quit mirtazapine cold turkey....

Posted , 7 users are following.

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

Prev
  • Posted

    DAY 4 of quitting cold turkey:

    the gogginess is gone and so is the weird buzzing or popping in my ears. feeling slight warm like a mild fever kind of feeling, throat was a little sore...dehydrated..very low energy levels, eating very low like before i was on the Mirt. Slightly low depressed mood. Feeling almost like my normal depressed self before the Mirt. I only took one 1/4 of .5 Klonopin today.,, i may of not needed it...i think it just made me sleepy...it seems my anxiety is back to normal (no attacks) even though i was in a stressful situation today. 

    • Posted

      Hi Elizabeth

      How are you getting on?  It must be day 5 of stopping mirtazapine.  I think as you were on it for a month your side effects may not be so protracted.  We all suffer differently on this drug. I did not suffer too badly with anxiety attacks during the day but night time was worse because I could not sleep.  Bear in mind that I was on it or 5 months.  So i felt truly rid of the withdrawals when I could sleep without any sleeping aids and that took 10 months.  The anxiety and migraines and nausea all went in less than 3 - 4 months but there were weeks when things seemed normal and you felt great only for the side effects to come back. This is quite normal it's called  windows and waves

    • Posted

      Day 5 i had to work. I have completely cut off sugar and caffeine. I had anxiety multiple times at night, waking up every few hours. 5 hours or 2 hours. I took klonopin to help with anxiety at work, it does make me somewhat sleepy.

      Day 6: Pretty much the same as day 5. However I did drink that night...3 drinks total. Eating less. Anxiety while sleeping

      Day 7: Lost my appetite completely. Could not eat at all, struggled to shove down one slice of pizza. My anxiety is through the roof at night while trying to sleep. Not sure if it has to do with the drinking last night or stress due to the fact my vet says that my cat needs to be tested for renal failure and  may have to find other ways of managing his diabetes...it could be a combination of both.

      Day 8 (Today) I took a klonopin today before going to the dentist. however I do feel slightly more positive. I am tired but I seem to have more energy and excitement to do everyday things again. I am eating again, 3 meals today. what a dramatic shift from yesterday..Hope its the same tomorrow...

    • Posted

      I had your day 7 last night feeling horrendous I'm not sleeping at all then getting very very anxious xx

    • Posted

      Just tell yourself “this will pass”, “this will get better”

      I had terrible anxiety in the evenings worrying about whether I would be awake all night.  Couldn’t eat much and would get weepy and worry about the silliest things.  On bad days I would force myself to go out and just walk for a little while.  

    • Posted

      How long did it last Christine I'm at my wits end even seriously thinking of going bk on mitrazapine 15mg too sleep. Doctors gave me sleeping tablets but I'm scared I get addicted there called zopiclone any advice Christine xx

    • Posted

      Hi Karen

      Apologies if I’m repeating myself but I posted this text to you earlier:

      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 and  they did help me get through 10 months of hell. 

      I was in your position feeling so desperate for sleep that I too considered taking 15mg of Mirtazapine just to get some sleep but the thought of going through withdrawals OR finding that the mirtazapine would eventually stop working at that dose and having to UP the dosage stopped me.

      if you are worried about the side effects of Zopiclone, try cutting the pill in half and taking a half dosage.  I honestly never found any problem with stopping Zopiclone.  The doctors have a lot to answer for as they make sleeping tablets the devils work when they know that a drug such as mirtazapine is a sleeping tablet by any other name and has more dramatic and serious side effects

    • Posted

      I'm now on Ambien (2.5 mg).  This will be my third night.  Zopiclone is in the same class.  So far, it helps.  Follow the instructions.  Take a low dose to start.  I've had insomnia for the past 6 months.  The past couple nights have been excellent; probably the best I've felt since my health condition began.  I also feel rested, no nauseous feeling and no grogginess that people typically experience on Mirtazapine.  I was not taking Mirtazapine for depression; only for insomnia and to increase my appetite.  Knowing what I know now, I would have just started taking Ambien.

    • Posted

      Thanks so much for the reply I'm just exhausted with it all the nausea and can't eat I'm so worried. I agree why did doctors give me this in first place I never ever had a problem with sleeping before. Now I find out it's given too patients with insomnia that I didn't have but have chronic now xx

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.