Back to problems after stopping mirtazapine

Yes, I think I will do that. Thanks.

Thanks, Kathy. I used to be like this before mirt, but this was just a bit worse.

You mean not being able to sleep?  That's about the only good thing of Mirt letting me sleep.  I sent you a couple of Private messages as well about what I have been going thru.  I tired too quickly to tapered and suffered for it.  Now holding at 15mg for 2 weeks.

Yes, not being able to sleep and also not having much of an appetite.

That's good to hear, peace has returned  

I think when we can eat we can sleep and vise versa.

Eat too much, drank too much and now ... ugh  lol  x

Yes, we have to get it just right,lol. Hope you feel more human again soon x

Glad to hear you are feeling better Evergreen.

Thanks, Staz.

Keep us informed how you get on. We're rooting for you to get through after all your struggles. Pixie xx

Thanks, Pixie. I am also very mentally slow as though I'm getting a migraine and very very stressed. I have an awful feeling I am going back to how I was before mirt. I really don't think it's WD. It's 3 months since I was on even 3.75mg of mirt and 6 weeks completely off,  and I've been fine until 2 weeks ago. 

Sorry to read of your suffering Evergreen.  You seem to be having waves of one thing and then another.  My friend Teresa has symptoms very similar to yours after tapering, her last tablet was 1st Jan ... you do sound similar ~ that may actually be better news than it being your kidneys ... keep a journal so you can see the picture clearly.

I am reading Dr Glenmullen atm, he says that there is only one way to test if it is WD and that is to take a tablet !!  Not that I think you want to do that, even the 0.1 mg that you left at, but there it is.  There is a checklist of wd symptoms, maybe have a look, i'll put the link below, if it gets removed i'll pm you.

I hope it passes quickly, you may find the symptoms are here one day gone the next, if indeed it is wd.  I suppose only time will tell.

Thinking of you xx

 

Yep removed, i'll in box you x

You are in my thoughts Evergreen. Wishing you all the best.

Thanks, Calmer. I really was a mess before going on mirt. I was like this but worse. I honestly think it's the last of the mirt leaving my system and this is how I am, not WD as such. Mirtazapine may have a half llife of around 30 hours, but it stays in your tissues for a lot longer. I know I could take a mirt tablet and my appetite would return, and I'd feel less stressed, but that is just what mirt does. It healed me in so many ways but it was also very bad for me in so many ways. It is used for people who are not depressed but have eating disorders, or to control migraines, allergies and insomnia. I'm not going to take any more ADs.

 

Thanks, Staz. I don't want to put people off withdrawing from mirt. I just think that unfortunately, I am still not well. In a way you could say it's WD but only because the mirt was sheltering me and now it's not. What I am experiencing is not WD, just a removal of a drug that was helping me, like you can take an asprin for a headache, but without it you have a splitting headache.If you see what I mean.

How are you Evergreen?

This could all be part of your recovery where your brain is trying to recover some sort of equilibrium after 4 years of mirt. Some describe this effect as a wave then it subsides and then may return again for a short spell but decreasing in intensity.

Good luck.

x

 

Thanks Staz. I felt so ill this morning I went to the GPs and they got me in to see a doctor straight away. He sent me straight for blood tests (11 of them). Said the fact that I was felling very well for several weeks after stopping the mirtazapine means that it isn't WD. My symptoms are indicative of a worstening of my kidney disease but hopefully not that. Doing wide range of tests to rule things out. I guess if othing comes up then it may be my depression returning, but it's the not eating and weakness which is what is setting me, not the other way around.

How are you doing right now?

This website keeps ommiting keystrokes, that should read upsetting, not setting.

Hi Evergreen,

I think you have given the mirt a good spanking tbh and well done for going straight to your GP. Could it be the impact mirt has had on your blood cells. I think you told me it can affect them. That then would fit with the weakness and not eating. It really doesn't sound like depression returning to me.

Hopefully the tests will come back quickly and your problem will be easily resolved.

I'm doing ok thanks. I've been at 3.75mg for the last 3 days and tbh I don't feel any different as to when I was on 30mg. If anything I feel a bit brighter in mood although I've had a bit of insomnia the last few nights. I'm going to stay at 3.75 for a week now and see what happens.

x

Yes, definitely stay on the 3.75 for at least a week. I found the WD symptoms hit around day 4 - 5, so make you're stable before dropping further. I would also make smaller cuts before coming off completely.

Hi evergreen ♥

So sorry that your having a dreadful time right now.

