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Mirtazapine

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tonia_2003
tonia_2003

Went to see a new psychiatrist today and she wants me to go on Mirtazapine. I've read all the withdrawal horror stories and now not so sure. I have severe anxiety and I'm also on Paxil which I think has quit working. I've been on it for 15 years and I took an herbal supplement for two days and woke up in a panic attack that morning. I never have panic attacks. I've had one in my 45 years of life until July 5, 2016. I've lost a lot of weight and have heart palpitations everyday. I now have chronic nausea from the gastritis my anxiety has caused. Should I try this medication??

0 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • lorraine52317
    lorraine52317 tonia_2003

    Posted

    Hi tonia

    this med really helped me, the ddrawback is it can make you hungry! when your ready to withdraw, it doesn't have to be horrific, it just needs to be done slowly and steady.

    Evergreen (on this forum) has done it successfully and without climbing the walls. It may be worth looking up her great tips thread.

    don't worry about coming off, the important thing is for you to start feeling better. Good luck ♥

    God bless xx

    • tonia_2003
      tonia_2003 lorraine52317

      Posted

      Lorraine, how can I get in contact with Evergreen. I'm kinda new here and not to good with getting around on the forum.

      I also have OCD. Do you know if it's good for OCD?

    • tonia_2003
      tonia_2003 lorraine52317

      Posted

      I forgot to ask if you still take it? I'm also on .5mg of clonazepam in the morning. I have been on it for 10 years at .125mg, but when my Paxil quit I had to go up from .125mg to .5mg.
  • sharon12462
    sharon12462 tonia_2003

    Posted

    Hi tonia personally I wouldn't .. not knowing what I do now.. its really good at piling weight on you .. & pretty tough to be weaned off.. because of the weight issue just makes you more depressed .. this seems to be almost everyones upset on it.. also works for some & not for others .
    • tonia_2003
      tonia_2003 sharon12462

      Posted

      Sharon, when you say it works for some and not for others, do you mean it stops working or it just doesn't work at all for some people? What kind of withdrawal did you do and was it bad?
    • sharon12462
      sharon12462 tonia_2003

      Posted

      It does work for me .. I started on 15mg for 2wks then upto 30mg.. I slept great at 1st & felt good the 1st time in a good while .. BT then dropped a bit .. my sleep got rubbish again and gained 11lb in less than 2weeks.. alot of the ladys upto 3 stone. . Iv been on it since December. . I see my doc next week.. I'm. Dreading if I do come off it .. because the taper (weaning) doesn't sound to good or easy.. other people on here are doing it now or have been for a while..I just wouldn't chose this med knowin what I do now.. some are going on to trazadone. .I was on that before & had no problems ..
  • kathy50523
    kathy50523 tonia_2003

    Posted

    I have a hard time with any meds I get all the adverse side effects that are usually at the bottom of the list saying very few people get these types of side effects.  I have always been a Natural Path person until I was hit with vertigo and extreme anxiety in July so now on pharma meds.  The vertigo is gone but the anxiety not. Remeron was the only drug I never had and side effects with gave me a good sleep but never helped with the anxiety part so I am tapering myself off.  Been on Mirt for about 2.5 months so hoping won;t be too bad.  I have already come down from 30mg  to 22.5 and now going to try 15mg.  I also take Klon to ease the anxiety.  I would try it and see how you feel but it does take at least 4 weeks to see good results if its going to work.  In regards to getting a hold of Evergreen I just searched at the beginning or double clicked her name in a post and sent her a private message.  Good Luck and keep us posted.  Sorry for being long winded smile
    • evergreen
      evergreen tonia_2003

      Posted

      I've received and replied to your message, Tonia. My experience with mirtazapine has been very positive. 
  • Calmer
    Calmer tonia_2003

    Posted

    Hi Tonia

    Sorry to read of your suffering.

    Your story is fairly common for people who have been on AD's for a long period of time.  As you say you think it has stopped working or "pooped out" leading you to go through a withdrawal in effect, hence the panic attack, nausea, heart palps and maybe an increase in anxiety?  

    Paxil is an SSRI and withdrawal from this cannot be covered with Mirtazapine, they shouldn't be mixed either I doubt.  You may need to do a 10% withdrawal from Paxil every 2 weeks until off and see how you feel before starting another AD - the doc or p.doc may well tell you to just quite within a week or two which is common, but this may lead to more uncomfortable WD symptoms.

    Personally Mirt' really helped me when I was suffering with insomnia which then lead to anxiety; I was taking Mirt' for about a year before starting a slow taper, the slower the better really for me, probably 5% every 2 weeks.

    For a more informed choice, follow the link below which explains the slow WD method.

    Wishing you well Tonia x

    For advice on tapering Mirtazapine slowly at the recommended rate of no more than 10% every 3 or 4 weeks, please see the following which is within this forum,

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/depression-resources-298570

    and then click on the link "REDUCING AD'S USING 10% WITHDRAWAL METHOD".

     

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