How to come off mirtazapine safely
Posted , 56 users are following.
Been on Mirtazapine for approx 4 months, currently 22.5mg. Also taking 40mg Seroxat. What's the best way to come off Mirtazapine? The side effects outweigh the benefits. The medical profession have just left me in limbo. They were quick to put me on to the Mirtazapine but have offered no help in coming off. The waiting list to see a physchiatrist is months. The duty doctor just told me to go from 30mg to 15mg & then come straight off them. My own doctor said that there's not much she can do other than help me with the insomnia by prescribing me a week's supply of 7.5mg Zopiclone but no more after because they're addictive. So i feel that i am well & truly in complete limbo at the moment. Due to the insomnia, they advised me to go back on 30mg but the side effects were too harsh. They then advised me to drop to 22.5mg but still the insomnia continues & side effects are harsh. I've been sleeping 4 hours per night roughly for the last 2 weeks, which is having a detrimental impact on my mental & physical health. I feel the sooner i can safely get off the awful drug the better. The longer i take it the worse the withdrawals will be. I do realise that some withdrawals are inevitable but i obviously would like to limit the severity & duration. Any help would be appreciated.
2 likes, 101 replies
danw32 tim11033
Posted
Not the one I was after but I've read it before and shines some light:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/06/dont-know-who-am-antidepressant-long-term-use?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
maria17279 tim11033
Posted
Hey. I’ve been on mirtazipine 15mg for 4 years give or take a few months. Was prescribed it due to alcoholism mainly because of my anxiety when I didn’t drink. After a lot of life choice changes, I don’t have that anxiety for a drink anymore. But I still was reliant on mirtazipine for the sleeping aid with a couple glasses of wine. I have a very good bond with my recent doctor & we both have discussed on weaning off the mirtazipine. I am not talking nonsense. You need to take half a tablet of your usual dose for at least a month. Some days you might need to take a whole one depending on your day. We all have bad days & good days. After a month or so, take half a tablet every other day. Like I said before, sometimes you might need a couple days in a row. After about 3 months of this, you will see the difference. Xx
john94307 tim11033
Posted
Hi. I have been on mirtazapine for a little over 2 weeks, 7.5 mgs. I take in conjunction with Prozac (20 mg), which I have been on for years without any problems. Initially, mirtazapine seemed to be working -- I was getting about 7 hours of sleep and my appetite had improved. I am now getting less sleep and I feel jittery, particularly in the morning. I have come to the conclusion that the side effects outweigh the benefits and would like to wean off the drug. I see everyone talking about 10% reductions, but if I have only been on the drug for a little over 2 weeks, is it safe to go from 7.5 to 3.75 and then 0 within a short period of time, e.g., 2 weeks or less?
I hate this drug. it makes me jittery and nauseous, like I've had too much coffee. I have a hard time getting out of bed and I have no get up and go. I just want to sit in my recliner all day. I am suffering greatly. Any guidance you can provide is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
cathyanne_20404 tim11033
Posted
Hi, I really didn't know who to reply to. This is my first post.
I'm on remeron 7.5 and have been for a few weeks. Suffering from nausea so I want to discontinue. Psychiatrist said to just go cold turkey and he would prescribe something else.
It is a low dose, and I haven't been on it long. I feel that I should at least cut it in half to start.
Anyone else agree? Thanks in advance. CF.
FinnInMe tim11033
Edited
I have been on Mirtazapine over 1,5yrs and most of it on 45mg.
I gained like 2st this spring (didn’t earlier cause was in very physical job), and cause I truly feel so much better and the gains of weight started to push me back down again I decided to stop.
I have been tapering but not so slowly. Started with 45->22.5mg for almost 2 weeks, then 22.5->15mg for 2 weeks, now just started 11.25mg. After couple of weeks will drop to 7.5mg, and then just stopping quietly taking only 1 every 2nd day for a week, then once in 3 days, once a week and then stop.
So far after 4weeks my withdrawals started just yesterday. Few mood swings earlier but nothing major.
Yesterday then whole day headache and towards the evening flu like symptoms.
