Remeron (Mirtazapine) Withdrawal Support Group

[[Ox...]]

Hi guys,

 

I just want to post a quick update after my first cut of Mirtazapine (15mg to 14mg). It is actually not so bad. It's day six now after my fist cut and I feel allright. Sleep has been a bit worse, I wake up a lot, but it's actually not that bad, I still sleep through the night. My mood was a little down on day 3 and 4 but is better now and I was a little more jittery. I also have some slight dizzyness. My brain feels off if that makes sense. I am under the impression that I feel less sedated from the first day after my cut so that is good news.

 

Next week I'm going to keep this dose and see how it goes. Maybe take three weeks in total to stabilize and then do another cut, 14mg to 13mg which is also a 7% reduction. Have been contemplating making 5% reductions every two weeks instead of the recommended 10% per month. The pace is probably somewhat the same, but you will avoid bigger cuts.

 

Hope everyone is ok.

[[ja...]]

Ox,

That’s great news, glad things are going ok with the cut.  Congrats and hang in there.

[[ja...]]

Yesterday was day 6 after dose cut and as always seems to be when things are the worst, didn’t sleep at all last night, hoping things start to improve.

[[Ox...]]

I'm sorry you didn't sleep. This sunday was my seventh day and I felt ok. Today is ok too. I guess the sixt day was the worst for me as well. You are getting closer to jumping now. How much did you cut?

[[ja...]]

I went from 2.4mg to 2.2mg, not really much of a cut but I sure felt this one.  Hoping the next one won’t be as nasty.  I usually start to improve after day 6 and am ready to do a small cut at somewhere between day 10 and 2 weeks.  Glad to hear you’re doing ok.

[[Ox...]]

A quick update. It's my tenth day after the cut. I feel like I am still going up and down, like when you throw something into the water and at first there are small but significant ripples, which waver out to bigger ripples but less deep. Does this make sense? So I'm going up and down but it's not as severe as day 4 till 7 I guess. I've also had a really stressful time with work and my monthly (sorry if this is TMI) is coming up. Also, rainy gray weather here in Western Europe doesn't help.

 

How are you doing yasmin? Sleep better?

Jack, how are you doing? Haven't heard from you in a while. Did you get anywhere with your doc?

[[Ja...]]

I’m not doing well at all. I am fighting like hell. I am getting severe burning when I eat and a metallic taste in my mouth. Now this morning I have 5 sores in my mouth and another on my tongue which is bleeding a little. I don’t know what is going on. The endoscopy showed nothing in my stomach but I do have esophagitis. The ENT looked yesterday and my tongue is inflamed and around my mouth. I would love to say allergic reaction but taking a benadryl does nothing to help plus I’m on the Remeron. My histamine receptors might be messed up because when I take benadryl I feel nothing like it does absolutely nothing. Everything I eat burns but white starches burn so bad that I lose my voice and it get a sore throat. There is no clear path out of this. I don’t think I’m gonna make it. I am so sad for my son. I want to live and be his dad. But I am deathly ill and have no answers. I just keep getting sicker. I am going to need a feeding IV soon.

[[Pa...]]

You sound terrible Jack, I can't imagine the pain you're in, is the ENT going to treat the esophagitis?  Are the sores related to that?

[[Ja...]]

You sound terrible Jack, I can't imagine the pain you're in, is the ENT going to treat the esophagitis?  Are the sores related to that?

 

I just don’t know. They have me taking more Nexium but I don’t think it is acid related. It’s something else. It seems like these meds have caused some sort of horrible autoimmune disease in me. Just speculating. I don’t know what it is anymore. What I do know is that my life as I knew it seems to be over. If not better in the next six months I will be losing the job I worked my whole life for. More importantly at my rate of weight loss I don’t think I have six months. It’s scary because I don’t know if it is Xanax related at 35 months out, Remeron related after tapering and now going back on or if it is some rare horrible disease. The burning in my gut right now is horrible. It radiates through my back and arms. Please pray for me.

[[pr...]]

