Mirtazapine Symptoms Check

[[Fi...]]

@[ju...] @[op...] @[Ox...] @[as...] @[Sl...]

@[Ho...]

Hi,

I'm doing a symptoms check in and update. I know we can't have this be a continuous thread but wanted to check on a symptom and give an update. Curious how others are as well.

I'm now down to 0.6 mgs of Mirt. My mood is stable and I'm able to sleep. However I do struggle with muscle pain. I have a frozen shoulder and had the same thing happen in the low doses of my benzo withdrawal. I'm thinking it is due to the antihistamine effect of Mirt on my muscles plus me straining my shoulder in September.

Had anyone else had this symptom?

I rarely take ibuprofen or Tylenol because I don't want to impact my taper. I use arnica, comfrey, and magnesium ointments. I also have started taking tumeric and echinachia  It gives me some temporary relief but I'm open to other suggestions. I'm eating low histamine and taking a vegetarian DAO supplement. 

I'm grateful my mood is good and hoping that the muscle aches will leave when I'm off.

Hope everyone is doing okay.

Final Healing 

[[Ho...]]

Hi @[Fi...], I'm impressed that your mood is good at such a low dose. That's fantastic. I'm at 7.5 ml, and 10 ml is 1 mg of mirt. I take ibuprofen or aspirin and haven't noticed an impact. I take aspirin at night just to counteract any inflammation. Have you tried heat?

What is your taper rate?

[[Ho...]]

I'm glad you started this thread because I ran into an issue. I'm also on a small amount of lamotrigine and after I took my latest cut of mirt, going from 8 ml to 7.5 ml, I felt really pretty good. So I made a 3% cut of lamotrigine and then another because I felt so good. Then I didn't. Things got acute and I had to backtrack on the lamotrigine. It helped a bit after a few days, but not completely. I lost ground and am still not sure if it was the mirt drop or the lamotrigine drop.

So I'm gonna hold here and see if things improve more.

[[Fi...]]

@[Ho...]

Sounds like you made a good adjustment with your lamotrigine. In some of my past tapers I made small updoses when things got too much. It did not affect my taper or me getting off.  

I'm tapering 0.2 every two to four weeks. I was not on Mirt very long and I don't want to drag it out. I'm planning to step off at the end of December beginning of January. 

Thanks for letting me know that Ibuprofen and aspirin aren't affecting you when you take them. I can get a little hyper vigilant when it comes to taking other things and I know it's because I'm in withdrawal.  I have more health anxiety than usual. 

FH

[[Ho...]]

@[Fi...],

How long were you on mirt? (I was on 15 mg for almost a year, and started tapering over the summer.)

What was your starting dose? Do you feel it very much when you drop 0.2?

[[ju...]]

You are doing great. Go on. I am also on 3.6 mgs but I think it is time to give a break. Because, I tried to help people by opening a twitter account and the stories of people caused me to have wave like things. This process is so fragile so we must be away from the stress as soon as possible. Take care @[Fi...]

[[Fi...]]

1 hour ago, [[H...] said:

@[Fi...],

How long were you on mirt? (I was on 15 mg for almost a year, and started tapering over the summer.)

What was your starting dose? Do you feel it very much when you drop 0.2?

@[Ho...]

I was on Mirt a little over 6 weeks. My doses were all over the place because I was so sick from a benzo setback. On average I ranged between 3.75, 5.5 and then I tried 7.5 for two weeks. It didn't help for sleep so I started tapering. 

I don't usually feel the 0.2 drop except for a day or so of a low mood and some vulnerability. But lately it's been the muscle stuff. 

[[Fi...]]

1 hour ago, [[j...] said:

You are doing great. Go on. I am also on 3.6 mgs but I think it is time to give a break. Because, I tried to help people by opening a twitter account and the stories of people caused me to have wave like things. This process is so fragile so we must be away from the stress as soon as possible. Take care @[Fi...]

Thanks @[ju...]. 

I understand about hearing withdrawal stories that are too upsetting. We need to have hope in this process and remember that many people taper off and go on to live their lives. 

You are doing well. 

Fh

[[Ho...]]

3 hours ago, [[F...] said:

@[Ho...]

I was on Mirt a little over 6 weeks. My doses were all over the place because I was so sick from a benzo setback. On average I ranged between 3.75, 5.5 and then I tried 7.5 for two weeks. It didn't help for sleep so I started tapering. 

I don't usually feel the 0.2 drop except for a day or so of a low mood and some vulnerability. But lately it's been the muscle stuff. 

Crazy how strongly you feel it when you were on it for such a short time. Thank God that's all! You'll probably walk off of it pretty easily. It's nice hearing that all you have is a day or two of feeling a bit low. I tell you, it feels so good to feel good! 

[[Fi...]]

17 hours ago, [[H...] said:

Crazy how strongly you feel it when you were on it for such a short time. Thank God that's all! You'll probably walk off of it pretty easily. It's nice hearing that all you have is a day or two of feeling a bit low. I tell you, it feels so good to feel good! 

Thanks @[Ho...]

I'm really hoping I just walk off. 

[[op...]]

Hi FH (and all),

im sorry to hear your muscle pain continues. That hasn’t been a primary symptom for me but heat has been helpful when it is. Also, I’ve had zero issues with ibuprofen or Tylenol since this whole thing began. If it might help, maybe try?

I’m back down to .9 after my little covid setback. I’m doing really well. Biggest continuous issue for me is distended belly and digestive issues but I’m making slow progress with that. I’m going down appx .1/week. Slow and steady! We are getting there! 
 

My one year benzo jump anniversary is late Jan. Hoping to be off mirt by then or shortly after. The liquid compound has been a real gift with the small doses.
 

