Remeron Jump

[[Ji...]]

Hey everyone- I know there are a ton of Remeron/Mirtazapine threads out there but I didn't want to highjack any of them for my own purposes.

 

I was on Xanax only at night for about 5 months.  I successfully tapered off over a two month span and used Remeron throughout the taper.  I was prescribed 7.5mg and after a couple days of being overwhelmingly sedated I dropped down to 3.75mg where I've been for about 3 months (1 month post benzo taper).  I have been falling asleep on the couch without Remeron for the last two weeks and got into a groove with no insomnia for awhile now so I figured it was time to drop it due to some side effects that were slightly unpleasant. 

 

Since I'm only on 3.75mg my doc said I should just stop taking it (even during the benzo taper) which I did Saturday night.  I had no issues and was actually refreshed when I woke up in the morning. It was great!  Well, last night I had a ton of trouble falling asleep... seemed like I was waking up every 15 minutes for a couple hours and took an rescue dose of 3.75mg at 1:30am.  It helped and now I'm wondering what the normal taper schedule is for Remeron.  The dose I'm on is so low that cutting the pill into quarters seems silly but if there's someone out there that has some experience with coming off this I'm interested to hear their feedback. Is 1.875mg of Remeron going to help with anything?

[[Pt...]]

Sorry cannot offer helpful advice but wanted to let you know I'm in the same boat. Also 2 months post jump from Ativan and currently on mirt 7.5. Hopefully wd from mirt will be easier than Benzo!

[[Ji...]]

Sorry cannot offer helpful advice but wanted to let you know I'm in the same boat. Also 2 months post jump from Ativan and currently on mirt 7.5. Hopefully wd from mirt will be easier than Benzo!

 

Hi Ptsd- I think I'm going to give myself a week and try again at half of my current dose and go from there... then if I need to cut less I'll know.  I don't expect this to be as bad as the benzo withdrawal in terms of length of symptoms but we shall see!

[[bu...]]

At 3.75mg/day, you really don't need to taper.  As you have already learned you, can stop with no withdrawal sxs.

 

You're returning sleep issues are NOT withdrawal, they are just a return of the condition you have been medicating with remeron.

 

Even after I stopped taking remeron as a anxiolytic/AD (22.5-30mgs/day), I still occasionally took a small dose for sleep.  But eventually I stopped taking it for sleep, and switched to doxylamine if I needed a sleep aid.

 

Your normal sleep cycle will probably return anyway if you can wait it out.

[[Ji...]]

At 3.75mg/day, you really don't need to taper.  As you have already learned you, can stop with no withdrawal sxs.

 

You're returning sleep issues are NOT withdrawal, they are just a return of the condition you have been medicating with remeron.

 

Even after I stopped taking remeron as a anxiolytic/AD (22.5-30mgs/day), I still occasionally took a small dose for sleep.  But eventually I stopped taking it for sleep, and switched to doxylamine if I needed a sleep aid.

 

Your normal sleep cycle will probably return anyway if you can wait it out.

 

Yeah, that makes sense and kind of what I thought.  I've been doing everything right in terms of consistent bed time and caffeine consumption but my body is used to getting a bit of a boost to get over the hump to sleep.  I also need to keep my sleep drive up by restricting my sleep to 7 hours which has kept me tired during the week but the weekends I've been known to get 8 to 8 1/2 hours which throws things off a bit. 

 

I've supplemented with Benadryl in the past but the doxylamine might be worth a shot instead of running straight to Remeron. 

 

I'm so close and I just want to get back to a normal sleeping pattern!  I'll get there soon.  Thanks for the support.

[[Po...]]

There are plenty of folks that would argue strenuously with Builders opinion. It should tell you something that 7.5 mg of Remeron is a therapeutic does for sleep. Not for depression. The lower you go the more sedating it is. LOts of people have trouble getting off this Rx even at 3.75 mg. Listen to your body.

[[bu...]]

If you routinely take a sleep aid, then have sleep difficulties if you stop, that is NOT withdrawal.  It's simply the return of the condition you were taking a med to relieve.

 

If you were taking a pain med to relieve an injury or surgical pain,  and the pain returns if you stop, that is NOT withdrawal, and is NOT an indication of dependency.

[[Po...]]

I won’t get into a debate with you.

[[Te...]]

Wow, builder, I have a lot to say about your rationale, but I won't do it. I'm siding with Pokey.

[[bu...]]

All my "rationale" says is...when you quit taking a medicine that was giving you relief, then you will no longer get that relief. But that's NOT withdrawal, or dependency!

 

If I quit taking aspirin and my headache comes back, that's not "aspirin withdrawal"

[[Be...]]

The problem with these meds used for sleep is not only the insomnia comes back, but other nasty stuff like stomach problems, dizziness, pounding headaches, nausea, nerve pain, head pressure etc. that just go on and on for months or longer. Sure some will get off easy, but a lot of us here are sensitive and things go haywire after jumping. Yes it happens with ADs too.

 

Becky

[[Po...]]

Yep I’m having some of those nasty mirtazapine WD sxs. In the a.m I’m stiff, very achy, stomach and gut issues, malaise, fatigue even though I sleep and have a hard time waking up. It’s WD symptoms for sure. Another example I’d share countering Builders analysis is that 30 years ago I was put on Xanax for anxiety. For years I kept having sxs including panic attacks. The docs kept saying I needed to keep taking because I kept having sxs. Somewhere along the way I learned that Xanax has an 8 hour 1/2 life which meant as it turned by the I took my next dose at 24 hours I was going into tolerance WD and the sxs started appearing. Well long story short  I’ve been off Xanax 10 years. Haven’t had a panic attack since or some of the other anxiety related sxs.