Taper zolpidem (ambien) and Mirtazipine

[[ro...]]

Hello you all, 

I would like to get some advice on my taper strategy. Back in december, I started to take 5 mg zolpidem daily because of insomnia. 6/7 weeks ago, I started mirtazapine 15 mg because the zolpidem wasn't really doing it's job anymore and I started to get a little bit depressed. However, it seems like the mirtazapine only made my sleep worse. I had to take 10 mg zolpidem and 15 mg of Mirtazapine in orde to sleep a little bit. 3 weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to taper this shit. 

I follow the 10% rule per 2 weeks for the zolpidem, so I'm currently on 8.1 mg. Sleep is okay for most of the days, so thats nice. 

However, I'm a little bit clueless about the mirtazipine. I read that it is better to taper the Z drug first, but I'm only using it for 6 weeks now. So I started to taper the Mirtazipine as well, 10% per 2 weeks. 

I don't know if what I'm doing is the best option. So if any of you has some advice, I would be very happy to hear it :) 

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@[ro...], hello to you and welcome to BenzoBuddies! There are lots of people going through about the same messy process here and i believe you'll get the feedback you need as well as support.

I personally don't know much about zolpidem but i'm close to the end of my mirtazapine taper and I'm 13+ months benzo free. Are you sure mirt isn't giving you any help at all? Any side effects? I think it's not a good idea to taper both of the medications at the same time, kind of twice a hit on your nervous system and we should have as few biochemistry changes as possible at this difficult time.  I'd suggest tapering off of zolpidem first and then when you're stabilized enough, start mirt tapering. But sure it very much depends on what and how many side effects of mirtazapine you have. By the way, i never felt mirtazapine help my sleep but it was a help in other issues.

I hope other members will soon take over from me) Good luck to you!)

[[ro...]]

Hi Kate, thank you for your answer. I am really sensitive to heart palpitations and a rapid heart rate and i feel like the mirtazipine makes this worse. That's the main reason I don't like it. I also understand it's not smart to taper them both at te same time. But i thought i might get off the mirtazipine "easily" since i only used it for a short amount of time. 

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@[ro...], oh, yes, it's bad enough. I know this symptom too and really feel for you here. But mine was caused by benzo tolerance and no medication could relieve it till it subsided on its own. As far as i know, mirtazapine is supposed to have little effect on our cardiovascular system. In fact that was one of the reasons i was prescribed it. But we're all different. Are you sure mirt is responsible for it? Have you had any cardio tests?

I believe the mirtazapine taper must be easier in any way. As for me, it can't be compared to the benzo one. I guess z-drugs are about the same thing as benzo. That's why they should be dealt with first. If you happen to have begun an antidepressant prior to such drags tapering, they can be kind of a cover for the withdrawal. But i don't insist. Just my personal experience)