Tips / Experiences - Coming Off Mirtazapine
Dec 4, 2015
I have been on 30mg mirtazapine for four years. I tried to come off them a couple of years ago and failed miserably, returning to my full dose after 10 days of awful anxiety and insomnia, as well as migraines and nausea. I had cut my dose to 15mg for a week and then dropped to zero.
This time I read every thread on here about mirtazapine withdrawal and started off really slowly, cutting down by just 3.75mg for two weeks. Then by a further 3.75 mg. At the same time I started taking a lot of inositol. I take a huge heaped teaspoon in my tea every morning. I had only slight nausea when I first started dropping my dose but I think that was me getting used to the inositol. Once I was down to 22.5mg of mirt, with no withdrawal symptoms, I figured I could go a bit faster and dropped my dose down to 15mg. I had no withdrawal symptoms after ten days and so have now dropped my dose to 11.25mg. I use a simple pill cutter from ebay to cut my tablets. So I am now on three quarters of a 15mg tablet. Mirtazapine had pooped out on me and so I already have terrible insomnia. I take temazepam some nights and benadryl on others to help me with that.
I will post my progress here. Who knows, I may fail miserably, but whatever the outcome, I hope it will help others. I was terrified of coming off mirtazapine, but now I am excited by it. I think the key is to take it really slowly and work out the pace your body can cope with. The smaller your dose goes, thee smaller the decrease in your dose should be. Good luck everyone, and please post your own experiences here. I know some people have really suffered despite coming off mirt very slowly. Everyone is different and I think everyone's experience can be a real help to others.
View 91 Replies
Advertisement
Having hysterectomy next tuesday. terrified.have no support at all as a bit of a recluse. i keep being told what i can and can't do after op by different medical staff so a bit confused as well. i'm 66.
View 37 Replies
If anyone could share some of their experiences and perhaps advise on when this nightmare is going to end I'd really appreciate it.
I’m 34, otherwise healthy, started Mirtazapine (in some sense against my instincts) about two years ago due to severe anxiety (no depression at all) and panic attacks. My Doctor prescribed Mirtazapine 30mg, to be tapered upwards from 7.5mg.
I remember the first few days I felt a weird sensation when swallowing (simply felt like uncoordinated swallowing, where the food/drink seemed to be going at the wrong velocity towards its target). However, after a while and increasing dosage this symptom vanished more or less.
Fast forward about a year and a half forward, and (apart from helping my IBS by making me numb) - the drug was totally useless anxiety-wise. I was still feeling very bad. True, I had not gotten many panic attacks, but I found that they were just transposed with a very generalized anxiety which I believe (self-diagnosed) had almost become a phobia: I became afraid of trying new things altogether from fear of having e.g., an allergic reaction (never had any of those ever in my life and never feared them before either). I had quit sports because I could not stand the sensations involving an increase in heart rate or blood flow. Done all of the tests and all is fine with my heart and everything else for that matter. It’s all in the head but the head controls your body and your mind.
The Mirtazapine just made me numb; I could feel less love to my fiancée (now wife!) and cared less about the world in general. Realizing that I had just become more anxious (if less panicky) the Doc upped the dosage to 45mg. What a disaster. More than a month afterwards I was just getting more and more anxious on a daily basis.
Eventually, AMA, I decided that going on Mirtazapine was the biggest mistake of my life. I started tapering, very VERY slowly. I think I went from 45 to 15mg with relative ease, taking more than two weeks at a time to decrease the dosage by 3-4mg at a time. Each time, I would feel great for 2 days, then start developing quite severe cramps and feel lousy for another week or so, then I’d get slightly better. Knowing that I am really ultrasensitive to any change in physiological parameters I tapered from 15mg to 3.75mg in a turtle’s pace: 3.75mg at a time, with more than a month (and even two sometimes) between each taper. I have a PhD in Chemistry so I know what I’m doing. Again, every time, after 2-3 victorious days where I’d feel like I’ve conquered mount Everest, I’d then feel lousy for 4-8 days; but then things would seem to be a bit better. Weirdly, at the lower doses of 7.5mg and 3.75mg I started again experiencing swallowing difficulties; I started choking on water and became very mindful of my swallowing dyscoordination. Still I felt altogether quite alright – and I believed that the remainder would be similar.
