Mirtazapine withdrawing nightmare
Posted , 5 users are following.
Hello All,
I have been taking antidepresants for 15 years, first 11 years on citalopram which worked great and kept me well for 11 years. Then 4 years ago i fell over and they stopped working. After trying many others i ended up on Mirtazapine. Initially they lifted my depression and i went up to 30mg. For a long time i kept getting stomach problems and a burning tongue. It was decided between myself and my gp that the mirt was probaly causing this as i had all the tests going to rule out anything else. I decided it was time to come off. I was told to drop the dose to 15 for 2 weeks and then stop. Gees that didnt work, and i was so ill i went back on them. At first i thought it was my illness returning and carried on with the medication. Then 6 months later i had another go and the same thing happened.It has took me the last 2 years to work out whats going on. My depression has long passed an what i expereince is horrendous withdrawal symptoms. I can now literally create symptoms by myself. If i drop the dose to 22.5 then i feel good for a few days then withdrawal hits, up the dose back to 30 and they dissappear. However on 30 i feel heavy headed and increased boughts of anxiety. Drop the dose and these symptoms go, ok for a few days and then withdrawal symptoms appear. Doctor has told me i need to come off them and totally agrees with what ive told im. However i am still unable to get off them and feel trapped. I was given propranolol 10mg 3 times a day to see if that would help with withdrawal but they dont. To give you an example i can be going through my day, anxiety levels start to rise, take the propranolol and nothing changes, take 7.5 mirt and the anxiety dissappears, although my head becomes heavy. Being a professional person and pretty level headed, i am now trying to plan my escape from this nightmare. It would appear that i need to drop the dose at such small increments that my body can get used to it. Cutting my pills to do this will be a challenge and a half.I am sort of relieved that i finally realise what the hells going on. This has taken me over a year to work out with a diary entry every day. The doctor stills tells me they are not addictive, but i have to disagree. Everyone around me who love me have always said don't play with the dose, as they think its all to do with my thought pattern, but as with anyone with depression you have to rely on your own thought pattern. 3 weeks ago i saw a different doctor and he said stay on the 30mg and ride it out. I took his advise and had 3 weeks of waking with a hangover, and heightened anxiety through the day. At the end of the 3 weeks i thought stuff it i'm not going to take a tablet tonight and see how i feel tomorrow, that day was the best i'd had in months, no anxiety, clear head, feelings of happiness, and appetite, if the tablets were doing what they are supposed to then a single missed dose in months would not have made any different? Anyone who thinks withdrawing from an antidepressant is straight forward,you might want to think again, and of course if anyone has a solution to help me i would be extremely grateful.
4 likes, 27 replies
jacqueline59667 craig2828
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Karl_-_UK jacqueline59667
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Good luck and much peace
pixie22 craig2828
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kathy56977 craig2828
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Hope this helps.
Karl_-_UK kathy56977
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Hope things pay off for him soon!
craig2828
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kathy56977 craig2828
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Karl_-_UK craig2828
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It's difficult for someone to advise or suggest as like I said you seem to be doing all the right things; youve taken a systematic and common sense approach and monitored yourself very well. This makes your plight particularly sad to hear about as to date and after so much effort you've not YET got the result/outcome you are looking for ..'freedom from mirtazapine'
If its of ANY small consolation (and I mean small), I have experienced some of the experiences you've spoke about (e.g. ..."waking with a hangover, and heightened anxiety through the day"...)
I've struggled to comment further but empahising with you and after thinking and thinking the following (which might be worthy of instant dismissal) comes to mind - and forgive, there is an element of clutching at straws (sorry):
Firstly, considering and combining the two old adages - first coined by the great Albert Einstein: ..."Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"... AND the second by Sir Conan Doyle's characer Sherlock Holmes: ..."Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth (solution)"...
Taking the focus of Mirtazapine - Have you considered bolstering up your body's (and minds) defences prior to and coinciding with when you are attempting to 'ween' yourself off Mirtazapine. Meaning to say take a holistic approach ...eat wholesome energy releasing foods, take some gentle exercise, drink plenty of water (to help cleanse/detox your system), distract yourself with as many positve tasks as you can (e.g. meditate, massage, talking therapies etc). I know there's a chance some of these have already been tried or are currently being done, BUT thinking outside of the box and trying another approach while taking the focus off the actual Mirtazapine MAY pay dividends.
