Duloxetine is a prescription medication that belongs to the SSNRI (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) family of drugs . This drug is also known by the brand name Cymbalta. It acts by assisting in the restoration of the brain’s normal balance of chemical neurotransmitters.
Doctors use Cymbalta to treat a variety of issues. These include generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and depression-related nerve injury pain. It also comes in handy in treating nerve pain, diabetes, and chronic pain caused by medical conditions like fibromyalgia, arthritis, or chronic back pain.
Cymbalta will boost your mood, sleep, appetite, and stamina while also reducing your nervousness. It relieves pain in medical conditions like chronic back pain and fibromyalgia.
How Is Cymbalta Used?
Cymbalta is an antidepressant that the FDA has licensed to treat conditions such as fibromyalgia, generalized anxiety disorder, chronic musculoskeletal pain, and major depressive disorder.
Regardless of the medical condition in question, Cymbalta dosages are usually the same. The typical starting dose is 20 milligrams twice a day. The dosage is sometimes raised to 30 milligrams twice a day and then to 60 milligrams once a day. A maximum daily dose of 120 milligrams is possible.
One will need to take Cymbalta for several weeks before showing signs of improvement. Physical symptoms such as sleep, appetite, and energy improve more rapidly, usually within two weeks. It may take up to eight weeks for a change of mood to manifest.
Antidepressants such as Cymbalta have a history of increasing the risk of suicide twofold in children and teenagers and 1.5 times as often in those aged 18 to 24.
Adults taking Cymbalta for depression should be monitored keenly for signs of suicidal ideation or actions, particularly in the first few weeks of therapy or when the dose is changed. Since Cymbalta is available in time-released tablets, it is critical to take it as a tablet because crushing or combining it with liquid would release the whole dose at once.
Side effects such as nausea, hallucinations, and extreme skin reactions can become more common.
Doctors determine the dosage based on a patient’s age, medical condition, and treatment reaction over time. Mild to serious side effects are likely. To reduce the risk of side effects, your doctor can begin by prescribing a low dose and gradually increasing the amount over time.
To get the most benefits and to reduce the chance of side effects, carefully follow your doctor’s orders and take your medication every day at the same time.
Even if you feel fine, do not quit taking Cymbalta without consulting a doctor or medical professional. If you do so, side effects are more likely to occur, and certain problems can worsen if you suddenly stop taking this medication. Mood swings, dizziness, headaches, and fatigue are all potential symptoms.
Cymbalta Regulations and Abuse
Since Cymbalta does not cause dependence or misuse, it is not a controlled substance under the Controlled Substance Act. On the other hand, it does require a doctor’s prescription.
The need to use Cymbalta is usually rare. Its misuse, therefore, is also rare. People misuse the drug by taking large doses in a short period and by snorting it.
How Cymbalta Affects the Brain and the Body
Cymbalta acts by affecting the levels of two essential neurotransmitters in the central nervous system. These are serotonin and norepinephrine.
The brain and spinal cord naturally produce two neurotransmitters, which help manage a person’s emotional responses and transmissions to other parts of the brain. Serotonin and norepinephrine are both neurotransmitters that help the body cope with pain.
Low levels of these neurotransmitters may lead to depression. Cymbalta helps to relieve depression by increasing their levels and by modifying their normal behavior. The drug also prevents serotonin and norepinephrine from being absorbed by the body’s cells, resulting in elevated brain levels. This enables the brain to battle depressive moods and pain more effectively.
Cymbalta has analgesic (pain-relieving) properties as well. It helps with fibromyalgia, bone pain, and diabetic neuropathy pain symptoms. Sodium ion channel blockade is a possible cause of this effect.
Half-D of Cymbalta
It can take up to 2.5 days for Cymbalta to leave the body almost entirely after taking the last dose (99%). However, within 12 hours, 50% of the Cymbalta would have left the body. Withdrawal symptoms from the absence of Cymbalta in the body usually begin after at least 90% of the medicine has left your system.
Factors Influencing the Time That Cymbalta Remains in the System
Though Cymbalta leaves the body rapidly (almost entirely in 2.5 days), discontinuing the medication may cause withdrawal symptoms that last much longer. The duration of withdrawal depends on the amount of Cymbalta taken, the dosage level, the individual’s physiology, and the rapid cessation or tapering off the drug.
Withdrawal effects are typically milder and last less time while taking a lower dose of Cymbalta for a shorter period of time. Besides, tapering off the medication rather than suddenly stopping will reduce withdrawal duration and intensity.
How Long Does Cymbalta Stay in the Blood, Hair, and Urine?
Antidepressants like Cymbalta may show up in blood, hair, and urine when a person takes a drug test. This may scare those who do not want their conditions known to the public, particularly given the stigma associated with a depression diagnosis.
To detect antidepressants, however, a drug test must explicitly search for them. Employers have little incentive to include antidepressants in their substance tests since they are seldom misused.
Side Effects of Mixing Alcohol and Cymbalta
Although mixing small amounts of alcohol with Cymbalta may be permissible in some instances, it is usually not safe or advisable. When Cymbalta and alcohol are combined, the effects of each drug heighten. Since both work on the brain in similar ways and affect the same chemicals, any side effects you get from either Cymbalta or alcohol would certainly worsen when the two are combined.