How wrong was I. I have come off it completely exactly two weeks ago. Again 2-3 days where I felt fine, then a few more days with cramps. Then, good old panic hit, with terrible anxiety that just keeps getting worse and worse. I feel terrible weakness, zero energy, I have withered due to loss of appetite (since when I eat my stomach just cramps a few hours later; actually not so bad since I had put on some weight during my time on Mirtazapine). I feel completely overwhelmed by the symptoms: every time there is something new. I feel weird tingling sensations and I have strange feelings of pressure in my stomach. I get dizzy a lot and then just feel weak. My muscles are sore without any reason. I was certain that these issues would resolve in a few days; Mirtazapine’s half-life is quite long and I know that receptors can take 2-3 weeks to get re-modulated (actually that’s why they always say that the beneficial effects of Mirtazapine will take around 2-3 weeks to become effective when you go on it). But I did not expect this gradual and horrible worsening of symptoms over the last 14 days. I have had to start treatment with Benzo’s (as needed, I try to avoid them but sometimes there’s just no way around it) and they seem to help in some instances, whereas in others they only seem to do a moderate/poor job at managing the symptoms. For the first time in my life yesterday I suffered from ED. Never happened to me before and despite a very supporting and loving wife, I felt that was yet another crushing blow. The weird thing is that all these things are not getting me depressed – just really anxious.
I can only hope that things will start to get better. I have no idea when these things would begin to get back on track. Doctors seem to be quite oblivious to my suffering, not really believing that withdrawal could be so powerful yet not finding ANYTHING else wrong. The situation is really frustrating.
One thing is clear to me: I’m never, EVER going back on this horrendous drug. It was a huge mistake beginning with it, and for all of you who need these kind of drugs: ask your GP or Psychiatrist what are the withdrawal difficulties expected for the medication. I know I sure wish I had asked it.
View 121 Replies
I started withdrawing from Mirtazapine back in Jan of this year, from 7.5mg. I got the liquid version and tapered down by 0.5ml (.75mg) initially every week, but had to stop that and start by dropping a day a week as I got withdrawals etc. I have been doing very well and was able to drop back to dropping it over 4-5 weeks. I got down to 0.1.5ml and the withdrawals kicked in, nausea, anxiety, sleep problems, cramps, etc etc. I stayed where I was for a few weeks but as things didn't really improve I continued to drop down to 0.1ml. During this time I have had some ok days and some awful days. Yesterday and today have been awful, dreadful low mood, very tired, anxiety and horrid nausea again.
My question is, initially I was going to go down to 0.5ml then taper off that to nothing, but the thought of another 3 months before being off it completely terrifies me. I am thinking about starting to taper off 1 night a week, over the next 7 weeks at the 0.1ml, but wonder if the withdrawals will be worse than ever!
id appreciate some advice. I have done the taper so ridiculously slowly, that I am now just fed up with the whole thing, and want to get back to normal again.
i was initially put on it as in Feb last year I had the flu, and was left with anxiety, my GP then prescribed Propranolol which gave me insomnia, and so it went on from there! The Mirt only made me sleep in the first week on being on it. I started it in June 2013, so been on it just over a year and have been withdrawing from it since Jan this year.
View 51 Replies
Can anyone give me some insight to coming off mirtazapine?
I've gone from 30 mg for 8 months to 15 mg 9 days ago to 7.5mg 3 days ago.
So far(touch wood) i feel fine but i'm concerned with all the bad experiences some people have had during coming off this drug.
View 2 Replies
Did a slow taper off 30mg Mirt. Had nothing for 5 weeks and feeling ok ish. Last couple of days my skin is crawling. Does anyone know if taking a antihistamine will help.
View 5 Replies
This is really an update I have cut back on the xanax to .25 down from .05 The mirtazapine sort of helps me sleep.I skipped 2 nights of the xanax and just took the mirtazapine slept ok then came back the next night with .25 mg of xanax with half of a 15mg Mirt. then Back to just the Mirtazapine so far i feel ok just some depression but it is not bad as i express these feelings in a journal form it helps me work them out. I am not feeling any issues
View 4 Replies
I'm already taking Pristiq however was having episodes of anxiety, panic attacks and insomnia and so my doctor also prescribed me mirtazapine. In some ways it has been a miracle, as somebody suffering from severe social phobia it has helped me to open up a little to the outside world and even attending social outings which is not like me. I feel far less stressed as well. I WISH I could stay on it!
