Remeron - Please help

[[Wi...]]

Up until I started remeron a few months ago,   I was in a very bad place, I'd hit tolerance so I couldn't stay where I was, and cutting was impossible.  Even updosing didn't make a difference.  I was for the most part disabled and unable to leave my house.

 

Not saying it was a miracle  because I still have challenges with the cuts and it has s/x of it's own, but Remeron calmed things down enough that I've been able to sleep, stabalize and slowly taper, which is a significant difference from where I came.  I tried to go off the remeron recently (slowish taper)  and went back to the horrible s/x of what tapering or even just holding had been for me.  I feel like I can relate to what c/t is like because it seemed that extreme.

 

The problem is that although I've come to accept most of the s/x of remeron, these nightmares are absolutely terrifying.  They are vivid, very real and usually involve something bad happening to someone I know, someone I love or me.  I had hoped that the severity of them would decrease as I continue to stabalized from the most recent cut.  But it happened again last night. I know it was just a dream now, but even when I woke up through the night, I would go back to sleep to a variation of the same dream, but which continued to get more frightening.  I hate to use the word terror because that sounds so dramatic, but I literally felt terror.

 

I read a case study recently where a man was removed from remeron because of the severity of  this side effect for him.  And I just don't know what to do.  If I stay on.  If I go off I lose.

 

I've tried Seroquel and it helps with sleep but does nothing for the w/d s/x like remeron does.  I've recently tried Prozac, but that just made the s/x worse and was over stimulating.  I'm really scared.    I don't know where else to go with this.  My p-doc wants to put me on Paxil for the anxiety of the w/d itself, but I fear that's going to cause more problems and there will be no benefit.

 

What would you do? What would you suggest?  Please help.

[[li...]]

Remeron was a nitemare for me.  I don't even know where to begin.  I chose to go off of Remeron first because of the side effects.  Just taper it slowly.  You'll be fine.  I would go off and let your body heal.  Hate Remeron. Nitemares were not fun.  I know this is probably what you don't want to hear.  I wouldn't go on anything.  Just get through this so you can heal.  Linder xo

[[Wi...]]

Linder,

 

They started me on 15 mg, then 30, I've tapered to 7.5 and have been on that dose for a few weeks in the hopes that the low dose would minimize the s/x, but that didn't happen.  I now plan to go to half of that if I can cut that small, then off,  Took you 6 months to get off of after being on 3 mo? Ouch.  What dose did you start your taper from?

 

Thanks.

 

WWWI

[[li...]]

they started me on 15 then increased to 22.5.  thats when the hallucinations started.  I dropped myself down to 15 then 7.5 in 2 weeks.  remeron is harder to get off the lower you go.  so you will have to start going slow.  I made it to 3.5 and was really having a hard time when my Dr pulled me from it completely.  That drug never liked me.  I had a really hard time with it.  Just go slow please.  Linder

[[we...]]

my remeron taper was just like a bz.  I ended up cutting 0.02 mg /day (dissolved in water and used a syringe to measure out dose) keep in frige.

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=28347.0

[[Wi...]]

my remeron taper was just like a bz.  I ended up cutting 0.02 mg /day (dissolved in water and used a syringe to measure out dose) keep in frige.

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=28347.0

What was the dose you began your remeron taper at?  So a ramp up of my benzo w/d when I stopped the remeron the first time could have been remeron w/d???!?

[[we...]]

v. slow taper from 1.2 g.

[[Wi...]]

v. slow taper from 1.2 g.

I'm guessing that is the equivalent to 12 mg?

[[we...]]

I meant 1.2 mg

[[as...]]

Hey -

 

If you are looking for a pharmaceutical solution, have you tried Trazodone? I briefly took that to sleep several years ago, and it worked very well for me. I also was able to stop using it without any withdrawal/side effects. I know some people have had problems coming off of it, however.

 

As for remeron withdrawal, most of the symptoms that I have heard people reporting sound like benzo-withdrawal; the people coming off of the remeron are also coming off of benzos at the same time. My theory is that benzo-withdrawal is the worst. Of course, that is a theory, and everyone is different.  I'm sure that it is also wishful thinking on my part, since I am stuck on remeron for the time being.

 

Good luck to you. I know that it is a scary decision to make. ask2266

[[Wi...]]

Yes I've tried Trazodone and it didn't help with sleep. I'm on 7.5 mg remeron and  I think (and hope) what you said about remeron withdrawal is true.  On the web generally speaking, most people seem to be able to w/d from Remeron with little problem, if they are not w/d'ing off benzos.  It also make sense that since it's helping to allow me to taper, that it's suppressing some of the major w/d from benzos for me right now.

 

Since it's possible that it can take a long time after the post taper w/d for the gaba receptors to fully or at least nominally heal, that those who would normally feel benzo w/d, do feel w/d when they taper off remeron.  So my intention is to wait 6 mo, a year, 18 mo's, I don't know, to taper off the remeron since that may be how long it takes my body to readjust it's gaba receptors.  And hopefully the remeron w/d will be manageable at that time.

 

Just so you know, because of the nightmares I talked to my p-doc who put me on yet another drug Clonadine(?).  It is a blood pressure med, but she put me on it because it's also used, off label of course, for PTSD and suppresses the dreams.  I tried a half of .1mg last night and no nightmares, which was wonderful.  But it's only one night so we'll see.