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Mirtazapine withdrawal - tips and experiences thread

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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 This thread is for those people who have successfully withdrawn from mirtazapine to tell others how they did it, or for those currently part way through the journey, or for those who are facing the withdrawal process and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.

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  • JD2307
    JD2307 evergreen

    Posted

    Hi Evergreen,

    It's really encouraging to read your progress. I thought i was weaning off really slow but i feel really sick now. I started taking 22.5 mg Mirt 2 years ago and after 5 months because of horrible side effects started reducing it. But very, very slowly. I was taking just a tiny bit, like 1/16 of Mirt for 20 days and finally stopped 3 weeks ago. the first two weeks i felt great, so happy i was almost back to normal. But the start of third week i started having anxiety, nausea, and slowly insomnia krept in again. My palms are so itch too, not all the time but in the nights and mornings. Now i am so tempted to take the Mirt again. i feel so exhausted from lack of sleep and anxiety and heart pounding. Am i doing something wrong? Please advice. I am in Germany and i can't get liquid mirt diluted. Last night i caved in and took some Lorazepam that calmed me a bit. Is there anything else that could help me through this time. How long will this last? I am thankful for any input.

    • Calmer
      Calmer JD2307

      Posted

      Hi JD

      Mirt does that, WD can kick in after 2 weeks.  What do you mean when you say you were taking about 1/16?  Does that mean 1/16th of a 15 mg tablet?  If so that left you at just under 1 mg right ???

      In case Evergreen doesn't get back to you tonight may I give my humble opinion, temporary advice, which I know will be the same as Evergreen's.

      So I would reinstate where you left off, at the 1/16th - most people don't realise that we need to go well under the 1 mg mark.  Your symptoms should subside quite quickly I think once reinstated - please don't try and stick it out the suffering goes on for weeks or months, it can be horrendous.

      After that I am sure Evergreen will be pleased to give you the rest after the 1/16th.

      Just hope you will get some sleep and feel back to your (Mirt) normal x

    • evergreen
      evergreen JD2307

      Posted

      So sorry to hear about your symptoms. Have you tried any natural mood enhancers such as inositol? Personally, I'm not sure it's withdrawal as you came off so slowly. What was your final dose?
    • lorraine52317
      lorraine52317 Calmer

      Posted

      Hi calmer

      hope you are well today? I 100% agree with you ♥

      Reinstating stopped the agony!

    • evergreen
      evergreen Calmer

      Posted

      I agree reinstatement of the last dose may be a wise choice, but we need to know what the last few doses were and timespan was. OP can you tell us the details of your taper please? WD often starts around day four after each drop. The only time I have heard of it kicking in after two weeks is when the WD has been too sudden and the body goes into protracted WD.
    • Calmer
      Calmer evergreen

      Posted

      Yes I have heard of it hitting 2 weeks out many times, as youu say we're all different though.  If OP stopped at just under 1 mg that would explain the symptoms that sounds very much like WD.   Maybe OP may like your dilution plan if so, what do you think?

      Have to go out now, hope all goes well for you OP, hang on in there, we're more than happy to help smile  

       

    • JD2307
      JD2307 Calmer

      Posted

      Hi Calmer,

      I took 0.95 mg of the mirt last night as you said and felt better in an hour. i could sleep finally and be delivered from anxiety and nausea. it still astounds me that such a small dose could have such a huge effect. i'm pretty sure it is WD because of the itching, which i never had before taking mirt. At times like these, especially the last week, i feel so hopeless, wondering if i would ever get off of mirt and can be myself again. thank you for your advice. it helped.

    • Calmer
      Calmer JD2307

      Posted

      Hi JD

      You almost got there, honestly you were so close, only a few more steps from the 0.95mg that you did previously for the 20 days.  But you know now that you can't stop at 0.95, you have to keep reducing for a while longer,  a little at a time, 10% maybe each time.  I know this sounds tedious, but you can do this method ... making the liquid.  

      I think the drops you did were quite big at times, especially the 15 mg to 7.5 mg which of course is 50% - you would be very lucky not to have bad WD symptoms at that with anxiety etc, so yeh, you've done really good to get this far.  Not far to go really, it's just a matter of baby steps to the end, knowing that if at any stage symptoms arise, you can wait a while longer on the current dose.

      No doctors tell us this that's why it is hard to believe these AD's are so difficult to wd from.  

      Mirt' contains a huge histamine block, and once stopped they come flooding in causing the itching reaction, you may need an over the counter anti histamine here, non drowsy would be best.

      Hope within a few days/nights you may feel better now that sleep has returned, and yo manage to keep reducing slower, have a rest at the 0.95 mg now though, give yourself some time.

      Wishing you well JD smile

       

    • tonia_2003
      tonia_2003 evergreen

      Posted

      Evergreen, I see you mentioned inositol? Have you ever tried it? If so, did you take the powder form or tablet and how much?
    • evergreen
      evergreen tonia_2003

      Posted

      Yes, I have been on inositol since the beginning of my taper off mitazapine. It has been a huge help and reaally lifted my spirits. The capsules are no good because they are far too small a dose. For depression and anxiety, you need 12-18 grams which is 1-2 very heaped teaspoons.
    • evergreen
      evergreen

      Posted

      I take mine in my morning tea. Start on only a small amount and build it up over a few days. It can speed up your bowels until you are used to it, but no other detrimental effects.
  • JD2307
    JD2307 evergreen

    Posted

    Thank you all for your prompt and kind replies. i was put on Mirtazapine for anxiety, nausea and insomnia which hit me suddenly in 2013 December. i was going through a lot of emotional stress coping with some deaths in the family, job stress and my father's Alzheimers. i started with 22.5 mg in May 2014 and took it for 5 months, reduced to 18.25 mg for a month, reduced to 15 mg for a month, redcued to 7.5 mg for a month, reduced to 3.75 mg for a month, switched to liquid and gradually reduced to 1 ml over 3 months. As i had severe perimenopause symptoms when i started the mirt, i decided to try some bio identical hormones to which i reacted very adversely and had to go up to 3.75 mg again. i was on this dose for 4 months then reduced to app. 1.875 for 3 months and then reduced to app. 0.95 mg for 20 days and then stopped. i have in between tried to stop mirt but the symptoms always got worse and i got back on it. i want to come off it mainly because it killed personality and i was not myself anymore. i also put on 10 kilos in 2 years and lost a lot of my hair. it did help with sleep most of the time, the nausea and anxiety. but actually pushed me deeper into depression.
    • evergreen
      evergreen JD2307

      Posted

      Okay, you haven't come off it too fast. How did youfeel during the last 2 days on 0.95mg? If you felt fine then I really don't think you are having WD symptoms now. The best way to test this is to reinstate the 0.95mg and see if you feel better. That amount is not enough to be theraputic so any relief of symptoms will prove it's WD you are having right now. If you feel no better, then I would come back off it. It may be you are still not well and your old symptoms are returning, or you are developing new ones. It could also just be a blip in your recovery and will pass in a week or so. I don't think you're doing anything wrong. If it's WD, the only thing I can think of iss that the last drop from 1.875 was too much and maybe you could go back and try dropping just 0.1mg at a time?
    • evergreen
      evergreen

      Posted

      Meant last 20 days not 2 days
    • tonia_2003
      tonia_2003 JD2307

      Posted

      JD, did you have bad nausea while going down on the mirt? Is hair loss a side effect of Mirtazapine???
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