the drug did cause them to gain weight. That doesn't mean that weight gain is inevitable or can't be reversed, but how many people who are put on these drugs are told by their doctor "this drug may cause you to accidentally overeat because it messes with your appetite signals, so you should start counting calories while you're on this drug to ensure you're not overeating, thus preventing weight gain" - I'd say pretty much no-one is actually told that.... and even when they do gain weight, they're rarely told why or told how to fix it.

OP: you should discuss this with your doctor before quitting the drug. If the drug is helping with the medical condition, you can prevent the weight gain and lose the weight you gained, but you'll likely need to count calories to do so, without actually quitting taking the drug. The weight gain isn't inevitable. See what I wrote above.

I was written up for Cymbalta today. My doctor said very few people gain on it (?).

After reading all of these posts, there's NO way I'm taking it :noway: :noway: :noway:

Doctors pretty much tell you what the drug reps tell them about side effects and such, imho.

I was prescribed Cymbalta 30mg in November 2013 for Nerve Pain due to a number of surgeries on my elbow and also for neck pain related to spinal stenosis. The Cymbalta worked pretty well for the pain. I did gain 10lbs after the 2nd week of taking the medication and my eyes became puffy. In Feb 2014 my dosage was increased to 60 mg, the first week, I gained an additional 5lbs and by the 3rd week another 5lbs---there was no change to my diet and I had begun walking 4 times a week for one hour. It worked great for the pain. So now I am up 20lbs and could not fit into any of my clothes. I also began experiencing horrible hot flashes and I was sweating all the time...in the middle of winter I was drenched with sweat. I was preparing to go on a trip the end of March and decided I could not handle the hot flashes OR the puffy eyes. My eyes were so puffy, I almost could not see properly. So while I was on vacation for a week, I reduced my dosage back to the leftover 30 mg pills and I had no problems with any withdrawal. This past Monday I stopped taking the Cymbalta all together. Yes, I have had a headache, some nausea and I feel light-headed. However, I have been peeing non-stop and since Tuesday evening (I weighed my all time high of 182 lbs) I have lost 10 lbs and the swelling in my eyes is finally going away--I am also not experiencing any hot-flashes. I am taking Zofran to help with the nausea and excederin for the headache and I am drinking tons of water to help flush this medication from my system. So YES, the cymbalta CAN cause weight gain and it has nothing to do with diet or exercise----for me it was obviously fluid retention--it will be interesting to see how much more weight I lose in the next week. Cymbalta is a great medication for nerve pain & it was also wonderful for reducing my neck pain--but for some individuals, such as myself, the side-effects can be too much. For me, gaining so much weight in such a short period of time, the fluid retention, the swollen eyes and the hot flashes was just something I could not handle. Hopefully my DR can find a medication that works better for me. I will see her on Friday and by then I hope the withdrawal symptoms have eased a bit. A few years ago, my Mother was on Lyrica for her Fibromyalgia and she had to stop taking it because she ballooned up so quickly from fluid retention. Ever "Body" is different on how it reacts to medications. However, I would not recommend quitting any SNRI cold turkey--taper off, and work with your Doctor (An ethical Doc will taper you off); in my case, I have had to taper from different medications, so I knew what I had to do to gradually reduce the dosage and I hadn't been on it for a long period of time, so my symptoms aren't so bad, but PLEASE seek medical care when going off this medication to avoid dangerous side effects. I will see my doctor on Friday. Best of luck.

I used Wellbutrin many years ago and it had no effect on my weight.

Cymbalta is not a quit cold turkey kind of drug. Please talk to your doctor about your concerns and work with her/him to wean you off it. There was a reason the drug was prescribed in the first place, so I would make sure you original need for the drug has abated or your doctor can suggest alternatives.

i have been on effexor for three years since my son passed away. i had knee surgery last summer and i have been gaining weight and retaining water. i am up 30lb. i switched to cymbalta and i still can't lose the weight. i have been a size 4 my whole adult life. this is horrible. i feel awful! i am trying to wean myself off cymblalta and drinking tons of water and doing cleanses with lemon water and apple cider vinegar. i was hospitalized for high blood pressure and vertigo. my kids think i've gone insane and my husband is very very concerned. i am on 90 mg. cymbalta and have started taking 60. next week i'll try 30 and see how i do. i just can't even look at myself in the mirror. i am fighting the sadness and the grief of losing my beloved child but i feel physically horrible as well. i will let you know how i do. wish luck. good luck to all of you and thanks for your help!

I've noticed weight gain w cymbalta. And even noticing how much harder it is to loose. I was prescribed cymbalta a few years back and I actually lost weight on it... Now it seems to have the opposite effect. It's really unsettling when u eat 100% healthy and work out consistently.
Compared to pristiq, I think cymbalta was MUCH easier to come off of. U can taper w cymbalta down to 10 I beleive. And the past 3 times I've done it, symptoms only lasted about a week. Be sure u stay active. That really helped me.
I feel your pain... There's no happy medium. Most anti depressants either make me a zombie or fat...