Mirtazapine 15 mg for sleep while tapering

[[ca...]]

Is it okay to take 15mg Mirtazepine to sleep while tapering? Is the only way I can sleep 2-3 hours. I can't exercise because I have heart issues. Any thoughts? 

[[Kr...]]

Sounds like you are already taking it. How confusing the post is. You need to be more specific. If it’s the only way you sleep 2-3 hours than why are you even asking if it’s okay 🤷‍♀️ 

[[ca...]]

Thank you for your comment.  Just wondering if other people take anything to sleep while tapering. Simple.

[[Kr...]]

Yes, a ton of people do. 

[[ca...]]

👍🏻

[[wi...]]

❤️

[[Ho...]]

Hi, I was given mirt for sleep and for eating. It did help. (I took 15 mg too.) I wish I'd taken 7.5 instead though; for benzo people, we are super sensitive and don't need as much.

If I were you, I'd consider lowering the dose to 7.5. Your doctor will say it makes no difference, 7.5 mg won't help and on and on ad nauseam. But mirt messes with histamine and trying to get off of it can be almost as difficult as tapering benzos.

I'd tapering it now. I'm down rio .425 mg. I can only drop .025 a week. I tried more. I also tried faster. The results were awful but the good news is, slower is working. I have a feeling that if it weren't for the mirt, I'd be further along in my healing, but it happened and it helped at the time.  If I'd known to take a lower dose, I'd have done that. NOW I know LOL!!

Best of luck to you,

HCHC

Edited April 12 by [Ho...]
forgot to state I took 15 mg

[[Nu...]]

Dr. Ashton references taking something to help with sleep. Believe she mentioned amitryptylline. I took a low dose of mirtazapine at one point and didn't really have an issue. If it helps, that's what matters. The adage of start low and go slow applies to any type of med we take, especially meds that affect our neurological system. But -- sleep is important.

[[An...]]

5 hours ago, [[c...] said:

Is it okay to take 15mg Mirtazepine to sleep while tapering? Is the only way I can sleep 2-3 hours. I can't exercise because I have heart issues. Any thoughts? 

I personally think it is fine as long as it it helping you to taper off benzos and providing you with some sleep.

Professor Ashton said>>>

 

Quote

 

Antidepressants. Antidepressants are the most important adjuvant drugs to consider in withdrawal. 

There is a school of thought, mainly amongst ex-tranquilliser users, that is opposed to the taking of any other drugs during withdrawal. But suicides have occurred in several reported clinical trials of benzodiazepine withdrawal. If depression is severe during benzodiazepine withdrawal as in any other situation, it seems foolhardy to leave it untreated.

Antidepressants not only alleviate depression but also, after 2-3 weeks, have anti-anxiety effects. They are in fact a better long-term treatment than benzodiazepines for anxiety, panic and phobic disorders, and may in some cases actively help the benzodiazepine withdrawal process.

 

 

[[Da...]]

4 hours ago, [[N...] said:

Dr. Ashton references taking something to help with sleep. Believe she mentioned amitryptylline. I took a low dose of mirtazapine at one point and didn't really have an issue. If it helps, that's what matters. The adage of start low and go slow applies to any type of med we take, especially meds that affect our neurological system. But -- sleep is important.

Amitripiline is a potent antihistamine and an anticholinergenic....that is 2 new receptors to be dealing with (those were not talked about in the Aston's Mania) but they are making more splash in the doctor community.   Same for people using Benadryl....here and there is ok...but you might want to look it up as withdrawing from this one is tough.  It has more antihistamine properties than Mirtz.

[[Nu...]]

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

Amitripiline is a potent antihistamine and an anticholinergenic....that is 2 new receptors to be dealing with (those were not talked about in the Aston's Mania) but they are making more splash in the doctor community.   Same for people using Benadryl....here and there is ok...but you might want to look it up as withdrawing from this one is tough.  It has more antihistamine properties than Mirtz.

Hiya. This is from Chapter 3 of the Ashton Manual:

"Apart from their therapeutic effects in depression and anxiety, some antidepressants have a sedative effect which patients who are particularly plagued with insomnia have found helpful. Low doses (10-50mg) of amitriptyline (Elavil) or doxepin (Sinequan) are remarkably effective in promoting sleep if taken at bed-time. These can be taken for short periods of a few weeks and stopped by reducing the dosage stepwise or taking the drug every other night. Withdrawal is not a problem when small doses are taken for short periods or intermittently."

For many of these drugs, the sedative effect is derived from the antihistamine property. Even promethazine (Phenergan), a nausea medication, is sleep inducing because it's an antihistamine.

[[ca...]]

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

Hi, I was given mirt for sleep and for eating. It did help. (I took 15 mg too.) I wish I'd taken 7.5 instead though; for benzo people, we are super sensitive and don't need as much.

If I were you, I'd consider lowering the dose to 7.5. Your doctor will say it makes no difference, 7.5 mg won't help and on and on ad nauseam. But mirt messes with histamine and trying to get off of it can be almost as difficult as tapering benzos.

I'd tapering it now. I'm down rio .425 mg. I can only drop .025 a week. I tried more. I also tried faster. The results were awful but the good news is, slower is working. I have a feeling that if it weren't for the mirt, I'd be further along in my healing, but it happened and it helped at the time.  If I'd known to take a lower dose, I'd have done that. NOW I know LOL!!

Best of luck to you,

 

Thank you for your helpful feedback.

[[Rh...]]

Hi, I did take mirt during the end of my benzo taper (3.75 mg’s) and it helped me, but I did become dependent and had to slowly taper off of that too.  I am currently 9 months off mirt and 4+ years off my benzo and am dealing with pretty severe withdrawals from my mirt taper.  So just be careful and if you can, I’d suggest taking the lowest dose possible.  I even took 1.75 and it helped.

