Mirtazapine withdrawal and brain zaps
Posted , 13 users are following.
Hi
I’m on week 5 off Mirtazapine and having brutal withdrawals, increased anxiety, depression, can’t eat , nausea, some muscle twitching in the morning, waking early and feeling crap about the day , crying spells, no appetite I’m also having brain zaps that feels like a second of a short circuit in my head that leaves me feeling sick and a bit dizzy, some people on these forums say these brain zaps are the brain trying to get back to life without Mirtazapine, has anyone else experienced these ?
Please reply if you have and if they go away , I feel scared and almost at my wits end.
Taking Diazipam to help with the withdrawal but feel like it’ll never end 😩
Matt
2 likes, 167 replies
Gumbert267 matt39801
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matt39801 Gumbert267
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I was on for 5 months , 4 months at 15mg then I started the taper which I did over a month.
So been off it just about 5 weeks completely, didn’t realise how tough it would be then started reading other people’s posts and was shocked at how brutal it is , seems like a pretty nasty drug that should be prescribed with caution and a full conversation about the awful WD many people experience.
birdy67 matt39801
Edited
Hi Matt, don't know where to start with my experience of mirtazapine! Went off sick from work end of January, saw doctor who said that I was suffering from anxiety and depression. Never had anxiety before and I refused to accept it. She prescribed sertraline, wow was only on it for about 10 days and hardly slept. She then changed it to mirtazapine as they help you sleep. I have relapsing remitting MS so I need my sleep! Started on 15mg and increased to 30 after a week. They helped with the sleep but not the anxiety. She told me to increase to 45mg which is what I did and I was like a zombie! Sleeping 10 hours at night and still having a sleep in the afternoon. They still weren't doing anything for my anxiety. I thought this is ridiculous, I have no life, I'm just sleeping all the time. Saw mental health nurse and she said straight away lets wean you off these, they're not suiting you. So I weaned for about 2 weeks and just stopped taking them. It has been 6 weeks today since my last one and it's the best decision I've made. I had brain zaps which were scary and when I told the doctor she didn't know anything about them. I felt like someone was squeezing my head and then releasing it. I looked on Google and found a thing about adrenal fatigue syndrome. I went back to doctors and they took blood tests which all came back clear. I've since gone back on my amitriptyline which suited me with my MS. Only taking a small dose but fingers crossed seems to be ok. Sleeping better again and also taking 300mg high absorption magnesium. Again I googled magnesium deficiency and found some interesting things. Can be caused by depression, anxiety and lots of other things. Still off work, I've got to say that this has been a scary experience for me and I never want to feel like this again. I'm sorry that this is a bit long winded, but I wanted to tell you about my experience with mirtazapine. I hope you feel better soon, I'm sure you will. I never thought I would, but I think I'm getting my life back slowly. X
matt39801 birdy67
Posted
Hi Birdy
Thank you for sharing your experiences with me hearing what others have gone through with Mirtazapine helps , not that I want anyone to suffer but it let’s me see that I’m so not alone with this.
I have worked all my life now I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to work again , I want to just in such a mess at the moment I don’t even recognise myself, it’s totally changed me , the whole thing started after I changed jobs, was in a very stressful job for 23 years so made the decision to change to something less stressful but completely fell to bits with terrible anxiety, Citalopran didn’t agree with me so they put me on 200mg Sertraline, 15mg Mirtazapine and 15mg Diazipam, I have some seizures so they weaned me off Sertraline and the seizures stopped but the Mirtazapine just made me sleep and stay like a zombie all day !
I just can’t believe a med given out so freely had such horrific WD it’s like I’ve been taken over by an alien!
I should get my hormone and thyroid blood tests back today, if they are out of sink it could explain why I’ve fallen to bits , if they are ok I’m back to the drawing board 😩
Just want a life back and to feel anything other than misery, it would be great to actually feel happiness again and to be able to leave the house and do normal stuff like I used to.
Every day seems like a fight to just get through it at the moment!
I’m glad your starting to get back on track and thank you so much for taking the time to post this to me.
karen_57593 birdy67
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karen_57593 matt39801
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How long you been off them again Matt I've forgot xx
matt39801 karen_57593
Edited
Hi Karen
I’m 4 weeks off just in week 5 now.
You did the right thing with your Dr and at least she was honest about not being specialised in mental health.
I have an appointment with mental health on Friday afternoon, I seen them once before and then the psychiatrist who prescribed me all the meds that made me worse, hopefully this time they won’t see me as “one size fits all” tbh I don’t want another synthetic AD and will ask about any evidence based natural alternative.
