Week Three

Things are going surprisingly well for me. I dropped down to 20 mg of Cymbalta yesterday. I am still watching my sugar and carb intake, but not as strictly as I did the first few days.

I was anticipating a lot more symptoms.  I can say that I am definitly irritable. My sleeping patterns are still on a rollercoaster.  I am not noticing any other changes.

I am still struggling with the soda craving.  It is a comfort food for me, so I'm sure that it is all mental.  I allowed myself to have one tonight, but not until after supper. I have been drinking a lot of hot tea, especially in the morning and for lunch. Evenings are a glass of iced tea and then water, or just water.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! I made a Pecan Pie this afternoon. It looks and smells so good. How do others do this during the holidays? We are having turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, sweet rolls. All those carbs that I wanted to eliminate from my diet. This must be why my Aunts always wanted people to take food home after hosting a family dinner.

Nightmares! I Forgot.

Day 7

I am a week into the reduction of Cymbalta. I am doing okay, but have noticed a few side effects.

I am more sensitive to light and sound, not to mention smells. Wow, the smells!  I can no longer stand to be near cigarette smoke.  We have a dog whom I love very much, but it is raining out. I am ready to lock the dog outside in the rain so that I don't have to smell him. Cooking has not been pleasant either.

I had forgotten about the vivid dreams/nightmares. Early Sunday morning I woke my husband up by yelling "Heeeeeey!" in my sleep. I don't know if I woke myself up or if he woke me up. I also woke up around 3 am Monday morning as well, but no yelling this time.  So much for the good sleep I was getting after first decreasing my dose of Cymbalta.

I made it through the three days of the Sugar Detox. I need to go back and read the book again.  I have been focused on the World Massage Conference. Learning a lot of new things and being reminded of a lot of useful things.

I received a massage Tuesday morning.  Thank you Rebecca Lee! It was amazing.  I actually fell asleep.  I mean sound asleep. I felt great all day after that.

No other changes to report. Stay tuned for future postings.

I Survived Another Day

Saturday, Day 5

I am too hard headed to give in after suffering for two days.  I did not drink a soda even though I really wanted one.  I am feeling better on day five of this adventure.

I tried to get up at 9 am today when my husband woke me to see if I wanted to go out for breakfast. I suggested he go without me as I desperately needed a shower and wasn't ready for the temptation of maple syrup. I planned to get a shower while he was gone. Instead I slept until noon when he got back home. I then took a long, hot shower.  I have found that while detoxing the body gives up a lot of foul smells.  No matter how exhausted and miserable I feel, showering is essential.

I am finding that I am also more sensitive to smells, loud sounds, and bright lights. This could be a result of the decrease in medication. If that is the case, coming off the Cymbalta is not going to work out for me. I will continue on with the dose of 30 mg Cymbalta daily for another week as planned.

The cold weather that has moved in does not seem to be affecting me very much. I am keeping a throw blanket over my legs while sitting still.  I went out with my husband this afternoon. The temperature was in the low 50's. I had no resulting aches or pains.

If there is nothing major to report tomorrow, I will take Sunday off from writing and report back on Monday.  Please remember to feel free to comment below with any questions or suggestions.

Second Thoughts, But Struggling On

This fits me entirely too well today. Mostly it is just a headache. That being said; I'm sure you know how much of an understatement that can be. I have had second, third, & fourth thoughts about continuing on with this Sugar Detox at the same time I am reducing my Cymbalta.

I would like to write more, but I am having difficulty focusing on the computer screen. There are no other changes that I have noticed. Some nausea, but I can't tell if it is from the headache or the change in medicine dosage.

Either I am a glutton for punishment, or I am brilliant.

Either I am a glutton for punishment, or I am brilliant. I have decided to come off of the Cymbalta medication that I have been taking for four years. I have also decided to go through a sugar detox due to my doctor informing me that I am borderline diabetic. My thinking is "Why be miserable twice?", so I am doing them at the same time. Allow me to give you a little background.

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia Syndrome in 2009. A rheumatologist prescribed 60 mg Cymbalta once a day. The side effects were unpleasant, but not unbearable. After a few weeks most of them went away. The medication did wonders for my symptoms. Over the last few years I have done a lot of research and joined several support groups. I have changed my lifestyle and my eating habits. The symptoms of my Fibromyalgia have fluctuated along with these changes. Over the last year my largest complaint is insomnia. 

Cymbalta

My mother and recently my oldest brother have been diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. Both are controlled with diet and medication in pill form.  Due to my medications and conditions my doctor does a regular blood panel on me. The last two draws done three months apart are listed below:

Component	Standard Range	Your Value
Glucose	65 - 99 mg/dL	102

Glucose

65 - 99 mg/dL

109

Due to these results my doctor ordered an A1C:

Component	Standard Range	Your Value
HEMOGLOBIN A1C	4.8 - 5.6 %	5.8
ESTIMATED AVERAGE GLUCOSE		120

Normal is less than 5.7, prediabetes is between 5.7-6.4, and over 6.4 is diabetic. So, you are just barely prediabetic.

I started on Tuesday, because Mondays are bad enough without trying something crazy.  I started taking 30 mg Cymbalta daily as prescribed by my doctor. This will be for two weeks at which time I will drop to 20 mg Cymbalta daily for another two weeks. If I last through the month I will then take 20 mg Cymbalta every other day for two weeks. My Christmas present to myself is being free of the drug.

The first change is in my sleeping.  I got up Tuesday morning and took the new dose of medication. Around 2 pm I was exhausted and lay down. Woke up sometime around 7 pm and ordered pizza for dinner being too tired to cook.  I watched television, ate dinner, and then went back to bed between 10:30 and 11 pm. I slept through the night and awoke Wednesday morning around 9 am. I was not as tired on Wednesday and stayed up until 11:30 pm. I slept until 11 am Thursday morning. 

Per my doctor I am keeping a food journal. This is to open my eyes to what I am actually consuming rather than what I think I am. I have chosen to do a sugar detox on my own. I will be using many sources, but was inspired by a book written by Gina Crawford titled Sugar Detox For Beginners. The most difficult part for me will be cutting out Mountain Dew.  I have done this in the past, but always gone back to drinking it. Prior to starting this detox yesterday, I had reduced my intake to two 12 oz cans per day. 

Today I have a slight headache. This is most likely due to caffeine withdrawal. I also need to consider that the temperature dropped about 20° overnight. I have not noticed any other changes as of yet. 

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