Mertazipine help

Posted , 9 users are following.

Hi everyone I have been wondering n mirt for just over 2 years with 3 failed attempts at getting off then with horrible side effects I'm on 30mg but they make me ill and numb I'm not who I used to be and need a way out?? I have tried the halfing then quartering this is to much strain on me system so I tried 30 to 22.5 still no joy 😞So I tried 30 then 15 in alternative nights still bam massive withdrawal my anxiety had been through the roof for over a year now and I was put on 3 beater blockers per day can somebody's day explain the dosage to me at a 10%taper so I can try this please this drug has made me so much ch worse with my depression and anxiety I just want my life back 🙂

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34 Replies

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  • Posted

    Hi,I can totally sympathise with you.I am very sensitive to mirt and am slowly tapering -very slowly.10% is way too big.so is 5% infact I am doing 2% at the moment.You need to go to GP and get liquid mirt (i dont know where you are  but  i am in uk)I was on 15mg and have been tapering since last may.I am now on just over 7.5mg.It is expensive and a bottle only lasts 6 wks officially.My GP is good and never queries my repeat scripts,thank god.I am desperate to get off mirt as I am ill because of it half the time-6 days good.10 days awful.3 days good.5days awful etc etc.But I am looking ahead next year when i will be off it.It saved my life for which I am grateful
    • Posted

      Hi sorry to hear you were finding things hard also but well done for getting this far yes I'm from uk but my GP is not very good but will give it another go good luck for getting off them x

    • Posted

      How are you feeling at 7.5 mg Plainden?  Do you push the bottle out any longer?  I used to go 8 weeks with mine (off Mirt now) and was OK ... didn't notice any difference.  

      So lucky to get repeated prescriptions for liquid Mirt, nice one smile  

    • Posted

      Hi I pushed it an extra 2 wks once but generally only do 1 xtra wk now.
  • Posted

    I started mirtazapine(7.5mg), Escitalopram(10mg), Klonopin(0.5 mg) in May 2015. Last year I successfully tapered off Escitalopram &Klonopin without any withdrawal effect. On 18th Jan this year I tapered my mirtazapine dose from 7.5mg to 3.75mg and life has been a hell since 24th Jan. My GP suggested to take 11 mg Mirtazapine but it didn't help me either. Unable to sleep, can't concentrate at office and the worst part is that I am going to USA for my higher studies this fall but with my current situation I am planning to postpone my studies by 1 year. Right now I am sitting in office but instead of working I am sharing my  story over here :P

    • Posted

      Your doc was so wrong to tell you to increase the dose beyond the original dose whilst you were feeling instability from the taper ... makes me so angry, bless you.

      It is always best to taper more slowly than the 50% drop that you did, very very few can do a fast taper I think.  

      So are you saying:

      you dropped 7.5 to 3.75 18.1.17

      &? you increased to 11mg since 24.1.17 and how di you get to 11 mg ??

      When are you supposed to go to USA??

      Not all is lost, at least you are the lower dose - how are the symptoms affecting you??

      Sorry for all the questions, just trying to help x

    • Posted

      I tapered from 7.5 mg to 3.75 by breaking the tablet into half. I started feeling brain zaps after 3 days after and I could not sleep on 26th Jan. From 27th Jan I started taking 1.5 tablet (7.5mg+3.75mg) and I am exercising daily in the night but there is no improvement in my sleep. Lack of sleep affected my performance in office which increased my anxiety and I am sleeping for 3-4 hours daily.

      Now after a month my doctor is asking me to reduce my dose to 7.5 mg but I want to get stable at 11 mg and then start tapering.

      I plan to move to USA in August but I want to make myself medication free before moving there 

    • Posted

      Just to rule it out - when did you finish the Escitalopram & Klonopin last year?  And how did you taper those?  Couldn't be discontinuation from those also could it?

      Yes I can understand why your doc' wants you to reduce to 7.5, that's not a bad idea seeming though you were OK on that dose before, but now your CNS is affected from upping and downing the Mirt its not quite that simple really.  

      You might have to play it by ear, see if you stabilise on 11.25 mg, how long to give it?  4-6 weeks (from when you started on 27.1.17) ??    If no change maybe think about making a liquid with the tablets (or get Mirt' Sol Tabs from your doctor - these are easier to make a liquid with).  Making a liquid simplifies being able to taper more slowly, trial a 5% drop every 2 weeks to get you back to 7.5 ... ?  my thoughts anyway.  

