Mirtazapine withdrawal, how long does it last?

Hi, I've been off 45mg two months now. I was put on it nine years ago to help with sleep and anxiety. I wasn't depressed but was suffering from a very nasty mental illness. I decided to come off it because it was affecting my liver. In the event coming off was so easy for me. No problems of any kind and I don't even think about the drug now. Good luck

did you taper or just stop at 45 mg? that's great - there is hope for me , I have been off 1 month but not having such a great time of it.  

tapered from 45mg to 0 in 1 week. i cut the pill down bit by bit and as i was finding it so easy did it really fast. i still need my olanzapine, but that is also reduced down to 2.5mg. 2.5 doesnt sound like much but i cant sleep without it. so you could say my problems are slightly different. at some point in the future i will come off the olanzapine completely. but the withdrawal is terrible, like virtually no sleep for a month. so will do it when i have abreak from work. Most of the problems with mirtazapine are in the mind. if you were very anxious before taking it, i think your likely to have a rebound for a while. eventually you will be so glad to be off it, and will firmly put it behind you. dont substitue another drug for it, as that would put you back to step 1 again. all the best .. mike

Hey I'm on 15mg now and have been on it for about a year almost for anxiety ...I know everyone reacts differently to withdrawal, but how severe do you think it would be for me. Also, the withdrawal symptoms do go away, right?

Hey I'm on 15mg for about an year now. Will withdrawal be tough as well and it does eventually go away right ?

hi sushant

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I was on 15mg for 5 weeks due to PTSD which created anxiety issues I never had before. I have been off mirt almost 5 weeks. I tapered off by breaking up tablet into quarters. However I had tremors in stomach legs almost constant for two weeks. Although lying down focusing on wordsearches gave me relief but I was also taking propananol(beta blocker) Which helped. I still have tremors on and off but they are not as bad. I also find Im more emotionally sensitive and find words hurt me more. I think this is still the impact of the mirt. It appears it can take many many weeks for your natural body to balance itself out. Its not easy but I so impressed by the courage and strength of u all who have written on here. It can be done its worth it. Stay positive and keep fighting the withdrawl your not alone.

how are you now Connie?  I am two years down line on 7.5 but last week he put me up to 15.  The nightmares spill over into the day and i feel worse.  I think i need to stop this med.  any hints on how to get rid of 7.5?  I am so sensitive to meds each one i tried i failed at, this was the only one which didnt make me comit or be like a zombie, now i cant take the nightmares any longer

How is it going.  I have a fight on my hands with remeron. Just stuck at 7.5 and petrified i wont sleep if i drop it. Been on twomyears. Hoping you have made it.  I havent tried buspar, wondering if,it might help getting off.

You were clearly very lucky, everybody's withdrawals are massively different and we don't know the reasons, I went through utter hell, diet and meditation did nothing, I stopped sleeping completely for months and the anxiety was off the charts, something I didn't have before the mirtazepine I've been left with, so I understand you trying to make others less afraid but your comments can also make those who have suffered badly seem like they are just moaning over nothing. And others quit cold turkey to devastating effects. I'm very happy for you that it went so well though, I have a feeling it had more to do with the time spent on the drug and other drug interactions or lack of, we know so little about antidepressants really.

Hi

I'm exactly 3 weeks after finishing and withdrawal symptoms just as bad, or possibly getting worse.

Awful tremors

Muscle stiffness

Nervy type pain in arms, legs and feet

Pins and needles as above

Edgy and awful mental blockages when thinking, communicating

Eye sensitivity to light

Hoarseness

I certainly didn't present with all these symptoms prior to starting Mirtazapine in 2011.

Steve, I took Mirt for 5 weeks only 7.5mg hang in there it does get better but its slow. I'm 11 wks in and I still get tremors but its very mild....my emotional rollercoaster has settled down. Now that serotonin levels are balancing out. It just takes time give yourself at least 3 months. Good luck

Thanks. Unfortunately, there's no way I'll be tolerate these symptoms for another 3 weeks, never mind three months😡😡

HI.

That is so good you can get through this with little or no side effects.

