Remeron (Mirtazapine) Withdrawal Support Group

[[pa...]]

Hi all!!

I am a post benzo graduate who has not been on the forum for some time. After seeing this post, I thought that I just must weigh in...

Most of my experience was with clonazepam and remeron. My regular blog outlines in detail the troubles I went through. When I reached tolerance to the benzo, plus being on small amounts of remeron it was hell for me to figure out which was THE problem. Trying to cut and stop the remeron first was a huge mistake.

Since my benzo taper ended (Feb 2010), I have continued with small amounts of remeron. One reason being that I have an up and down work schedule that requires me to work late nights two days a week. I did try to cut remeron a few months after the benzo taper and ran into a pretty bad spell of depression followed by a two month stretch of insomnia.

Since reinstating on remeron (Mar 2011), I have done pretty well. I don't plan a taper from this until my work schedule improves.

That's all for now... I'll try to check back into the forum if anyone has questions or comments.

Peace and happiness to all

 

 

[[An...]]

Tiger Lily. When you say you are 80% healed after 3 months what symptoms are you still having for you to say that?

 

Also I would say the worst thing I am facing is the constant fatigue and feeling unwell (in other words feeling like cr*p) day in day out. Did you have this Tiger Lily?  I am a bit worried this is not normal and may be from the Effexor although my doctor tells me the Effexor is helping.  I obviously have the usual withdrawals but the 2 I mentioned bother me the most. If I felt well I would be able to deal with the symptoms better.

 

Thanks TL!

 

Thanks

 

Angel

[[Co...]]

Good morning everyone, last night I slept on and off for six hours. I took a mood boost it has 5 HTP and number of other things in it. So I feel fine and I am going to CrossFit this morning. I do want to say that I gained 3 pounds, which I know Is because I cut the Remeron. Every time I cut the Remeron down I always gain weight. It's crazy and I'm so sick of it!

 

Part of me just wants to stop Remeron altogether! So we'll see how the rest today goes and then I'll post in later on.

 

Onelove- To answer your question this is a UK tapering plan that I posted a while back on this thread.

[[Co...]]

Hi everyone, I'm checking back in. Today has been great, the Mood Boost suppliment I took last night at bed really helped boost my mood today!

I had no axiety, etc. from cutting back the remeron.... I'm so tempted to just stop remeron all together.... I gained 3 pounds from cutting my dose last night, which is crazy b/c I didn't eat much yesterday and I really ate Farley clean.

 

I'm going to up my remeron back to 4.78 mg tonight, unless someone on here thinks I should just stop taking it since I did so well today....

I would love to hear from my friends!

 

hugs!

 

[[An...]]

Hi Coralashley

 

Am so happy it is working out. You really may be one of the lucky ones who won't have problems getting off.

 

I know you are anxious to get off but if it were me I would continue till you are a bit lower, say 2mg before deciding to jump.  You should give it a bit longer on the plan as symptoms may hit in the next few days or even longer so go cautiously!

 

Up to you though. We are all different.

 

Keep up the good work and stay strong!

 

Hugs

Angel xx

 

 

[[On...]]

Hi everyone, I'm checking back in. Today has been great, the Mood Boost suppliment I took last night at bed really helped boost my mood today!

I had no axiety, etc. from cutting back the remeron.... I'm so tempted to just stop remeron all together.... I gained 3 pounds from cutting my dose last night, which is crazy b/c I didn't eat much yesterday and I really ate Farley clean.

 

I'm going to up my remeron back to 4.78 mg tonight, unless someone on here thinks I should just stop taking it since I did so well today....

I would love to hear from my friends!

 

hugs!

 

Wow, great news on the mood boost. It must be someone refuel stuff to have you thinking of going cold turkey off your Remeron after you've had so much difficulty.

 

So you are considering either up dosing or quitting altogether?  These seem to be atopposite ends of the spectrum a bit. Have you considered anything in between, like maybe another good cut and give it another day or two to see if the mood boost holds up and the Remeron cut is bearable?  I'd hate to see you get hit with a bad setback if you can avoid it by giving it another day or so to be on the safe side.

 

That said, I only took Remeron for 2 days when I was hospitalized and quit the day I got out, so I know nothing about it. My only experience with bad withdrawals has been with Valium, and I know I wouldn't want to see anyone cold turkey that when feeling better on another supplement. A cut sounds like a safer route.

 

Love, ~OneLove 

[[Co...]]

