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mirtazapine withdrawal - Heart palpitations and a very erratic sleep pattern

Posted , 5 users are following.

scott10262
scott10262

I have been tapering off a 15mg dose for the last 2 months. I am now down to 2.5mg (crushed up) There are at least 3 nights a week that I dont sleep at all! But these sleepless nights are often followed by a 10 hour sleep. I'm hoping that this is only from withdrawal symptoms that will improve in time.

I have heart palpitations and songs (a few lyrics of a song) that will repeat over and over. I have read on a website that this can be part of withdrawwal symptoms.

Has anyone else shared a similar experience?

2 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • melodious
    melodious scott10262

    Posted

    How long were you on mirtz?  I have been on it for 3 months and due to the never ending weight gain (and seemingly no end in sight no matter how I starve myself) I've decided to get off this.  My dr says split my 15 mg in half for one week, and then take that every other night for a week, then split it again.  In other words, slowly taper down.  

    How did you taper?  I don't know about the heart palpitations but I always have songs on my mind.  That doesn't bother me unless it's a sleepless night, which I have had about every other night.  

    I have been taking a natural sleep med called Sleep Thru and doubling up on that with the taper - it seems to help at times.

    I don't think I've really given you an answer, but wondered what you will do once you completely finish mirtz.  Do you have a new plan for sleep?

    My dr says there is a brand new sleep med called Belsorma.  I'm going to research this.

    Anyone heard of it?

    • Mermaid3011
      Mermaid3011 melodious

      Posted

      OMG I am so glad you are saying this too "due to the never ending weight gain (and seemingly no end in sight no matter how I starve myself)"

      My pdoc actually insisted that the weightloss was max 4-6 lbs and just for the first few weeks. I'm like "yeah no... that's not what other patiens write online" and he looks at me like "online? Seriously? What do you know about this anyway".... 

      Oh he was soooo arrogant. And then at the end offered into looking if metformin or topamax can level out the weight gain, since it's working for some of his other patients too who are on Seroquel.... 

      WTF? He could offered that from the beginning on!!

      Oh and now on topic: 

      Mirtazipine withdrawal must be awful - I only took it for a week, so my change to 10mg Zopiclone a night and 1mg Clonazepam was easy. I am sleeping o.k. enough to not go back to mirt.

    • pixie22
      pixie22 Mermaid3011

      Posted

      Seriously I wouldn't take zopiclone for too long, it can be addictive, and it can make you dopey all day, clonazepam is a benzodiazepine, so similar warnings with that.
    • Mermaid3011
      Mermaid3011 pixie22

      Posted

      mmhh interesting. Because my pdoc's argument was that he could only give me zopiclone and not lorazepam, because zopiclone is not addictive but lorazepam is.... 

      Man... I wonder where that man got his degree from... 

      The clonazepam I havent taken for long and I am on a very low dosage. I am not planning to take it long term, just to get through the next months. Probably July I'll start weaning off that one. 

  • mary57314
    mary57314 scott10262

    Posted

    I also do not sleep well on Mirtazepine

    Also get a lot of headaches.

  • pixie22
    pixie22 scott10262

    Posted

    I'm taking the withdrawal even more slowly, hopefully I'll avoid bad effects. I am coming off mirtazapine because it's done it's job and I've been free of depression for the last year. So I'm in no hurry, and i'm dropping from 30mg (2x15) to 22.5mg (1 and a half) one day a week, then it will be twice a week, and so on. Then i'll go to 15mg one day a week, and take it from there. So far so good!
  • scott10262
    scott10262

    Posted

    I started taking mirtazapine 11 months ago. I tapered down to 3/4 of a pill for 4weeks, half for 2 weeks then 3.5mg for one week and this is my 2nd week on 2.5.

    I just cannot understand how my sleep pattern can be so erratic. I'm wishing the sleepless nights could be replaced by at least 2 hours of sleep but it just doesn't happen! It is emotionally and physically draining.

    I'm going to start taking 2.5mg  every other night but I'm just hoping my sleep pattern will stabilise a bit before I take that step.

    I used to sleep 9 hours each night without any issues. I'm wondering how long it will

    take my nervous system to adjust and get back to the way it was...

    melodious, were you sleeping ok before Mirt? Your situation seems quite similar to mine.

     

    • melodious
      melodious scott10262

      Posted

      Pixie, no I've had terrible insomnia for about ten years and have tried every sleep med available.  

      Last night was my 4th night tapered. Down to 7.5 but I ate a bowl oatmeal before bed, as well as taking two unisoms. Oatmeal, believe it or not, is supposedly sedating. Well, I slept 8 solid hours.  Don't know if it was Unisom or oatmeal or both.  Just happy to have slept. Google Unisom. It would be great if it could replace the mirtz.  I haven't lost an ounce since tapering so I'm thinking you have to be completely off mirtz for it to be out of your system and start to lose this awful 10 lb (don't know what the equivalent in stones)

  • sandy93756
    sandy93756 scott10262

    Posted

    I have been off Mirtazapine for a little over a month now and I get heart palpatations every so often. 

    I never realised that as part of the withdrawal I was repeating song lyrics over and over in my head but I have been doing that every morning for awhile now. It has got better but I still can't sleep for very long.

  • scott10262
    scott10262

    Posted

    Thanks everyone for your replies.

    I am still struggling with sleepless nights and I'm wondering whether to come off  mirtazapine altogether? I am thinking of substituting it for nytol on the really bad nights.

    I would appreciate any input/opinion on this. I am especially interested in hearing success stories from anyone that has struggled with sleep during their withdrawal?

     

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