1. Community
  2. Brain and nerves
  3. Mirtazapine

Mirtazapine withdrawal - tips and experiences thread

Posted , 44 users are following.

evergreen
evergreen

This is a follow up thread to 'Coming off mirtazapine', for people to share their experiences and tips, and give support to one another.

Mirtazapine is a very powerful drug and an exceptional antidepressant which works much more quickly than others, sometimes within days. It has many very good attributes, but also has some bad side effects such as weight gain for some, which means there are many people trying to withdraw from it.

What most doctors don't tell you, is that it is not an easy drug to come off. You will usually be advised to halve your dose for two weeks and then come off it. Sometimes, people are told to just stop it and start another AD with disasterous results. This thread is for those people who have successfully withdrawn from mirtazapine to tell others how they did it, or for those currently part way through the journey, or for those who are facing the withdrawal process and are daunted by the thought of it.

7 likes, 159 replies

159 Replies

Prev Next
  • si675
    si675 evergreen

    Posted

    I'm now coming to three months off Mirt. It's been dam hard but I don't know if that's been the withdrawal or just my mental health issues returning. I was only on Mirt for 5 weeks and it just mad the anxiety worse. The doc doubled my dose from 15 to 30mgs for the last week I was on it before I pulled the plug and stopped over night. The first four days I was great. Back to my old self and then the problems started, night sweats, shaking and anxiety, morning sickness and wild racing thoughts. By week 4 I thought I was over it and had a good week. My original problem that I went to the doctors with had returned, chest pains and no energy but I wasn't anxious. Then week five I went backwards. It's been like that up and down ever since week five. One week was so bad I hit the Valium dailey and felt great. If only I could stay on Valium I'm sure I'd be fine. So I had a great week. Then the following week with no Valium I was down in the mornings waking at stupid times like 3 and 4 am and not being able to sleep again due to racing thoughts and panic attacks. Now I think the Mirt is out of my system but I'm still having it bad and won't go back on the Mirt. Doc has put me on Propanolol as and when needed but it's not for my symptoms so not taken any yet. 

    I hated Mirt and had a hard time coming off it. All I have to do now is looks the 20lbs I put on in weight whilst on it. 

    • sarah_47032
      sarah_47032 si675

      Posted

      Your problems sound very similar to mine! The doctors must get this issue a lot, so why don't they know how to help? I'm at my wits end sad the sleeping issue gives me anxiety because I don't know if I will ever be able to sleep again, unless I go back on metarzapine sad

      I go to bed around midnight most nights and last night was the worst yet, 7.5 hours later I was still wide awake!!? It's been 4 months now but I have taken 15mg when Iv been desperate to sleep. I put on 20lbs too at my heaviest, I lost it but gained back 10lbs (I'm assuming through tiredness)

      Is that why you don't want to go back on it? Because of the increase in appetite? I feel like this tablet shouldn't be prescribed at all ..what has your doctor said? Has he said how long it will take to stabilise? What is this other tablet he prescribed you? What is it for?

    • si675
      si675 sarah_47032

      Posted

      Hi Sarah,

      I asked my doctor for Diazepam to calm me down and help me sleep whilst getting off the Mirt.  It helps so much and with me I have no side effects from it.  If it wasn't so addictive I would stay on the Diazepam as it sorts out all my problems, sleep, anixiety and panic attacks.  But the docs wont let me have more than one months supply which is supposed to last me 3 months.

      I dont want to go back onMirt because it didn't help it made my anxiety worse.  The doctor told me to double my dose when I said it wasn't working.  That made things ten times worse with anxiety 24/7 and no sleep.  So I cut my dose to half the original (7.5mg) and felt great for a few days then started feeling crap again so stopped taking it all together and felt great again for a few days and then back to feeling crap.  But I'm having many more good days now and think the Mirt is out of my system.

      The Propanolol is a Beta Blocker and used mainly for people with high blood pressure and I mean seriously high BP.  It slows the heart down and this in turn reduces the adrenaline levels that are high when having a panic attack or anxiety.  I was told to only take it when needed.  Not tried it yet not because I don't need it but because I'm now scared of getting stuck on any more drugs that have side effects and long term withdrawl symptoms.

