Mirtazapine withdrawal, how long does it last?
Posted , 179 users are following.
Hi, Just looking for some reassurance/support. I was on mirtazapine for about 6months. I went up to 45mg and decided to taper down as I felt they were making me worse and the weight gain was nasty. I felt fab tapering down and generally, its been better than I anticipated however, I'm approaching the 3rd week off of mirtazapine and have started to feel a bit anxious the last few days. I've read withdrawal peaks around the 3/4week mark, so I'm trying to stay positive that it will pass.
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Chaffers rachael42781
Posted
I was put on mirtazapine after our children were taken into care. Stayed on it for 6 months but ran out of it on Christmas eve. I had no idea it was Christmas eve as I was basically a zombie but it meant that I couldn't get any more for the best part of a week and I realised it was making me worse.
Ten months on my head is still spinning constantly. Call it vertigo or whatever it also seems to come with an intense dose of agrophobia / hermitdom / self social exclusion. I only go to the doctors or corner shop, hence eat rubbish, and basically try to avoid the world or any memories of my children.
Was talking with another father in a similar position and he'd been on mirtazipine too. He mentioned that the prime symptom he noticed other than the physical ones was a sort of emotional sterilisation. He thought he was in a loveless relationship and didn't even kiss his wife.
Which sounds very familiar to me, though I've never really been able to verbalise it before.
I had convinced myself to put the vertigo down to other causes, I'd ascribed it initially to the medication and it's strong effects but couldn't see how ten months on it could still be in my system.
Some official stuff states that it's half life is relatively short. Which doesn't compute with the experiences on this thread.
So I read some clinical trials and that sort of thing. Seen some references to it binding to your blood plasma, could this explain the painfully long withdrawal? I'm not a doctor and have no idea how plasma is replaced or whatever.
At times my vertigo has been bad enough to cause me to fall over. Mainly it's just there either in the background or feels like I'm on a ship. Which made world of warships a bit more realistic!
A couple of months ago I started realising that I was having periods without it. Maybe even a day at a time. Seemed to be on the mend. There's definitely a stress related component to it though. After a sadistic social worker rang me to tell me that my son almost died in care, as though she was ordering a takeaway, it returned with a bang and has been quite extreme since.
The anxiety too, asked a friend to go to the shop for me for teabags, which I can't do without and was feeling particularly weird and hermitty. Knew he was returning, heard him on the path yet when he knocked the door it made me jump out of my skin.
Can the mirtazapine still be in my system after all this time? Seems to defy belief yet there's a whole thread full of people having similar issues for weeks and months after stopping taking it.
gina01020 Chaffers
Posted
Hi Chaffers,
Yes, thats what I get..vertigo like symptoms...after having a couple of good days this week. today i had it again.
I was blaming the new meds but not so sure.. it could be a bit of both but I definitely noticed i was up and down with it... Ive been off Mirt since January but on a new one.
It sure wont help if your having a nasty time with your children's care... that would be bad enough at the best of times.
Cheers, G
ann55375 gina01020
Posted
gina01020 ann55375
Posted
Hi Ann,
Wow. 1.88 is amazing...that's no good that your feeling so bad though...I used Diaz too but it only helps for a while...short acting.
I'm on Escitalapam ....it has taken me ages to settle down on it and I'm not sure if it was the Mirt withdrawals or the new drug that took so long to settle down...the symptoms seem the same...
A lot of people like Escitalopram....and seem to find it works fast..you could only try it and see..the only other thing to do is to go back up to before this last drop of Mirt and restablize there until you feel better and then try dropping again later? Thanks if you don't want to try Escitalapam...it is totally different than Mirt..
Hugs, Gina
ann55375 gina01020
Posted
I dont see psych till March so i will have to do something before that.
is escitalopram an ssri? Did dr give you it to replace Mirtaz? I have not had success on any others so far.
can you tell me the side effects of going onto escitalopram
gina01020 ann55375
Posted
No worries Ann...I know how bad it is when your suffering through this period of life..