I hope your blood test come put fine, importantly I hope you start feeling better soon. It's so hard when you get malnourished as the weakness becomes crippling.

are you managing a little something?

Thinking of you ♥♥

God bless xx

Thinking of you Evergreen, see if you can force a smoothie down, rusk, anything, it may help you feel settled.  Do you have nausea?  Or is nausea your original symptom also ... quite difficult to know what is new and what is old.  

Keep trying to eat, even dry biscuits, banana, oat biscuits, anything. And anti nausea, some are saying "Zofran" is best ... prescription I think.

I hope this passes for you, you were doing so well, and I hate to hear you're suffering so badly.  Fingers crossed, sending hugs xx

Hi calmer ♥

How are you doing? Are you still tapering? If so I really hope it's going smoothly for you xx

god bless ♥

Thank you Lorraine and Calmer for your continued and much valued support. I am still feeling rough. It's wierd, I am not really nauseous, just have a complete absence of appetite. Every morsel has to be forced down. I am easily able to eat sweets though. Foods I used to really enjoy such as smoked salmon and salads don't appeal to me. I used to be able to eat a large amount of chips, but now I only eat a third of what I did. I did enjoy my evening meal last night. I made a pan fried tuna steak in a pepper sauce, side salad and handful of chips. I seem to be able to eat my evening meals without much trouble, but the rest of the day is very hard. At least I didn't lose weight today. It is very similar to what I was like before mirt, but also different. I used to have proper nausea for over half the day. This is not nausea at all, just lack of appetite.

Hi everyone

Well Evergreen, if youu could find something youu can eat each night thats a start, but the amount of phsychical work you do you could do with a few more calories.  Rice pudding I was always advised to eat when I used to suffer with sickness.  Ugh ...  I hope you feel well soon    not nice at all byt he sounds of it.

Hi Lorraine, yes I'm well, in a bit of a tizz because I have to go out 2 nights on the trot, not necessarily what I want, but have to.  I'm getting like Evergreen, anti social in older age, got to sit and talk to strangers tonight and make an effort ... thought I'd passed that stage years ago.

Still wd slowly, had some good days then 2 fatigued days, had a nap this safto so feel a little better.  So I'd say I had a wobble these last 2 weeks, I did a 7% taper for 10 days then an 8% taper - waiting for wellness now before tackling another.  But pretty confident, just about OK sleep wise at 4.8 mg ... praying and fingers crossed.

Best wishes  xx

 

Hi calmer

it sounds like you are doing a good taper. the thought of going out can be worse than actually doing it. I have spent practically a year in my room! Just recently I have pushed myself out! I'm trying the mind over matter approach! I guess I will try any and everything not to lose another year! I hope your socialising turns out to be a success and enjoyable ♥♥♥

You're doing well with the sleeping, Calmer. Hopefully that bodes well for when you come off completely, fingers crossed. I'm feeling ever so slightly better today, but daren't get my hopes up because it happened last week too. I put a thread on the depression forum asking if anyone had experienced delayed WD. I have found lots of instances where people have prolonged WD but none where someone goes 4 or 5 weeks feeling at and then gets WD. But the symptoms are anorexia, weight loss, and restless legs, then anxiety because I am feeling overwhelmed by my work load. They are the same symptoms as for kidney disease but also for AD WD. I will have to see what my bloods say, I suppose.

Hi Staz & Lorraine

Hows it going for you both?  Staz are you still at 3.75 ?  We're similar although I'm just a little more at 4.6 mg ... using the liquid.  I'm still doing a very slow taper which started out with little drops of 5% every 2 weeks, recently I got a little braver (!!) or foolish and doing a 7%/8% and believe it or not I have felt the difference, the main difference being feeling low.  Sleep OK (touching wood) so far, have bought myself some Phenergen for my Mirt' 1st Aif shelf (its growing) just in case.  Most people get on well with Phenergen (to aid sleep) although I know Evergreen had a bad reaction to it which I havn't heard of before.

So Staz what is your plan from 3.75?  Will you be switching to making a liquid and tapering very slowly right down to 0.1 mg !  That's my plan, daren't work out how long that will take me, must remain positive above everything else !!

Lorraine, can you not go outside now?  Are you UK?   I am reading your posts where you say you shut yourself away, but are you struggling with agrophobia, although that is only the umbrella term, or is it because of the fatigue?  You've struggled with Mirt' doses for quite a while ... are you staying on Mirt now?  Nothing wrong with that, it's been good for me, apart from the weight gain, and I suppose the safety net I live in.