I have also been through hell and found the "horror stories" on here a great relief that I wasn't going mad and that what I was suffering has been suffered by others.

I think most people looking at this forum would be doing so because they are also suffering and wanting help and guidance and those that don't have a problem, wouldn't be looking for help. Unfortunately for many of us, the "horror stories" are " horror facts "

So Glad you have a success story

Feel for you.

i hate this mirtaz, been on two years and cannot get it above 7.5. Last week psych told me to double it, still a low dose, but my sensitivity toevery one of these meds has hit hard.  I am having even worse living nightmares, vivid is too light a word for them.  I wake sweating and grateful to be alive.  Its killing my sleep.  I want to be rid of these but what will i do as i still have anxiety through the roof.  I wonder if theres such a thing as a gentle med...

Hi, i am having mirtaz awful symptoms, told me to up it to 15 a day. Got migraines and anxiety. I cannot take anothervthree weeks, what did you do, decrease or change?

Personally I'd change. I'd get rid of the Mirt and ask for a mild A/D.

Mirt causes so many unwanted awful symptoms.

Keep telling yourself the anxiety isn't real. It's a chemical imbalance that needs addressing with another mild A/D like Sertraline from your Gp.

I don't know weather tapering just prolongs the length of time you'll feel crappie ? I don't recommend going cold turkey but for me as soon as I started feeling insicure i ditched the Mirt and it was awful but it did settle down and now I'm taking 100mgs of Sertraline and all the anxiety has gone and I'm back to feeling myself so now I feel like I can make better choices to improve my depression because I don't feel ill anymore.

I spent nearly 4 months on my knees and often thought about the S word because I couldn't cope with my mind and my body being out of sync, day in day out. All day Sweats were imbarrasing. I'd get into a car and steam the windows and I'd be talking one minute then my anxiety would come and I'd have to say can you give me a minute whilst I held my head in my hands.

I know that some folk don't approve with the "horror story's" but it's the truth for so many of us.

Like most people on this forum, i found this site because I needed reassurance that I wasn't alone with the symptoms I had. And knowing I wasn't suffering alone was of great comfort.

Try and see it through, I know it's easier said than done but you'll feel the benifit once you do.

Mirtazapine causes more psychological problems then anything I've ever known. I think mirt should be taken off the market because know-one is well enough informed of the complications. The NHS need to be more informed about the drug there happy to dish out to us just to then roll there eyes at you when we don't know what's happening with our mind and body. I wish a Gp would try it for themselves to really know what we've gone through.

You'll need your family and friends to help you through the awful waves it comes in and you'll need at least 3 months to see it through. Good luck ~ you will get your life back.

What I don't get is the barrage of neurological problems I've been bombarded with since ditching Mirt a month ago. I get that there's less serotonin + norapinephrine in my system, and that can affect mood etc. But why the hell would that, in itself, cause the shaking, pain, stiffness, pins and needles etc etc????

 Hi Vikki and Steve,

I was put on Mirt because my other AD was giving me bad stomach issues. I had a fair few issues with it at the start but for the most part, the last 7 years have been mainly terrible weight gain. it wasn't working anymore and rather than up the dose and gain more weight, the Doc changed me to Lexapro....The last 5 months have been horrific. Unfortunately, I was unable to tell if it was Mirt withdrawals or Lexapro side effects...What you describe Steve is everything I went through too..I could have changed to Sertraline but wasn't sure if I'd be another set of side effects to contend with from them and then there's the weight issue....When your in that space, its very hard to know what to do for the better. This sentence is so true Vikki..."  The NHS need to be more informed about the drug there happy to dish out to us just to then roll there eyes at you when we don't know what's happening with our mind and body. I wish a Gp would try it for themselves to really know what we've gone through."... The doc even suggested that I had read all these symptoms on google and because I was full of anxiety, had imagined them on myself..I was so stunned I didn't know how to answer...No one could IMAGINE what we go through.I too was not told of the horrendous effects to expect coming off them. Some people seem to be able to blissfully change from one to the other and not feel anything...I so wish I was one, I was starting to think my normal life was over and things would never be the same.

