Weaning off advice

Dear janey2019,

If you click on the word Mirtazapine at the top of the web page and then look through the entries under DISCUSSIONS you will find a lot of advice. In essence, it is to come down really slowly. It can take months. If you're having problems at 15 mg., have you come down too quickly?

David

Hi Janey. In my experience and that of many others, a 10% drop every 3-4 weeks is the maximum you can do. Every 4 weeks is the recommended, every 3 weeks is what I've been able to cope with, without really any withdrawal. I was initially only on Mirt for about a month before trying to come off it the first time - I figured because I'd not been on it long, I'd be fine to do a quick taper - not so, I gave myself horrific WD and realised I would have to do this slow taper. I learnt the hard way and ended up making the process longer as a result, as I had to reinstate and stabilise in the end before trying the slower taper I'm on now. There are people out there who manage to come off quicker, but they don't seem to be the majority. You can sometimes get away with a slightly bigger than 10% drop while on a larger dose (like 15mg) but once you get down to like 10mg, you really do need to take it slow. Mirt has a longish half life which means any withdrawal doesn't kick in until about the 10 day mark, so you have to wait it out before dropping again.

I would really recommend buying the liquid form. It costs £60 here in the UK as you have to buy it off prescription but it's well worth the money - it lasts for ages and there is no way you can do an accurate or slow taper with the pills. You need to buy a 1ml syringe to use with it though - take the bottle to a chemist, explain you're tapering and they'll sell you the right syringe to use. I found keeping a diary of my WD side effects and timeline helpful too, so I knew what to expect and when.

Good luck! It can be done without any real bother. I still have to face jumping off at the end in the Spring and that will be the real challenge,

Thanks for advice

I cant afford to buy the liquid so am going to do it with tablets. I feel very drained but I have ME anyway so that is normal for me.

I'll consult doctor Monday to confirm how to taper it with tablets.

Hi Janey 2019

I'm currently down to 1.875 mg using pills it's a rough estimate using a stanley blade, at the moment things have gone reasonably well it has taken me four months so far to get down from 15mg after taking it for 18months with a couple of failed attempts it's a pain doing it this way but needs must if you can't get the liquid good luck with your taper

I'm taking 7.5mg I have info sheet on mertazaphine it says its non addictive so am hoping to do it quicker. I just want off this and onto natural remedies like 5http