The issue seems to be one of withdrawal, and I remember once seeing a TV show some years ago charting the experiences of a group of celebrities struggling to come off both illicit and prescribed drugs by going to a resort come therapeutic getaway. There they each followed a body and mind strenthening regime which included some of the suggestions above (inc. detox).
Other slight thing to mention is (and this is extremely true of myself). The mind (or rather subconscious) can and often sabotages any positive life changes or efforts we wish to make. I guess it's like the placebo effect as it's sometimes a case of an outcome/resut being the result of a 'self fulfilling prophesy' aka if I think it'll happen, then it will! (please apply this concept to your particular context/situation).
As said previously, just a thought and very much clutching at straws.
Final thought, or rather question. If money was no object -how do you then see yourself being able to finally rid yourself of Mirtazapine? (or do you see even all the money in the world not making a difference to any solution?) - There is a rationale for my asking the question.
Hope you can have a peaceful sleep and equally peaceful start to the day in the morning.
Best wishes to all ... zzzZZZzzz
craig2828 Karl_-_UK
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craig2828 Karl_-_UK
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Karl_-_UK craig2828
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Now this is where my experiences are very similar to your own in so far as the when I halved the dose to 7.5mg the next day I felt a real respite from my normal negative mood as and symptom; I would go as far as to say I was even pleasantly surprised (allbeit) tentatively such was the surprise of having a mild feeling of happiness/peace). This NEW feeling might even last 2 or 3 days BUT THEN ...my feeling that my 'weening' off was going to plan SUDDENLY was met with my having a lousy day. What the hell? I thought as it seemed I had taken a few positive steps forward but then slipped back.
Simply put, my attempt to 'ween' off went along these lines:
15mg >>> Reduced to 7.5mg on night #1(fairly positive following day) >>> Another 7.5mg night on #2 (fairly positive following day) >>> Another 7.5mg on night #3 (lousy day and left thinking what the hell).
It seems any respite/positive days following a reduction in the drug are followed by a return of some/all/more lousy side effects!
Clearly there is similarity with Craig's (and many? other peoples experiences.
Conclusion: Mirtazapine for some/many is a difficult drug to come off due to what are proving to be lousy withdrawal effects...
I have just took my 7.5mg and now can only hope n pray that tomorrow (Wednesday) I feel better. Wish same for you Craig too!
Peace
[My humble personal experiences only].
kathy56977 Karl_-_UK
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Just a suggestion. Wishing you all well!!
Karl_-_UK kathy56977
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Background factors: Pressure from a forced house sale, difficulty getting support/understanding from my young adult sons, long term unemployment and chronic back pain and thyroid condition ALL weigh heavy on my mind/psyche and lead to the following cycle of worry>>>stress >>>anxiety >>>continued agitated depression!!! (note. depression has never been far from me since around 1993 and takes hold easily depending upon what life event I'm facing). I guess that's why I had desperately invested so much hope that Mirtazapine would help me where other meds had not. Sadly any slight benefits (attributable to the drug or placebo effect) SEEM to have been outweighed by the negative side effects esp. immediately upon waking up and continuing throughout the day; with only the occasional more settled feeling (slight) coming evening time as the dark cloud lifts and I am able to focus a little on a 'distraction' activity like watching a documentary or movie.
Sorry for going on ..I hope I haven't confused.
Best wishes and much peace!
Karl
pixie22 craig2828
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craig2828 pixie22
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Since the start of mirtazapine i kept experiencing tummy problems and a sore mouth which i blamed solely on the mirt. This has caused me to constantly play with the dose to se if i could alleviate the symptoms. This has gone on for the last 2 years and i am probaly in a situation now where i don't really know the way forward.All i have managed to work out is if i increase my dose to 30 after a few days i get to a point where i can barely function. However if i lower the dose to 15 and ride it I end up starting to feel rough and uneasy. My dr suggested that i come off mirt and go back to citalopram, as he believes a drug that made me well before should definately help me a second time, and my body has been without it now for 4 years. I have no problem accepting that I may need to take something for the rest of my life as my depression seems heriditory, as my gran and father had it. The biggest problem for me is on the 2 occasions i have tried to get down on the mirt i become too ill or week minded to take the plunge and jump to the citalopram....Sorry to go on, but thats where i'm at ...