 

I did do a slow long taper off with compounded liquid over several years, so I am not experiencing WD from cold turkey or a rapid taper.

[[...]]

On 12/04/2024 at 02:08, [[c...] said:

Is it okay to take 15mg Mirtazepine to sleep while tapering? Is the only way I can sleep 2-3 hours. I can't exercise because I have heart issues. Any thoughts? 

I've been taking mirtazapine, by and by up to full dose - 30 mg, since the begining of tapering to relieve my unbearable headache. It helped. Guess it's ok as long as it helps and you're really lucky to find, at least, smth that makes the benzo WD a bit less trying. I'm tapering mirt now. Hope i'm close to the end of this taper and being absolutely free of any medication interfering with brain.

Edited April 17 by [...]

[[No...]]

@[ca...] Watch out with Mirtazapine like with every other psych drug, it's strong enough to make the things really bad. And in matter of facts, If you have heart issues you should avoid AD and everything which addresses serotonin levels.

[[ca...]]

I only take it to sleep bit for the last couple of weeks is not working.  In regards to serotonin levels,  what would be a good medicine for depression?

Also, Klonopin is not not doing anything anymore. Nor help me sleep or help with calming me down. Just taking it to follow taper I guess.  I'm not sleeping at all and I refuse to increase a dose as I will be defeating the purpose of tapering. Feel like stopping it completely already. This is sickening. 

[[ca...]]

20 minutes ago, [[N...] said:

@[ca...] Watch out with Mirtazapine like with every other psych drug, it's strong enough to make the things really bad. And in matter of facts, If you have heart issues you should avoid AD and everything which addresses serotonin levels.

What's AD by the way?

[[ca...]]

Never mind (anti depressants?

[[ca...]]

Supposedly AD harden your arteries and vessels.  As a matter of fact, I am in the hospital right where I had two stents placed in my heart yesterday. (Go figure)but none of these super doctors tell you any of these. Most of all heart patients suffer of some sort of depression. I had open heart surgery six months ago and two of the grafts failed already. Dealing with heart issues and tapering at the same time. What a combo. 

[[No...]]

@[ca...] Yes, anti depressants. Sorry but I don't know good medicine in this case, we both have similar situations. I have heart issues too (mine are not even close to yours yet) and currently taking 0.5 Klonopin at night, riding really bad wave right now. I guess there are many others like us.. It is awful to suffer from health condition and to taper.. Doctors are ignorant and most even don't know about these things.  

[[ca...]]

They are quick to send prescriptions in to your pharmacy but they have no clue how to taper or simply ignore the subject.  Mine wanted to increase the dose of Klonopin " to resolve" the sleep issue. She said that we could worry about tapering at a later time. She is so stupid. I only use her because I am on disability and need the papers updated every now and then.

The sleep is what is killing me right now. I am tempted to tale 2 mg yo see of I can sleep but I feel that I will be taking 20 steps backwards. Sleep os so essential for me in recovery but I just leave to God's plan. There is nothing I can do but keep plugging away.

 

[[Th...]]

Sleep is very hard to come by especially when you have reached tolerance to your current dose.  I was right where you are now many many years ago.  At one point, even 3-4mgs of Klonopin and 30mg of Temazepam only gave me an hour or two of sleep.  I quit CT at the advice of my PCP and that's when my sleep really went south.  I tried literally every other drug that wasn't a Benzo for sleep.  Everything from Seroquel, to Trazodone to Mirtazepine to Doxepin.  The only thing that really worked for me was Seroquel, but it left me feeling super hung over the next day with tons of brain fog and DP/DR, so I stopped taking it.  

I toughed it out over the next 9-10 months while sleep slowly got better.  I learned that we can still function at a high level on very little sleep.  I am not advocating not sleeping, but simply stating my experience.  About 3 years after I quit CT and my sleep was good for months and months at a time, OTC sleep remedies that would never work during WD, such as doxylamine (antihistamine) worked well for me on those one-off nights.

Unfortunately the only way out is "through the WD process."  IMO, and this is NOT medical advice, I'd consider crossing over to Valium (Diazepam) and tapering off.  Consider something that is not a Benzo for sleep, such as Seroquel.  Peace!

[[No...]]

Seroquel acts on serotonin too.

[[ve...]]

Mirtazapine 7,5mg is more sedating than 15mg.

[[ca...]]

4 hours ago, [[T...] said:

Sleep is very hard to come by especially when you have reached tolerance to your current dose.  I was right where you are now many many years ago.  At one point, even 3-4mgs of Klonopin and 30mg of Temazepam only gave me an hour or two of sleep.  I quit CT at the advice of my PCP and that's when my sleep really went south.  I tried literally every other drug that wasn't a Benzo for sleep.  Everything from Seroquel, to Trazodone to Mirtazepine to Doxepin.  The only thing that really worked for me was Seroquel, but it left me feeling super hung over the next day with tons of brain fog and DP/DR, so I stopped taking it.  

I toughed it out over the next 9-10 months while sleep slowly got better.  I learned that we can still function at a high level on very little sleep.  I am not advocating not sleeping, but simply stating my experience.  About 3 years after I quit CT and my sleep was good for months and months at a time, OTC sleep remedies that would never work during WD, such as doxylamine (antihistamine) worked well for me on those one-off nights.

Unfortunately the only way out is "through the WD process."  IMO, and this is NOT medical advice, I'd consider crossing over to Valium (Diazepam) and tapering off.  Consider something that is not a Benzo for sleep, such as Seroquel.  Peace!

Should I take my last dose of Klonopin at bedtime along with the Mirt?