Mirtazapine withdrawal

Hey all,

just a quick up date on day 3 of the sert. OMG!! Not good so far, feeling bad after starting the new med. Ive got a very uncomfortable feeling in my head, I think its due to coming off the escit at 5mg and i may well be getting withdrawal symptoms from them now. I was told by my pdoc that it would be ok and to start the new med. Why oh why do i never learn, this is what my old GP said when coming off the mirt and starting the escit. Im now really cheesed off with this whole saga and am now kicking myself for taking their so called advise when really at times we should know better. Is it them? is it me? I just know anymore! This is one long road for me that im finding i do not have much energy for anymore. How much more of this can i take. Sorry for the rant all, just need some relief from it all.

Hi Pjdme

I am sorry that you are having a rough time of it. Maybe it will just take some time for it to get into your system and start to work for you. Its usually a few weeks before you start to notice them. You know that the withdrawal won't last forever...I know thats not very helpful when you feel so bad but think positively

Give the sertraline a few weeks to work, the only other alternative is to come off everything and stick with nothing for a few months to see how you feel but that doesn't sound like a very good alternative given how you have been feeling. Unfortunately with these meds everything seems to take time and time is something I don't want to have to wait for before I get off everything...and I'm sure you feel the same that time goes so slow when you are waiting for things to improve.

Everyone always said to me to be patient but thats hard when all you want is to feel better. I am keeping my fingers crossed for you that within the next few weeks you will notice an improvement.

Remember, you have felt bad before and you have, are still, and will continue to come through it.

Get as much rest as you can....good luck and I hope that you feel better very soon

Hi pjdme

It is tough the first week or so, I couldn't of stuck with Paroxetine without the extra help from the Clonazepan, which I haven't needed since tues, I only took them for 3 days in the end.

I kept stopping new anti ds cos I couldn't cope with the side effects but it just meant going on new ones and doing it all again plus dealing with stopping the previous ones, so this time I thought I'm sticking with these I couldn't go through it all again!

So, try to stay strong! I know it's hard, is there anything you can take to help with it just short term?

I hope it gets easier for you!

I know, but it can be so hard going through withdrawal again and thats what it is im sure. Im just having a bad one today and should man up and stop beating myself so much, but its very draining for me myself and I at times... The doc was meant to call me back this evening but has not, so i guess its gonna be a long week end.

I tried diazpam last night and the propranolol but it didn't do too much. Its not so bad now but it may creep up again, i hope not. I may have to reconsider sleeping tabs for now but i dont know where to start though, any ideas?? i don't wish to take any benzos though as i have heard they are well addictive.

Thanks mini/debbie for the replies it helps.

Well diazepam is a benzo so perhaps just take it when you really need it. Take the propranolol regularly though you may find that a bit better than just taking it as and when - they are not addictive so don't worry about that. Is it anxiety you are getting with the withdrawal? Avoid too much caffeine if possible as that is a stimulant - it will help keep you awake and maybe won't help with anxiety.

I would make an appointment to see the g.p. for some sleeping pills - maybe they can give you a weeks worth just to help get you into the habit of sleeping well?? They are ok to take short term. You could even just take them on the nights you are really struggling

hiya folks,

i just thought i would point out that propranolol may not be 'addictive' in the strictest sense of the term but as with many other drugs you can become physically dependent on it if taken frequently for any length of time and on cessation can suffer from 'rebound' effects where the original symptoms being treated return, also the body builds up a tolerance and dosages have to be increased to get the same effect

all im saying is be careful, don't jump out of the fire and into the frying pan as it were, good luck, you'll all get there in the end

cheers,

Ken ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well mini after my last post last night i decided to drink a couple of pints of water in the space of an hour and that relieved the problem and all else settled. It seemed to be a dehydration prob that was aggravating my symptoms. Silly me, I must keep up the hydration as i have let myself go a bit in the passed two days. Yes not drunk any caffeine since coming off the mirt only decaf. Feeling better today though.

I have only been taking diazepam a few times in the passed, only for heavy anxiety, have not used them for sleep, as they can make me feel lousy in the morning. I totally agree that what i need is a sleeper for me to get back into the habit again, but nothing too heavy, will chat to the doc soon. : )

Hey Ken,

You may well be right. however Propranolol can also train the anxiety out of its ways and allow the individual to not dwell on it and therefore cut its viscous circle as mentioned by my GP, it works for some.

Thanks all...

Good point Ken, Yes propranolol has to be stopped cautiously however in my case my anxiety is caused by the rispiradone that I am on....take away the cause and there will be no anxiety and therefore no need for the propranolol. I do not suffer with anxiety normally only since the meds so take that away and there should be no anxiety to treat. I take it as an 'as needed' treatment only anyway which my g.p. said was fine even though all the information says to take regularly but then my anxiety isn't altogether regular so no need to do that everyday, just most days

Pjdme,

I would take a sleeper for a few nights, try and get into a routine i.e. hot drink, relaxing bath sleeping pill etc. then do the whole routine minus the sleeping pill. You can teach your body to prepare for sleep by doing the same basic routine each night in preparation for sleep...you may be able to train your body with time. There are some very good resources online to do with sleep, maybe have a look and there may be something that will help you.