    • blyther
      blyther si675

      Posted

      Just wondering how your withdrawal went. I just stopped 4 days ago, and after 3 long terrible days, I feel loads better. Just wondering if I'm out of the woods or should expect more! Happy to hear people have done it as fast as I did!

  • evergreen
    evergreen

    Posted

    Just coming off mirtazapine completely for just over a week.

    Generally, I am feeling great. Emotionally especially with no sign of depression and very little anxiety when I stay within my comfort zone. Yesterday I did something which terrified me. I had completely negative thoughts about it for several days running up to it and I was convinced I would fall and breal my neck and be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life, but I forced myself to picture it going really well, rather than focussing on the negative. I went out there and did it and it was fab. My confidence is immediately restored. They say you should do something that frightens you every day, well I'm not too sure about that, but once in a while, yes, I think it does you good.

    I have also been sleeping really well although I am still taking half a temazepam. But I am feeling confident I will be able to wean off that when I'm ready.

    My nausea is back today after being pretty good the last three days. But this was how I always used to be. My allergies are also back and I am itching again, although not as bad as I was before the mirt and I have so far resisted the temptation to start back on the anti histamines. I'll have to see how bad it gets because I may have to resort to cetirizine again.

    But in summary, I am feeling very good indeed. How is everyone else doing?

    • lorraine52317
      lorraine52317 evergreen

      Posted

      Hi evergreen

      Fantastic and wonderful news! So delighted for you. It also shows how beneficial it is to taper slowly. Thanks to you I am now doing things in the correct way. It's such a huge lift for me and many others, we can and will all get there!

      your message has truly made my day!

      God bless xx

    • evergreen
      evergreen lorraine52317

      Posted

      I'm glad it has helped you, Lorraine. I am sure you too will get off the meds. But you are definitely doing it the right way this time. I have a lot to thank mirtazapine for. It got me out of a deep dark hole and I healed mentally whilst I was on it. The problem is, you don't know if you're well whilst you're on the meds. My theory is that once I got well, that is when the mirt turned round on me and gave me the symptoms I was put on it to treat. So maybe that's the sign. Maybe when it poops out, it is saying, hey, you don't need me now, so run along...

       

    • lorraine52317
      lorraine52317 evergreen

      Posted

      That makes a lot of sense. I hope you will still be here with us evergreen! Need you!

      Lots of gratitude to you always xx

    • blyther
      blyther evergreen

      Posted

      How was your withdrawal? I just stopped a few days ago, and after 3 days of awful symptoms, I feel like the fog has lifted! Just wondering if I'm out of the woods or should expect more symptoms to pop up. Crossing my fingers that that was it! smile

    • Calmer
      Calmer blyther

      Posted

      Hi Blyther,

      That link you have written on is 11 months old, how about starting another thread & ask the people currently following the Mirtazapine forum?  Might be best ?

    • blyther
      blyther Calmer

      Posted

      Okay! Thanks for the tip. I am new here. smile

  • si675
    si675 evergreen

    Posted

    Hi Evergreen. 

    Interesting how you say you think the drugs turned on you which was a sign you was back to normal. That's the problem we never really know we are back to good health whilst on the ADs. Glad it's all going well. I've been Mirt free for over three months now after a instant withdrawal. It's been hard and even now I have good and bad days but I don't think it was the Mirt withdrawal, well not more recently anyway. Had some great days too but it's been hard to remember the good days when you're feeling totally dis paired. 

    The last few days I've been on edge and really feeling so low I ended up taking some Propanolol which the doc has given me for anxiety and to take when needed. Took half a tablet yesterday for the first time. Apart from being awak since 3am no side effects. Which is good as everything else has made me worse and so suicidal it was unbelievable. 

    Anyway good luck with your new drug free happy life and keep doing those things that scare you they help keep us alive. 