Headache is today not that bad but feels like flu otherwise and when tried to have a nap, experienced my first ever brain-zaps. Not painful or scary cause I had read about them, but definitely prevented me for having that nap. Otherwise I sleep like a log lol.
So fingers crossed I’m soon out of it.
holly42112 FinnInMe
Posted
Hi Finn,
Keep me updated on your progress. I'm on 60mg. I am an "ultra rapid metabolizer" so it's basically 45mg for me. I plan to taper eventually so I have been prepping myself. I would love to hear about your journey though if you don't mind finding the time to post.
Xx.
john94307 FinnInMe
Posted
Personally, I think you're dropping the dose too quickly, particularly since you have been on the drug for 1.5 years at a reasonably high dose. I had brain/body zaps too, but only once I discontinued. I was on a low dose though; 7.5 mg was all my body could tolerate.
FinnInMe holly42112
Posted
FinnInMe john94307
Edited
I know I will possibly have harder withdrawal than with very slow tapering, but thinking how badly my increased weight affects my moods, this was the best option for me.
Just making the decision to stop has been a major boost.
And it’s not still going “cold turkey” even if it’s happening faster than recommended.
I will post my honest comments about my development here so others might then make their own decisions about tapering speed etc.
danw32 FinnInMe
Posted
Well that's great it you can tolerate it mate. It's taken me 2 years and 4 months to come down from 30mg. I'll be off this Monday so gunna celebrate lol. I do have chronic fatigue too and haven't worked for 2 years because of the withdrawal and the fatigue. I'm super sensitive. I couldn't cope on 30mg, thought I was going mad. Anything more than a milligram reduction over 4 weeks and felt like I'd been in a boxing ring!
Let me know how things go, the symptoms aren't pleasant but tbh I agree with you. If you can stomach the symptoms and they genuinely disappear fully it's better to be off the horrible things as soon as you can. I put on a stone and looking forward to that disappearing! I tried reducing quickly once though and was off work for 6 weeks..!
Good luck!
john94307 FinnInMe
Posted
I completely understand where you are coming from. I wanted this drug out of my body ASAP. I was only on it for a total of one month. After 2 weeks I decided it was not working for me and started tapering from my daily dose of 7.5 mg (yes it was a low dose) down to 1.875 mg over a two week period. Some people on this board talk about not reducing more than 10% at a time, but difficult to do as you can only cut up the pills so much. This drug was about the worst I have ever experienced. My body couldn't handle it. Keep us posted on your progress.
FinnInMe john94307
Posted
Ok, just lowered my dose last night from 11.25mg -> 7.5mg. After the last reported side effects (feeling the flu-symptoms etc.) I got a cold sore but actually not having a cold then at all. Those side effects vanished during 5 days. No mentionable side-effects since that. I can sleep normally but wake up around 7am, but I am pretty much a morning person anyways and it’s the amount of light that wakes me up.
Only thing I do notice that I am slightly more irritated some days, but I guess that’s part of me anyways 😂
My plan is to stay now on this dose for next 2 weeks, and then trying either cut the tiny pieces of 7.5mg to halfs again or just take 1 every second day, not decided yet.
But plan is to be completely “out of it” by September.
john94307 FinnInMe
Posted
Try to get down to 1.875 mg before completely discontinuing. I suspect you will feel withdrawal symptoms coming off drug at 3.75 mg. 1.875 corresponds to 1/8th of a 15 mg tablet. Get a pill cutter as this will be hard to do accurately otherwise. Even with a pill cutter, it's quite challenging. Once you completely discontinue, you should expect some noticeable withdrawal symptoms after 3-4 days, particularly twitching, brain/body zaps.
FinnInMe john94307
Posted
Ahh, superb (not) lol
But I honestly am not that worried. I feel just relieved to finally get off from it.
And I need my brains to work, cause returning to college 😉
john94307 FinnInMe
Posted
maltese20808 FinnInMe
Posted
hey there,
ive been reading all these posts about how hard it is to come off this drug im currently taking 37.5mg finally getting relief of anxiety but reading all this stuff has me so scared if one day I have to come off. do you think it will be as bad if you were starting another antidepressant when deciding to come off this?