You could try going back up on Mirt and see if you start to feel better and if not,. Then look at another ssri.. I know I can't go without something as I've tried.
I replaced the Mirt with Escitalopram because the Mirt wasn't working very well anymore and my weight was getting really bad..
I had a terrible time coming off Mirt..still now I have odd times when I feel terrible but they are slowly getting less and it's been 10 months...
Escitalopram is another ssri...it seems different though and lots seem to love it...it's different for everyone though as I didn't find Mirt too bad just wasn't working anymore..I haven't had success on many either...we must be sensitive to meds..
The side effects of Escitalopram are suppose to be less than most..it is popular because it has the least side effects... unfortunately, because I was swapped from Mirt straight to Escitalopram, I didn't know what was Mirt withdrawals and what was Escitalapam side effects..I had hot flushes, dizzy feeling, a bit of nausea and anxiety..so these could have been the sudden Mirt withdrawal...I would never do it like that again..I would taper next time..
Not sure if this helps G
alison46649 ann55375
Posted
gina01020 alison46649
Posted
Thank you Alison,
I read that people like it..I. Just had heaps of trouble but I was swapped from Mirt to Lexapro cold turkey...didn't know what was what..I am supposed to be on 20 mg but couldn't stand the dizzy head and not being able to function...so I'm on 10mg and cut a small piece off that so probably about 7.5-8mg...will try and work up to the full tablet over time...I stuck with it as I read such good results. I am also on Valdoxan 50 mg because the 10 mg wasn't enough to stop the anxiety..sure helped but didn't stop it..plus I had terrible insomnia and the Valdoxan works on the body clock apparently..
Anyway, so grateful for your input and knowledge..G
gina01020 ann55375
Posted
ann55375 gina01020
Posted
i only ask as i did discuss valdoxan with the psychiatrist and he said it was not approved here, that was in January.
gina01020 ann55375
Posted
No Ann in Australia.
It isn't on the health scheme here either and I have to pay for it.
The doc said it is one of the newer ADs and they won't put it on the health scheme because it's cheaper for them to just keep the older sari's on there and not give people a choice.. I had absolutely no side effects with it and apparently, you don't need to taper off it. It resets your body clock..it costs me $60 au a month. I could change over to it entirely but I'd have to get another packet a month which is out of my price league...so I'm on a low dose of both...which suits me as I have somewhere to go if I need to increase the dose later..
I think it is approved over there as I've seen posts about it on here..but you have to pay for it...you also have to have regular blood tests for the first year because it's processed by the liver so they keep a check on your liver levels to see if your processimg it ok.
ann55375 gina01020
Posted
Chaffers gina01020
Posted
I went onto citalopram after the mirtazipine, which I've taken before with no noticeable side effects.
Whilst the vertigo has waxed and waned a bit over the last 10 months the anxiety if anything has ramped up consistently. For instance I'm now off meds entirely as I ran out of them a few weeks ago, then got the phonecall regarding my son, and haven't been able to get out of the house since.
A month after coming off Mirtazipine I was going to job interviews and generally out and about. Even started going running.
Whilst the vertigo might be slightly less than it was the anxiety isn't. And I'm not exactly an anxious sort of a person. Adrenailin junkie if anything and ... I don't really recognise the anxiety as natural. If that makes sense.
Hence I'm confused. As a cure for depression a drug which emotionally sterilises you and makes you extremely shy of human interaction, never mind asking for help, Mirtazipine seemed.... counter productive.
Morning_Rain ann55375
Posted
I would say yes, definitely Mirtz withdrawal causes intense anger and even feelings of rage/ intense agitation. Our CNS is going thru a detox of a drug it’s addicted to.
I’m having constant bouts of anger/rage/agitation throughout the tapering even though i’m titrating 1/10th the dose every 30-45d. I’m currently at 10.5mg, started at 15mg. Was on a Mirtz for 4+ years.
Morning_Rain Chaffers
Posted
Did you taper off mirtz or quit cold turkey? Also, what dose were you on?
Are you still experiencing withdrawal effects?
I’m very sorry about your children.