    • evergreen
      evergreen si675

      Posted

      Hi Si, I am so sorry you are feeling so down right now. As you say, it is highly unlikely to be withdrawal now as even with protracted WD, the symptoms tend to be pretty much constant. The fact that you are having some good days points away from it being WD. I am pleased the propranalol is helping you. I found I couldn't take it as I already have a very slow heartbeat and so it almost stopped my heart! But it works well for my husband if he is having a very stressful time. Are you having any other non drug treatment at the moment? It sounds like you need some support.
    • sarah_47032
      sarah_47032 evergreen

      Posted

      What is proprananol? I'm going to get cbt, if it's not withdrawal it must just be the stress and got in a rut maybe ..sounds like cbt should help if that's the case sad
    • evergreen
      evergreen sarah_47032

      Posted

      It's a beta blocker that is used for people wih heart problems or high blood pressure, but it's useful for other things too, such as migraines and stress.
    • joe41082
      joe41082 evergreen

      Posted

      You're wrong. I'm coming up to a year now in protracted withdrawal and it most certainly isn't constant (for some people). It comes in waves and windows and after each bad spell it gets slightly better, then you have another bad spell, then even better than before after that one etc. You shouldn't be telling people things like that. Were all different.
    • evergreen
      evergreen joe41082

      Posted

      Sorry Joe. I am not a doctor, and I agree everyone is different. I am just speaking from my own experience and what others have described when they have been in protracted WD. I was in protracted WD after coming off tramadol and it was constant. That is why I went on the mirt. Thankfully, I have now come off the mirt after 4 years and feel well. But I believe protracted WD is caused by withdrawing too quickly from a drug. If you come off it slowly enough you can normally avoid it.

       

    • lorraine52317
      lorraine52317 evergreen

      Posted

      Hi evergreen

      I agree with you as I know from my recent personal experience! Your knowledge is invaluable to many of us here. You have walked the walked! You also have held many of us up as we take our steps. Without your specific help I would still be struggling with protracted withdrawal. We are lucky to have you here. In my view we all give advice from experience and whilst some may disagree with us there's a correct way to put across a differing opinion! I replied to someone just yesterday, someone disagreed with my view...difference was they done it so nicely! Guess different strokes for different folks and all that!

      Your fab evergreen and don't forget that!

      God bless ♥♥

    • evergreen
      evergreen lorraine52317

      Posted

      Aw thank uyou, Lorraine smile. I am only trying my best to help people, and as you say, there are nice ways, and not so nice ways of disagreeing with people.
    • lorraine52317
      lorraine52317 evergreen

      Posted

      Whilst you here lol!! Can you recall how you managed to motivate yourself when recovering? I am feeling so much better, only had Monday morning as a grim time. I guess I feel stuck, lost so much time (10 months) lost job lost home etc..at the age of 55 I can't see for love nor money a pattern for my new life!! Scared to look for work in case I go right down hill again. The difficulty for me is believing I'm recovering permanently! How did you handle it??

      ♥♥♥

    • evergreen
      evergreen lorraine52317

      Posted

      Hi Lorraine, you have had to cope with an awful lot of bad stuff in a short amount of time and it's no wonder you're struggling; anyone would! I think the best advice I can give you is to be kind to yourself and don't do anything until you are absolutely ready. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't do the things that frighten you, sometimes you have to, but I mean do the things you want to do, even if they frighten you. The thinking about it is far worse than the actual doing.

      Also, when I am going through bad times with my depression, the worst thing I can do is feel helpless and blame everything on my depression, or withdrawal, or whatever, because in that way we are saying 'it's out of my control', and it actually isn't. For example, if I feel really nauseous one morning, or have stomach cramps, I don't blame it on WD, I say, well that's me and losts of other people feel this way, it is not WD and it's not depression. And most of all, positive thinking. Instead of picturing yourself getting a job and then having a terrible relapse into depression, picture scenes of you being successful at work and people really valueing you. If you are feeling well on the mirt, then stay on it! It really did heal me. I didn't know it at the time, but it did. xx

    • lorraine52317
      lorraine52317 evergreen

      Posted

      What a brilliant response, thank you so much evergreen. I have just been going through some old messages from ex colleagues which I hadn't responded to throughout my illness. It was nice to respond and strangely enough one post was mentioning jobs! I feel optimistic and dare i say well! your responses have been pivotal to my recovery amd my new found outlook!

      god bless ♥♥

    • si675
      si675 evergreen

      Posted

      Great words and very positive. You know how hard it has been and you've worked through it. Both me and Lorraine need to start only having positive thoughts. I've got a great job opportunity ahead of me but still get worried with hot sweats and tremors when I think about it and starting a new life on my own 4000 miles away. But I will get there. 
    • lorraine52317
      lorraine52317 si675

      Posted

      Aww Si

      you have been pivotal too, you gave me hope when I had none, you made me smile, when I was crying! I do think god uses people to do his work! Your news warms my heart ♥♥ however many miles you travel I hope we will always be in touch xx

      Si that link you sent wwas amazing!