      Read about making a liquid, click on my name and follow the links under my status.

      Hope this helps.

    • Posted

      I stopped taking Klonopin last year in June(0.5 to 0.25 for a month and stopped), I tapered Escitalopram from 10 to 5 mg in Jan 2016 and stayed on it for  6-7 months and then 2.5 mg for a month, then 2.5 mg on alternate days for 20 days, 2.5 mg every three days for 15 days) and I completely stopped taking it in September 2016. My main problem is sleep and yesterday I could not sleep for even a single minute, I was lying in my bed for straight 9 hours. 

      Thanks for the liquid medication advice. Will ask my doctor about this technique. Looks promising. 

    • Posted

      Good, that rules the other 2 drugs out.

      Yes, insomnia has to be the worst symptom with the Mirt' mess that is caused when the CNS becomes unstable, its very hard isn't it.  No sleep at all ... maybe start a new post on here ask others what can be taken 'whilst on mirt' some meds should be avoided but are ok to take once off - if that is, you have trouble sleeping once off.

      I think you probably know about sleep hygiene, ie no pc's, tablets, e-readers that light up.  No exercise 2 hours before bed, and not in the middle of the night etc etc ... skip caffeine all together whilst tapering, and chocolate ugh !! ... 

       

    • Posted

      I was never the patient of depression. I was suffering from head pressure after my sinusitis surgery which started affecting my sleep. But still I was sleeping for 6 hours. When all the tests came back normal a neurologist prescribed me these pills. I had no idea that I was taking anti depressants.I was happy that my sleep improved as well the head pressure. First failed attempt in 2015 after I finished my last dose( escitalopram) and coudn't sleep for a month. After a month I went back on AD pills and I still have 11.25 mg to taper. I am just praying to get back my life at the same dose and then I will taper super slowly. Thank you for such a good advice. I wish I should have read these posts earlier regarding the liquid tablet taper.

  • Posted

    Hi all just an update I'm still taking 26.75 of mirt and starting to get a few head zaps and feeling that horrible hangover effect but going to stick at it if I can I want to be free of this horrible drug

    • Posted

      Ahhhh that's a shame, you might find the symptoms pass after 6-7 days, sometimes a little longer.  I had brain zaps during my taper very occasionally.  Are you planning to stay at this dose now for say 3 weeks, give your CNS time to catch up?  

      Hope it gets better.  

    • Posted

      Hi calmer yes 3 weeks then drop a little more what doesn't kill you makes you stronger as they say 🙂

    • Posted

      see how you feel in 3 weeks, listen to your body .... this is your successful taper now  smile  

      Glad you have good humour, best wishes to you.

    • Posted

      Hi calmer any advice for the massive anxiety increase on mornings I take 10mg propanalol 3 times a day but when I first wake up my heart races??
    • Posted

      Is the anxiety just "first thing in the moning" ???  

      You know you ought to speak to your doctor to see if you can increase the propanalol, and double check for any interactions with the Mirt also.

      The drop you did was 11% (30 to 26.75 mg).  Whatever you do don't go back up now, it will confise your CNS - I would ride it out until you stabilise, then ha ve a little rest.  I would make your next drop a 5% - so from 26.75 mg less 5% would be 25.4 so round it up not down (to 25.5 mg).

      If you are unsure always seek advice from your doctor, not that they know much about discontinuiation and WD symptoms, but this is what we have to do, apparently !!

       

    • Posted

      Hi thanks for the reply yes it's manly when I first get up on a morning my heart rate is over 100 the gp told me to double up on my beta blockers but i don't want to have to rely on tablets and be dependent on them like the mirtazipine!! I am on day 11 of 11% drop I can't get liquid so it's quite difficult getting the right dose splitting my 30mg tablets I did buy some scales but they don't measure in mg that's why I reduced by this amount x

    • Posted

      You would benefit from making a liquid so that you can do smaller cuts; it is easier on the CNS and gives you the time to recover.  

      Day 11, I bet it will get a little easier gradually now.  Maybe wait for the full 4 weeks before doing another cut, to avoid disturbance on top of CNS disturbance ?   

      Click on my name and follow the link of how to make a liquid.

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