Remeron (Mirtazapine) Withdrawal Support Group

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Goonie

How are you feeling now? I still get dizzy spells, difficulty focussing (like my depth perception is a bit off), so weak and tired too, light sensitivity and my god the adrenaline rushes and anxiety know no bounds! Four weeks off. When will this end? I feel like I'm dying. I thought this would be getting better by now.

Thoroughly down in the dumps!

 

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Yep, 4 weeks and still going through it though I'm definitely better than those first couple of weeks.  I have to think back to how I was then to really see the progress.  The severe anxiety, nausea, shaking, sleeplessness are much more limited, however, I still feel like I'm dying.  Weakness, restlessness, sensitivity to light/sound, vision is off, lightheaded, sluggish.  I really think we'll start to see some good improvements soon MummyD, hang in there!  That's about all we can do!

[[no...]]

how is april greeting everyone? check-ins please, would like to hear from people if it moves you to report as to how you are holding.

i'm about 2 weeks out from a cut - my hell-zone. it will pass.

my best to everyone. hang in there.

dave

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Goonie and MummyD:  I am well off the Remeron and had every one of this symptoms you are having and more.  I know it's miserable but they will eventually pass.  My doctor told me Remeron affects the brain in a similar way to a benzo and withdrawal can have the same symptoms but will not last as long.  It won't.  Hang in there!

 

Dave: you are doing so well and are so close to the end now.  I am so proud of you!  Keep it up!

 

I am in my own private hell right now with the Effexor withdrawals which I had to cross taper to get off the Remeron - that's how bad it was for me but it was the only way as you will see if you read this thread from the start.  I am 9 weeks out and though the withdrawals are not as bad as the Remeron withdrawals I am still in pain.  Pain is pain!  I shall be glad when this is all over.

 

Remember: time, patience, perseverance and a huge amount of strength!

 

 

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very excellent to hear from you angel! thank you for your kind words and the always needed encouragement.

sorry you are feeling the pain of the Effexor discontinuation, but wow! you are doing it. 

all the best to all the best (that means all of you).

dave

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Hi Buddies

Good to hear from all of you-- I am here to report good things!

I am now a little over 3 months out from Remeron d/c. In the last couple of weeks I have noted an improvement in insomnia ( most nights I can sleep without Ambien) . This is a big deal for me as being tired adds to anxiety. Please remember that--- that when you are tired, you really do see the world differently, things look darker than they actually are. Know that with good rest that you will see the world in a better light. I know how the seemingly endless insomnia can be depressing, too. I had to take Ambien when the insomnia was severe but was able to wean myself off of it with the help of melatonin. I decided that I needed to sleep thus took Ambien for longer than I would have in the past. I felt badly about that but now in retrospect I see that it was something I needed to do in order to rest.

As the insomnia improved, I noticed that the anxiety slowly improved. It happened that way. For anxiety I take lemon balm, theanine in spray form (Endo Trex), chamomile plus hops brewed as a tea, and was taking inositol-about 5 g per day. All these have helped me. I am by no means free of anxiety, in fact, today I was pretty anxious, but overall there has been improvement. Also with the improvement in the anxiety I noted a lessening of the depression -- crying and sadness.

I continue to talk with therapists--the best one is a fellow who is optimistic and who has seen many patients successfully come off ADs!! We must foster that optimism and know that studies support our success.

Please hold onto these good thoughts and be strong every day. I can remember days when I thought that I could not do it for one day more, but somehow I stood fast. You can do it.

Know that you are being thought about and that many are standing behind you.

I'm not off the hook yet. I'm still in it but I wanted to share all of this with you because I remember  coming here to look for this kind of support when I really needed to hear from someone in the same boat who had gotten a little better.

Please hang in there, Dave, Angel, MummyD, deluls, and everyone else.

Hugs to all of you.

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Hi all;

 

 

In jan 8th 2014 I was put on Mirtzaapine 3.75 for sleep after coming of benzos. I tried coming of that same dose feb 8th and had to reinstate at 2mg 12 days later. Last week my dr said I can start skipping a dose every other day to come off. As soon as I tried that a few days later I went into ugly WD,i knew i probably would but want off bad. I am still trying to stabilize on just under 2mg (1.87) 1/8 of a 15mg pill. I am experiencing extreme anxiety , jaw tremors, depression , ruminating thoughts and just plain terrified that the drug has turned on me and I have to stay on it. Hoping I can stabilize I've ordered a compounding pharm to make suspension to mange the dosing.