Hi one love and thanks for posting...

Since I am following the uk tapering plan, you cut one day during the week then u go back to ur original dose for 6 days, then the 2nd week cut ur dose 2 days and so on and so forth.

So yes if I wasn't following that tapering plan it would sound silly!

 

I am going to hang tight and continue the tapering plan I have layed out.... I feel good about this whole thing!

 

Thanks again it's nice to just have someone to talk to!

 

 

[[On...]]

That is such an interesting tapering plan!  I read back through this thread looking for the source and my benzo brain never did find it. I did find several posts wherein you mentioned the UK taper plan and one post wherein you referenced that "the book" had other plans for tapering different meds.  I was intrigued enough to google the search terms and never came up with anything there either.

 

Much earlier when I was very new here at BB, someone posted that their doctor had proposed an intermittent plan like this for coming off of Valium. I would LOVE to read more about this method. If you happen to remember the author's name or name of the book, I could look it up that way.

 

I wish you great success; you might just start a new trend here!  And here's to another good night of sleep and waking up tomorrow feeling great!

 

Best to you,  ~OneLove

[[Ti...]]

Hi coralashley, good luck with your taper! It will be very interesting to hear how it works. I only tried 5-thp 4 or 5 times at most, I didn't notice anything. I've been taking magnesium glycinate and don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but I've had seven good nights in a row, a new record!

 

Hi angel, I say I'm 80% healed because I'm still not responding well to stressful situations, and because I still don't have a natural relationship with sleep (I need to have everything organized in a certain way and I have an extremely rigid bedtime). But those problems were there BEFORE I started taking pills, but in a less pronounced way. I'll take this as an opportunity to address those problems, so I'll be seeing a therapist soon.

 

Peace and healing to everyone!

[[An...]]

Thank you Tiger Lily and I hope the therapy helps. My sleep is not the same as it was before all this - but I do sleep though wake early or intermittently through the night.  I dream of a 7 or 8 hour sleep again some time.

 

I must say you have done very well TL - you only finished your Valium taper in January this year.  It actually took me between 14 to 18 months or so to feel healed from my benzo experience so perhaps your vulnerability to stress is partly due to that. I know I couldn't handle stress at all during that ordeal.

 

Thanks again and if you could answer the question about the fatigue/unwell feeling I would appreciate it!

 

Angel xx

[[Ch...]]

I took 7.5 mg a day for four days of remeron, is it safe to quit. I was originally going to start taking it to help me itch benzo withdrawal. Although, seeing all the posts I think it might not be a good idea.

 

[[Co...]]

Yes Chris u should be fine to stop. Look into 5 htp or something natural like that!

[[Co...]]

Hi everyone!!  Welcome Baseball fan & Ruralie! You have a found a wonerful support group indead!

Just curious what side effects you both had had coming off of remeron or trying to come off remeron.. what made you reinstate your remeron Baseball fan?

 

If you haven't done so already, I'm suggesting you download the book "Back To Life" by Ann Armstrong.  It's only a downloadable book, it cost around $25.

 

Here is the taper plan I am going to follow from the book.. currently I am between 7.5-3.75 in dosage per night... in the liquid form I have 1.o = 7.5 and I am taking .7mg.. not 3.75 and not 7.5

 

It should only take me about 14 weeks to taper off of the remeron with their plan or action.  And these people have working with thousands of people just like us!  I'm oing to wait to start my remeron taper till I'm off the benzo for 2 months at least (or if I feel better I may start sooner). Great news is I'll be off the benzo in 2 weeks or less.  YEAH!!

Im going to give you some insight as to what the book says to do to taper off remeron, which makes sense b/c you don't really feel the full extent of the w/d till about 2 weeks... that's when I always had to go back on and now looking back I wish I hadn't.. but today is a new day and one day soon this will be all over!

