Back in December when my life got turned upside down, my doctor put me on two antidepressants - Cymbalta and Wellbutrin.  When we discussed them, I asked all the usual questions about side effects, etc., to which he replied that they were mild, if any at all.  Well, I don’t know if you remember or not, but a while ago I posted that I was shedding A LOT!  Not only has that not stopped, but I noticed about a week ago that I could wrap a ponytail holder around my hair four times, that could normally have only been wrapped twice.  So basically, I have lost like half my damn hair. 

I decided to do a search online with the word hairloss and the names of the two antidepressants and came up with thousands of posts regarding the subject - would have been nice to have known BEFORE I started taking the medications.  I went into the doctors office and told him about it and he acted shocked and said he had never heard of that - HUH!  I told him that I was going to quit taking the medications and that they were only supposed to be temporary anyways.  He said that he wanted to wean me off of the Cymbalta over the next four to six weeks, because it has some pretty severe withdrawal symptons - Oh really, again…would have been nice to know BEFORE I decided to get on them!!! 

Well, I declined.  In four to six weeks, I will be completely bald - then I will really need some meds!!!  He said that the medication would stay in my system for six to eight days.  I would rather take six to eight days of complete hell than being bald anyday.  So to make a long story even longer, I stopped cold turkey last Tuesday and it has been HELL!!!  I went online and looked up Cymbalta and withdrawals and got the following, extremely long and scarey list - I have bolded the ones that I have been dying with:

These Cymbalta side effects can occur while taking the Cymbalta before withdrawal or may become apparent once Cymbalta withdrawal begins. It is imperative you use a Cymbalta withdrawal plan designed to eliminate or reduce Cymbalta withdrawal side effects. Once Cymbalta withdrawal side effects begin, they are more difficult to get rid of.

