1. Community
  2. Brain and nerves
  3. Mirtazapine

quit mirtazapine cold turkey....

Posted , 7 users are following.

elizabeth62766
elizabeth62766

i was on mirtazapine 7.5mg for 2 weeks and was great....but i wanted to be better and my anxiety to completely go away so then 15 mg for about a week, had all the horrible side effects, i was irritable, angry and started having panic attacks. i havent had one for ages until i started taking these! then went back to 7.5mg, was ok for a few days then on the 5th or so day i had another panic attack. went off on cold turkey monday, started prozac that same  day..woke up last night with heart pacing and anxiety, burning dehydrated feeling...when i woke up i popped a prozac, felt panicky during lunch...went away then at 830 till 1am ive been having full flown anxiety on and off., i feel cracked out but groggy.like less of my hand motor control and facial twiching? i dont know.i feel out of body. i think this is from the remoron withdrawl.. what is currently helping me is DOING things to keep my mind out of it. i started CLEANING and organizing  things arond the house and it sounds silly but it helped me A LOT. i think some of our anxiety comes from us moping around and not having anything to release that energy into. i get anxious when i am idle. im actually pretty sleepy right now bc i was cleaning, i havent had sleep issues yet. i was actually able to take a nap both days. 

I also think theres a few triggers in my diet that is causing the attacks..SUGAR & CAFFEINE & SPICY FOOD.

Has anyone been able to quit cold turkey? Can you tell me about your experience..I will update mine..

0 likes, 29 replies

29 Replies

Next
  • elizabeth62766
    elizabeth62766

    Posted

    FYI its been two days since Ive taken my last dose of Mirt.
  • christine15542
    christine15542 elizabeth62766

    Posted

    Hi Elizabeth

    About how long did you take mirtazapine for, 3 - 4 weeks ?  Then you stopped cold turkey?  And how long have you been cold turkey? 

    What you describe is certainly mirtazapine withdrawal.  The lower doses act more like sleep aids.  Many patients say that this drug has not helped with anxiety issues or panic.

    I stopped this drug and unintentionally went cold turkey.  I was taking 15mg dose for about 5 - 6 months.  I stopped it at the end of May last year and never took another antidepressant.  It's a difficult drug to stop but I made every effort to power through the withdrawals with absolutely no help from the GP's surgery.  The medics refuse to acknowledge withdrawal side effects when stopping antidepressants.  

    I managed by by taking a sleeping pill for the chronic insomnia that surfaced after 4 days of stopping.  This lasted on and off for 10 months.  The insomnia was the worst.  Anxiety, migraine headaches, nausea, stomach upset and flu like symptoms disappeared much sooner.  If you can, get outside in the morning and go for a walk.  I did a lot of walking outside.  I also took magnesium at night and a pro-biotic to aid the gut.  I took a course in mindfulness to help with the anxiety and took up yoga.  A lot may depend on how long you took the drug for.  Bear in mind that dosage, duration and one's genetic make-up all play a key part in how bad you suffer withdrawals and for how long.  Some people may not suffer much.  But many patients find this a very nasty drug indeed and are in no doubt that there are difficult side effects to deal with when stopping.  Don't let the general practitioners tell you any different 

    Best wishes for your recovery and please feel free to ask any further questions.

    I see your comment below.  In my experience withdrawals never started for at least 4 days after stopping 

    • elizabeth62766
      elizabeth62766 christine15542

      Posted

      how long did the side effects persist after you went off of it cold turkey? how long till you were "normal" afterwards? did you had any anxiety attacks?

    • karen_57593
      karen_57593 christine15542

      Posted

      Hi Christine I'm the same as you I'm off mitrazapine about 8 weeks have chronic insomnia been prescribed sleeping tablets but im scared in case I become dependant on them too then need to go withdrawals from them too. Any advice would be most helpful xx

    • christine15542
      christine15542 karen_57593

      Posted

      I really feel for you.  Chronic insomnia is the most debilitating.

      In my experience sleeping tablets such as Zopiclone were easy to take and leave.  I have used them on and off throughout mirtazapine’s vicious withdrawals and never felt any sort of withdrawals from Zopiclone.  In fact my insomnia was so bad for months that just knowing I had a back up plan to just take a sleeping pill was comforting.  I never took them all the time. They were really easy to take or leave for me but they did help me get through 10 months of hell. 

       

    • john94307
      john94307 christine15542

      Posted

      I came off Mirtazapine about a month or so ago.  I began taking benzos again to get to sleep, which helped a little bit.  I am now on day 2 of taking low dose Ambien (2.5 mg at night), which seems to be helping.  No grogginess in the morning.  I actually feel refreshed to some degree after months of waking up at 3:30 - 4:00 am and being unable to fall back asleep.  If you have insomnia, you might want to give Ambien a try, just try to minimize the dose as much as you can and take it right before you get into bed so you don't sleepwalk or sleepeat.  Most of the horror stories I've read about Ambien seem to involve higher doses (10 mg+) and people who are still up and about when they take the drug.

