1. Community
  2. Mental health
  3. Sertraline

Has anybody experiance cross tapering off of Mirtazapine and going on to Sertraline?

Posted , 11 users are following.

lisa72345
lisa72345

Hi All, Im new to this site and looking for anyone that has experienced cross tapering from Mirtazapine to Sertraline? I have been on Mirtazapine for nearly 3 years now, tried to come off a couple of times unsuccesfully. All in all it is a good med but it does just make you feel so tired all the time and I think evrybodies bug bear is the weight gain. I would like to try something else as this was the first med I was given due to the insomnia I was suffering at the time. I have had to except that I will be on meds long term and my doc said I could try Sertraline. I am a bit worried about taking the 2 together. She said drop to 15mg of Mirtazapine for 2 weeks then add in 50mg of the Sertraline for 2 weeks then going up to 100mg in the 3rd week. Still continuing with 15 mg of Mirtazapine and then when I feel ready to cut the mirtazapine down again. Be good to hear from anybody that has managed this succesfully and what your experiances was on the cross taper.

Many Thanks

1 like, 36 replies

36 Replies

Prev
  • danjones453
    danjones453 lisa72345

    Posted

    How did you two find it in the long term? I have been on mirtazapine for 3 months and it was okay for me in terms of anxiety but weight gain and general groggyness was to much so just been given sertraline. Im starting to cross taper with them now and am hoping it wont set me back to much! And i hope the weight gain will also stop! 
    • lisa72345
      lisa72345 danjones453

      Posted

      Hi, after to much deliberation and chats with the doc I decided to cross taper on citalopram, I'm 3 months in on 20mg cit and 15mg mirt and never felt better! I have lost 11lbs in weight, I have bags of energy and not sleeping for 10 hours a night and just that general feeling of tiredness has gone. I feel like a new person. I have agreed with the doc to wean off mirt completely after 6 months, and as it's taken 3 years for me to finally feel so good I do not want to jeopardise this and remove mirt completely to early on. I believe sertraline is very similar to citalopram. You willbe fine, I had a few days with heightened anxiety but as each day has gone on I feel better and better. Good luck with the taper it can be done smilesmile
    • danjones453
      danjones453 lisa72345

      Posted

      Thanks for the reply! Did you find you lost weight as a result of lowering your dose of mirtazapine ? And i expect some initial side effects from sertraline but il stick with it! Its a shame cos mirtazapine seemed to stabalise my mood however the weight gain just made me feel worse! 
    • lisa72345
      lisa72345 danjones453

      Posted

      I didn't lose any weight with just lowering mirtazapine alone. It's def the combination of starting the new med. My eating habits have returned to normal and I actually feel full after each meal and don't crave the sugar so much. I might add with all the energy I have I have been going to the gym, 3-4 times a week which has helped. I think I will be back to my old weight soon, just another half a stone to go. The mirtazapine is a good med but I think the weight gain for some out weighs the benefits and I always didn't quite feel my usual energetic self where as now am back to happy, smiley, energised and carrying a bit less weight. I feel like the future is bright. Tc
    • kay20280
      kay20280 danjones453

      Posted

      Hi Dan- wondering how the transition went for you? if you're still following this conversation...
  • Rachelevator
    Rachelevator lisa72345

