JoBlog

Duloxetine (Tradename Cymbalta) is a fairly new antidepressant, at least in the UK. It’s been available for a few months longer in the US I believe. As such, there’s no consensus of experiences; this is just my personal feelings.

Theraputic Effect

Duloxetine had very little if any theraputic effects for me, either on it’s own, or in combination with Lithium. However, this happens with a lot of drugs for me, so don’t let it scare you off!

Dose

I went straight onto Duloxetine at the theraputic dose of 60mg. This is also the maximum dose recommended for depression, but it is licensed for 80mg for stress incontinence, and I took 80mg Duloxetine + 1g Lithium for a while with no problems.

Side effects

Personally, I found that Duloxetine gave me very few side effects at all, which is extremely unusual – I normal report everything on the list and then some! There has been a lot of discussion about the sexual side effects it may cause, and whilst I found no real problems, other people have done. For people’s comments see here.

Withdrawal

Duloxetine is a similar kind of drug to Effexor, so I should have expected a hellish withdrawal, but it caught me somewhat by surprise. The most significant thing was terrible headaches/migraines for about a week, as well as just feeling generally very unwell. This was whilst still taking Lithium, so it may not apply to when taking it alone.