Once you are down to 7.5 or lower you can start this taper plan.. if you are on a higher dose, please get the book b/c it explains everything...

this will say what week #, what day # and how much mg per each day.

week 1:

day #1 7.5mg, day #2 7.5, day #3, 7.5, day #4 7.5, day #5 7.5, day #6 7.5, day #7 7.5

week 2:

day #1 7.5mg, day #2 7.5, day #3, 7.5, day #4 0mg, day #5 7.5, day #6 7.5, day #7 7.5

week 3:

day #1 7.5mg, day #2 7.5, day #3, 0mg, day #4 7.5, day #5 7.5, day #6 7.5, day #7 7.5

week 4:

day #1 0mg, day #2 7.5, day #3, 7.5, day #4 0mg, day #5 7.5, day #6 7.5, day #7 7.5

week 5:

day #1 0mg, day #2 7.5, day #3, 7.5, day #4 0mg, day #5 7.5, day #6 7.5, day #7 7.5

week 6:

day #1 0mg, day #2 7.5, day #3, 7.5, day #4 0mg, day #5 7.5, day #6 7.5, day #7 7.5

week 7:

day #1 0mg, day #2 7.5, day #3, 0, day #4 7.5, day #5 0, day #6 7.5, day #7 7.5

week 8:

day #1 0mg, day #2 7.5, day #3, 0, day #4 7.5, day #5 0, day #6 7.5, day #7 7.5

week 9:

day #1 0mg, day #2 7.5, day #3, 0, day #4 7.5, day #5 0, day #6 7.5, day #7 0

week 10:

day #1 0mg, day #2 7.5, day #3, 0, day #4 7.5, day #5 0, day #6 7.5, day #7 0

week 11:

day #1 0mg, day #2 0, day #3, 7.5, day #4 0, day #5 0, day #6 7.5, day #7 0

week 12:

day #1  0mg, day #2 0, day #3, 7.5, day #4 0, day #5 0, day #6 7.5, day #7 0

week 13:

day #1  0mg, day #2 0, day #3, 0, day #4 7.5, day #5 0, day #6 7.5, day #7 0

week 14:

0mg, day #2 0, day #3, 7.5, day #4 0, day #5 0, day #6 0, day #7 0

 

 

I hope someone on here is helped by this taper plan!  Go team!

 

One love, here is the post I made on page 20 of this thread.

I've started this tapering plan last Friday.

The book is either on this message or back on a message on page 20 or on an earlier page.

Hope this helps!

:-)

[[Ch...]]

I am currently in early benzo withdrawal. However, I started taking remeron 4 days ago..since I lost weight in benzo withdrawal, I have started eating more and sleeping better. Although, I don't know the dangers of starting remeron. I was considering taking it untill I heal from benzos, but I don't want to jump into another problem with remeron. How long is the withdrawal from remeron? Does it help during benzo withdrawal or does it slow down recovery? I am so confused I thought that I found something that could help, I guess it may do more harm then good.

[[Bu...]]

Hi all just checking in😃 good luck Coralashley with the remeron taper! I'm sure you will do great and feel more and more like yourself the lower you go. Keep us posted with your progress. I'm sorry I couldn't stick to the UK plan- just felt better without the remeron. I'm happy to say I feel I've dodged the remeron wd in fact I hardly think about remeron at all.

  I have a couple minor benzo wd symptoms fatigue/ sinus pressure. I saw some discussion on the fatigue, was wondering if anyone had useful info? Angel have you found relief with any herbal remedies? I hate the fatigue with a passion😡

  Chris- you can stop the remeron now if you like. I don't think it's a bad drug, in fact it helped me a lot. If you can deal with the wd on your own I would say that is the better choice. If you are at a breaking point, take it till more healing has occured. Everyone has their own experience with it😃

[[La...]]

I am currently in early benzo withdrawal. However, I started taking remeron 4 days ago..since I lost weight in benzo withdrawal, I have started eating more and sleeping better. Although, I don't know the dangers of starting remeron. I was considering taking it untill I heal from benzos, but I don't want to jump into another problem with remeron. How long is the withdrawal from remeron? Does it help during benzo withdrawal or does it slow down recovery? I am so confused I thought that I found something that could help, I guess it may do more harm then good.

 

Hi Chris,

 

I understand your doubts & concerns regarding taking remeron. I have to say that for me it really was a lifesaver. I failed an ativan taper in June, had lost over 20 lbs, which by the way regardless of remeron, have not gained it back yet, and was unable to sleep at all after it. I found a new doc who put me on klonopin to taper & added remeron slowly. He tried getting me up to 15 mg, but it was too much...so he cut it down to 2/3 of a dose, then I cut it to 7.5. It has helped me tremendously. I eat, I sleep, yes I worry about coming off, but I'll cross that road when I come to it. I will learn how to taper off from all these wonderfully supportive, loving people I've met on this thread. My main concern is getting off the benzo 1st! I believe just as with Benzos, everyone is different when coming off medications. For some it's harder, others it's easier. I of course am hoping to be part of the latter group! Just my two sense...hope it helps you make a decision one way or another.