The problem I am having is I've put one a huge amount of weight in the month or so I've been taking it. I've put on at least 7kg but probably more by now, I am visibly much fatter, and being a bit overweight in the first place (and wanting to lose weight) means this far outweighs the benefits. I suddenly have a huge appetite and I cannot control my eating, it is becoming a real problem. I've read people say to get over it and simply control your eating but it isn't that easy, before I even try a strictly healthy diet, I need to get off these pills and give my body a chance to get over these cravings.
My first question is, if I were to stop taking mirtazapine, or even start taking one every 2nd day to eventually taper off, can I expect any awful side effects? I have big exams in a week and I don't want to risk nasty side effects, however I'm really worried I will just keep stacking on the weight even in that short week, I want to get off them ASAP. I haven't been on them all that long so am wondering if I will experience anything bad if I cut back on them. My other antidepressants cause me vertigo if I miss a pill.
Second question, has anyone had any luck with other anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medication that helps with general/social anxiety, that does not cause weight gain? I know everyone reacts to medications differently but I'm just interested to see if there is an alternative to mirtazapine without this one (seemingly very common) side effect.
View 14 Replies
I am trying desperately to come off mirtazapine and I am trying to work out the best plan to withdraw, 26 days ago I reduced my dose from 30 to 15, although I am bearing it, the side effects are awful, I have a thick headache, nausea, trembling, but to name a few, today I burst into tears for no apparent reason, please can someone tell me if this is normal? I was hoping to cut the dose down by half again, does anyone know if this happens after each reduction ? And when is right time to reduce.
View 39 Replies
I have been taking 15mg of mirtazapine for 6 months for sleep problems and anxiety.
It has helped me sleep and feel more relaxed. But have struggled with word retrieval and foggy head. I decided to come off it and have been on 7.5 mg for 4 weeks, I have been doing ok but the last three days have had problems sleep waking after 3 hours and my anxiety feels like it coming back! Is this just withdrawal or am I going back my old ways?
View 4 Replies
I have just started on the 30m Mirtazapine and it's my 3rd night taking them ans i have read up on a lot of different forums that there are patients gaining weight off these? well i would like to know what the odds are of gaining weight because i have always had problems with weight gain, i can never put on any weight, no matter how much i eat, i have a fast metabolism and i am wondering, will the mirtazapine surpass my high metabolism. also in some cases i've heard it slows your metabolism down too.. but it would actually be a benefit for me to gain some extra weight.
View 5 Replies
For the first time in a very long time, I'm finally in a good enough place to make the step in coming off my Anti-depressant. I've been on Mirtazapine 45mg for the last 4/5 years and before that a string of various of medications.
Despite my anxiety been kind of excessive at the moment, after a discussion with my GP, he was happy to let me begin tapering down the dose. The problem is with my anxiety I feel it mainly physically rather than mentally so it makes me a little oversensitive to any changes that take place in my body.
I guess what I am searching for is some reassurance so I can stop driving myself up the wall, exhausting google search on mirtazapine withdrawal. 6 nights ago I started my first reduction so 45 mg to 30mg. In all honesty it's not been that bad, a few waves of nausea, headaches and random aches and pains. Those I was expecting so don't mind too much. The trouble is that for the last 3 days, I've found myself a little short of breath for most of the day. It's nothing that's outwardly noticeable at the moment, but it's there and is slightly concerning. Has anyone else experienced this when tapering?
I'm kind of freaked out a little because one of my fears that's arisen since the mirtazapine is the that i will develop random allergies and my brain is wondering if I've suddenly developed an allergy to my meds (ridiculous, I know!) The other thing is that the rest of my family has had either viral chest problems lately so maybe I've just picked up that and it's a coincidence? Or it could just be the anxiety.
I'm totally spinning myself in circles at the moment so any wise words are most welcome at this point. If I know it is just withdrawal and nothing that can actually hurt me then I'm fine with whatever effects it throws at me.
