Cymbalta withdrawal refers to the symptoms a person experiences when they stop taking Cymbalta, also called discontinuation-emergent adverse events (“DEAEs”).
The frequency of Cymbalta withdrawal is associated with a drug’s “half-life.” The term “half-life” means the amount of time it takes for half of the drug to be eliminated from the body after one stops taking it. In his book, The Antidepressant Solution, Dr. Joseph Glenmullen, a clinical instructor in psychiatry at Harvard, explains that “the frequency with which antidepressants cause withdrawal reactions correlates with how short their half-lives are.” When a drug has a short half-life, the drug begins to exit the patients system very quickly, and that sudden depletion of the drug in the patient’s body, leads to withdrawal. Conversely, drugs that have a long half-life, leave the body gradually and generally have less frequent and severe withdrawal effects.
Cymbalta has an extremely short half-life of about twelve hours. This means that, on average, when taking Cymbalta, half of the drug leaves the patient’s system within twelve hours. This is an extremely fast rate. And, among antidepressants, Cymbalta is the second fastest. With such a short half-life, you would expect Cymbalta users to experience very high rates of withdrawal effects. You would also hope that the manufacturer of Cymbalta would properly warn patients and their physicians about this serious risk through the drug label and in Cymbalta advertising.
We are no longer accepting Cymbalta cases.
According to Lilly’s own clinical trials, in many cases, Cymbalta withdrawal reactions were moderate to severe. In the short term trials, one out of every ten patients experienced severe reactions. In one 52-week trial, at least one in six patients was severely affected. In another study, 25% of those who experienced withdrawal effects had severe reactions.
In 2008, the Annals of Clinical Psychiatry published a report of a 26-year-old woman who was so traumatized by the nausea, dizziness, and “electric shocks inside the head” when she tried to withdraw from Cymbalta that she requested to be put on another antidepressant immediately and “expressed a real fear of having these shock-like reactions again.” The authors observed that, “Antidepressants with a short half-life tend to be associated with a significant rate of DEAEs and a higher severity level” (emphasis added).
Cymbalta withdrawal effects, including extreme mood swings (anger, irritability), debilitating brain zaps, and physical and neurological problems, can be severe and extend for weeks and even months. The volume of patient complaints and the severity of the symptoms reported on multiple websites (including on such websites as the People’s Pharmacy and Depression Forums) leaves little doubt about the seriousness of Cymbalta withdrawal. In many patients, Cymbalta creates what amounts to a physical dependence that makes it nearly impossible to quit taking the drug.
We are no longer accepting Cymbalta cases.
"Wisner Baum gave exceptional attention to all aspects of the case, detailed inquiry, and tenacious overview of all the information submitted. The paralegals are efficient and diligent. I was completely surprised to find an empathic personal message to take care of my own health during the challenging time of being a full-time caretaker.*"
In May of 2019, the jury in the case of Pilliod et al. v, Monsanto Company ordered the agrochemical giant to pay $2.055 billion in damages to the plaintiffs, Alva and Alberta Pilliod, a Bay Area couple in their 70s. R. Brent Wisner served as co-lead trial attorney for the Pilliods, delivering the opening and closing statements and cross-examining several of Monsanto’s experts. Wisner Baum managing shareholder, Michael Baum and attorney Pedram Esfandiary also served on the trial team in the Pilliod case.
The judge later reduced their award to $87M. Monsanto appealed the Pilliod’s verdict which the California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District denied on August 9, 2021. Monsanto then requested the California Supreme Court review the appeal’s court decision, which the court denied on Nov. 17, 2021. Monsanto (Bayer) then submitted a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court which SCOTUS denied on June 27, 2022, allowing the final judgment of $87M to remain intact.
$289.2 million jury verdict in Monsanto Roundup trial
Wisner Baum co-represented Dewayne “Lee” Johnson in the first Roundup cancer lawsuit to proceed to trial. On Aug. 10, 2018, a San Francisco jury ordered Monsanto to pay $39.25 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages to Mr. Johnson, a former groundskeeper who alleged exposure to Monsanto’s herbicides caused him to develop terminal non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Months after the jury verdict, the judge overseeing the trial reduced the punitive damages to $39.25 million. Mr. Johnson decided to accept the remittitur, bringing the adjusted amount awarded to Mr. Johnson $78.5 million.
Monsanto (Bayer) appealed the verdict and Johnson cross appealed. On July 20, 2020, the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the verdict against Monsanto but reduced Mr. Johnson’s award to $20.5 million. The company chose not to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, ending the litigation.
In 2016, Wisner Baum attorney Timothy A. Loranger and six other attorneys in the Plaintiffs’ Management Committee were able to secure a $265 million settlement for victims of the 2015 Amtrak 188 derailment in Philadelphia, one of the largest in the U.S. for 2016.