  • john94307
    john94307 elizabeth62766

    Posted

    I was recently taking Mirtazapine for a month at 7.5 mg.  I tapered off over a couple weeks as I had decided by week 2 that the side effects were not working for me.  I experienced some restless leg, my left hand felt like it was detached from my body and hand function was impacted (for example, I had difficulty typing - very strange).  I also experienced a lot of nausea (especially in the morning upon waking) along with the usual difficulty getting out of bed and feeling groggy throughout the day.  ONCE I WITHDREW from the drug, I experienced twitching, body zaps and brain zaps.  These were quite scary but thankfully only lasted about a week.  Apparently brain zaps are quite common among people discontinuing antidepressants.  I am very happy to be off Mirtazapine.  The side effects were not worth any benefit I received from the drug.  BTW - I am also on low dose Prozac and have been taking for many years without any problems.
    • eileen43485
      eileen43485 john94307

      Posted

      Hi John.

      My main problem with mitrazipam was weight gain. I've went down to half a tablet 7mg. Reading your reply I never connected my really bad leg twitching almost kicking to this drug. Also when you say 'body zaps,brain zaps. Do you mean like a mini electric shock? I tried to explain that to my doctor,to no avail.

      You take care.

      Eileen.

    • john94307
      john94307 eileen43485

      Posted

      I was taking 7.5 mg  as well.  Restless leg is a common side effect of Mirtazapine.  I experienced RLS on the FIRST night I took the drug so I'm confident that Mirtazapine was causing it.  If you read the many reviews on various websites for Mirtazapine, you will see many reports of people having restless legs.

      Brain/Body zaps - yes, like electric shocks, often accompanied by some twitching of your body (leg, arm, hand, etc.).  I noticed the brain/body zaps once I came off the drug completely.  This seems to be a common withdrawal side effect for people coming off of antidepressants in general.  Either way, it is a horrible feeling.

  • james87669
    james87669 elizabeth62766

    Posted

    Hint for you. Don't consume any alcohol while on these meds. I hadn't had a panic attack for years and all of a sudden they reoccured after I had a couple glasses of wine.

    • james87669
      james87669 elizabeth62766

      Posted

      I am taking 30mg mirtazapine and 10 mg escitalopram (Lexapro) and while I never had a problem with alcohol and mirtazapine it did not mix well with the Lexapro ( says right on the script container DO NOT Consume Alcohol While taking this medicine). I have taken Prozac and I don't think I was drinking alcohol at the time so I can't say either way but I think it would be smart not to mix the two since alcohol is a depressant.

    • john94307
      john94307 james87669

      Posted

      I have been on Prozac (20 mg) for many years and have consumed alcohol without much thought to my meds.  Granted I'm taking a low dose, but I haven't experienced any nasty effects from alcohol.  That being said, I would NOT take any alcohol when on Mirtazapine. 

  • elizabeth62766
    elizabeth62766

    Posted

    DAY 3 of quitting Mirt cold turkey

    The doc gave me .5mg of klonopin. I have been taking 1/4 of the tablet twice a day. i almost feel normal again. not much anxiety except for when i was taking a nap. I am able to sleep ok besides that. however my eating is a little less. Doc says continue the prozac and the klonopin for another 2-3 weeks until the prozac kicks in.

  • eileen43485
    eileen43485 elizabeth62766

    Posted

    Hi Elizabeth, I've been on mitrazipam for over 2 years. I put on 4 and a half stone. I've now taken my doze down to 7mg. I have no energy,I don't get out of my bed at all. I appreciate what you said about cleaning,organising. I've let all that go badly,Also my garden which I used to love doing. Can I ask you how do you motivate yourself? I know the weight gain has totally floored me. Literally. Appreciate any help or advice you can give me.

    Take care.

    Eileen.

    • elizabeth62766
      elizabeth62766 eileen43485

      Posted

      Eileen, my situation is a little different than yours, I was only on the Mirt for a month. when i start to have racing thoughts and feel an panic attack come on, then i occupy my mind and body to do tasks around the house. I am also starting prozac at this time and prozac keeps you awake. Maybe talk to your doctor to ween you off the Mirt and put you on something else...You may also loose all that weight after you get off the Mirt.
    • eileen43485
      eileen43485 elizabeth62766

      Posted

      Hi Elizabeth.

      Thanks for replying. Much appreciated. You and I seem to have a similar illness. Not the same,but I appreciate your reply.

      Take care.

      Eileen

    • eileen43485
      eileen43485 elizabeth62766

      Posted

      Thanks for your reply. I do intend to come off them in the next month. Hopefully you'll be feeling better soon. Mental health is such an enigma. Sad ,not easily sorted,draining ,anxiety driven. Wish there was a physical operation,Unfortunately not.

      Take care.

      Eileen.

    • john94307
      john94307 eileen43485

      Posted

      I also experienced low productivity while on Mirtazapine.  It was a chore just getting out of bed.  I didn't have any passion for my hobbies; i just wanted to sit in my recliner all day.  I'm off Mirtazapine now and feel so much better.  I'm now back at work and can actually function.  Mirtazapine was a nightmare.

    • karen_57593
      karen_57593 john94307

      Posted

      How long John too feel better ive been off 8 weeks n feel horrendous xx
Back to top
Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.