    Posted

    I'm on my 3rd day. I was told to go from my usual 60mg of mirtz to 30mg for a week and then 15 for a week and then done. And was told to start taking the 50mg of the zoloft straight away. So my body is getting withdrawal symptoms from the mirtz and getting used to the zoloft at the same time. I feel REALLY WEIRD. Like bizarrely spacey. I slept for like 12 hours last night because low doses of remeron make you more sleepy than high doses do. I'm sitting on my bed looking for answers now to see if anyone else experienced this because i feel strange af. I feel anxious and spaced out and like I don't know what to do with myself. I also went from eating like a teenage boy to not seeing any foods as appetizing at all. I gained 20 pounds on the remeron and weighed the most i've ever weighed (i'm used to being thin) so that was not cool. It hurt my self confidence to gain that much weight even though it was kind of nice to have bigger boobs but anyway... now ive lost 4 pounds in 3 days. I had to force myself to eat today because i realized that i hadn't in like 5 hours but there was no hunger feelings maybe a slight feeling of emptyness but the thought of food was just unappealing. The mirtz made me love food way too much, now it's off putting. I feel like i have so much energy bottled in my chest but i'm too afraid to use it. Kind of paralyzed by energy or something. I'm really in my head. It's like if someone said my name right now they would be far away because I'm so far in my head. So i guess I feel not as present in my own body? Like I said I feel STRANGE. I'm really hoping the Zoloft works for me because it really helped my brother out, i told my psychiatrist that and he said that we are genetically similar so that is a good sign. But as of right now i feel sooooo weird. I wish i weren't alone right now i'm so far in my head. It'll be alright though i just have to make myself move and stopped freaking out on the internet on a year old post that nobody cares about anymore.
    • kay20280
      kay20280 Rachelevator

      Posted

      Hi Rachelevator- How are you doing?  I hope things are better. Trying to face my fears and taper from 45mg Mirtz and start zoloft. Tried going off 15mg Mirtz but had a terrible time - major paranoia. The mirtz isn't helpi my anxiety, been on it for about 9 months, gained 12+ pounds, tired and need to make a change.  A friend with somewhat similar anxiety symptoms recommneded zoloft.  Trying to decide if I should go and ask my primary doctor about zoloft and ask to switch.  just want to know what it's like before i do it.  are you feeling better? 
    • MarkHollywood
      MarkHollywood Rachelevator

      Posted

      just interested in how this worked out for you. i am in a similiar situation but with Lexapro.
    • CherrySweet
      CherrySweet MarkHollywood

      Posted

      Just interested in how you managed the switch from mirtz to Lexapro. I'm tapering down am on 15mg mirtz every other night, then having a few days of nothing then starting 10mg Lexapro. Did you switch successfully? did the Lexapro help? Any answer appreciated - thanks

    • gina01020
      gina01020 MarkHollywood

      Posted

      Hi Mark,

      How did you go?

      I was changed from 30mg must to 20mg lexapro overnight. No tapering.

      It has been the worst thing I've ever gone through.

      Just coming up to a year on the swap and still having problems.

      Stomach pain and still a groggy feeling. Avant remember anything from one minute to the next..it has been wonderful for my anxiety and worrying but not good for my job.

      I am only on 7.5mg of lexapro as if I go up higher my head feels terrible

      The doc said this isn't a medicating dose...insomnia/constipation terrible too but now this stomach pain..i had valdoxam added a few months back to help with sleep and perhaps it's this that's stored my stomach up...i can't get into see a psych for another month yet to see what he thinks.

      Hope your taper went well and I'll be insisting on it next time I can tell you.

      G

  • MarkHollywood
    MarkHollywood lisa72345

    Posted

    i'm currently tapering off Mirtz and onto Lexapro. very interested in how you're doing. i am on week 3 of 5mg Lexapro and 23.5mg of Mirtz (down from 30mg)

  • carmine80
    carmine80 lisa72345

    Posted

    Hello,

    I'm tapering from 45mg mirt to zoloft. First 7 days I'm on 30mg mirt and 50 zoloft. Extreme fatigue and drowsiness during the day. Any advice? I'm on day 5. At day 8 I go to 15 mirt. And 100 zoloft.

  • ADPanicker
    ADPanicker lisa72345

    Posted

    Hi

    I know these posts are quite old but really interested in how it's all gone

    I fully collapsed 4 weeks ago with anxiety and depression

    It had been coming for sometime but I ignored it

    Anyway I went on to sertraline 50mg and was really struggling still. Although in the last week I was getting some better days. 4 days ago I add 15mg of mertazapine and fantastically for 2 nights. But now the insomnia is back

    At the moment I am on both. But don't want to stay on mertazapine if going to pile on the weight and be locked into the night time requirement Any more experience of dropping back to sertraline/Zoloft

    I can see so many different experiences on both drugs. Feel like you just have to trial and error

Back to top
Prev

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.