 

To everyone else....hi & hope you're doing well:)

i'm a month into my k taper & doing well for the most part.

Will be down to 1 mg from 1.25 mg at the end of the week. Mostly minor symptoms...hopeful I can ride it all the way down just as smoothly:) I'll check in again soon!

 

God bless you all,

Hugs,

Laelani

[[Mr...]]

Hello I've been trying Remeron 7.5 mg for the last few days... I'm trying to taper off 4.5 valium.... Here's what I notice the remeron makes me sleep

Great, but crazy bad dreams( no big deal) but find I'm really really depressed to get out of bed and Just lay there tossing and turning every 3 minutes about 30 minutes before I try to get up and I get 20 second bursts of major anxiety first thing as I open my eyes..... I would like to

Keep trying remeron to get sleep while tapering my valium

But during the day I seem to get ever more anxiety, Not sure if the Remeron and valium are a double bad anxiety reaction.... Any input would be great ... Thank u sooo much Mr scared Ottawa Canada..

[[Ch...]]

Is it safe to discontinue remeron 7.5 mg after four days?

 

[[Ti...]]

Thank you Tiger Lily and I hope the therapy helps. My sleep is not the same as it was before all this - but I do sleep though wake early or intermittently through the night.  I dream of a 7 or 8 hour sleep again some time.

 

I must say you have done very well TL - you only finished your Valium taper in January this year.  It actually took me between 14 to 18 months or so to feel healed from my benzo experience so perhaps your vulnerability to stress is partly due to that. I know I couldn't handle stress at all during that ordeal.

 

Thanks again and if you could answer the question about the fatigue/unwell feeling I would appreciate it!

 

Angel xx

 

Hi Angel, I also think I'm doing great considering that it hasn't been very long since I quit all drugs. I feel lucky! Of course not everything is rosy, but I'm back to life.

Regarding the fatigue, I think I still have that feeling of tiredness/unwellness occassionally, especially when sleep is not great (like last night). I notice that the cr*ppy feeling is more intense when my mind is in overdrive. And I have trouble calming my mind when it's in overdrive (this is one of my main challenges). Something that helped me even with fatigue was to walk for at least 30 minutes every day. It sounds counterintuitive, but it works. Walking made me tired, but in a healthy way, and boosted my mood.

Love,

Tiger Lily

[[Co...]]

Hello I've been trying Remeron 7.5 mg for the last few days... I'm trying to taper off 4.5 valium.... Here's what I notice the remeron makes me sleep

Great, but crazy bad dreams( no big deal) but find I'm really really depressed to get out of bed and Just lay there tossing and turning every 3 minutes about 30 minutes before I try to get up and I get 20 second bursts of major anxiety first thing as I open my eyes..... I would like to

Keep trying remeron to get sleep while tapering my valium

But during the day I seem to get ever more anxiety, Not sure if the Remeron and valium are a double bad anxiety reaction.... Any input would be great ... Thank u sooo much Mr scared Ottawa Canada..

 

Hi Mr. scared, yes I did notice those things as well when I 1st got on remeron, but after a few weeks it got better.

The unfortunate thing about remeron is it causes the Valium to hang around longer in ur system. Read up on it, so onceu r on it while taperin off of the benzo it will be more difficult for u to stop remeron until u r off the benzo.

 

Dave may be able explain more about this.

 

Hang in there u r almost off the benzo!

C

[[no...]]

Hi Mr. scared, yes I did notice those things as well when I 1st got on remeron, but after a few weeks it got better.

The unfortunate thing about remeron is it causes the Valium to hang around longer in ur system. Read up on it, so onceu r on it while taperin off of the benzo it will be more difficult for u to stop remeron until u r off the benzo.

 

Dave may be able explain more about this.

 

Hang in there u r almost off the benzo!

C

 

hi everyone - love, blessings, and healing to each of you.

 

welcome mr. scared - i really like the honesty of your username. coralashley is right. my doctor confirmed that remeron affects the way the body metabolizes a benzo. i found this out the hard way. you see, i had been on remeron for a long time (in conjunction w/ benzos) and tried to get off remeron before the benzo. and successfully did get off the remeron for a short time. but as soon as i did, i went right into benzo tolerance because all of the sudden, my body just chewed thru the benzos. domino affect. the remeron had been narrowly keeping me out of benzo tolerance for awhile.

