Mirtazapine Reinstatement; Expected Timeframe to Stabilize
Posted , 4 users are following.
I've tapered Mirtazapine for about a year from 45mg to 7.5mg. When I got down to 15mg, I split the dose into 2 (7.5mg morn + 7.5mg night) bc this strategy worked well for me tapering Clonazepam 2 years ago. So I cont'd my taper by focusing on my night dose first (cont'd taking 7.5mg morn), and I jumped off my night dose of 2mg on 3/31. I felt great for first few weeks, then withdrawal hit me on 4/21. It wasn't bad but has gradually gotten worse (sleep disturbances, anxiety, depression, total lack of focus, etc.) over the last month. Since I have young children, I decided to reinstate my 2mg night dose on 5/26 because I couldn't sleep at all. My question is, how long should I expect to suffer before the withdrawal symptoms dissipate now that I have reinstated? I'm currently 4 days into to reinstating the 2mg dose and I still feel crummy.
1 like, 23 replies
nigel45109 david39626
Posted
if it was me, i would go back up to 15mg, and if i stabalised, stay on it for 3 to 6 months, try to enjoy myself, forget tapering for that period, and once i had a good period behind me, then try again.
david39626 nigel45109
Posted
That sounds reasonable. I guess I've been hoping that it was just withdrawal, but you seem to be leaning more towards relapse. You could be right... it's just so hard to tell. One reason I agree with you is because the symptoms are gradually getting worse, not better. I'll likely follow your advice and go back to 7.5mg tonight. I truly hope that does the trick and puts me back in a good place.
nigel45109 david39626
Posted
yes, thats what i thought. the decline would have been gradual, over a long period, without noticing. thats why i think going back to 15mg is right. the sedatitve effect of 7.5mg or 15mg of mirt, is a significant beneficial side effect. go back, forget tapering, concentrate on getting in a good place with your life, then when you have for a decent amount of time, you can try again. your first priority is your well being. tapering has worked significantly for you so far. you may always need a certain level of mirt, you may not. getting off any antidepressant shouldnt be at the cost of getting worse.
david39626 nigel45109
Posted
I agree. I suppose I have a level of distrust for AD's that I need to work through. That distrust is my most significant reason for being so preoccupied with the taper.
nigel45109 david39626
Posted
i trust them, though realise they can poop out, and you need to change. it does sound like you may need a certain level, long term. i think poop out, is not that the anti depressant stops what its doing, more that what it does, is no longer sufficient for you, in that your anxiety or depression has got worse. same happened to me last year, on seroxat. poop out normally happens with ssris, like citalopram. less likely to happen with mirt, as its part of the second tier of anti depressants, which are generally for worse conditions. ssris are in the first group, generally for less serious symptoms, and are more prone to poop out, when people get worse. 15mg of mirt, all at night, should get you back on track. mirt at 15mg, is a very therapeutic dose, with minimal side effects. good thing about mirt, its one of the quicker acting ones. i used to believe in more is better, dont now, as they are more likely to go wrong.
david39626 nigel45109
Posted
I hear what you're saying and I appreciate your help tremendously. However, I fundamentally disagree with your belief about "poop-out" as I believe more in the theory in the link below. So I don't believe that your anxiety/depression have worsened or are needing permanent drug relief so much as I believe that these drugs can down-regulate the receptors to the point that, for some people, the scales tip and the amount of receptors responding to the drug have become insufficient to provide relief, thus causing "poop-out". Everyone's nervous system is different, but I believe that everyone's nervous system can/will heal given the right environment. So, in my opinion, getting off anti-depressants is all about creating the right environment/stability, and then tapering at a rate that is slower than the rate that your receptors repopulate. Once you taper faster than your receptors heal, you get symptoms. To me, this explains perfectly why there is such variability in humans who taper. I clearly moved to quick on my last cut, and now my receptors can't catch up with the dysregulation that's been created, so I need to go back up to get some relief and allow my receptors more time to repopulate. Anyway, I'm most definitely not trying to argue with you as I value your help/opinion. I just enjoy discussing this with people and learning more from the experience of others like yourself. Link below. https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/392-one-theory-of-antidepressant-withdrawal-syndrome/?fbclid=IwAR0qB6JtQ876aolrdoKlS5W2U1ceEsH9HFr5o1rzdquevlCk_1VyaYoj68M
sarah24378 david39626
Posted
agree 100%.
i am down from 45 to 9 over 15 months.
good luck