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Mirtazapine withdrawl after only one half dose!! how long will it last?

Posted , 8 users are following.

pete101
pete101

Hi i have been reading all these thrads on here about mirtazapine and its withdrawl symptoms and it really is a nightmare drug.

I literally only took a half dose last weekend (7.5mg) and within one hour I had a headache, dry mouth and worst of all i had really bad aches in my joints that pretty much prevented me from walking, every time i tried to bend over to get something i felt like i was going to fall over. i also experienced dizzy spells like motion sickness without the nausea. This was last Saturday, sunday was just as bad.. all day in bed (after these side effects i was determined i would not touch this medicine again), on monday thankfully the pains in my joints subsided a bit and i was able to walk again with relative ease but the motion sickness/dizziness started to get worse, since tuesday the motion sickness dizziness (feels like i'm going to lose my balance) has gotten worse and stayed the same.

I have no idea if these are withdrawl symptoms? i literally only took one dose of 7.5mg and that's it nothing else! i spoke to my gp various chemists and manufacturers of the drug and they all tell me that it should be out of my system now and they don't know what the issue is and that withdrawl symptoms shouldn' occur because i only took a small half dose!

but reading the threads on here i'm seeing lot of you have similar symptoms but to a much greater degree.

How long do these withdrawl symptoms last for?? I would never have taken this poison drug had i known all these effects would occur. literally as i write this i feel as if everything is swaying slightly, loss of balance. since yesterday i've developed some mild muscle twitching.

they just said i was hyper sensitive to this drug hence why i have these side effects adn that the half life is realtively long 40-65 hours noted, im a young male 33 so i shouldn't be having these issues.

I have't found a thread where anyone has come off mirt and no longer feels any withdrawl symptoms. has anyone been off mirt and managed to eliminate all withdrawl symptoms or is this going to affect us for years to come?

0 likes, 55 replies

55 Replies

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  • norma72045
    norma72045 pete101

    Posted

    Hi Pete, I haven't got much to add,apart from I think it's a nasty drug to WD from which I am in the prosess of soooooo slowly.  In your case just a thought maybe your allergic to something in it.   Take care.
    • pete101
      pete101 norma72045

      Posted

      do you think it might just be an allergic reaction as opposed to withdrawl symptoms?

      it's very unsettling because i only took half a dose on sat evening and having all these problems still now. it would seem too short of a time to become addicted to it's not heroin! althought in theory it could be in the system up to 65 hours so maybe the brain can become addicted to it suddenly if it is in the system for a few days.

      i find it baffling why i am having these effects after such a small dose yet i am and it hasn't improved since tuesday, just dizziness and motion sickness without nausea.

  • pixie22
    pixie22 pete101

    Posted

    Another thought to add to norma's. You say you took half a dose, was that a 15mg tablet cut in half? The local pharmacist told me not to do that, because they are film coated to protect them as they pass through the stomach. I have actually started cutting mine so that I can withdraw more slowly, but I have been on mirtazapine for 6 years so my body has got well used to it.
    • kathy56977
      kathy56977 pixie22

      Posted

      He doesn't seem to have stomach problems, says he is dizzy without nausea, aches, dry mouth. I cut mine, too and it never made a difference. I find it interesting that the pharmacist says not to cut them, yet they are scored  to BE cut. Never know who's right these days. I definitely think there should be more warnings about taking this drug due to the WDs....confused
    • norma72045
      norma72045 kathy56977

      Posted

      Hi Kathy,my Pharmasist is a friend of mine,and he says the same as you,that's why there scored.    I've told pixie this before.
    • kathy56977
      kathy56977 norma72045

      Posted

      They never score them unless they can be cut. That's the point of the scoring...lol....Happy Holidays everyone!!  confused
    • pixie22
      pixie22 norma72045

