Mirtazapine withdrawal, how long will this last??!!!!

Everyone is different, I've stopped mirtazapine 3 times the first 2 I had basically no withdrawals, this time has been awful, I've been off 3 months Monday x

Hi I to was on Mirtazapine for a total of about 2 years , I started off on 15 mg and then went up to 30 mg and finally  up to 45 mg . Then I started to have really rough patches so I decided that I needed to get off this stuff all together , so I saw my GP and I cut down to 30 mg then to 15 mg then to 7.5 mg and am at 7.5 mg every other night at the moment but this isn't at all easy some days I truly feel like s**t . This has been going on now for several weeks with no signs of it getting any easier . When I first went on these I really really stipulated to my GP that I didn't want anything that was addictive and this is what happens . I'm seriously considering seeking legal advice in the new year as this is so damn wrong , all the best Dave

 

Hi, 

I won't sugar coat it for you,  owning off Mirt, for me, was hell! But I don't regret coming off it fora second. 

The super intense anxiety symptoms started about day 8 for me, and didn't really calm down until after a month. There were good and bad times (felt like waves) but I had horrid morning anxiety and peaks of anxiety for nearly three months. 

I was like you and nearly went back to it several times, but persevered as felt it wasn't really helping with my underlying problems. Good luck! 

I have been on these a couple of years, never really got any benefit.  Now titrating off it and nearlynthere.  I hear that the symptoms of withdrawal are bad.  I am on 3.75 and feel like you, difficulty leaving bed, no energy, feel sick.  I also do not want to take it ever again but from reading on here it seems it takes a while for side effects to go, many are suffering.   

Did you get some benefit from taking it? I also feel agarophobic on it, but how to know if its the pill or just condition is my worry.

you will get lots of replies on this site im sure as there are many sufferers, in the main they say stick with it, it will get better but needs time.  Im not even where you are yet.

hi, i understand where you are coming from.  I have chosen to go down by quartering the pill to 3.75 then will half that.  Still getting the awful side effects which come with it. Dr didnt seem slightest concerned about it all.   

What i dont know now is, will this end, or will,they put me on another one to stop the bad effects of this one.  I just cant seem to function properly at the moment.  I hope your days get better, any hints on how to help things at all?

No i'm sorry I can't help you there all I know is that it really isn't nice , i'm sat here at the moment feeling like hell .i'm trying to to take 7.5 mg every other day however i'm finding it very difficult , as for getting any help from my gp on that score I've given up, they get you addicted to this or that but then no help is forth coming when you want to get off it .I'm very seriously thinking of seeking legal advice to see if I have any grounds for seeking some sort of recompense as I did state to my gp at the time NOT to prescribe me anything that was addictive 

At the end of the day Ann they can only put you on something else if you let them or if you want them to . Once I get off this I don't want them to put me on anything else , at the end of the day they don't care how much crap you have to go through which is the sad thing 

What if the symptoms were having are part of the condition and not just the withdrawal.  Will we then have to be put back on another anti dep?  How do you cope without this awful stuff if youre still ill?

Hi Ann , well i'm not to sure about that , i'm nearly 60 and have only been on some for or other of anti depressants for the last couple of . The problem is that I don't suffer from depression I was told that I have mood swings , unless that's just a nice way of saying that you're depressed . A few weeks ago when I decided that enough was enough I managed 5 days with absolutely nothing and it felt so damn nice , I was laughing and joking with my best friend and felt really happy and contented . It felt so right and I want myself back. As for coping maybe your GP could get you in with a counsellor someone to talk to in confidence to try and find out what triggered your depression x

Thanks for your reply.

i know what triggered it, it was a spinal surgery, went in with pain and came out pain free but massively anxious.  Been on diazepa since and anti dep to try to lift me.  Tried so many  which didnt work.  Had three different sessions of cbt, no help.  Just fed up with no progress and my body doesnt like anti deps.

