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    Duloxetine Encyclopedic
    Encyclopedic
    Typical encyclopedia coverage. Cross-reference for important decisions.
    • 3 corroborating sources
    • no dose data
    • 28 combo interactions documented
    • PubChem toxicity data

    Aliases: Cymbalta

    Summary DrugBank

    Duloxetine is a dual serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor.[label] It was originally discovered in 1993 and developed by Eli Lilly and Company as LY248686. Duloxetine first received approval from the FDA in August, 2004 as Cymbalta for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder.

    Dose Warnings

    ☠ from 1,000 mg Fatal overdoses reported

    “In postmarketing experience, fatal outcomes have been reported for acute overdoses, primarily with mixed overdoses, but also with duloxetine only, at doses as low as 1000 mg.” — toxicity literature

    Effects Erowid

    Aggregated from 6 single-substance Erowid experience reports; 9 Erowid reports where another drug was taken too are left out

    Each bar shows the share of analyzed reports whose text mentions that effect — a mention is not always a first-hand experience (fear of an effect or something witnessed can count). Mentions saying the effect did not happen are left out; that check reads keywords, so it can miss some. The shaded band on a bar, and the small range after its number, is the 95% interval: where the share could plausibly be with other reports of the same kind. Fewer reports, wider band. Tap or hover any number for details. The second value is the Bluelight extractor's per-effect confidence; a dash means the row is Erowid-derived, which has no confidence measurement.

    Too few reports for bars: these effects come from 6 single-substance Erowid reports, and a bar is drawn only from 20 reports or more. With fewer, a percentage cannot tell a common effect from a rare one. Counts are shown instead. Why 20?

    Positive Effects 0

    Adverse Effects 1

    3 of 6 –

    Also reported in combinations. In the 9 Duloxetine reports where another drug was taken too, 1 mentions hospital, emergency services or an overdose, 1 a seizure and 0 psychosis (too few reports for percentages). In the 6 single-substance reports: 1, 0 and 0. These are not in the figures above: they cannot be put down to Duloxetine alone, and a mention is not always something that happened to the writer.

    Combinations

    Cross-Check Duloxetine with another substance

    Duloxetine (Cymbalta) is an SNRI: it blocks serotonin reuptake as SSRIs do, so these are TripSit's SSRI interactions. Its US label rules out MAOIs within 14 days before it or 5 days after it.

    Community Trip Reports

    Anecdotal first-person accounts from Reddit, Erowid, Bluelight, and Dose.wiki. Click a source to expand. Reports are harm-reduction context, not medical guidance. Tags summarise each author's own verdict — how reports are classified.

    Erowid 7 reports 2 neutral 5 cautionary visit
    Detachment cautionary exp #115780

    I had been becoming more and more interested in drugs of any and all kinds, and this curiosity surpassed the point of being satisfied by merely reading others’ experiences. I realized that I needed to know how it felt, to try everything.

    Bree · 60 mg oral
    Antidepressant Success Story cautionary exp #48777

    I am an 18 year old male. My father has clinical-depression and my mother is a narcissist. All my life I had thoughts of how much better it would be to go to sleep and not wake up. Think about a seven year old boy holding a steak knife thinking 'I want to kill myself'.

    the man · 60 mg oral
    Withdrawal Hell neutral exp #58611

    I'm on attempt #2 to get off Cymbalta and have had to go to a psychiatrist to help me get off it. Unfortunately his help in getting me off it hasn't worked yet either. What happens when I try to stop? Let's see.

    Pea · Duloxetine (Cymbalta) · oral / oral
    Haven't Felt Right Since I Took It cautionary exp #105593

    I am a 59 yr old with chronic back pain. I have had a lumbar laminectomy and two spinal fusions (L4-L5-S1 ALIF + PLIF and L3-L4 XLIF) over the last four years. I take opiate pain medications, typically over the last year 20 to 40 mg Oxycontin and 10 to 30 mg Percocet daily.

    Tately · 10 mg oral
    It Is a Nice Relaxing Feeling cautionary exp #41408

    Duloxetine first time I started taking Duloxetine for pain I have (fibromyalgia). At the first week starting dosage of 30mg/day it didn't seem to do a whole lot. But the first few days of the 60mg/day dosage felt like the aftereffects of an Ecstacy trip.

    Duloxetine/Cymbalta · oral
    Not the Best I've Tried neutral exp #48100

    I started taking Cymbalta about a year and half ago. While at first I noticed a lot of improvement, I feel like it's working less and less. There's been very few negatives with Cymbalta. It makes me grind my teeth at night when I'm asleep, and it isn't the cheapest drug I've ever had, even with insurance.

    Leigh · Duloxetine (Cymbalta) · 60 mg oral
    Terrified to Go Off of It cautionary exp #105181

    Cymbalta Withdrawal Nightmares I have become increasingly aware (and disturbed by) the many cases of severe Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms. Including, but not limited to, 'brain zaps'! I myself have been on Cymbalta for eight years. I am terrified to go off of it because of the physical repercussions.

    Alice · Duloxetine (Cymbalta)
    Bluelight 1 thread 1 cautionary visit
    Cymbalta Duloxitine Withdrawal Fucking Unbearable cautionary

    cymbalta (duloxitine) withdrawal - completely unbearable 3 days ago I stopped (forgot to take) my daily cymbalta 30 mg. I had successfully went from 60 to 30 mg. The first day, not much happened. I had skipped a dose so many times that the first day withdrawal no longer occurred.

    30 mg mentioned in the thread; auto-extracted, unverified

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