• Cymbalta withdrawal - Anorexia – No longer having a desire to eat.  (The good side effects never happen to me)
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Apothous Stomatitis – Painful red and swollen open sores on a mucus membrane of the mouth commonly called a canker sore.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Ataxia – Loss of the ability to move the body with coordination.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Arterial Fibrillation – A condition of abnormal twitching of the muscles in the blood vessels that moves the oxygenated blood from the heart to the rest of the body.  The unusual twitching is rapid and irregular and replaces the normal rhythm of contraction of the muscle, which sometimes causes a lack of circulation and pulse.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Blood Cholesterol Increased – An abnormal condition where there is a greater amount in the blood of the oily/fatty substances known as cholesterol.  Cholesterol is a necessary part of living cells (along with proteins and carbohydrates).  Because cholesterol only slightly dissolves in water, it can build up on the walls of the blood vessels, therefore blocking/decreasing the amount of blood flow, which causes blood pressure to go up.  If not corrected, this condition is associated with coronary artery disease.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Blood Creatinine Increased – A greater than normal number of creatinine or muscular chemical waste molecules in the blood.  Creatinine plays a major role in energy production in muscles.  Since creatinine levels are normally maintained by the kidneys, Blood Creatinine Increased is an indicator of kidney malfunction or failure.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Blood in Stool – The blood that is in your bowel movement usually comes from any place along your digestive tract (from your mouth to your anus).  The stool can appear black and foul-smelling (usually from the upper part of your digestive tract) or red or maroon-colored (usually from the large intestine area).  Hemorrhoids are the usual cause for blood in the bowels.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Bundle Branch Block Right – These are specialized cells in the upper right heart chamber and are the heart’s pacemaker.  They send electrical signals to the heart that keeps it beating or contracting regularly.  Normally the signal goes to the lower heart chambers at the same time through the bundle of His (hiss) on both the left and right sides of the heart, so the lower chambers contract at the same time.  When the bundle is damaged on the right side, the signal does not fire at the same time as the left, which changes the pace of blood flow.  This can lead to a person fainting.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Cardiac Failure – A heart disorder where the heart does not function as usual and may completely stop working.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Cardiac Failure Congestive – The body is asking for the heart to supply more blood than it is capable of producing and maintaining.  Normally, a body can tolerate an increased amount of work for quite some time.  The condition is characterized by weakness, shortness of breath, and a fluid build-up in the body tissues causing swelling.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Cold Sweat – The skin is clammy and moist and you feel chilled.  This is a reaction to a shock or pain as well as to fear and nervousness. This one is the WORST!!!
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Colitis – A condition where the large intestine becomes irritated from the use of the drug.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Coronary Artery Disease – A condition where the blood vessels that mainly carry the blood away from the heart become clogged up or narrowed usually by fatty deposits.  The first symptom is pain spreading from the upper left body caused by not enough oxygen reaching the heart.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Dehydration – An extreme loss of water from the body or the organs of the body as in sickness or not drinking enough fluids.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Diplopia – The condition where a person is looking a one object and instead of normally seeing just the one object he sees two.  This is also call double vision.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Diverticulitis – There are pouches or sacs on the inside of the intestines that look like fingers.  This increases the area for the body to absorb nutrients as they pass through the intestines.  These sacs become irritated and swollen and end up trapping waste that would normally be eliminated, causing pain and constipation.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Dysarthria – The inability to control the mouth muscles when forming words so the words are not clearly spoken and heard.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Dyslipidemia – The normal fat metabolism in the blood is interfered with.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Dysphagia – Trouble swallowing or the inability to swallow.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Ecchymosis – When a blood vessel breaks and creates a purple discoloration of the skin.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Edema – An abnormal build up of excess fluids in the cells, tissues, and the spaces between the tissues creating swelling.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Edema Peripheral – The abnormal build up of fluids in the tissues of the ankles and legs causing painless swelling in the legs, ankles, and feet.  If you squeeze the swollen area it leaves an indentation on the skin for a few minutes.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Ejaculation Delayed – The man is not able to release sperm either during sexual intercourse or with manual stimulation in the presence of his sexual partner in spite of his wish to do so.  Just kidding about this one.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Ejaculation Dysfunction – A condition where the man has one or more of the following symptoms:  He is not able to have an erection, not able to have an orgasm, has a decreased interest in sex, is sexually inhibited, or it is painful to ejaculate sperm.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Erectile Dysfunction – Incapable of having sexual intercourse.  Even though a man desires sex he is inhibited in his sexual activity and is unable to have or maintain an erection of the penis.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Erythema – a skin redness caused by the swelling with blood of the tiny blood vessels of the skin as in burns.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Erythematous Rash – Redness of the skin from the swelling of the tiny blood vessels with skin irritation (itching, burning, tingling, pain) and breakouts (eruptions).
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Esophageal Stenosis Acquired – The tube that moves food from the mouth to the stomach narrows.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Exfoliative Dermatitis – The unusual and not normal condition of scaling and shedding of the skin cells.  The skin is usually red colored.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Face Edema – The tissues of the face become swollen.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Feeling Jittery – A physical sensation of nervous unease.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Gastric Irritation – An inflamed and sore stomach.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Gastric Ulcer – An open, irritated, and infected sore in the wall of the stomach.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Gingivitis – Sore, swollen and red gums in the mouth that bleed easily.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Glaucoma – The delicate nerve to the eye, the optic nerve, becomes easily damaged with the build-up of excess fluid pressure within the eyeball.  The first sign of glaucoma is loss of peripheral (side) vision.  It can progress to total blindness.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Hepatic Steatosis – Excessive amounts of fat in the liver.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Hyperhidrosis – The triggering of an excess of sweat being produced on the soles of the feet, the palms, or the underarms which can cause embarrassment or losing grip on a pen or other items.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Hyperkeratosis – An abnormal enlargement of the skin tissues causing the skin cells to increase in size.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Hyperlipidemia – An abnormally high number of fat cells in the blood.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Hypertriglyceridemia – Too many triglycerides in the blood. 
Triglycerides are three fatty acids bound together in one molecule stored by the body and available to create high levels of energy when used. 
