Stepped off of Mirtazapine

[[Fi...]]

Hi @[op...] @[Ho...]

@[ju...] 

I wanted to share that I have been off of Mirt for 7 days. I stepped off at 0.2mgs after holding there for 16 days.  

I'm doing all right. I've had a few nights of broken sleep but I have gotten some and I also have had full nights of sleep. My head feels a little spacey and I've had some head pressure but nothing major. Slight nausea one day but stomach is good. 

My remaining symptom related to Mirt is my frozen shoulder. I injured it during the late summer and then I believe because my muscles were so dehydrated from Mirt, the strained muscle moved into a frozen shoulder. Had the same thing happen at the end of benzo withdrawal. 

For those of you reading this that don't know my story, this is the second time I have tapered Mirt. I  had been off of it 5 years and benzos a year and a half when I had a benzo setback. It was caused by surgery and the components used in the anesthesia given to me-primarily the steroid that I did not know was used. 

I was thrown into acute withdrawal for 6.5 months. I lost my sleep, had anhedonia, medication induced agoraphobia and a horrific kind of insomnia that kept my mind jumping around all night. I was bedridden and couldn't even do a child's puzzle. I tried all kinds of natural supplements for sleep and nothing worked.

In desperation I turned to Mirt taking doses ranging in 1.75 to 5mgs. I finally tried 7.5 for 2 weeks but it revved me up. So I started tapering in the middle of a setback. When I got back down to the 5mg territory, I started sleeping. 

I was on Mirt for a little over 6 weeks before I started tapering and it took me 13.5 months, including the time I was on it to get off. I dry cut using a scale, an excellent pill cutter and metal nail file to shave down my pills. I went faster as I got lower and my symptoms overall were minor at the end. 

I'm happy to answer any questions about my taper.

I offer encouragement to all who are tapering. I never expected to go though a benzo setback or another taper but I did and I have more than survived. 

You can too. 

Final Healing 

Edited January 10 by [Fi...]

[[Hu...]]

I'm currently tapering mirtazapine last month. I'm at 0.57mg from 0.80mg (which was half a tablet / 7.5mg) I just weighted the tablet and decided to reduce 0.01 every day

It made me very lethargic, I started 6 months ago and I only wanted to lay flat on my back and do nothing. Yes, the sleep was good.

I don't know how it's going to be to cut more, but I'm not going to take 13 months for it. To me that sound quite bizarre. 

Have you had weight gain because of mirtazapine? Because that is the main side effect for most people. It could also influence other hormones.

Edited January 10 by [Hu...]

[[Ho...]]

@[Fi...], so glad for you that you made it! Good for you; it's not as easy as it should be. I'm at .7 mg, dropping down .25 mg at a time. I tried dropping .5 at a time but I had a horrendous day of deep dark depression so I went back up a bit. I don't seem to notice a .25 mg drop, though. My doc and her nurse think I'm overstating and encouraged me to just stop, but they're putting up with me for now. I got it compounded into a liquid and it's easier for me. My scale just doesn't do tiny amounts!

How are your other symptoms now? You were just about healed from your benzo, right? Before you had surgery? 

I'm using a pill cutter to titrate down other pills. Haven't found a good pill cutter and have a lot of smashed-up pills. What brand did you use? You sound pretty content with it so I'm thinking I should look into it.

Getting back to mirt I remember reading when you get under .5 mg it doesn't mess with your cortisol as much. About when did you step it up and go faster?

Thanks for keeping me in the loop, it's much appreciated!!

Warmly,

HCHC

[[Fi...]]

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

@[Fi...], so glad for you that you made it! Good for you; it's not as easy as it should be. I'm at .7 mg, dropping down .25 mg at a time. I tried dropping .5 at a time but I had a horrendous day of deep dark depression so I went back up a bit. I don't seem to notice a .25 mg drop, though. My doc and her nurse think I'm overstating and encouraged me to just stop, but they're putting up with me for now. I got it compounded into a liquid and it's easier for me. My scale just doesn't do tiny amounts!

