For those who successfully stopped Mirtazapine, how long until the insomnia went away?
Posted , 9 users are following.
Greetings everyone,
I had been taking Mirtazapine ever since 6 years ago on a 15mg dose. Recently (4 weeks ago) I stopped after tapering down to 3.75mg. The first week everything went really well, no issues whatsoever. After the 10th day the tipical withdrawal issues started to crop up (slight nausea, itching in different extremities, flu-like symptoms, and of course... the insomnia).
The most difficult symptom to deal with for me right now is the insomnia. There are days where I sleep 2.5 hours which is maddening. There are other days where thankfully, I get to sleep 6 hours or so.
For those who have withdrawn from remeron/mirtazapine has the insomnia subdued? And if so, how long did it take and what dose where you at before quitting?
Thanks!
0 likes, 23 replies
david28533 noctua66895
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noctua66895 david28533
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I think you nailed it there, it definitely has your mind spinning thinking all sorts of things. Personally I am just worried my brain is completely screwed up now when it comes to sleep or histamine management. Reading about people who overcame the withdrawals and had their sleep improve is encouraging though!
Also I've seen that in general it seems like for a lot of people it takes 3-6 months which is just so, so very long. Having said that, there are not many options here, I have to withdraw from Mirtazapine eventually... may as well do it right now.
Lastly, was it a gradual improvement of sleep or did it happen all of a sudden? Plus, if you don't mind me asking, how much were you sleeping when the insomnia began and how much are you sleeping now?
Thanks a bunch!
London_ridge noctua66895
Posted
The sleeping will come back although I'm sure it feels like forever
There are some good you tube videos for helping sleep.
It sounds like you're doing really good. Glad to hear it as it can be worse.
If you've gotten a few six hours I think you are well on your way to 8
Best wishes it's rough but I'm glad you are on the road to recovery
noctua66895 London_ridge
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I've read some of your posts here and they have been quite helpful! Yes, the 6 hour sleep days have been encouraging. I am taking 300mcg melatonin and 500mg of valerian which seem to help. Today I slept 2.5 hours which just sent me on tilt and finally made me make an account here. =p I think, or rather, I assume it may have to do with me eating a lot of histamine inducing meals yesterday (lots of lime and tomatoes in yesterday's food).
I really hope you are right and these 2.5 hour sleep days are just small relapses. I am also grateful the itching, nausea and dizziness have not been too strong. It is just this insomnia that's making me quite upset.
Thanks for your encouragement!
esther07884 noctua66895
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ann55375 London_ridge
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do i stick this out or go back up, or will dr put me on something else i cant tolerate.
Did mirtaz help your symptoms before you stopped.
London_ridge noctua66895
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yes be careful with the histamine inducing foods. Remember mirt has a very heavy histamine block. Once this block is removed ( I assume ) histamines are are felt like an invasion as the body has not seen them in so long.
sounds like the melatonin is helping you some and that's great.
I think the key here is that when you do have a set back like the 2.5 night that it almost becomes a mantra of ...." Oh no im back to ground zero"
we can't separate the mind from the body, therefore we have to be careful of our thoughts and trick the mind into non anxiety.
Some of the best ways I've found are meditation tapes or even sleep hypnosis videos. All on you tube for free.
i like Eckart Tolle, some people don't like him. It's all about what you resonate with. Find that sweet spot. I had a tendency to play them all night as some are 8 hours long. they certainly reach the subconscious.
so do try some of these videos enough of them to choose from.
Im a believer in the collective unconscious , which only means to me that we are picking up not only on our own stress but the stress of others.
Many people are struggling with sleep these days, so it's not just a personal problem.
anti histamines can help but for some people are not compatible with them hence maybe why they didn't mesh well with Mirt.
I can take them on occasion and they seem helpful.
The videos by far have helped the most and are not addictive!
Find the right one and enjoy your sleep. There will be bumps in the road but the main thing is don't loose,your footing on those nights. Treat the symptoms and know there is an end to this drama of mirt.
Wishing you the best
esther07884 London_ridge
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London_ridge noctua66895
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you will have some good nights and some still not so good. It's two steps forward and one back it seems
you still gain one step and that's a real good thing
georg85519 noctua66895
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I am about 5 weeks off Mirt. In week 2 and 3 sleep was really bad with not more than 2-3 hours sleep. I took trazodone for 4 days and slepp improved to 5 hours, but I didn't like side effects. Then I started to use holy basil and tryptophane and sleep after week 4 improved to 3.5 to 5.5 hours uninterrrupted sleep. I want to mention that the problem besides the limited uniterrupted sleep was the fact that after I woke up no more sleep was possible. This problem improved slightly after entering week 5.
There is a lot of information about sleep aid on the net. What helped me was information from Julian Ross' book Mood Cure. I also use ALPHA STIM device which calms you down nicely. Still getting hot flashes and dry mouth when I wake up but there is a lsight improvement as time goes on.
Hope that helps
esther07884 georg85519
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ann55375 georg85519
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susansasha noctua66895
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dave54337 noctua66895
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noctua66895 dave54337
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Happy to report back. I have really good news. Let me first preface the following by saying this is not medical advice in any way. I am just sharing my experience and what helped me (tremendously).
As you may remember I was having constant 2.5-4 hour sleep nights with a couple of fragmented 5-6 hour nights scattered around. It was pretty horrible.
Forward to today (8-10 days later) and I am having lots of 6.5-8 hour sleep nights. The main factor for me has been my diet which to this day is still blowing my mind. I had no idea this could make such a big difference for me.
The days that I follow a low (strict) histamine intolerance diet I am sleeping 6.5-8 hours. My progress has been the following:
Day1: Followed the diet very well: slept 6 hours uninterrupted + 1:30 extra
Day2: Followed the diet very well: slept 7 hours uninterrupted + 1 extra
Day3: Got cocky, ate a lot of lime popsicles and tuna: 4 hours of sleep, couldn't get back to sleep at all.
Day4: Followed the diet: slept 6.5 hours uninterrupted.
Day5: Followed the diet: slept 7 hours uninterrupted.
Day6: Got cocky again... This time I paid dearly. I ate lime popsicles again (3 of them) and 3 big chunks of chocolate: I slept 2 hours total and couldn't get back to sleep AT ALL.
Day7: Followed the diet: 7 hours of sleep total
Day8: Followed the diet: 7+1 hours of sleep.
Day9: Followed the diet: 6.5 hours of sleep with 2 wakeups in the middle of the night + 1 hour.
So, while this may be something unique to me, it has been working quite, quite well.
What I am doing is the following:
1.- The most important in my experience: A -very low- histamine diet. This means no tomatoes, citric fruits, etc. I found a massive list of foods in PDF format that shows the histamine levels of a lot of foods. I am using that as a guide for the most part. This is what has made the most difference for me so far.
2.- Extras:
Vitamin B complex
Vitamin C
Valerian
Melatonin 12 hours before the hour I want to wake up at.
Again this is not medical advice, I am just sharing my experience.
The only thing that worries me at this point is whether or not my body will eventually adapt to foods that contain histamine again. Before Mirtazapine I did not have these intolerances at all.
dave54337 noctua66895
Posted
I had a bit of a wobbler yesterday, with the stress of starting a new job and career next week (I'm in between jobs at the moment). I know this probably isn't the best time but I want to start the new job with a clear mind and positive outlook - a completely new me
Anyway enough about me. Again thanks for sharing and a prosperous future.