      Posted

      Hi Norma. I agree with you . that's why I'm happily chipping bits off mine to reduce gradually, and suffering no Ill effects for it. My one thought was that Pete may have had a sudden "rush" of mirtazapine because the film coating was breached, and his body couldn't cope with it, being not used to it. However it does sound like he is hypersensitive to it. I remember I took one SSRI (can't remember the name) which immediately made me feel drunk - I was reeling down the street, lurching from one lamppost to the next. That was embarrassing!
    • pete101
      pete101 pixie22

      Posted

      yes i cut a 15mg in half so 7.5mg mine dont appear to film coated.

      i just need to know how long it take for the withdrawl effects to go away?

      it doesn't make sense i took half a tablet hypersensitive to it by now i should be fine it's been 1 week yet i still have these dizzy spells and motion sickness without nausea feeling like everything is swaying slightly. when i went for a walk yesterday and came back i became very light headed like i was going to collapse so exercise is out of the question for now.

    • pete101
      pete101 kathy56977

      Posted

      yeah my initial side effects after 1 our of taking it was headache which lasted about an hour, slight dizziness, aching legs joints wasn't able to walk, increased hunger sleepiness, was completely out of it sunday. monday morning some of the aches subsided so i could walk again but still had aches, light dizziness but not as much as now. tuesday i had more dizzines no improvement in leg aches. wednesday even more dizziness with motion sickness without the nausea like everything is swaying even as i write this it feels like im off balance in the head and floating p and down. thursday (yest) same dizziness bit of heart palpitations but that was after going for a walk. today friday same dizziness motion sickness without the nausea.

      are these things withdrawl symptoms? despite it being so strange i only took 1 half dose and that's it. i would have thought i'd be back to normal now given it's been 7 days.. how logn on average do the withdrawl symptoms last for forthe average person kickign it cold turkey? i thought i read it was like 2 weeks for the withdrawl symptoms to show and then 1 more week after that.

    • kathy56977
      kathy56977 pete101

      Posted

      I don't think it is withdrawal at all. I think you had a bad reaction to the drug. I am no doctor, but, unfortunately, they are not very knowledgeable when it comes to drugs and side effecs and withdrawal. Your body need a little time to readjust. GET SOME MOTION SICKNESS PILLS AT YOUR PHARMACY. That should help.
    • norma72045
      norma72045 pixie22

      Posted

      Well Pixie, why do you give information out that you don't agree with.

      If your Pharmasist told you not to cut them why are you cutting them?

    • kathy56977
      kathy56977 norma72045

      Posted

      I think she decided that the pharmicist was probably wrong, since most of us cut our meds without problems. She has been posting that she is cutting them, despite what pharmacist said. At least, that's what I am getting from her posts.
    • pixie22
      pixie22 norma72045

      Posted

      Hi Norma. Well my reason for mentioning what the pharmacist said was that I wondered if Pete had had a mirtazapine rush as I explained. My reason for ignoring his advice and going ahead with chipping bits off is that I'm awkward and decided to risk it anyway! Dropping off a whole tablet, even once a week, was giving me withdrawal symptoms (brain zaps in middle of night) so I needed to reduce by a smaller amount each time. I'm now dropping by about 3mg, every 3 days, and so far I've been OK.
    • norma72045
      norma72045 pixie22

      Posted

      Ok Pixie,Truce. I'm happy to hear it's working alright for you, it's better to take it slowly than feel poorly .  Take Care and Good Luck
    • pete101
      pete101 kathy56977

      Posted

      how long do you think it may be if it's not withdrawl?

      it is rather strange isn't it.. like the dizziness only happened 2-3 days after i stopped and the leg shaking and muscle aches stopped.. it's like a delayed side effect. im worried cos it's affecting my neurological side and concerned it might be permanent. the drug is out of my system yet im still having nasty effects from it.

    • kathy56977
      kathy56977 pete101

      Posted

      You need to settle a bit, Pete. You are worrying too much about it. Your body will repair itself. In the meantime, I've given you the name of a few meds you can get WITHOUT a dr. order.

      I seriously doubt it is permanent. I've not heard of a case, anyway.

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