I think your muscle pain will eventually fade. Hot baths! 
 

best wishes to all -

openroad

 

[[op...]]

On 24/11/2023 at 17:02, [[H...] said:

I'm glad you started this thread because I ran into an issue. I'm also on a small amount of lamotrigine and after I took my latest cut of mirt, going from 8 ml to 7.5 ml, I felt really pretty good. So I made a 3% cut of lamotrigine and then another because I felt so good. Then I didn't. Things got acute and I had to backtrack on the lamotrigine. It helped a bit after a few days, but not completely. I lost ground and am still not sure if it was the mirt drop or the lamotrigine drop.

So I'm gonna hold here and see if things improve more.

Sorry to hear you went through this - so scary! This is why it’s tricky to taper two things at once. Can you try to get off one at a time? Hope you’ve stabilized since. You will prevail

[[Ho...]]

Hi there @[op...], glad to hear your progress! Hope you make your anniversary, or something close.  I've stabilized but had to updose a tiny bit. I keep thinking, oh I feel good, I can handle a drop and bam, I'm in the soup. I really need to go more slowly. I think one at a time is much better. I was able to do both but I guess my body just told me those days are over.

I'm trying to figure out what .9 is to you (and .1/week!) I have a little dropper that is one ml. (My mirt solution is a one ml-to-1mg ratio.) I'm attaching a photo because I'm wondering; are you using the same dropper? And are you all the way down to the 'one' mark? I'm green with envy!

If so, are you dropping down about one line a week? (My brain, I tell you! I can't figure this out but I have a feeling it should be super easy. Not for me!)

hotcold

[[Ho...]]

I'm at 0.75 now. I can finally see those tiny numbers . Are you at 0.9?  And dropping .001 (one of the tiny lines)? I dropped .005, from .8 to .75. I thought I was okay until I then went down on lamectal. 

I'm pestering you because I just don't want to go too slow. Maybe dropping .005 is okay if I just stick with the mirt and leave the lamectal alone. 

Many thanks in advance!!!

[[op...]]

2 hours ago, [[H...] said:

I'm at 0.75 now. I can finally see those tiny numbers . Are you at 0.9?  And dropping .001 (one of the tiny lines)? I dropped .005, from .8 to .75. I thought I was okay until I then went down on lamectal. 

I'm pestering you because I just don't want to go too slow. Maybe dropping .005 is okay if I just stick with the mirt and leave the lamectal alone. 

Many thanks in advance!!!

Not pestering at all! So, you can see this syringe is 1 full mg, right? So, I would be down to the "0.9" on this syringe. (I am using a 2mg/1ml solution right now, but no matter.) So, yes, I go down one (big) line each week. So next week, I would be down to the "0.8". (NOT the teeny lines, the bigger lines.) It is slow, but I'm in no rush at this point.

Last year, at the end of my val taper, I was also tapering the mirtazapine simultaneously. But it can get tricky b/c you don't know what symptoms you're feeling from what. You are now tapering two very tricky drugs. I would honestly leave one alone for now, and get off the other. 

You got this!

[[Li...]]

Hello, @[op...]. Good to ‘see’ you again!  Can you tell us more about the liquid compound you are using?  Is it based on a stability-tested formulation?  What is the concentration?  What are the ingredients?  I’m asking on behalf  of @[Fa...] who is working on a plan to taper mirtazapine.

Greetings, @[Ho...].  Each of the lines in the syringe pictured represents 0.01mL (not 0.001mL).

[[Fi...]]

Thanks for your feedback @[op...] regarding Tylenol and Ibuprofen.  Good to know you didn't have any reaction. 

It looks like we are tapering about the same amount per month but in slightly different increments. I'm glad you are doing well with it though I understand the digestive stuff is uncomfortable. We all seem to have a vulnerable area. 

Here's to more hot baths, which I love. 

FH

[[op...]]

@[Fa...] and @[Li...] - I am using a compounded liquid from a compounding pharmacy. I imagine it is stability-tested - it's legit - my doc calls it in to the pharmacy, and I have had zero issues with it. The base is olive oil. Nothing else added. The concentration would depend on how much you are tapering. I used 1mg/1ml b/c I only had a 1mg to go. But if you had 3mgs left, it might be a 3mg/1ml solution. It would depend. 

I did a dry cut taper of mirt until I was down to 1mg. The pills are so tiny that it became impossible. Unfortunately, it's not covered by insurance but it was worth it to me to be done with the scale. @[no...] is the one who suggested I get the compounded liquid and I am grateful for his suggestion.

@[Fa...] - if you need help with your mirtazapine taper, please do ask! Tag me or @[Fi...] or look at the archived mirtazapine thread, which had a lot of good info. <3

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by [op...]

[[ju...]]

On 25/11/2023 at 22:16, [[F...] said:

Thanks @[ju...]. 

I understand about hearing withdrawal stories that are too upsetting. We need to have hope in this process and remember that many people taper off and go on to live their lives. 

You are doing well. 

Fh

While I was doing very well and my tapering adventure was nearing its end, my Mast Cells turned into a crazy pumping station again because of thinking about others. What I experienced went beyond the theory of the Histamine Bucket filling up and the symptoms emptying. So unfortunately I had to increase my current dose from 3.6 mg to 9 mg. Tapering is an easier adventure for me than for many people, so my only goal now is to slightly suppress the histamine receptors that cause extreme depression and anxiety attacks. From now on, unfortunately, I will have to think only about myself. Do the same. We cannot save the world. Please pray for me and wish me luck. Whatever you can do.

[[Fi...]]

Wishing you well @[ju...]

You'll get through.

FH