You sound terrible Jack, I can't imagine the pain you're in, is the ENT going to treat the esophagitis?  Are the sores related to that?

 

I just don’t know. They have me taking more Nexium but I don’t think it is acid related. It’s something else. It seems like these meds have caused some sort of horrible autoimmune disease in me. Just speculating. I don’t know what it is anymore. What I do know is that my life as I knew it seems to be over. If not better in the next six months I will be losing the job I worked my whole life for. More importantly at my rate of weight loss I don’t think I have six months. It’s scary because I don’t know if it is Xanax related at 35 months out, Remeron related after tapering and now going back on or if it is some rare horrible disease. The burning in my gut right now is horrible. It radiates through my back and arms. Please pray for me.

 

Praying for you Jack!

 

PG

[Guest [sc...]]

I was put on 7.5 mg. Mirtazapine in 2013 and for the past few years I have been taking 3.75 mg.  It no longer helps my sleep so this week I started taking it every other night and I notice nothing different on the nights I don’t take it.  So I think in another week or so I will just stop taking it.  Wish me luck.

[[Ox...]]

Jack, I'm so sorry for your suffering. Will the doc do more tests to find out what it is? Please hang on. You are always welcome to vent here. Please remember, this too shall pass.

[[Ox...]]

So I think in another week or so I will just stop taking it.  Wish me luck.

 

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

[[ja...]]

Ox,

Going to try a cut tonight to 1.8 and see how things go.  How are you doing?

[[Ox...]]

I'm conflicted. Been on 14mg now for two weeks. Not sure yet..

[[Ox...]]

I decided to go to 13,5 mg next week. It's a 3,5% cut which is pretty small. Slow and steady is my pace. Stability is my first concern.

 

I leave for a 'blue sky holiday' in two weeks and I don't want to be in the middle of withdrawal. At the same time, if I am going slow I don't want to keep taking breaks, It'll take me forever.

[[Ja...]]

I decided to go to 13,5 mg next week. It's a 3,5% cut which is pretty small. Slow and steady is my pace. Stability is my first concern.

 

I leave for a 'blue sky holiday' in two weeks and I don't want to be in the middle of withdrawal. At the same time, if I am going slow I don't want to keep taking breaks, It'll take me forever.

 

My two cents is to hold. Sometimes there is a week 3 recurrence of symptoms. Also, I ruined one of my vacations by not holding before I left. It’s no rush. I was in a rush and look where I am now. Don’t assume the end of your taper is a prize. Hold and live your life. Cut when there is no nothing better to do.

[[Ox...]]

Hi Jack, you know I value your advice more than anything. And you are right. Holding is probably better. I just made a batch of 13,5 mg for a week though.

 

I might see how I react the next 3 to 4 days and if it's not tolerable I'll go back to 14 mg and will have more than a week to stabilize. You are right, it is not a race. I do feel slightly better, less dizzy and sedated so I am motivated to taper.

 

How are you now?

 

 

[[30...]]

jack its so good to see you on here -- I've been thinking about you -- are you doing okay, pal?

[[Ja...]]

jack its so good to see you on here -- I've been thinking about you -- are you doing okay, pal?

 

I updosed to 7.5 mg last night. That’s as high as I’m going. I was previously at 4.5 mg. I have other things going on. I received bloodwork back on Friday that told me that I have Primary Biliary Cholangitis which is a rare autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks and destroys your liver. I am going to have to have a lot more tests done. A lot of times there is another autoimmune disease involved. I will likely have to take an immunosuppressant for the rest of my life. Judging by my liver enzymes I am hopefully stage 1. I still have to get other tests done for confirmation, possibly even a liver biopsy. I am definitely scared about it. It was unexpected for sure. I don’t think it has anything to do with most of my other symptoms but we never would have caught it otherwise. A few doctors think my stomach and burning issues could be from an overgrowth due to hypo or achlorydia due to taking Nexium. It could be. I raised my dose as per my doctors orders and started getting sicker so now I am decreasing it. I am going to try decreasing it and increasing my stomach acid as I have not given that a good shot yet. Hopefully things start to get better soon.

