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Weaning update

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alexisacula
alexisacula

Hi all.

So a little back story if you haven’t seen my previous post. I’ll also preface this by adding that I am SEVERELY emetophobic. So I have to be careful with weaning as everyone seems to throw up from withdrawals and that’s not something I can have happen. 

I started mirtazapine in March 2017. I wasn’t eating or sleeping, I was housebound and having multiple panic attacks a day before I was prescribed mirtazapine. 

Once I got on it, I slowly began sleeping and eating. Fast forward to this year, I had gained 32 pounds from this med. The highest dose I took was 22.5 mg and I didn’t feel like it did much of a difference. So after a couple months I’m sitting around 12 mg. The past couple of weeks I’ve definitely felt off. At night before the mirt kicks in I feel almost seasick. 

Five weeks ago this Friday I changed my diet completely. I am eating clean, officially full vegetarian and taking an iron supplement due to low iron levels [all discussed and okay by PCP], as well as exercising almost daily.  I have lost 6 pounds since the change. 

The panic attacks are creeping back in and my phobia is really bad again. I’m afraid to drive far distances and my phobia is starting to dictate my life like it used to. Since I’m a photographer and a mother this is a big issue for me. I can’t be cooped up like this. 

Any other emets in here deal with this? Part of me wants to just jump down to 7.5 mg because I feel like either way I’m gonna feel crappy. I can’t take any SSRIs because of unpleasant side effects and Buspar was bad too. I have zofran but I feel like that’s a gamble as it makes me constipated and I swear sometimes it makes my nausea worse. 

My doctor is on board with whatever I decide and listens to my concerns. She’s not the one who originally prescribed me this med either, she just wants to help me get off of it safely. 

Definitely stuck right now. Not sure if the anxiety is creeping back because of the lower dose or it’s because I’m slowly tapering. I feel like it’s important to remember the state you were in pre mirt, so some of it may not actually be withdrawals? 

When I was on 7.5mg for a while I had no issues dropping to 3.75 mg and sometimes skipping a dose when I was that low. 

Thanks for reading. 

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • avverie73632
    avverie73632 alexisacula

    Posted

    I’m an emetophobic and that’s the reason my doctor put me on mirtazapine because it helps with nausea. They give it to people who have problems with nausea and vomitting. 
    • alexisacula
      alexisacula avverie73632

      Posted

      Yeah and it really helped  the first 8 months in that department! I just feel like now it’s not doing much for me anymore despite dosage adjustments which is why I wanna come off and see how I’d be without it. 
    • sarah24378
      sarah24378 alexisacula

      Posted

      Did you have any withdrawals dropping from 22.5 to 12 ? How long have you been on 12 ?
    • alexisacula
      alexisacula sarah24378

      Posted

      It’s hard to say if what I’m feeling is withdrawals or anxiety? I was on 22.5 around January. My sleep is definitely being affected but I do have sleep apnea. I’m waiting to do the hospital stay test and will hopefully have a CPAP by July. 
    • sarah24378
      sarah24378 alexisacula

      Posted

      When did the anxiety start ? Did you taper down to 12 or just jump straight down ?

      This info could help determine if it is withdrawals

      How long have you been on 12 ?

    • alexisacula
      alexisacula sarah24378

      Posted

      I haven’t done any drastic jumps. Took a couple months to get to where I am now. I haven’t been on 22.5mg since the beggining of this year. And actually I remember being that high for about a couple weeks and dropped from 22.5 to 18~ shortly after, before I even knew that the withdrawals could be so awful. 

      I believe I was at 15 mg about a month ago. I basically feel hungover during the day now. 

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