Some evidence indicates that taking Cymbalta after quitting drinking may help people who are going through alcohol withdrawal. In some patients, Cymbalta can help relieve some of the nervous feelings and other alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Although Cymbalta can be beneficial for certain people, it may also have some of the side effects previously mentioned.
A limited amount of evidence suggests that taking Cymbalta will intensify alcohol cravings. Those who have combined the two have experienced increased intoxication and blackouts although researchers have not thoroughly investigated this.
Cymbalta should never be self-prescribed for alcohol withdrawal symptoms; instead, patients should use it under a doctor’s guidance. Depending on your particular situation, your doctor should weigh the advantages and disadvantages of using Cymbalta to treat alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
When alcohol and Cymbalta are combined, the following side effects can occur:
- An increase in the side effects that come with Cymbalta usage
- A high likelihood of liver damage
- A rise in the side effects usually experienced with alcohol
- Increased depression and consequently the risk of suicide
- Possibility of blackouts or increased intoxication
Alcohol interacts poorly with a variety of drugs, resulting in severe and often fatal side effects. It would be best if you avoided this combination to protect your body from the mentioned side effects.
Combining alcohol and Cymbalta can be risky and even fatal. If you or a loved one find yourself combining these drugs while knowing that it may be dangerous, or if you find yourself taking one of these substances regularly while wanting to cut back, you can talk with an addiction specialist.
Is Cymbalta Safe to Take While Pregnant?
Cymbalta, like other drugs, can cause adverse effects. Mood or behavior changes, anxiety, panic attacks, difficulty sleeping, feeling impulsive, irritable, irritated, hostile, violent, anxious, hyperactive, more depressed, or suicidal or self-harming thoughts are only a few examples.
If you experience any side effects when taking Cymbalta, call your doctor right away. It is unclear whether or not taking the drug while pregnant is safe. Contact your doctor to ask whether taking Cymbalta while pregnant is acceptable for you and your situation.
A review of data gathered from women revealed that taking Duloxetine when pregnant increased the risk of the following:
- Premature/post-term birth
- Spontaneous abortion
- Ectopic pregnancy
- Congenital anomaly
- Stillbirth
- Perinatal/post-perinatal complication
The failure to perform a systematic study on pregnant women creates a gap of information. However, doctors do not recommend the consumption of Cymbalta while pregnant. Pregnant women should only use this treatment if the possible benefits outweigh the risks to the mother and fetus.
Pregnancy can exacerbate depressive symptoms if you already have them. To ensure your well-being and the safety of your unborn child, work closely with your doctor to treat your depression during pregnancy.
How Can Cymbalta Affect Your Baby?
If you take Cymbalta while pregnant, your baby is at risk for congenital abnormalities and complications during and after birth, as previously stated. Keep in mind that your unborn child typically takes any drugs you take while you are pregnant. If you have side effects when taking Cymbalta while pregnant, your baby is likely to have them as well.
Don’t wait if you or a loved one is dealing with Cymbalta or a drug use problem or if you have concerns about the drug while pregnant. Contact Granite Recovery Center, and we will help you manage the situation to full recovery.
Dangers of Cymbalta Misuse and Withdrawal
Cymbalta, like every other SSRI or SSNRI, is not graded as “addictive.” Big pharmaceutical companies are particular about this designation, and they use careful wording in brochures, posters, and ads to emphasize Cymbalta’s non-addictive existence. This medication is not like addictive drugs like LSD or cocaine because it doesn’t make you feel “high.”
People who misuse Cymbalta don’t keep taking it to produce the same results as if they were addicted to alcohol or heroin. Cymbalta is not addictive in this respect.
Many people who take Cymbalta and similar antidepressants, on the other hand, can develop a disorder known as “discontinuation syndrome.” The brain’s cell receptors must adapt to lower serotonin levels and other chemicals, which causes discontinuation syndrome.
Cymbalta is a quick-release antidepressant, which means that it exits the bloodstream rapidly and induces more serious discontinuation syndrome. According to estimates, about half of those who have used Cymbalta for some time and quit the medication unexpectedly experience symptoms. This may mean months of panic, anxiety, brain zaps, insomnia, and crying fits for certain people.
The Importance of Treatment
Those suffering from discontinuation syndrome can need addiction treatment. Most times, anyone who has been abusing antidepressants is often dealing with another physical or mental disorder. The name given to this is dual diagnosis of drug care.
Self-medicating to deal with challenges and feelings of depression and isolation is very normal when responsible parties don’t handle mental disorders properly.
Depression is a debilitating and potentially fatal illness, and you should handle it as such. Consult your doctor regularly to assess the state of your mental health and to discuss treatment options.
Your doctor can prescribe one-on-one or group counseling sessions so that you can learn more about how addiction affects the development of the brain and the ability to make rational judgments and decisions. In more severe cases, one may need to visit a treatment center where you can undergo both an addiction treatment programand a mental health program to recover physically and psychologically.
Nobody should have to cope with or handle mental illness alone. Recovery also necessitates the assistance of a counselor, doctor, or psychiatrist.
Contact Granite Treatment Center if you or a loved one is dealing with these or other substance-related issues. Our professional team is available to answer any questions you may have.
Contact one of our members today to find out how you can get started on the road to recovery.