 

How long can it take me to stabilize on the current dose? And when and if I do should I go with 5 or 10% cuts? I know benzo anxiety and this is not benzo WD. It's hard to explain but this drug makes me feel as if my mind is polluted with toxins.

 

 

Thks

 

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Hi all;

 

 

In jan 8th 2014 I was put on Mirtzaapine 3.75 for sleep after coming of benzos. I tried coming of that same dose feb 8th and had to reinstate at 2mg 12 days later. Last week my dr said I can start skipping a dose every other day to come off. As soon as I tried that a few days later I went into ugly WD,i knew i probably would but want off bad. I am still trying to stabilize on just under 2mg (1.87) 1/8 of a 15mg pill. I am experiencing extreme anxiety , jaw tremors, depression , ruminating thoughts and just plain terrified that the drug has turned on me and I have to stay on it. Hoping I can stabilize I've ordered a compounding pharm to make suspension to mange the dosing.

 

How long can it take me to stabilize on the current dose? And when and if I do should I go with 5 or 10% cuts? I know benzo anxiety and this is not benzo WD. It's hard to explain but this drug makes me feel as if my mind is polluted with toxins.

 

Thks

 

Hi Jrod

 

Its good that you are on a low dose, and not been on it long!  I was on Remeron a few years.  My taper from 15  mgs took a year.  More often than not I would wait 3/4 weeks and still never stabilised.  I just kept moving forward best I could, the anxiety was just awful, the abdominal breathing exercise helped me a lot.

 

Try and distract from the symptoms...I know its easy said than done but try.

 

Magrita

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hi all, just a simple message to give you my best wishes. this cut is proving more formidable that i had anticipated. symptom bombardment. i do not for the life of me understand why some are so easy and others are so atrocious. anyway, ahead we go.

i can do this. so can each of you.

use the mirt while you need it. shed it smartly when you don't.

thankyouforhelp, jrod, mummyd, everyone - hang in there...

dave

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Thk u Magrita,Dave; well after a total sleepless night ,embraced by anxiety I ended up having to call a friend to shuttle me to the doc. In all the months of benzo tapers, c/t's and a rehab ct ,I can say last night and today where quite formable. I did get some relief from anxiety this afternoon and got in a crying spell I haven't had since I lost family. The burning stomach and esophagus is constant,along with the nausea. Stupidly skipped one day knowing the most likely consequences.

 

Now I'm off to see the same psych dr that suggested the cut last week. What for ,I ask. Well I am going to ask  if I continue to dose at @1.87,and don't stabilize,then what. I no way want to up dose. The truth is its up to us how we cruise or crash, as far as trials ,my brain can't take much more.

 

This is way more nasty I could have ever imagined. Had no idea the will power we all implement.

 

Good Luck to all

 

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Hi all;

Last night I tried my new suspension of remeron. Did not go so well.as per dr I dosed at 1.6 mg. after a while I started revving up,skin itchy all over and burning sensation on the tops of my feet. Have not been able to sleep.

 

I'm thinking I am so sensitive to any changes most likely even delivery of the mirtz. I will call my doctor this morning and go from there. I may have to either cut the dose or go back to pill form.

Has anyone ever heard of similar sxs?

 

I went off the rem @3.75 mg back in feb for a couple weeks and I got hit hard on the 9th day. Reinstated 5 days later on 2mg.

 

Thks

 

[[Co...]]

Hi Dave, Angel, Tiger L, and everyone else that I've chatted with..  hugs.

Things are going well!  I've learned so much about the thyroid, about blood work and about so much! 

I know some of you think it's just a matter of healing.. but there is a reason you have anxiety.. and my goal have been to find why.. I'm not ok with just wondering.. I want to know so I have been my own research scientist in all of this and I am on the road to the right place.

I have hypothyroidism, which can definetly cause anxiety, I have MTHFR 1298 (gene mutation) that over 40% of the population have which can cause anxiety, etc.... check it out at the mthfr.net website and look under the symptoms tab.. it's a gene defect and there are lots of variants of it.

 

So I'm working on the things that cause my anxiety and I'm healing naturally. 

 

I wish you all the best of luck and Dave you can do it.. I knew I could jump of 3.5 once I felt the stability of my thyroid.. and it wasn't so bad...  I had tried 3 other times and could not do it!  If your thryoid levels are on the lower part of normal and you have the symptoms of hypo, you have hypothryoidism.  The numbers on the blood work are just reference ranges and they don't tell you what your normal is.

Stopthythyroidmadness.com is another website you'll want to check out, they have a book I've bought and am reading.