Anyway Steve, I have found that I have a few good days, followed by some not so good days....I think they are getting less as time goes on. Like I said, hard for me to tell with starting another AD but I still think the Mirt withdrawals are whats to blame.. The Doc doesn't agree of course. 

I think it takes a fair while Steve to get out of your system and your brain to aclimatize again to not having it. 

Thank you Vikki for saying as I have, we need this forum to help us feel not so alone....when you have no one to share or understand what were feeling, this is a godsend. At times I would have gone to the emergency dept but for my fear of being kept in and another set of drugs trialed on me. So if people think it's a forum for HORROR stories, then they can't be suffering to badly.

I hope things settle quickly for you Steve. You can only take one day at a time and know there is light at the end of the tunnel, even if it takes a while to find.

Hope this helps in some small way.

 

Hi Vikki and Steve,

I was put on Mirt because my other AD was giving me bad stomach issues. I had a fair few issues with it at the start but for the most part, the last 7 years have been mainly terrible weight gain. it wasn't working anymore and rather than up the dose and gain more weight, the Doc changed me to Lexapro....The last 5 months have been horrific. Unfortunately, I was unable to tell if it was Mirt withdrawals or Lexapro side effects...What you describe Steve is everything I went through too..I could have changed to Sertraline but wasn't sure if I'd be another set of side effects to contend with from them and then there's the weight issue....When your in that space, its very hard to know what to do for the better. This sentence is so true Vikki..."  The NHS need to be more informed about the drug there happy to dish out to us just to then roll there eyes at you when we don't know what's happening with our mind and body. I wish a Gp would try it for themselves to really know what we've gone through."... The doc even suggested that I had read all these symptoms on google and because I was full of anxiety, had imagined them on myself..I was so stunned I didn't know how to answer...No one could IMAGINE what we go through.I too was not told of the horrendous effects to expect coming off them. Some people seem to be able to blissfully change from one to the other and not feel anything...I so wish I was one, I was starting to think my normal life was over and things would never be the same.

Anyway Steve, I have found that I have a few good days, followed by some not so good days....I think they are getting less as time goes on. Like I said, hard for me to tell with starting another AD but I still think the Mirt withdrawals are whats to blame.. The Doc doesn't agree of course. 

I think it takes a fair while Steve to get out of your system and your brain to aclimatize again to not having it. 

Thank you Vikki for saying as I have, we need this forum to help us feel not so alone....when you have no one to share or understand what were feeling, this is a godsend. At times I would have gone to the emergency dept but for my fear of being kept in and another set of drugs trialed on me. So if people think it's a forum for HORROR stories, then they can't be suffering to badly.

I hope things settle quickly for you Steve. You can only take one day at a time and know there is light at the end of the tunnel, even if it takes a while to find.

Hope this helps in some small way. 

Yes, they tried me on sertraline but i got nauseous and very over anxious i. Ouldnt be still, that was on 50mg. Had to stop. Still on mirtaz. Prozac made me suicidal, duloxetine into a zombie state etc. I just wonder if i could manage with nothing but an anti anxiety med, these anti deps dont like me.

i think you have hit the nail on the head.  I am down to 7.5 mirtaz but scared to go further.  I also had drs tell me i was imagining i had the symptoms because i had read too much about them.  Why cant they realise these are real symptoms.  As someone also said, they should try taking these themselves and see the outcome!  Doesnt help us though, i just dont know whether to ditch all of these as they all make me feel ill.

Hi Ann

As if it's not bad enough when your down to then not be believed as well.

I think you can drop your dose by 1mg increments by using a liquid form of Mirt. I'm not sure if you can buy it like that or have to crush your tablets and mix it with liquid to do it. I saw it in a post on here. Might help.

I seem to be very sensitive too. I can't take most of them because they give me stomach ulsurs . If I could get off them I would but my anxiety and panic attacks are terrible off them. Let me know if you want me to hunt down the Mirt slow taper comment. Cheers G

hi again Ann.

This is the post I was talking about.