[[30...]]

jack,

I am so sorry to hear about this -- but I guess I am glad they found it, even if it isn't the cause of your symptoms, and if its stage one maybe early intervention will be very positive. 

you have been through so much -- I am so sorry.  have you had other auto-immune disorders prior to this?  I'm thinking about you!

[[Ja...]]

jack,

I am so sorry to hear about this -- but I guess I am glad they found it, even if it isn't the cause of your symptoms, and if its stage one maybe early intervention will be very positive. 

you have been through so much -- I am so sorry.  have you had other auto-immune disorders prior to this?  I'm thinking about you!

 

I have suspected an autoimmune disorder for many many years. I never went to a rheumatologist but I will be doing so now. This particular autoimmune disease is commonly paired with another though not always. Autoimmune diseases run in my family. Sjogrens, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis. My mother has an unknown autoimmune disease that they can not formally diagnose. They just classify it as fibromyalgia however she has had a fever of unknown original for almost 15 years now.

[[30...]]

so sorry my friend -- please keep me posted as to what you learn from the rheumatologist.  how are you holding up on the 7.5 of the mirtazapine?  has that been helpful?  thinking about you!

[[Pe...]]

27 days. So yesterday was not so bad. I got a lot of work done around the house. I had no anxiety and slept really good the night before. My appetite was a little better. Last night I had a lot of anxiety. It was not nearly as severe as the other day but it was pretty uncomfortable. I still feel it right now. I have that vibration feeling although it is very mild compared to the other day. BP 126/90 so still improving there. I slept OK last night, could have been better but I’ll take it compared to the other day. Stomach is still a mess and the doc wants me tested for c diff again. I also have folliculitis on my legs which is exactly what happened to me during my last bad wave like this last year after a lot of cutting and I had c diff come back at the same time. It makes me wonder if my immune system gets weakened during Remeron waves or if it is just a coincidence. I sure is deja vu. I had a 99.5 fever pretty much most of the day yesterday. I’ve had that for a couple of weeks now I think. I already feel tired as hell today and have mild DP/DR. I’m not sure how today is going to go. I guess we’ll see.

 

 

I have been struggling with folliculitis on my legs since withdrawals started. I am healed is most other ways other than my skin issues. It’s been over two years now since I’ve been off benzos. Do you find that anything helps it? I slather sulphur cream on them and it mostly clears is up but dries my legs out so bad I can’t handle it. If I stop using it for even three days it’s back full blown. :-(

[[Ja...]]

27 days. So yesterday was not so bad. I got a lot of work done around the house. I had no anxiety and slept really good the night before. My appetite was a little better. Last night I had a lot of anxiety. It was not nearly as severe as the other day but it was pretty uncomfortable. I still feel it right now. I have that vibration feeling although it is very mild compared to the other day. BP 126/90 so still improving there. I slept OK last night, could have been better but I’ll take it compared to the other day. Stomach is still a mess and the doc wants me tested for c diff again. I also have folliculitis on my legs which is exactly what happened to me during my last bad wave like this last year after a lot of cutting and I had c diff come back at the same time. It makes me wonder if my immune system gets weakened during Remeron waves or if it is just a coincidence. I sure is deja vu. I had a 99.5 fever pretty much most of the day yesterday. I’ve had that for a couple of weeks now I think. I already feel tired as hell today and have mild DP/DR. I’m not sure how today is going to go. I guess we’ll see.

 

 

I have been struggling with folliculitis on my legs since withdrawals started. I am healed is most other ways other than my skin issues. It’s been over two years now since I’ve been off benzos. Do you find that anything helps it? I slather sulphur cream on them and it mostly clears is up but dries my legs out so bad I can’t handle it. If I stop using it for even three days it’s back full blown. :-(

 

I used Neutrogena Maximum Strength benzol peroxide however I am not sensitive to the drying. I also was using Dial Gold Bar on it everyday when I showered. It cleared up. On hot days where I sweat a lot I showered twice a day.