      God bless xx

    • evergreen
      evergreen si675

      Posted

      That is a scary thing to be doing and it is no wonder you are finding it so stressful. Remember that most people would not be able to do it. So the fact that you are seeing it as such an opportunity already makes you stronger than most other people! Just keep picturing yourself being there and doing well. Really picture it, and you are right, you will get there.
    • sarah_47032
      sarah_47032 evergreen

      Posted

      Hi evergreen, what is protracted withdrawal? Do u think it comes in waves? How long do you think the waves last? I have went doctors today and got 15mg of metarzapine but I also have 27 zopiclone and I'm hoping I can take that every few nights and sleep unaided Inbetween and really do not want to go on the metarzapine. The doc said he has the liquid form you have all suggested on here which is great reassurance but at the same time I'm a lot happier after coming off metarzapine. You are so helpful and it is very much appreciated by us all I'm sure smile
    • sarah_47032
      sarah_47032 joe41082

      Posted

      Hi joe do you still have saved after one year? How long do they last and how frequent are they?
    • evergreen
      evergreen sarah_47032

      Posted

      Hi Sarah. Protracted WD is when someone comes off a drug too quickly for their body to cope and it does lasting damage to the nervous system. The speed of WD that everyone can cope with is different and so some people can come off cold turkey with few problems, but others have severe problems if trying to come off too quickly. The reason we taper slowly off a drug is to give our bodies time to rebuild and rebalance with less of the drug that it has become dependent on. If you do it slowly enough, you will not get protracted WD. Personally, I would not go on mirt just for sleep. I think it is a very powerful drug which makes major changes to the body. If you are happy on the zopiclone, and are not increasing the dose, then I would stay on that and avoid the mirt. But if you need the mirt for other things too, then it might be worth trying it.
    • sarah_47032
      sarah_47032 evergreen

      Posted

      It actually makes me fat and miserable but gets me to sleep. But I might just have to go on it to stabilise the sleep then slow taper.

      What do you mean lasting damage rolleyes do you think Iv done this? It isn't indefinite is it? sad

    • evergreen
      evergreen sarah_47032

      Posted

      How quickly did you come off it? By lasting damage, I mean it can last for months or even years. I have just looked back and seen you have been off it for four months. I would try going back on again at a low dose and get stable then taper really slowly the next time. I would think you should be okay doing that. Let us know how you get on.
    • sarah_47032
      sarah_47032 evergreen

      Posted

      So u think I can reverse the lasting damage by doing that? Iv always had problems switching my brain off and sleeping but this is ridiculous . I'm spending half my time trying to get to sleep
    • Calmer
      Calmer sarah_47032

      Posted

      Hi Sarah/Evergreen

      I would second Evergreens advice of going back to a low dose, stabilising and then doing a slow wd.  I have read of many getting stuck in this insomnia state that is wd/protracted wd.  For some it comes in waves, for some always fatigue with sickness.  

      I think the word "stuck" is a good description of how the nervous system seems to act when people do a quick wd off Mirt, the neuro transmitters need to relearn how to cope without the powerful drug that is Mirtazapine.

      Just a massive shame that doctors don't advise their patients of how to wd from this correctly.

      Wising you well Sarah.

    • joe41082
      joe41082 sarah_47032

      Posted

      Hi. What do you mean? How long do the good spells last? I seem to get 5 good days then 2 bad days, 5 good, 2 bad etc. I'm getting better and better slightly after each bad spell but I'm still shaking a bit and have a bad stomach and acid reflux. Also during the bad days I need to have a during the day for 2 hours.
Back to top
Prev Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.