any advice please!

Posted , 6 users are following.

Ok so after starting 15mg mirt back in Nov then up to 22.5 from end of Jan I had to go back down to 15mg 2 weeks ago. The drug was a lifesaver for my depression I was at the lowest I could go after my mum died and had stopped eating for 3 weeks . But now the side effects of this drug are far far outweighing the benifits ..symptoms are extreme dizziness almost like I'm drunk for most of the day only going when it's time to take another! Blurred vision stomach pain extreme gas, bladder problems back and leg pain I could go on and on. I now have a trapped nerve in my neck which has crippled me (not down to mirt but a recurring problem after a head injury in my 20s) and because I'm on mirt I can't really take any other drug on top to help the pain due to being sensitive to almost every antidepressant they tried! The doc has now said she want to take me off the mirt to see if that's the cause of the symptoms and has told me that I have to take one night then miss one night for the next 2 weeks. This scares the hell out of me as surely this is messing around too much with this. I just want off this drug now as I have no quality of life just pain and dizziness and constant nausea

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6 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi Kelly I started mirt in Nov too 15mg then upto 30mg 2weeks later.. I had bad side effects too ..my hips would hurt really bad if I walked anywhere upsetting my sleep. My carf muscle kept feeling it snapped if I made a sudden move was agony ..plus gain weight ..eye sight.. I came off after 4 months completely no tapering..I had side effects for a week of a night around the time I took it every night. I was in bed so I coped ok .. just sweats & feeling a bit off it. Like you do when taking new meds.. I hope your sorted ASAP ..I hate mirt . X
  • Posted

    I am now weaning off, I went from 15 mg to 11.25 for 10 days then 7.5. I'm now on my fifth night of that. I wouldn't do every other night
  • Posted

    You've had a tough time and I feel for you. My wife never adjusted to this drug. I've weened her down. against my doctor's wishes. She responded well to the reduction. Now the doc told me told me to go ahead and take her off, admitting I was right. He's a good doctor with a strong ego. Dig? We came down from 30 to 15 for 6 weeks - down to 7.5 for 2wks, down to 3.7 for two weeks. The GP doc told me yesterday to go 3.75 every other day for a week and step off. I may wait here a little longer before trying it.

    This drug should not be second guessed.

    He gave her hydroxyzine to sleep. She's had a couple tough days last week. (Light Insomnia)

    She sleeps more than she knows. Her biological clock is somewhat out of synch. Her days and nights have been turned upside down -- but I'm letting her roll with it because I can. I work from home.She's been on Mirt for 6 months now. Her appetite is stable at the lower level. We're getting the feeding tube out soon, so we've made some strides. We're extremely fortunate. He offered Valium, but she doesn't handle those well -- I do - haha -- but she doesn't. Those would kill her motivation to excercise. That's something that may be robbing you from getting more movement and excercise, with the Mirt.

    My wife doesn't handle drugs well ... they knock her out, side effects galore. She handles drugs like a catholic middle school girl. (Lightweight)

    I'm no doctor but it sounds like it could've beneficial for you to jump off.

    I would move a little slower, double those doctor's ' orders and get off. But be strong and be ready for a ride. I know you can do this, this is walk in the park from what you've been through, that's what I tell my wife after her stroke. Worrying only hinders your oerfirmance. But we all have our moments. Your gonna be OK. I can tell by your writings you have a good mind and will kick ass in the future.

    Good luck, Kelly,

    • Posted

      Thank you so much for your input and it sounds like you've had a very tough time. I'm a terrible lightweight to drugs as well seem unable to take anything but I think because I had been signed off work when I was initially started on mirt it didn't seem to matter if or rather didn't notice effects as much and being in such a very very dark place I really had to try I'd lost so much weight and wasn't eating. They did there job and took me out of the dark place and helped me function better I was very aware of the drowsiness they caused and this wasn't a problem till I returned to work beginning of the year but I really have struggled to get through each working day. I only 4 hours. Day but I'm on my feet the whole time and it's tough. I have such a young doctor and I think her "you look so much better you can come off anti depressants" attitude is not really the best. I'm a believer in you shouldn't really mess with these drugs that effect serotonin levels. I just feel argggggghhhhhh it's a drug they seem so quick to dish out but don't understand the effect it has on people's life or how hard it is to come off. I wish you and you're wife all the very best kind regards kelly
  • Posted

    Kelly, how are you feeling now with the latest drop?  Because these drugs cause our nervous system to remodel, to regain homeostasis with the drug built into the picture, it really is best to allow three to four weeks in between cuts.  This allows the system to respond and adjust to the cut, followed by a period of stability before challenging it again with another cut.  Never do a cut when you are feeling withdrawal symptoms - listen to your body!

    Alternating doses is like going cold turkey one day and going back to full dose the next.  How is the nervous system supposed to deal with that?!!!  It is much better to keep the dose consistent.  See Evergreen's thread on how she made a homemade liquid Mirt and did a slide down using a dosing syringe.  She went faster than I would recommend, again, holding after each cut at least three weeks.  Keep notes on how you are feeling with dates of when you made the cut, the dosage, and when any withdrawal symptoms arise, and when they go away.  This will give you an idea of what your tapering schedule should look like.  You should have a full week of stability before making a cut

    You have made big jumps so far.  Each cut is based on the previous dose as far as the nervous system is concerned, so a jump from 15 to 7.5 is a 50% cut, and to 12.5 is a 25% cut.  As you go below 15, cuts have a bigger effect so it is important to break things down even lower.  With a liquid I wouldn't cut more than 15%, 20% tops!  If you feel extreme withdrawal symptoms after a cut, go back to the previous dose the next day and stay there until stabilized, then resume with a smaller cut.

  • Posted

    Hi sorry for late reply

    Well there was no way I could cope with the miss one day take one day approach I awoke a few nights ago at 3 am with severe anxiety attack horrendous my whole body pins and needles and thought I was psychotic! And the nausea is awful. I am now cutting a tiny bit off the 15mg tablet a night can anyone tell me how long to do this for? My ibs is worse than ever and neck pain and several the symptoms are bad the doctor is doing fasting tests tomoro to check nothing else going on but I had ll these symptoms for years with no results.my stomach is constantly rumbling and I mean all the time and nausea is this the mirt? I can't afford to be off work but everyday is a struggle

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