How long have you been on diazepam as that's highly addictive and could be hindering your anxiety? Ann if before you went into hospital you didn't feel like this then its withdrawal x

I don't think that any of us like being dependent on anti depressants , but unfortunately it's only us that can break the mould. two weeks ago I was on 30 mg per night i'm now down to 7.5 mg and am hoping that I can keep it going downward ,I shall stay on 7.5 for a couple more weeks then i'll hopefully be able to drop down a bit more , I think the key is to do it at a pace where you're comfortable x 

I'd just like to add that I agree with Toria , you need to tackle this one thing at a time  x

After these withdrawals are over I've got 4 more meds to get off which I shouldn't of been on in the first place but determined not to rely on pills anymore x

Well done so far , i'm down to 7.5mg and am going to give a few weeks before I cut down again , I've got one more battle to finish after this then i'll be totally drug free x

Aw well done Dave, we will feel so much better and be stronger when all this is done, what other med have you got to come off of? X

Methadone , I was on 80ml a day when I started and am down to 25ml so once I finish with this damn mirtazapine I can go in to detox  for 10 days and that'll be me drug free x

Aw good luck Dave, we can do this! One of my favourite quotes is

It's not about waiting for a storm to pass,

It's about dancing in the rain!

X

Yes we can do it , chin up and one at a time gets you there , don't know if you ever want to chat of here or even if they'll load this but my email is

Moderator comment: I have removed the email address as we do not publish these in the forums. If users wish to exchange contact details please use the Private Message service.

Hi Dave, how you doing?

Good morning  Toria , how are you coping , I've had a bit of a rough weekend but feel a little bit better this morning , I've got the council work men here at the moment so will chat to you later ok x

Ok Dave, glad you're having a better day, chat soon x

Hi there how are you , well that's the workman done and I have a new shower curtain fitted at last , today does seem to be going a bit better which as you'll know is a great relief in its self . Anyway how are you doing and what was your weekend like , I tried to send you my personal email but they wouldn't let me , as you know my first names Dave and my surname is Barrington-Ward so you can look me up on fb if you want to ,lets see if they'll post this 

Hi Dave, glad your day is going ok, mine has been horrible today and I'm tempted to go back to doctors for help even though they're rubbish! I'm just not functioning at all and on the bad days feel like I'm going backwards, I'm into week 14 off mirtazapine now x

Hi, just wondering if you are feeling so badyou may need to see dr again - i often feel this way then my hubby says whatndomyounexpect dr to do,,change meds, new meds etc.  I then rationalise it aand realise there is no magic bullet.  If i cant stand getting off mirtazapine and its so awful, then they will give a new med which could just cause the same problems again, damned if you do,,damned if you dont is how i feel now.

I know Ann, horrible though isn't it ?? I took an anti nausea tablet before that I used to get on repeat and feel a little better as it works on gaba receptors x

Hi there , I gather that you're completely off mirtazapine  please don't go backwards. Easy for me you might say as i'm still on 7.5mg but only a couple of weeks ago I was on 30mg a day .Believe me I know exactly where you're coming from , what sort of things do you do during the day time to fill your hours ??? Are you struggling with sleeping as my doctor actually prescribed me Promethazine which is totally non addictive they're a antihistamine mainly but they help with sleep and actually seem to help ease mood ,please keep your chin up and for what its worth i'm thinking of you ok xx 

Aw Dave thank you, don't worry no way am I touching mirtazapine again I even binned what I had in the house 2 days ago, my partner has been off work for months so we've been keeping busy walking etc, but he goes back to work next week 😭 I found out the hard way I can't take promethazine as I'm on codeine, I took an anti nausea before and seem to have settled a little x

Hi there again , well all I can say is well done you , you must have a top guy there to stick by you through all this and top for throwing away what you had left that shows real determination , right i'm off to bed will chat later regards to your partner night x

Goodnight Dave, hope tomorrow is a good day for you x