How are your other symptoms now? You were just about healed from your benzo, right? Before you had surgery? 

I'm using a pill cutter to titrate down other pills. Haven't found a good pill cutter and have a lot of smashed-up pills. What brand did you use? You sound pretty content with it so I'm thinking I should look into it.

Getting back to mirt I remember reading when you get under .5 mg it doesn't mess with your cortisol as much. About when did you step it up and go faster?

Thanks for keeping me in the loop, it's much appreciated!!

Warmly,

HCHC

Hi @[Ho...]

You are getting there. I belive in   following what works for us in terms of the amount we cut. 

I have no remaining benzo symptoms. I was about 90% healed before my surgery-had some exercise intolerance remaining.  Now I'm fine. 

Since I was not on Mirt that long, things got easier for me once I got into the 5s, then better run the 2s and from there it was mild. No real mental symptoms, which had been very hard for me in the past.  A day or two during each drop when the cut hit and I felt irritable and I had more leg an muscle aches during this Mirt withdrawal. 

I ate low histamine (not perfectly), took a vegetarian DAO supplement before my meals (not every time) and stayed away from sugar except for when I had the Mirt munchies about 3 times a month. 

I don't know about the cortisol stuff at below 5 but I do know some other people withdrawing who have felt some relief when they got below 0.5. 

The pill cutter I use is really good and I got the suggestion for it on this site. Here is the link for it on Amazon. Equadose Pill Splitter 

 https://www.amazon.com/Equadose-Splitter-Cutter-Crafted-Doubles/

Keep going HCHC!

Final Healing 

[[Fi...]]

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

I'm currently tapering mirtazapine last month. I'm at 0.57mg from 0.80mg (which was half a tablet / 7.5mg) I just weighted the tablet and decided to reduce 0.01 every day

It made me very lethargic, I started 6 months ago and I only wanted to lay flat on my back and do nothing. Yes, the sleep was good.

I don't know how it's going to be to cut more, but I'm not going to take 13 months for it. To me that sound quite bizarre. 

Have you had weight gain because of mirtazapine? Because that is the main side effect for most people. It could also influence other hormones.

Yes, I gained about 12-15lbs.

[[Hu...]]

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

Yes, I gained about 12-15lbs.

I gained like 8 kilo's 17lbs in 6 months.

Was always in the gym trying to gain weight but it was hard. But Mirtazapine does something with metabolism and hormones.

[[op...]]

On 10/01/2024 at 14:58, [[F...] said:

Hi @[op...] @[Ho...]

@[ju...] 

I wanted to share that I have been off of Mirt for 7 days. I stepped off at 0.2mgs after holding there for 16 days.  

I'm doing all right. I've had a few nights of broken sleep but I have gotten some and I also have had full nights of sleep. My head feels a little spacey and I've had some head pressure but nothing major. Slight nausea one day but stomach is good. 

My remaining symptom related to Mirt is my frozen shoulder. I injured it during the late summer and then I believe because my muscles were so dehydrated from Mirt, the strained muscle moved into a frozen shoulder. Had the same thing happen at the end of benzo withdrawal. 

For those of you reading this that don't know my story, this is the second time I have tapered Mirt. I  had been off of it 5 years and benzos a year and a half when I had a benzo setback. It was caused by surgery and the components used in the anesthesia given to me-primarily the steroid that I did not know was used. 

I was thrown into acute withdrawal for 6.5 months. I lost my sleep, had anhedonia, medication induced agoraphobia and a horrific kind of insomnia that kept my mind jumping around all night. I was bedridden and couldn't even do a child's puzzle. I tried all kinds of natural supplements for sleep and nothing worked.

In desperation I turned to Mirt taking doses ranging in 1.75 to 5mgs. I finally tried 7.5 for 2 weeks but it revved me up. So I started tapering in the middle of a setback. When I got back down to the 5mg territory, I started sleeping. 