 

now interestingly, and i'm no doctor, but wouldn't it make sense that this would actually HELP someone who is tapering the benzo first? because it will actually help the benzo stay in the body a bit longer. and during a sane taper, this is the key - stability between doses. i am speculating, but that would make sense to me.

 

so in my case, once i went into benzo tolerance and tapered (wayyyyyy too fast), i went back on the remeron. i was on way too high a dose at first (30mg), but once i got down below 10mg of remeron, it definitely helped me put weight back on and sleep. now i am tapering the remeron again.

 

no medical advice here obviously, but this is the path i've walked on.

 

it's hard to say whether your ramping anxiety in the day is due to your valium taper or remeron. the burst of morning anxiety is likely cortisol - SO MANY of us experience this - so "normal." the depressed to get out of bed has also been experienced by me and seems to be, sadly, shared amongst many of us. try not to be scared mr. scared. what you are experiencing is harrowing. i'm betting you're a pretty brave soul. you're going to need to use your intuition w/ the remeron. had i to do it all over again, i'd probably have used remeron more intermittently so as to avoid having to taper now. but no complaints. i got out of a horrifying benzo withdrawal w/ my mind and body intact. be patient and hold tight, consult trusted healthcare professionals, and be smooth and gentle w/ your system.

 

all right everyone, i need to go. hey! thinking of every one of you, for real. you are thought of.

heal...

 

-dave

[[pa...]]

Hi all

I posted a few pages back but it was in the midst of a discussion.

I am currently on low doses of remeron, about 4 mg daily.

This is do to a sleep/work shift that changes during the week. I find low doses of remeron to be helpful in keeping my mood elevated when I have to stay awake late.

I have no plans to taper remeron until I can at least get back to a permanent day schedule.

Mt benzo taper ended in Feb 2010. I was pretty successful with that one, although it took me 11 months and some 'readjustments' in doses.

I have been on low doses of remeron since Aug 2006. Initially it helped do to serotonin loss from being on clonazepam. Later complicated life issues (see my blog) kept me on this med.

I have tried tapering from it in the past with mixed results. Part of it was do to ongoing life issues that made it more difficult for me.

I'm pretty confident that once things smooth out with my work schedule, I can then consider tapering off the 4 mg.

That's all for now...

[[no...]]

hi pangelingua, welcome to the board and thank you kindly for your update. sometimes posts do get lost in the shuffle when things get busy on here.

do you find you have any side effects on the lower dose? did you have any when you were at higher doses? things must be doubly hard w/ shift changes, i can only imagine.

i hope you'll keep us updated!

 

all the best,

dave

[[pa...]]

Hi Dave and thank you for the reply

 

At first with 'prescribed dosages, I did have side effects that reminded me of the jitteryness that one gets when drinking too much coffee!

As I started cutting the tablet, I got to a dosage that did have some side effects, just ones that I could live with.

I would describe the ones I get now as similar to benadryl or allergy medicine. I get a subtle feeling of drowsiness. Other times, I get somewhat amped up. I also have to watch how quickly I get up as I sometimes get light-headed.

 

There are also some subtle changes to my personality that include:

A better ability to stay focused, especially when speaking

A sharper edge in my modes of expression

A reduced feeling of social anxiety

A greater feeling of inner confidence which seems to make others treat me differently

 

It is, of course, entirely possible that some of these 'effects' have little to do with remeron but may, in fact, be do to having gone through years of hardships (see my blog if you wish), coming through the trials and reaching the other side. Perhaps the benzo ordeal has made me a stronger person in general?

 

One thing I've learned from being on meds in general is that one has to find a dosage that works for you. In my case, very small amounts are all that's needed. I've run into some issues with some doctors at our medical center who felt that I 'wasn't on a theraputic dose'. I would say that when you end up doing remarkably well and you go in for your next checkup (as I did yesterday), and the doctor is so impressed  that there's no way they can argue with a 'low dosage' prescription.

 

Anyway, Dave, thank you again for the response to my post. Yes, shift change work is a pain. I am hoping for the permanent day shift position that looks like it will come about in November.

Take care and I'll post again soon.

Mike

 

 

 

 

 

[[Co...]]

Hi everyone just checking in... Happy Friday!

Today is my 3 month mark post benzo, Yeah!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited! Anyways I hope u all r doing well!

Make sure to check in at least 1x (preferably 2-3x) each week to check in!

 

Blessings to you all!