Mirtazapine withdrawal

Hi, TryingHard

I'm a living example of the most terrible time with Remeron withdrawals. It has been so bad, that I had to reinstate at 5mg last night, just to get a hold on sanity again.

My killer symptom has been right sided stomach pain, resembling my previous gallbladder surgery. But then again - the runs, nausea, tremendous tension and anxiety, spinning head, feelings of doom and hopelesness. Sweating/cold and have I said "nausea"?

Withdrawal seemed to have aggravated all previous injuries and surgeries.

Oh, yeah and crippling hit-with-a-reebar-across-upper-back pain right under the shoulder blades. I couldn't even take a full breath at times.

I seem to feel better today, the appetite is back. I even came to the office for a full day, but the last 5 days were HELL ON EARTH. no OTC medicines helped at all.

And mind you I haven't quit it altogether, I just decided to speed up the tapering by dropping 30% of the dose. What an idiot. Feeling utterly defeated, powerless and exhausted.

Funny thing, again the first week or 10 days felt great: so much optimism, strength and clarity and then exactly 8 days into it - BOOOOOM!

Yesterday while shopping I couldn't stand the rattling of the cart wheels agains the floor, so I had to go to a seldom visited corner and sit there calming myself down.

This drug has a potent anti anxiety effect, hence rebound anxiety when discontinued. You literally experience adrenaline rush, because the adrenaline receptors are now unblocked and there are so many more of them by now.

Good luck and health!

It's comforting in a way to know other people are going through this. I have been on Mirtazapine for 13mths now. Before that I was suffering with extreme insomnia and anxiety. I would only sleep an hour each night and it was such stressful sleep that it was useless. I went on like this for 2 1/2 months until I had some sort breakdown (ready to do myself in) and my Doctor put me on Mirtazapine.

I am feeling alot better now and thought it is time to get off the meds but I didn't expect to be suffering so severly with withdrawal. 14 days ago I stopped taking 7.5mg of Mirtazapine. I was alright for the first 3 days but my then the multitude of symptoms began.

I can't get to sleep at night and the adrenaline pumps through my body all night long. Loss of appetite, nausea, neck and back pain, headaches, fear, anxiety, exhaustion, hot and cold flushes, a constant sick feeling in my stomach like something terrible is about to happen and the this list goes on........

The fear of not sleeping at night has become all consuming. I can't distract myself from it. I am so terrified of the stress I have to go through every night that I literally shake in bed at night and cry.

I am scared that my previous problem (almost no sleep) that put me on these meds is returning but I want to get off them. I'm so terrified that this will never end but I am determined to fight it. I wish people who have succeeded would write on these posts, so all of us suffering through this would know for certain that it will end and we will be stronger for it.

I'm so sorry to all the people suffering through this. It is the worst thing I have been through (and I been through some tough sh@#). Keep posting, understanding helps so much. Good luck to everyone.

Be strong...fight for your right for a happy life!!!!

Well it took me a few months, but I'm off of mirtazapine now, so if you have come off of them and you are still getting withdrawal symptoms please stick with it, I was on them for 5years, I didn't taper I just stopped taking them, it's been six months of crap but I'm absolutely fine now... I will never take another drug as long as I live, unless my life depends on it.... So have faith everyone and know that you can get off these things and you will get back to normal, for the past 2months my sleeping has been great, plus I've lost some weight and I'm really pleased with myself, my skin looks lots better, no more aches and pains, I've got more energy now than ever.... So good luck and god bless everyone"....

Hi reading this has been really helpful. I was taking 15mg but only for 2 weeks. I decided to stop taking them altogether 4 days ago, and now i feel like crap! Really bad stomach problems. Does anyone have any idea how long this will last, i am determined not to take another of these tablets and wish i hadnt bothered in the first place.

Thanks

I have been on 15mg for a few months now and have just spent a week cold turkey coming off the drugs.