For advice on tapering Mirtazapine slowly at the recommended rate of no more than 10% every 3 or 4 weeks, please see the following which is within this forum,

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/depression-resources-298570

Thank you Gina.

I now have Doc's appointment next week, so will have to see how that goes.

Much appreciated.

Steve

Thank you so much, i will do my research and hope to find a way out of this. People on this site are very kind.

How are you doing? I am still o7.5 scared to rick the boat but know i need to.  Use of diazepam daily isnt helping, wonder which i should lower first.

Hi

I've been off, completely for 10 weeks. In that time, symptoms have deteriorated massively (mainly neuropathic pain, shaking, weakness and exhaustion). Doc wants me to go back on Mirt as belives that this is anxiety related and not withdrawal. I've never felt so ill or helpless. I don't want to waster money on a neurologist, but maybe they can explain how anxiety mirrors the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy to this agonising extent, and how best to deal with the problem?

Thanks

Hi Ann.

Thankyou for thinking of me.

I was doing reasonably well re Mortgage symptoms but the new med, Lexapro, was good in some ways as far as anxiety but terrible with being able to remember things... I can't even remember dreams..nothing... Insomnia is still bad so I'm still taking a half a sleeping tablet too... Not game to lower it even though the Doc questions it every time.. I have started ANOTHER anti depressant as well that is suppose to help with body clock issues.. it did help with anxiety and settle the Lexapro side effects a bit but still worried about being able to remember things... Image to write down when I take my tablets etc as if I don't, I can't remember at all... Anyway, the doc said to cut the Lexapro in half and see how that goes... I wasn't game so cut a small piece off the corner.. lol.. been doing that for nearly a week and sure enough, back come the side effects. Nausea, bloating, dizzy head, tight chest and not feeling too good at all...So I think the Mirt withdrawals have finally settled ?? Possibly who can tell with all this happening.. im well into 6 months off Mirt now.. I'd say I was bad for at least 4 months and then I'd get a couple of good days followed by a couple of bad days..I know what you mean by rock the boat... I stayed on Lexapro when I don't think I should have because I was too scared of getting another set of symptoms... I'd say do the Mirt lowering first as you will probably need to rely on the Diaz through that.. I know I did..you can deal with the Diaz later when everything is settled down.. otherwise, if you'd like me, you'll worry yourself even more about getting off both..I did try but the insomnia was terrible so am taking Diaz till I'm ready to face that.. also, you can reduce it very slowly by getting lower dose tablets and cutting them down every 2 weeks or so..can you reduce the Mirt even more for a while before stopping?

Cheers,

Gina

Sorry Ann.. I posted without checking and autocorrect has changed Mirt to Mortgage Symptoms..aaah

Hi Steve... You poor thing.. still having trouble...it took me at least 4-5 months before I got some relief at all.. I am on another antidepressant too which they thought would lessen the symptoms...not!!

The doc tried to blame anxiety on my symptoms too but it definately wasn't.. they don't realise how bad it is to go through .. I know on here they say to reinstate Mirt and then do a VERY slow taper to give your brain a chance to normalise again... Not sure if this is your best option and I could see why after 10 weeks you wouldn't want to go back there..but possibly a kinder option for you.. a low dose may settle it down... I know I nearly went to the Emergency Room a few times I was so I'll..I was only put off by the thought of them changing my meds AGAIN!!

Have you googled the ASHTONS MANUAL? it explains a lot of things re. Meds effects on your brain and how to slow taper properly. ..

Yours in sympathy,

Gina

Thats really helpful, so i should try to drop down a bit of mrtaz first then.  You have had a rough time, i think you mention you are on a new anti dep, what ist and is it helping?   BTW my diagnosis is anxiety based depression. All ssris tried made me worse.

