Coming off mirtazapine

yayyyyyyy sounds like you're still doing well, apart from the sleep.  What about trying the Epsom salt bath before bed ~ all natural, or have you triued the Magnesium supplements before bed, they're supposed to work well, I havn't tried them myself but many have said how good they are.

 

Hi Calmer. Thanks so much for your support. It really means a lot. How are you doing? Are you still on track? You were right about the nausea being a withdrawal, whilst I was thinking I was just returning to my pre-mirt state. It was obviously a withdrawal symptom because it only lasted a coupple of days. I guess that it will startr to get worse as I get closer to the end. I do take magnesium but took one close to bedtime last night. I also had half a temazepam and slept reall well. I don't wwant to rely on the temazepam too much but I find if I don't have one and then am forced to take one in the small hours because I'm still awake, I need twice as much for it to work. I have to get up around 7 am seven days a week, so I don't ever have a lie in. I think that is part of my problem because I am always under pressure to sleep.

Please excuse my typos. My keypad is over sensitive and keeps putting in double letters.

I dropped some Epsom bath salts into my shopping cart yesterday, another little sleep helper, although tbh, by about 9 pm I'm too tired for a bath, but at least Ive got them ready, just in case.

Yes I fully understand "pressure to sleep", responsibility awaits.  You know when you've read the Say Goodnight To Insomnia a few little pieces of the jigsaw of the mindset around sleep attitude will really help you.  Especially the little voice that visits us when we wake halfway through the night around 3-4 am that says "Oh God, I'll never get back to sleep and then I'll be in a state tomorrow" - our negative thinking causes the adrenalin to kick in which in turn keeps us awake.  At times I just take 2 paracetamol and usually I get back to sleep, telling myself "so what ... one bad nights sleep isn't the end of the world" ... my CBT Therapist worked through some of the negative sleep thoughts with me, we talked strategies & he advised me to keep a few flash cards in the bedside drawer and read before bedtime if and when necessary.  And to be honest, since my "episode" last year I have been going to the Buddhist Centre and learnt good meditation, so I try to "block" these negative intrusive thoughts if I can.

If anything, with your insomnia having gone on for many years, maybe a Therapist along these lines might help for you.  Choose from a Professional list mind you, go Private if you can - a good CBT with Mindfulness Therapist will probably have a waiting list of 2 - 3 months maybe, so worth looking in advance if this might be for you.  

I would recommend looking on the B.A.B.C.P. website for a list of accredited professionals if you might be interested.

Hope your day is a good one, wishing you well x

I'm doing OK, I am down to 8.25 mg Mirt (liquid 0.55 ml) tonight so another little drop.  I sleep better at the lower dose, in fact I find it hard to stay awake once I rest on the sofa in the evening - love the sofa!!!

 

Hi Calmer and Evergreen!

Excellent advice as always, Calmer.  Evergreen, I forget it I ever mentioned tapping, AKA Emotional Freedom Techniques, which can be used for insomnia?  Do a search and you'll find lots.  I've had to do a few rounds of it before falling off again.  Another one I just learned about is acupressure points for insomnia/sleep.  There's a video on youtube so if you do a search there for it, enter "Sleep Better Insomnia Acupressure Points"

I think there is much validity to these options, including what Calmer wrote about meditation.  I have found it helpful to meditate and think about body parts, bringing awareness to each part, working you way around the body.  As you do so, you are present and NOT thinking distressing thoughts, including "I hate that I can't sleep!!!"

Oh Darling, that is horrific what your doctor has done to you!!  Never ever should psych drugs be gone off of COLD TURKEY!  Once in a great while someone will tell you they were able to successfully, no problem, but they extremely lucky and very rare.  You are in severe withdrawal, and no other drug will fix that!  Your doctor doesn't know what the heck he is doing!  You should look for another doctor!  Do you have any Zyprexa left? Stop taking the other drug and tomorrow take your last dosage of Zyprexa.  

From the drug interaction checker for Zyprexa and Compazine,  I found this:

Interactions Moderate:

Using prochlorperazine together with OLANZapine may increase side effects such as drowsiness, blurred vision, dry mouth, heat intolerance, flushing, decreased sweating, difficulty urinating, abdominal cramping, constipation, rapid heart beats, confusion, and memory problems. Side effects may be more likely to occur in the elderly or those with a debilitating condition. You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with these medications. Also avoid activities requiring mental alertness such as driving or operating hazardous machinery until you know how the medications affect you. It is important to tell your doctor about all other medications you use, including vitamins and herbs. Do not stop using any medications without first talking to your doctor.

If you have taken a Comp today, don't take Zyprexa until tomorrow and don't take the Comp tomorrow.  

You must taper off of the Zyprexa much more slowly.  For information on how to do so, I put together this post, which really pertains to all psych meds.  I would suggest you go to the support forum SA and do a search for Zyprexa to see who else on there is dealing with coming off of it.  You can create an info and get extremely knowledgeable help with how to get off. Most doctors have no idea how to get people off these drugs safely and sanely!

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/venlafaxine-withdrawal-please-help--35826?page=0#1834334

Excellent advice from Betsy here, Judy. What an incompetent doctor you have. I hope you manage to get it sorted soon. Cold turkey is pure hell for most people and can be dangerous too. PLease get back on the Zyprexa. I would take a proportion of the amount you were on, perhaps 2mg and then get stable on that before reducing again.

Thanks Betsy.  Believe it or not, I feel better today.  We'll see how I sleep tonight.  I was able to keep some food and drink down.  Maybe things are starting to look up.  I'll keep you posted.

Thanks, evergreen.  I do feel,better today.  We'll see what happens when I hit the sack tonight and get up in the morning.  I see thisDr. On Monday.  

Boy, he is going to get an earful!!

 

Good for you to stick to your plan!  If you continue to have bad sleep, you might want to postpone the next cut, just sayin'.  They say you should only cut when you feel totally stable, and I'd put sleep quality into that category :-)  I'm cheering for you, though!  I can't wait to get off this stuff!  One drug at a time, though.  You go, girl!

You're doing great Evergreen, that temptation visits us all, you're so right to stick to plan, especially after a real bad nights sleep.  My plan is double checked nowadays by my husband ~ we're in it together haha ... wish I could sleep like he can !!

7.5 is a great place to be, you've tumbled down quite quickly - long may it last !  

Wishing you well, as always 

The thing is, my sleep had totally gone on my full dose of mirt, so I don't think dropping it further can make it any worse. So me being stable on vmy dose cannot include sleep, because it doesn't help me sleep in any case, on any dose.

Thank you, Calmer. Glad your husband is being so supportive. I hope your next drop goes well for you!

I forgot, sorry!  I hope the next cut goes uneventfully!  I really encourage you to get liquid mirt if you can, or get a scale and start weighing if you aren't already.  Reason being is, I'm on the SA forum and there is a fellow on there who did a cut from 6.5 to 5.5 mg (about a 15% cut) and he got really bad WD so updosed back to 6.5 mg but has not stabilized after three months! He is total despair.   So, the low end of mirt is really tricky, and the moral of the story is that it is much better to take it painstakingly slow than to think if it goes bad you can just updose again; sometimes updosing just doesn't work.

Just food for thought.  I want all of us to successfully get off this stuff without suffering!