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Hypoesthesia – A partial loss of sensation or general loss of awareness.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Impaired Gastric Emptying – The contents of the stomach are not passed into the intestines as normal due to the stomach losing the muscular strength to do so.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Increased White Blood cell Count – This is an increase in the number of cells in the blood that are responsible for the removal of bacteria and other unwanted particles.  They fight disease and infection by enclosing foreign particles and removing them.  An example of a disease that would increase white blood cell count would be Leukemia.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Insomnia – Not able to fall asleep or sleeping for a shorter time than desired, thus not being able to properly rest and feeling un-refreshed.  As a result, a person can become irritable, have difficulty concentrating and feel a lack of energy.  This can be caused by stimulants such as by caffeine or drugs or by mental anxiety and stress.  Mental stress can be communicated and relieved.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Irritable Bowel Syndrome – A painful condition where the either the muscles or the nerves of the lower intestines, are not responding normally.  This results in an alternating condition of diarrhea followed by constipation, back and forth.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca – A condition where the outer coating of the eyeball is dry because of a decrease in the normal amount of tears in the eye.  As a result, the eyeball and inside of the eyelid thickens and hardens sometimes causing the vision to be less sharp.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Leukopenia – An unnaturally low number of white blood cells circulating in the blood.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Loose Stools – The bowel movement is runny instead of formed.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Lower Abdominal Pain – A hurtful irritation of the nerve endings in the area of the hipbones housing the lower digestive tract.  Pain usually means tissue damage.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Lymphadenopathy – The lymph nodes, where the immune cells are located, become larger than is normal because of a high concentration of white blood cells.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Macular Degeneration – The gradual loss of central vision, which is the sharpest vision while peripheral eyesight, is unaffected.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Maculopathy – An abnormal condition of the yellow spot of the eye, which is located in the center of the inner lining of the eyeball and connected to the main nerve to the eye and is responsible for sharp vision.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Mania – Unusually irrational, excessive and/or exaggerated behavior or moods ranging from enthusiasm, sexuality, gaiety, impulsiveness and irritability to violence.  Does this one still hold up in a court of law?
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Melena – Abnormally darkly colored stools as a result of hemorrhaging in the digestive tract where the blood has interacted with the digestive juices creating the dark color in the bowel movement.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Micturition Urgency – A sudden desire to urinate usually followed by leakage.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Mood Swings – An emotional shifting as from a state of happiness to a state of depression for a period of time.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Myocardial Infarction – The blood going to the heart is delayed or stopped causing middle muscle tissue in the heart wall to die.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Nasopharyngitis – Irritation, redness and swelling tissues in the nose and the tube leading from the mouth to the voice box as well as the tubes leading to the ears.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Nephropathy – An abnormally functioning or diseased kidney.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Nervousness – Jumpy, jittery, anxious, and troubled with an irritable temperament.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Night Sweats – The water-salt, waste product the skin releases is called sweat or perspiration.  With night sweats you become wide awake in the middle of the night shivering and cold and wet with your sheets/pajamas soaked in perspiration making it difficult to go back to sleep.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Nightmare – Dreams that make you afraid or leave feelings of fear, terror, and upset long after waking up.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Orgasm Abnormal – Unable to have an orgasm with normal sexual stimulation.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Oropharyngeal Swelling – A swelling in the area from the soft part of the roof of the mouth to the back of the mouth.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Pain in Extremity – A painful feeling in the legs, arms, hands, and feet.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Pharyngolaryngeal Pain – Pain in the area of the respiratory tract (organs of breathing) from the throat to the voice box and above the windpipe.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Photopsia – A condition where a person see lights, sparks or colors in front of your eyes.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Photosensitivity Reaction – An exaggerated sunburn reaction that is not normal in proportion to the amount of exposure to the light.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Pollakiuria – Urinating much more frequently than normal – as often as once every five to fifteen minutes.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Pressure of Speech – A condition where the individual cannot voice his ideas fast enough with the pressure of there being not enough time to say it.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Pruritic Rash – Extremely itchy, red, swollen bumps on the skin.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Pyrexia – Fever or the increase in body temperature that is usually a sign of infection.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Retinal Detachment – The thin layer lining the back of the eyeball (the retina) detaches from the back of the eyeball.  This thin layer is like the film of a camera because it sends the images a person views to the brain.  When it detaches it causes a reduced ability to see.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Rigors – Shivering or shaking of the body as if chilled, preventing normal responses.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Skin Ulcer – An open sore or infected skin eruption with swelling, redness, pus, and irritation.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Sleep Disorder – These are a list of sleep disorders such as teeth grinding, insomnia, jet lag, sleep walking, abnormally falling asleep during the middle of a conversation after a full night’s rest, uncontrolled body motions keeping one awake, etc.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Suicide, Completed – An attempted attack on oneself that is life threatening results in death.  I just hi-lighted this one because I liked how they used the comma “completed” - as opposed to just attempted.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Upper Respiratory Tract Infection – Where the organs of breathing near the mouth such as the nose and sinuses, become infected and are usually treated by antibiotics.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Urinary Hesitation – Hard to start or hard to continue emptying one’s bladder.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Urinary Incontinence – Urinating without intending to do so because of a weakening of the muscles in the hip area from the drug affecting the nerves or the drug blocking a persons thinking process.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Urinary Retention – The inability to completely empty the bladder despite having the urge to do so.  This can lead to infections or damage to the urinary organs.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Urine Flow Decreased – Dehydration of the body causing a lesser flow of urine than normal with the body reabsorbing the waste.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Urine Output Decreased – A condition where the output of urine produced in a 24-hour period is less than 500 ml.
• Cymbalta withdrawal - Weight Decreased – Unintentional weight loss.
• Cymbalta withdrawal – Weight Increased – An unusual, usually rapid weight increase.

Now I hi-lighted a bunch of the tummy ones, cause I am not quite sure which one is causing all the problems, as I cannot see inside my intestines.  I cannot wait to be done with all this shit!!! 

Let this be a lesson to you all - ASK MORE QUESTIONS BEFORE DECIDING TO GO ON MEDS!  Alright, I have to go stand in front of a fan now, cause I am sweating again.  I am one attractive lady right now, let me tell ya!