Advice for coming off mirtazapine plz
Posted , 6 users are following.
hello i am looking for advice on coming off mirtazapine. I have been taking it for over a year and a half now and on 30mg at night to help me sleep. since being on it i have had all sorts of things happening with my body. weak muscles in chest, dizziness when standing, pressure in the head and behind the ears. I now want to come off mirtazapine but looking for advice on how to do it safely as I've heard the withdrawals can be pretty horrendous. I spike to the doctor but he said I should stay on them and didn't really give me much of a choice so any help and advice would be appreciated.
0 likes, 16 replies
Guest lisa221973
Edited
Hi Lisa. I'm only on 3.75 and the advice is drop 10%, let your system stabilise and then keep dropping 10%. There is a lot of help on this forum but as I understand it the key thing is to go slow and trick your CNS into not recognising the drop and therefore not triggering withdrawal.
lisa221973 Guest
Posted
thats great thank you for your reply. i'm not sure how i'll be able to divide the 30mg tablet up lol but I will give it a go. I cant stand this dizziness im getting along with the feeling that my blood pressure is dropping when I stand up.
Guest lisa221973
Edited
I only take 3.75mg, which is a quarter of a 15mg tablets. I got a little pill cutter from the chemist and it makes a neat cut.
Your other option is to ask for a different antidepressant and then just switch over with the guidance of your GP. Good luck
lisa221973 Guest
Posted
thank you for your reply, I spoke to the doctor today and she is changing my medication from mirtazapine to sertraline so im hoping this will make a difference.
toria_07298 lisa221973
Posted
be aware that mirtazapine is sedating ssris are not xx
Guest lisa221973
Edited
Thanks for the update. I have a number of friends who swear by sertraline and have a really good response to it. Best wishes
Guest lisa221973
Edited
How are you getting on with the switch, Lisa? Hope it is going well and has worked for you. I am following this thread as I'm trying to get off mirtazapine too.
lisa221973 Guest
Posted
so far so good, I have cut down 7.5 mg for the past 2 weeks and due to reduce again starting from today, I have been taking headaches but not as bad as before so hoping after I reduce a further 7.5mg starting today they don't get worse. I will update again soon and keep you informed.
Guest lisa221973
Edited
That's good news. I'm glad the withdrawals haven't been to bad. Thank for updating - I think it's so helpful (and reassuring) to read from people who've been through it and have positive stories. Best wishes
marco83708 lisa221973
Edited
I'm going through the same problem. A terrible feeling of anxiety and feeling shaky and weak. Trembling legs and arms. Coming off mirtazapine is quite difficult and really one of the most challengeable events I've ever experienced so far. At this moment I'm using Luvox (100 mg one tablet each day). But it doesn't really seems to kick in.
lisa221973 marco83708
Edited
I really cant wait to be off mirtazapine altogether, while they have helped with the sleep problems, I the bad has outweighed the good in them. it is going to take time and do what works best for you as the doctor told me to half the dose for 2 weeks then stop altogether but this was horrendous for me. so seems to be working better now I am only reducing the dose by 7.5 mg every 2 weeks. hope you get on ok. good luck
lisa221973
Edited
update
hi just wanted to post a wee update on my post. I have now reduced my dose to 7.5 mg and have to say it has went really well. I have had the odd headache and restless sleep but nothing to major. I am due to come off mirtazapine altogether at the end of next week and I'm now thinking twice about starting the setraline as I have been feeling alot more "normal" since reducing my dose right down but will take each day as it comes. i'll post again within the next week or two
kez00737 lisa221973
Edited
Did you suffer with heartburn at all while coming off them?
Guest lisa221973
Edited
I sounds like you're doing really well, which is great to hear. Please keep posting as I'm trying to reduce down too but am having problems with it. The good news stories definitely help!
lisa221973
Posted
UPDATE
so thought id post an update since its been a while. ive been slowly coming off mirtazapine for about 8 months now and finally been off them altogether for the past 3 weeks. the first two weeks were fine apart from broken sleep and finding it difficult to fall asleep so started listening to white noise podcasts and have helped a bit. Into my third week i have to say the withdrawals have been horrible, this morning i woke up feeling very nauseous, shaky, breathless which then transpired into a panic attack which I've not had for a long time. the whole day i spent in bed feeling very unwell.
I've had pains in the back of my head for a few days, severe pressure in the head, pains in my chest, trembling, paranoid, pressure behind my eyes, sore bones to touch. the list goes on! i suffer from health anxiety also so this is not helping. tonight i decided to come on here and read peoples experiences to let me know i am not alone or imagining things. and for the first time i have thought about going back on to the medication because of how bad today has been but feel that I've not went through all this for nothing so determined to persevere. anyhow i just wanted to share this with anyone who might be going through the same thing and to say your not alone!! hang in there and drop me a message if you have any questions or just want to chat 😃