The first 4 days were very unpleasant, sweating, shaking, twitching, extreme anxiety and nausea to name just some of the effects, so please dont take the decision lightly to come off them cold turkey.

I have been on several different anti-depressants for just over a year now and although the drugs worked for me I felt that I was ready to back to a "normal life" -haha, whatever the hell one of those is!

I have spoken so several doctors about how to come off them correctly, however i personally wanted to be off them ASAP and was prepared to put up with the consequences.

I was sick of the crazy dreaming, fitful sleep, poor appetite, up and down sex drive and other strange other issues that come with medication.

However im glad to say that im feeling quite good now and its only been a week off of them. Already my lucid dreams are fading away and i had a "normal" nights sleep last night...

Anyway i just thought i would post this to share my experience of coming off the drug and to see if anyone had similar experiences or questions.

Hope your treatment works out for you.

Hi,

I was on Remeron for about 2.5 months. I helped me sleep for the first week, but that's abougt it. Anyway, I started on 7.5mg, went to 15mg for a while, then back to 7.5mg, then 2 weeks at 15mg when I decided to get off the med. I tapered back to 7.5mg for one week then 3.75mg for 5 days then quit.

On the day I took my last dose, I started feeling like I had lost my appetite and my mood dropped, feeling just ill and feelings of pending doom/hopelessness. I was feeling emotional about things, never like I had before. The next day I started feeling ill, flu like, some nausea, and insomnia. This lasted for about 1.5 weeks. I was miserable. Then the nausea went away, and my appetite came back but I was still feeling low. (I was feeling better just before my last dose).

I thought I was getting better again, then about after a week, I was hit with lack of appetite again, some nausea I guess, insomnia, worse mood, abdominal cramps, aches and pains all over including my foot, and back, and sides. And just a general feeling of ill again. My stomach feels tight and full, my chest feels tight, etc.....

Can withdrawal symptoms come in waves like this, feel bad one week, get a little better then feel really awful again?

I'm completely off meds now, and I'm hoping to get better using 5-htp. I started using it just before coming off Remeron (talk to your doctor before using 5-htp with any meds). And I started to feel better, but then the last day on Remeron that all came crashing down and I haven't felt good since.

I was only on Remeron for 2.5 months about, so how long can this withdrawal last?

Thank you,

Soccer

Hi

I was on Mirtazapine 45mg for 12 months then when I felt better GP said I should think about coming off it by reducing to 30mg for a while etc. I decided I wanted to quit faster so I cut up tablets, missed days etc and finally took the last tiny piece of tablet at the end of June. During the tapering off I had frequent bouts of nausea and the runs and thought I was always picking up viruses. When I finally stopped the Mirtazapine, the nausea was fierce. GP tried me on Sertraline but I only took 1 tablet and that night didn't sleep at all, felt even sicker and had panic attacks, so I took no more of those. Homeopathic tablets to relieve the feelings of dread have helped a lot. I don't think I'm completely free of symptoms yet - felt great for a week or more, then this past week the nausea came back again with a vengeance. I intend to stay off the Mirtazapine though, will just have to try and persevere.

It helps to know that I'm not the only one with these horrible symptoms, I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me until I read these posts. Thinking of all who are in this situation. x

Update... I'm on my 4th week of Remeron. Someone else on here mentioned that withdrawal symptoms peeked at 3-4 weeks. Well, I was doing a bit better last week, then later in the week, I started feeling awful again. but then two days later, I felt a little better for a couple of days, and now today, I have had constant anxiety, a feeling of too much adrenaline, heart palps, a bit fullness in my stomach, fast pulse, (blood pressure good), headache, etc... Not sure if this is still Remeron or not? Seems like the withdrawal side-effects come in waves, a bit different each time, or somtimes the same side-effects come back. Anyone experience this?