Yes... I think you should definately dropmthe Mirt first.. it will probably be the hardest.. the slower the better. Give your self time to adjust each time you drop too.. mine is panic disorder, anxiety and probably a bit of depression with it but if I'm not constantly anxious, I'm ok.. I have found the Lexapro.. ( escitalopram ) totally different than the normal sari's .. for panic and anxiety it is good ... When I looked it upon this forum, most people love it.. just some like me that find it fits the brain...mid it wasn't for that, I would love it...at least now all the side effects are subsiding..some don't have any problems at all but then I guess, some find Mirt ok to. It would be worth asking about and trying.. it may suit you.. I'm only on 10 mg and was suppose to take 20 mg but too much side effects for me.. it is really good for OCD as well

Gosh...I wish you could edit after posting. So many typos

Thanks Gina

Should have added that taper not ideal (reduced from 30-15 mg and stayed on that for two years then 7.5 for two weeks then nothing!) Despite this I can't see why withdrawal symptoms become more severe after 10 weeks!!

Also can't reconcile why I'm supposed to have anxiety induced symptoms when don't feel particularly anxious?

Hi Steve.. It is very odd...

When they say slow taper, it is no more than 10 % at any one time...so 15 mg then 13.5, then 12.1, then 11.2 etc.. by the time you get to 7.5 it would be 6.7 and so on with at least 2-3 weeks in between... This gives your brain time to adjust each time. A long slow process .. as you say, you shouldn't be getting worse I shouldn't think.. Doctors have a habit of blaming things on anxiety.. mine sure does.. he thinks my symptoms are anxiety based too and I can assure him it isn't.. you need to see someone who is very well versed with these drugs...heaven knows how you find that person .. .

Gina,

i have done what you suggested Nd am lowering down mirtaz first, now down to 3.75 but i have been feeling awful every day worse.  The agitation is back, bad sleeps, anxiety and some depression.  I am not sure whether to go back up to 7.5 which was not ideL either, but this is awful.  I guess trying to get off this is not easy.  I cant even think about any further lowering at the moment.  My family are at a loss as how to help me.  The psychiatrist suggested trying mirtaz in daytime as well as night, that was awful.  Dont know whether to just try to staedy out eventually at this dose cor a while but feel so awful dont know if i can.

Hi Ann.

That's no good..

Its terrible to be experiencing this constantly.. I know how hard it is for your family too as there is little they can do to help so feel helpless.

I think you may need to go back up to the 7.5 and stay there til you feel better and things settle down..then reduce even slower and longed time between dropping down.. I'd drop to 6.5 and stay there for at least 2 weeks before dropping again. No more than 1mg drop at a time though..

Are you going on to another anti depressant after this because you may need something for anxiety if your doc thinks so. I tried going without for a year once but couldn't stand the constant anxiety day after day. ..

Let me know how you get on ?

Thanks - seriously thinking about reinstating.  No, dr hasn't suggested another a.d. But i can see you needed to go onto something - can i ask what they gave you?

I swapped to Escitalopram (Lexapro). I went cold turkey from Mirt one day to Escitalopram the next...it was terrible.. I'll never do it again like that..the doc thought the Escitalopram would take over from the Mirt but it takes at least 4-6 weeks for a new AD to start working so I guess I had gone cold turkey from 30mg of Mirt...awefully.. it has taken me months to get to this point where I can function again. I still don't feel the same at all but I'm too scared to change again as I couldnt stand to go through the symptoms again just yet so sticking g to the Escitalopram and hoping I eventually settle on it...I also don't want another AD that puts on weight and Escitalopram isn't suppose to do that.

How is your swop from mirtaz to escitalopram going?  I am thinking of doing the same and looking for experience

Hi Ann,

Its taken along time to settle down.. but I'm not sure if it's the Mirt withdrawals still effecting me .

I've found Lexapro totally different to the others I've been on. It seems to stop panic attacks and OCD stuff but I take another one to help with depression..so 10mg of Lexapro and 50 of Valdoxan..I would try just the Valdoxan but I'd need to increase the dose and it's not cheap. .. I don't think Lexapro is really right for me although it certainly works. I just don't feel right on them sometimes..and I'm on a low dose...I was hoping for a positive result because a lot of people love Lexapro.. I'm just one of those that don't .

hi steve! did the peripheral neuropathy go away? if so, when? I am going thru this now. hope you're well