Karl_-_UK pixie22
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I may not have explained myself very well in previous posts (my mind is foggy sometimes, sorry) but for me (personally) I'm not 'anxious' about the drug so much, but rather about ACTUAL and REAL things/circumstances etc that i face I call 'my life issues' (e.g. chronic back pain, thyroid condition, forced house sale, single parent etc etc which collectively weigh very heavy on me).
Sadly I am someone who is never far from depression (first bout around 1993) ..So even when I'm experiencing a settled period (chapter) in my life it lurks in the shadows not far away - (typical cycle is I guess: negative life issue(s) [stressor] leading to worry [incessant rumination/thinking] leading to anxiety leading to re-emergence of depression [can't function or struggling to do so] ...and then this too then feeds into the cycle as a issue and so around and around the go - like a 'Merry Go Around' that I can't get off or stop!!!
NOW, if Mirtazapine or any other 'suck n see' drug/intervention/activity doesn't atleast alleviate any aspect of that cycle or the depression itself ...then its not worth (me) continuing with it; which I've decided to do re. Mirtazapine.
That said, I'm not 'anxious' about the drug itself, but only about the negative life issues (which remain and are legitimate (I do recognise though that I may uncontrollably be making a 'mountain out of a mole hill' over but like I said its hard to stop or get off as a drepressive). So its my life's issues that I'm anxious about and which sets the wrecking ball in motion which inturn causes dibilitating full blown anxiety and agitated depression to rear its ugly head AGAIN. I hasten to reiterate, Mirtazapine doesn't make me anxious, I just simply see it as just one drug that hasn't worked for me. For those that it has worked for ..thats truly nice to hear. Regardless what people's individual experiences are, I wish ALL peace and a measure of happiness!
Best wishes Pixie (and I do hope I haven't bored you with the long comment - just speaking out aloud and trying to give myself a activity to focus upon for a little while. Hope you understand)
Regards
p.s. Day #4 'weening off' Mirtazapine ..feeling better than yesterday and fairly steady, but still experiencing some panic/anxiety/negative mood) ..I may attempt a further reduction to 3.75mg tonight (fingers crossed withdrawl does cruch me tomorrow)
craig2828 Karl_-_UK
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Karl_-_UK craig2828
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Many thanks for your sharing and support!
Sincerely wishing you a peacecul evening, good nights sleep and settled day tomorrow (same to everyone else too).
craig2828 Karl_-_UK
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craig2828 Karl_-_UK
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Karl_-_UK craig2828
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Today felt 'fairly' settled but sensed stomach heaviness , migraine, aches, lethargy and anxiety (all slight and not debilitating) were do with withdrawal but I couldn't say for certain. Generally fairly settled as I say but still a slight - moderate lousy feeling overall.
As you've read this ...I hope ..truly hope you're settled and experiencing some peace and respite from the torment n pain. Goodnight
craig2828 Karl_-_UK
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Karl_-_UK craig2828
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Anyway, trying to go back and read a few of the posts that I missed since receiving news my son was rushed to hospital.
In some strange turn of events ..the news and moreover the following days making my way to hospital and sitting for several hours per day did do one positive thing (I think). Itserved as a BIG distraction and focussed my mind on my sons situation and all at a time that i had reduced my Miirt down to 3.75mg. In short I don't think I faced the full effect of withdrawal due to my mind, body and spirit being otherwise occupied with issues to do with my sons injury.
Maybe thats part of the remedy to not suffering with WD too much ...reduce the dose slowly but distract yourself in some 'out of the ordinary' way. i.e. do something different to get a different result!!!
Hope I haven't confused.
Craig KEEP GOING ..soon you will be free of Mirtazapine and hopefully on a path thats been much easier than the one you've journeyed along for so so long!
Much peace!!!!!!!