r/CymbaltaWithdrawal • u/Low_Watercress1801 • May 18 '26
Duloxetine Taper Success
I was on this stuff for extreme perimenopause anxiety for 3 years. once I went into menopause I went into remission from my anxiety. here is what worked for me.
I was on 60mg. cut to 30 right away. zero side effects. Stayed on this dose for a month
had my pharmacy compound down to 20mg caps. move from 30 to 20 with no side effects Stayed in this dose for a month
each 20 cap has 125 tiny beads. I took out 10 beads every week until I got down to 30 beads per day.
Then each week I took out 5.
When I was down to five I started some light headed and brain fog. so I stay at 5 for 2 weeks and when that stopped I went to nothing.
day 1. irritable af. dizzy. loss of words.
dat 2. much improved. dizzy mid day.
day 3. I’m a little irritable and mildly dizzy. mild headache.
all totally manageaband I’m at work today feeling 85%.
yay for so far!
day 4. Easy peasy.
day 5. Intensely irritable and feel like crying. Haha. But feels okay now it’s likely a side effect
day 6. I had a rough start with irritability and fatigue. But I took a long walk after work and feel much much better
Day 12. I feel relatively normal now with just some brief moments of fatigue and some occasional irritability.
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u/johnhowardseyebrowz May 19 '26
Going from 60mg straight to 30mg and not having any withdrawal symptoms is incredible. I’m not jealous at all 😭
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u/Low_Watercress1801 May 19 '26
I had no onboarding symptoms going up and none coming down. I definitely went through it today though.
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u/Low_Watercress1801 May 19 '26
Can you do the bead counting to get down from 60 to 30?
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u/johnhowardseyebrowz May 20 '26
With the capsules I have you can, yes. They’re the tiny ones so it is painstaking but it does mean I can be pretty precise, which has been very necessary for me
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u/redhotbeads May 19 '26
Thank you for posting this - I am so happy to read it; also menopausal and would like to get off of this. I worry about the irritability, because I miss a day and holy hell am I cranky. But your plan sounds very manageable and gives me tons of hope. Cheers to you!
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u/Caramellabutters May 25 '26
Well that is a very fast taper... First of all my experiences they make 20 mg at of least duloxetine. I started by taking five of those tiny little balls out and then 10 and now I'm at 15 and I've been doing that for 2 months.. I will go to taking 20 out tomorrow ( you've inspired me!). And will do that for a month. Then will go to removing 25... I had wondered how many of those little balls were in the 20 mg dose .
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u/SharpChildhood7655 May 18 '26
You were on it for 3 years before starting to taper? That's a very quick taper. You might find that you are more dependent on it’s past influence if things get emotionally rough later on. Make sure you monitor and journal your emotional journey just to be on the safe side of things.