I was on Mirt for a little over 6 weeks before I started tapering and it took me 13.5 months, including the time I was on it to get off. I dry cut using a scale, an excellent pill cutter and metal nail file to shave down my pills. I went faster as I got lower and my symptoms overall were minor at the end. 

I'm happy to answer any questions about my taper.

I offer encouragement to all who are tapering. I never expected to go though a benzo setback or another taper but I did and I have more than survived. 

You can too. 

Final Healing 

Final healing – so glad to hear that you are off mirtazapine. You got there before me! I was so close and then I had the Covid setback and had to go back up again. I’m down to .6 at the moment. I am feeling the cuts much more than I did when I was higher up. This happened the last time I was at this amount. So I’m just taking it slowly. 
 

Thanks for sharing more of your story, especially what you think it was that was  in the anesthesia cocktail that you were given. I was surprised at how bad my Covid setback was, though it was short-lived, thankfully.

I’m tagging @[Ox...]and @[as...] and @[Sl...] in case they want to check in.

I would probably never believe how hard it is to get off of a medication like this, or benzos, if I hadn’t been through it myself. my main symptom is head vibrations, which can be extremely unpleasant, and are often accompanied with heart palpitations. I step down a little bit, the symptom increases. But then it seems to level out, and I lower again.
 

I’m sorry to hear about your frozen shoulder but I’m really glad that it seems to be the only thing that you’re dealing with right now. Frozen shoulder does absolutely heal - if you can get some good bodywork or physical therapy I would Recommend it. 
 

I have been in PT myself over the last four months, healing injuries that I got during benzo withdrawal. I can’t say whether the injuries were from withdrawal, or if they were from holding bad posture during the time that I was really sick. I think it is the latter. Either way my body is definitely healing and I’m starting to feel better and more like myself. It’s been good to slowly get back into shape.
 

I’m grateful that you not only shared your story with us, but also supported a lot of people tapering from your mirt on the old thread, and here as well. Keep us posted on how you continue to feel.

 

openroad
 

💛💛

Edited January 12 by [op...]

[[op...]]

On 10/01/2024 at 20:40, [[H...] said:

@[Fi...], so glad for you that you made it! Good for you; it's not as easy as it should be. I'm at .7 mg, dropping down .25 mg at a time. I tried dropping .5 at a time but I had a horrendous day of deep dark depression so I went back up a bit. I don't seem to notice a .25 mg drop, though. My doc and her nurse think I'm overstating and encouraged me to just stop, but they're putting up with me for now. I got it compounded into a liquid and it's easier for me. My scale just doesn't do tiny amounts!

How are your other symptoms now? You were just about healed from your benzo, right? Before you had surgery? 

I'm using a pill cutter to titrate down other pills. Haven't found a good pill cutter and have a lot of smashed-up pills. What brand did you use? You sound pretty content with it so I'm thinking I should look into it.

Getting back to mirt I remember reading when you get under .5 mg it doesn't mess with your cortisol as much. About when did you step it up and go faster?

Thanks for keeping me in the loop, it's much appreciated!!

Warmly,

HCHC

Hi hot cold - we’re around the same place. Taking it slow as wanting to remain fully functional :). I’m also using compounds liquid at this point. So much easier! 

[[Fi...]]

Thanks @[op...]

It is amazing and good information that our nervous systems are very sensitive right now and need protecting, especially from Covid and other substances. 

.6 is fantastic and you are making good progress. I find it interesting how we all are affected differently. I rarely got heart palpitations, though I have a tapering friend who does. My body leaned toward the sedation side most of the time. 

I'm glad the PT is helping you now. I think it can be beneficial. I went for awhile and then stopped because it was causing inflammation. This was because frozen shoulder has phases and in the freezing phase it's better to not agitate the muscles. PT will work better when I'm thawing. I'm doing some Alexander Technique sessions and down the road will add in some acupuncture.  

I have always appreciated the information and support you gave me during my taper. I'm not leaving the site for now so can offer my continued support as you move into the home stretch. 

Final Healing