Hi mini,

Sound advice mini, i should get into more of a routine. I am now having to put up with the withdrawal effects from the escitalopram now. Had i bit of a storm last night from it, quite bad anxiety but no panics. I took half a diazepam 2.5 and that settled things but im feeling it today, Slept better though. Looks like its going to be a longer road than i first realized, I just hope it will not be too long.

Day 5 of the setraline, with the withdrawal symptoms i am having, it is hard to tell if i am having any side effects from the new med, maybe a bit of both, i will see. I should have tapered off a bit longer as the Pdoc said to stop, so i did. I think i may be a bit more sensitive to these meds than most.

Hi everyone this is just an update,

I was taking diazepam for 25 years and mirtazapine for 5years I stopped taking both of them last January,

I went through some horrible withdrawal symptoms during this past year, my gp kept offering me different pills to help me get though it but I refused them all, and I'm now back to my old self with no anxiety at all and it's

Brilliant, so my advice is please try not to take anything to help with your withdrawal because whatever they give you just causes more problems,

Withdrawal symptoms are scary I know I've had everything, the worst thing I had was not being able to swallow for ages, I lost 4st in weight, but now with everything else it gone, and I've never felt this good in my life..

So good luck everyone and god bless....

Hi baileyp,

Read youre posts from the past and out of all you must have had the biggest ordeal, what with coming off them cold turkey as well. Its good of you to come back and let people know as it does inspire.

Seems to be the case that its best to get of these meds without any relief, but its so hard what with the very bad anxiety that i had when i first came off the mirt. I went two weeks without any help but it was way too intense (panic attacks), i had to get help. I never had anxiety in life until stopping the mirt and was also left with a big depressions which i am trying to deal with, hence the new AD that i have been prescribed. I dont wish to take these but at this point i feel i have no option, wish there was another way, unless you know.

How the heck did you sleep?

Thanks and glad you have recovered.

Hi pjdme, yes the withdrawal was hell, I was a mess but all what these pills did to me, it made me scared to

Take any medication at all, I had violent headaches and a really bad stomached to but I refused to take

Anything, I know it's very hard, it scared me to death.

And sleep, it was hard to get to sleep at first but after a while it just came natural, I never took anything to help me sleep, even now it takes me a while to get of to sleep but when I do I sleep really well, and its amazing how much better I feel in myself, I feel great and I will never take another pill ever again, you will be fine, please just stick to it. I'm always around if you need to chat about anything....

Hey thanks baileyp,

The mirt left me feeling like a depressed zombie, i felt beside myself and had some really bad belts of deep depression on it but my gp said 'no you must carry on' i thought WTF hes trying to kill me. put up with it for 3 months and then told him to shove it. If i see him again i am scared of what i may do to him, the cold arrogant twot. He then told me that i could quit straight away and that the AD he gave me would help, it did not. At that point i was in the middle of a move but kept in contact with him as i was having withdrawal issues. when i had moved he then wrote me a letter saying that i was not considered a patient in that area anymore and would have to use a surgery elswhere. I felt like a very hot potato. it would take my new GP who is a good man, 6 weeks untill he could get my records, so he himself felt confused and baffled as did i. So i am not happy with the NHS there as i am now left with this slight mess, Me . What scares me is that some of these GP's dont know quite what they are doing as was in my case. My now GP referes me to a pshrink as he told me he was not too sure about his own knowledge on escitalopram, good for him.

Sorry for the rant, i just had to get that one off my chest.

Hi all,

sorry about the rant above, its the meds they really can get me at it.

Well day 6 of the sirtraline and all is not that bad. have had no withdrawals from the escit since sat so far thank goodness and seem to have no side effects from the sirt, feeling very lucky. My anxiety is now minimal so far and i may reduce the propanolol soon. Due to the decrease in anxiety most of those horrid and negative thought have also left through the back door. I wish i never wrote this now as tomorrow i bet it comes back and kicks the hell out of me. So things have improved somewhat im glad to say. I still feel low in motivation and my interests are still lacking. I Always suspected that the escit gave me the anxiety but i maybe wrong. Anyway i up the dosage tomorrow to 100mg, time to say my prayers now. How are things going mini/debbie/doolally/ all??

Hope alls well all and take care..

Still cannot shake this virus. I don't feel ill as such, just my whole head feels heavy, I get pain in my nose, around my eyes, cheek and jaw. I think its my sinuses.

I saw my CPN today she is handing her case load over to another nurse but the new one seems nice. She seems to think a lot of what im getting is typical side effects of the antipsychotic im on. She is offering acupuncture to relieve some of the anxiety and help with sleep...I see my psychiatrist on the 24th I have to let her know if I want to go ahead with it. She said it will also aid with sleep....Pjdme it might be an option for you...give it some thought.

Baileyp...my withdrawals were so bad that I had to have treatment, even with the propranolo I took 2 days off sick...I don't get paid if I dont work and I am the bread winner so I had to function to do my job! I agree with not taking anything if you get away with it but normal life has to continue as well! Hopefully once everything is stopped and out of my system I will no longer need them.

Generally I am doing ok but this virus has floored me ...I'm so tired, on that note I'm off to bed, night all and take care