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Mirtazepine withdrawal

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Snowdrops
Snowdrops

Hello,

I have been on Mirtazepine for ~6 months (15mg). Now that I've recovered, on the advice of my GP I've started to taper the dose down. As instructed I've been alternating 15 with 7.5mg for the past five days, and although having encountered no ill effects during treatment (besides some minor weight gain and creeping tiredness the past few weeks) I've now found myself in a situation where I feel very unwell. I wondered if others would be able to share their experience of using this particular tapering routine? I have to say I'm very surprised that I'm having symptoms at all when still taking full doses every other day? Namely I have been having trouble sleeping, my joints and muscles ache, I have headache from waking until early afternoon, my thinking feels foggy, and the most troubling is severe nausea. I keep waking in the middle of the night with chills and feeling extremely sick, although I never actually vomit. I've continued to feel run down and sick all day, and my appetite has declined. I feel lucky that so far I haven't had any mental health related symptoms besides feeling temporarily anxious in the morning, but I am concerned where this could lead... Do these symptoms sound related to the dose reduction? How long might I expect this to last? I'm on this tapering routine for the next 2.5 weeks until I reduce it further. Any insights would be much appreciated! Thank you.

0 likes, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • kathleen81416
    kathleen81416 Snowdrops

    Posted

    Omg this sounds exactly what I'm going through expect iv been told to come off mirtazapine 30mg now been put on citalopram 10mg cold swets bad anxiety early hours pure agony with my joints and muscles I was only using mirt for sleep as stopped working for my anxiety and depression iv been off mirt now 3 days feel like I'm suffering badly 😢 I honestly do hope it all subsides for you
    • Snowdrops
      Snowdrops kathleen81416

      Posted

      Hi Kathleen and thanks for your reply! I'm really sorry to hear you've also been feeling awful sad although sometimes it's good to know that others have shared experience as it's easy to start thinking it's all in your own head! Best way I can describe this is like a combo of flu and having food poisoning...not pleasant! Doctor didn't mention possibility of physical symptoms, he just said to keep a check on feelings etc... I hope Citalopram suits you better - hang on in there. I'm not sure what to do about dosing so thinking I'm just going no to have to ride this out and hope for the best!

  • Patty9019
    Patty9019 Snowdrops

    Posted

    You both r going to quick. I went from 15 mg to 11.25 mg. Waited till that stabilized , then went to 7.5. I then started 5 mg paxil for a week then up that to 10 mg and dropped to 5 mg of mirt. Waiting now for my meds to settle

    • kathleen81416
      kathleen81416 Patty9019

      Posted

      I wasn't advised to tapper just to come off mirt and start my new meds so confused advise would be much appreciated 😢 honestly fed up with trying different meds for anxiety and depression
    • Patty9019
      Patty9019 kathleen81416

      Posted

      U could reinstate your mirtazapine to 15 mg and gradually decrease from that point. Doctors don't feel there is withdrawal with mirt but there is. Call your doctor and tell her what your going through and tell her your going to do a slow taper while adjusting to cit
    • kathleen81416
      kathleen81416 Patty9019

      Posted

      Thank you soo much for your advice will definitely get back to my doctor sleepless nights are not good walking around like a zombie
  • Ness88
    Ness88 Snowdrops

    Posted

    Hey love,

    Everything you're describing sounds completely normal when trying to taper off mirtazapine. I have experienced all the above symptoms if that's reassuring? The grogginess might also be worse as at lower doses, this med can apparently make you more drowsy.

    Everyone has a different taper plan and each body responds differently to the withdrawal process. Some advocate a 10% drop route, whilst others may do what you're doing.

    I personally have been dropping from 45mg after 6 years -ish on it. I dropped to 30mg then 15mg. This is where I am now then I'll got to 7.5mg and stop. Generally speaking for the last couple of drops I had the worst of my symptoms between day 3 or 4 of the reduction till about day 12. After that things started to pick up.

    Bear with it if you can and hopefully it'll start to feel a bit better soon.

    • Snowdrops
      Snowdrops Ness88

      Posted

      Thank you Ness, that is definitely reassuring! It's good to know this plan sounds reasonable as there is so much conflicting information on the Internet. Also good to get a rough idea of how long this might last, although like you say I suppose we're all different. Thanks very much for taking the time to share. I hope the rest of your reduction goes okay. I'll definitely bear with it and see how things go.
    • Ness88
      Ness88 Snowdrops

      Posted

      No worries and good luck. Feel free to message me if you need anything or want to check something out.
    • suzannah28542
      suzannah28542 Snowdrops

      Posted

      Poor you snowdrop

      Yep defo withdrawals won't last forever

      Sending you a big hug

      S x

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