I should get my blood results back today to see if my hormones or thyroid are out of balance, if they are there might be something to help with my mood , if not I’m not sure what the next step will be .
I know what you’re going through, it’s just absolutely horrendous but the crisis team at A&E said to me yesterday that it may take time but it will get better, hard to believe when you’re in despair and that black hole .
I’m 53 and some things point to menopause symptoms, I’m post menopause but it could have been the cause of everything from the start.
I hope you get an appointment with the mental health team ASAP, tell them you’re having suicidal thoughts , just be honest with them.
I get my magnesium from Holland and Barrett.
Let me know how you get on when they call you
matt39801 karen_57593
Posted
Hi Karen
I did answer this morning but it’s being moderated I think because I mentioned a shop ( no advertising)
You’ve done the right thing asking for the mental health team, they are specialists in all of this mess and can give you the support you need. Be honest with the mental health team about how bad your feeling, they will be able to reassure you and hopefully set you up with some helpful information and maybe CBT or Mindfulness.
I’m now on week 5 going into week 6 , yesterday was a pure living hell ! Glad I went A&E though as I was at breaking point , I’ll get the blood results later today about my hormones and thyroid, maybe they are out of balance.
I’m 53 and post menopause but there is a vast amount of research connecting menopause with anxiety and depression.
I’ll let you know what my GP says , let me know how you get on with your call from the mental health team, I see them on Friday and will probably see the psychiatrist next week, don’t want to go back on AD so will be asking about any evidence based natural help .
karen_57593 birdy67
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birdy67 karen_57593
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Hi Kare, from Amazon. Was about £15. Doctors best high absorption magnesium. It's chelated so it doesn't cause upset tummy. Seems to be suiting me. X
birdy67 karen_57593
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Hi Karen, I'm back on 20mg amitriptyline which I took for my MS a few years ago. Also on HRT and waiting for an appointment to see neurologist. Don't know if my problem is anxiety, MS or menopause. Could be a combination of all! 😔😔x
birdy67 matt39801
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Hi Matt, how did you get on with your blood test? I've been taking HRT and when I had blood test not sure if my hormone levels were checked. Like you, this whole experience with all this has turned me into a different person and I just want my old self back!
matt39801 birdy67
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I started Estrogel on Monday ( I have a Mirena coil for Progesterone) still waiting for blood results, I’m feeling really sick and nauseous, people say it’s like that when you start the gel, I’m post menopause and had been researching anxiety and depression in post menopause so that’s why I’m giving it a try.
I have mental health appointment tomorrow with crisis team as I had a meltdown on Sunday, I think they will want to put me back on AD but they don’t suit me and apart from giving me away side effects they seem not to work, I’ve tried 3 and don’t want anymore!
God knows what’s going on with me , on week 5-6 off Mirtazapine so don’t know if it’s still withdrawal.
How are you and any luck with the HRT ?
karen_57593 birdy67
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birdy67 matt39801
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I'm on Elleste duet as I'm peri menopausal. Not sure if the HRT is causing more anxiety, so when I see doctor next week I think I'm going to ask to stop it for a month and see if anxiety improves. I think it's just a case of trying to eliminate what's causing mine. MS , antidepressants, HRT, who knows. Hope you get your results soon. X
karen_57593 matt39801
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matt39801 karen_57593
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Hi Karen
Still nauseous so have reduced the amount of HRT gel in using see if that helps.
Depression really coming out in me at the moment, anxiety is manageable but had to take an extra Diazipam yesterday as I just got to much.
I think overall I’m making some improvements but still not leaving the house or taking any interest in anything although I do make myself go for a walk every morning.
How’s things going for you ? Hope your still seeing improvements 👍
matt39801 karen_57593
Posted
Psychiatrist has prescribed me Venlafaxine which I think you said your taking, what’s do you think of them and how many mg do you take ? Do you take it in the morning? What are the start up side effects like ?
How are you today?
karen_57593 matt39801
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Sorry just seen this message. I had really bad nausea but too be honest I think it was the mitrazapine withdrawal more than starting the venlafaxine I took 2 venlafaxine twice a day 1 dose of 37.5mg in morning and 1 dose of 37.5mg at night I take I diazepam at 12 and another at half 10 at night. Because I was so ill they upped too 1 dose of 75mg in morning and 1 dose of 75mg at night before bed fingers crossed so far I'm much better than last week I would defo give it at shot you can't go on like that I was very close too a breakdown I was exhausted never slept for 3 weeks or ate for 1 week. I'm hoping in the next couple of months very very slowly lower the dose of venlafaxine xxx