Morning anxiety during withdrawal
Posted , 8 users are following.
I have stopped mirtazapine 10 weeks ago at the beginning of April after tapering off from 15 mg since December 2019. I went faster than recommended because I had no major issues in lowering the doses first to 7.5 then to 3.75 and 1.875. After 1.875 I dropped 0.1 mg every 3-4 days till reaching 0.1 then jumped off. Normally I expected the rebound insomnia to appear and it did at 0.4 mg. After stopping completely the first 3 weeks and a half I slept around 3-4 hours per night in one block being unable to fall asleep again once waking up (usually around 3 am). After that period I started to have random nights with longer sleep (5, 6 even 7 hours) but in the last two weeks things went wrong again coming under 5 hours and constantly waking up around 4.30 - 5.00 with a very strange feeling that I am not able to describe in words. It's like I am shaken by an electrical burning without being able to determine where it starts and where it ends and once awake I feel weak, trembling and somehow anxious. I have to get out of the bed and start moving around waiting 1-2 hours till I get better. I checked on the forums about this feeling and I may think about a spike in cortisol that is waking me up. I did a blood check at 08.00 in the morning and the level of cortisol was in range but very close to the upper limit.
During withdrawal I am already using a variety of supplements to help like magnesium glicinate, holy basil extract, l-theanine, lemon balm, ashwagandha, b and d vitamins and for the nights when I cannot fall asleep naturally I took valerian but it is effective for me only in dose larger than 600 mg which is affecting the stomach and gallbladder. I also do a lot of breathing and mindfulness meditation.
Any ideas about this strange morning feeling or similar experience during withdrawal ?
0 likes, 21 replies
marius1976
Edited
Eight months and a half have passed since I have stopped mirtazapine and as promised during this topic I update the situation.
I am pleased to observe that my struggle is coming to a happy end. After two years miserable life under the influence of pills I finally found my old self and I enjoy life again.
It was hard, it was painful but now I am completely clean in a much better health shape and very important I sleep naturally around 6-7 hours nightly. I have just let the time pass, I have made changes in my lifestyle and diet, I read and researched a lot and now I have a better understanding of what has happened to me.
For everyone in the journey of reducing and stopping mirt be confident and resist as good things will happen!!
jen35333 marius1976
Edited
Whats the latest update? SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!! I can only pray for my success story at this point...
joshuapryce1987 marius1976
Posted
Take your time, Over time things will look out for you.
daniel73737 marius1976
Posted
Hi,
I have been taking 15mg for around a year and want to stop now. Initially started taking for insomnia and anxiety (burnout), however, at week 2 of taking it, I had no more any sedation effect at all. So I have mainly been taking it for anxiety as it wont sedate me to sleep. My question is, if the rebound insomnia is due to the sedation effect you have with it or not? (As I have no sedation at all from it, I wonder if I will experience rebound insomnia at all).
marius1976
Posted
If you had no sedation effect it may be possible that the dose was too high for your body and it was having also the anti depressive effect. Anyhow taking the medicine for a year leads to body adapting to function on the new conditions, so most probably when going off of it there are chances to be with side effects. Mirtazapine is blocking cortisol and without it the body response will be amplified (so probably the anxiety presence will be felt) till receptors readapt.
Do the tapering slowly and see if the sedating effect will appear at a lower dose (7.5 mg and below).
I hope for you to have an as lean as possible recovery. In my case I have almost two years since stopping and during this period I regain the original me, now feeling very positive and happy.