Hi all,

I am a little overwhelmed at the amount of information on the www re: Mirtazapine. I have been on 15mg daily for nearly 2 years (for depression and anxiety attacks). I recently started tapering off and over the course of a month got down to 7.5mg per day, then alternate days, then nothing. I have not had any at all for 2.5 weeks. I have had a bit of depression/anxiety/touchiness but am coping with that, just about!

For the past week I have not been sleeping. I have never, ever had insomnia like this before and am feeling dreadful as a result. I am not the kind of person who can function on 2-3hrs sleep a night! I have tried some over the counter sleep remedies but nothing works. When I was on Mirtazapine, I had 2 years of amazing sleep every night!

Is this Mirtazapine withdrawal related? What can I possibly do to help get some sleep at night? I don't want to go back to my GP for more medication. Is there anything over the counter in the UK that I can buy that might help?

I do hope to lose some of the weight I gained as well! Never had a sweet tooth before I started Mirtazapine!!!

Thank you for any advice!

Hoonay

Hi Hoonay,

I've had bad insomnia for about 10 months. The first week I was on Remeron, I got good sleep for the first time in a long time, but then it stopped working, but I think that was due to Lexapro withdrawal I went through. Anyway, some natural things that could help with sleep.....Magnesium, melatonin, GABA (don't use if you are on benzo's), l-tryptophan (don't use this if you are on a antidepressent), l-theanine, etc.....You could try some herbs that can help with sleep. Just do some research. I think the big problem is if your insomnia is remeron withdrawal, it could be hard to find something that will help you sleep, as I've noticed that med withdrawal is pretty powerful, but it should fade and your sleep should improve. You could also try going to be a little earlier, in case you can fall asleep, you might get more sleep early on, so if you wake up too early, at least you got some sleep before midnight. Anyway, I hope your sleep returns.

Hi there,

Thanks so much for your reply. I am not on any other meds now so thanks for the tips. We have a lot of herbal stuff in the UK but in the past when I have had to take it, I have found it uneffective. I bought some Advil the last time I was in the US and have had 2 tabs a night the past couple of nights....nothing. Went to bed super early last night as was so fatigued from the lack of sleep previously....lay there for hours....not a wink. I am trying my usual relaxing 'sounds' music, reading for a bit, milky drink etc etc but nothing seems to effect this crazy withdrawal side effect!

I just wondered if there was something people had taken that seemed to work on this kind of thing. I'll keep trying.

Sorry to hear you had months of it!

H

Hi Hoonay

I tried homeopathic tablets, initially for the anxiety and they did help with that but I also found that they helped me sleep too. The ones I use are called R14 from the Dr Reckeweg range. Anything is worth a try. Hope you find something that works.

E

Hi Hoonay, the GP prescribed me anti-histamines when I made my last attempt at coming off mirtazapine. I didn't get much sleep with it but did get a couple of hours a night.. so it might be worth trying some over-the-counter (the drowsy kind) anti-histamine medication if you don't want to speak to your GP. Or you could try the usual stuff - doing some exercise to try and wear yourself out physically, avoiding caffeine, reading for a couple of hours until you're shattered...

It's such a horrible medication to come off. The insomnia is terrible and I've always found it's the lack of sleep that's sent me back into feeling depressed again. I'm back up to 7.5mg after my last withdrawal attempt went so wrong, planning on a really long withdrawal process to try and counter some of these withdrawal effects.

Good luck with it, you're not alone!

Thank you both VERY much! I am trying to avoid going back to the GP if I can help it. My GP hasn't really been involved in the process as my ex CBT guy does the prescribing. He's happy for me to stay on Mirtazapine for another year or so. My CBT ended in December and I have been on an even keel for long time. Hence wanted to ween myself off AD's.

Will definitely give homeopathic remedies a try as very in to that and am going to Boots later to look at anti-histamines. I am so tired I am staggering around feeling dizzy and weepy (am always like that with lack of sleep, I don't think it's a withdrawal thing). Have been doing long walks etc too.

Thank you again, your advice is priceless!

H