View 92 Replies
3 days ago I decided to stop taking mirtazapine 45 mg but since then I have not had any appetite for any foods at all. Is this a normal symptom.
View 1 Replies
I have been suffering from some internal Hemorrhoids that prolapse after a bowel movement for almost a decade. After they prolapse i gently insert them back into where they belong and it has been ok and hasn't affected my life much.
However the past a few days ago after making a bowl movement i noticed when they prolapsed they were very inflamed and large and painful, i couldn't put them back inside me. I waited until the next morning but unfortunately the couldn't go in so i had to go to a hospital. The doctors managed to insert them back in when they applied some gel but it was painful and not easy.
Then 2 days after same problem but they kept on bleeding, had to go back to the Hospital and same thing.
I hope they get better more manageable soon but i doubt it.
Anyway i really want to avoid the traditional Hemorrhoid surgery as i have read the horror stories on here about being in pain for 4-8 weeks, complications and also i can't afford to take so much time off work.
Hence why i am considering the HAL/RAR Procedure, from my research it is less painful and hypothetically you can be off work for only 48 hours.
has anyone experienced this procedure? What was the pain like?
View 7 Replies
I'm scheduled for a c section Wed. due to my little man's position and the doctor said a vaginal birth could be risky due to the size of my birth canal. I'm a ftm and this really dissapointed me. I'm really scared considering i've never had any surgeries before lol. Has anyone else had a c section? what was your experience? what should i expect?
View 13 Replies
After 1month of viread, my alt increased from 200 to 373.
Before:
Hbv DNA 170 million
As I said my Sgpt 200
Hbeag reactive
After 1 month
Hbv DNA 133,000
Hbeag reactive
Sgpt 373
My alt increasing is this normal?after 2 more months what will be next happen to my sgpt.please share with ur tdf experienced.
View 3 Replies
I am told that I need TURP for my enlarged prostate problem . could anyone recommend a good Urologist in Dallas Metroplex area who has good experience in this procedure
View 64 Replies
I was initially on(30mg) for 8 weeks for depression and anxiety. And I did start to feel better, although the blurry vision and the derealisation side effects started to make me anxious again. I think the light head was the anxiety not the tablets.
Went back to work and made an appointment with the Doctor to see if there was another antidepressant with no side effects as I didn't think the Mirt was working.
He told me how to gradually come off the Mirtazapine and then to start Those days coming off the Mirtazapine were fine and the 3 days I took nothing I felt great again! Well what an awful reaction I had to the Citalopram ! Heart thumping, sickness, mind racing, pins and needles, total insomnia for 3 days and the anxiety attacks were awful! I actually phoned NHS Direct.
When I spoke to the Doctor , he said that I had a reaction and the tablets obviously didn't agree. In a knowing smile, he said that I should perhaps go back on the Mirt and that I came off them too quickly.
I am now on no medication , but can feel the awful anxiety still there from the Citalopram episode and am wondering if I will slip back to square one again if I don't take anything. The Doctor has given me a prescription for 15mg 1 week and thereafter 30mg. Perhaps the side effects weren't that bad and as the nurse said " only got bothersome because I was feeling better".
So I'm thinking that I will go back to the Mirtazapine and perhaps they aren't that bad!
View 20 Replies
Over the last 12 months I've had nine or ten endoscopies. The first few were emergencies and I was not very aware of what was happening due to being fully knocked out.
Having survived the initial trauma, I now attend every 1 to 2 months for regular endoscopy checks. I had decided to try without sedation (just the spray) but the consultant virtually insisted that I have sedation. I was a bit annoyed at first at not being given much choice in the matter. They now use the spray and 3 mg of Midazolam each time. In ten seconds, I'm completely out of it and only wake up in recovery. No significant after effects and I'm usually off home in about an hour. Sometimes it goes really easily for the consultant and other times he experiences difficulties with me. Fortunately, the only time I know anything about these difficulties is after the procedure in recovery room.
View 1 Replies
I see many posts regarding experiences with HOLEP surgery but they all seem to be at least a year old. I am hoping to see some recent posts.
View 1 Replies
i am really struggling with my fibro. The doc has told me to persevere with this tablet. He has also gave me an anti sickness tablet. I would like to know people's experiences with this please.
View 12 Replies