 

I don't get a chance to stop by much, sorry!  I am writing a book about all this junk though!

 

C

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Yep, 4 weeks and still going through it though I'm definitely better than those first couple of weeks.  I have to think back to how I was then to really see the progress.  The severe anxiety, nausea, shaking, sleeplessness are much more limited, however, I still feel like I'm dying.  Weakness, restlessness, sensitivity to light/sound, vision is off, lightheaded, sluggish.  I really think we'll start to see some good improvements soon MummyD, hang in there!  That's about all we can do!

 

Goonie it will end but it took till 3 months to really feel the weight lifting.. after 2 months is was better.. but by 3 months it's getting there..  have you had your cortisol levels check, am and pm levels?  From the remeron and benzo taper it put my cortisol in a spin and mine is high from 6pm-6am.. when it is supposed to be low.. tapering off meds puts your adrenaline in overdrive which drives up cortisol.

I've learned so much about all this stuff, sometimes it's maddening :-)

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Thanks folks this is interesting.  Some threads BBs are saying Remeron is great and here the 20 posts or so I read, it is not so great.  So it helps with the benzo w/d, the insomnia, the weightloss, but is Difficult to taper from?  If the taper is difficult,is it worth even taking Remeron?

OC  :smitten:

 

 

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7+ weeks off now.  I actually sent in a cortisol saliva test last week Coralashley.  Don't know the results yet, but will report back when I get them.  I was also diagnosed with mild obstructive sleep apnea a couple of weeks ago.  Don't know what to attribute that to.  Now I wear a hose on my nose at night.  Not sure how much it helps yet, still not sleeping that great.  The morning shakes/anxiety are all but gone.  Main symptoms are fogginess and extremely fatigued/lethargic throughout the day/evening.  Getting a full breath is hard at times.  Hard to do anything.  How's everyone else?

[[Co...]]

Hi goonie, difficulty breathing can be a sign of low iron. Make sure to get a full iron panel done!

 

I'm glad u had the cortisol salvia test done! Did it have 4 different tubes to check your levels throughout the day?

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Yes that's the test I had, the 4 different tubes.  I had a routine blood test done last month that showed iron was fine.  I guess it wasn't a full iron panel though.  Not sure the difference.  Also had a full thyroid panel done which should be coming back this week.  What haven't I had done?

[[Co...]]

Gonnie was reverse t3 included in your thyroid panel? Most doctors don't check it unless you requested it because most of them don't know the relevance of it. If they didn't that is so an important. But why don't you ask your doctor what I was tested and his full thyroid panel. Each doctor has a different definition of it. I would go to the website I posted about.. Www.stopthethyroidmadness.com and look on there for the recommended bloodwork to have.

Also the 23and me DNA test it tests for gene mutations and especially  MTHFR.

 

Gooney, a full iron panel would show you 4 things. Your total iron, ur binding iron, saturation percent, and your ferritin. All levels matter..

Low iron can cause shortness of breath.

 

Please let me know when you get your blood work back!

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I did not specify the reverse T3, so I'm guessing it won't be included, but we'll see.  I guess the blood test I had before just checked for anemia (which I don't have), so maybe an iron panel would be good if the thyroid panel turns out okay.  You seem to be pretty informed on this.  Did you have problems with your thyroid/iron relating to withdrawal?

[[Co...]]

I know a lot about a lot :-) especially uncovering the root causes of anxeity! Keep me informed!

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Hi guys, I need some support here... As you can see in my sig below, I am on the tail end of my Mirt taper.  I can say that over the last few weeks I have been pleasantly (blindly) surprised.  My wd symptoms have been minimal and only lasted a day or two.  Then...WHAM!!  yesterday I felt like I was hit by a Mack truck. 

 

In August of last year I thought  was dying.  Long story short it was due to a thyroid problem and symptoms of perimenapause.  I thought it was just general depression and anxiety.  By the time the root cause was found and proper medications (Synthroid and Prometrium) were prescribed, I was already dependent on Klonopin and Remeron.  I was/am a runner and i was so lethargic from the meds that I could barely get out of bed in the morning not to mention the 25lb weight gain.  They had to go.  After a relatively easy benzo taper I was ready to tackle the Remeron.  Well here I am... 

 

I didnt sleep much last night, I feel like I am shaking internally although no one can see it on the outside and the GI issues...Well, lets just say that at this rate the 25lbs should come off rather quickly!!  I am adding to it, i'm sure, by worrying about whats to come.  I am taking a mere sliver of a 15mg pill at night.  I want to hold on and get through this but am in desperate need of some support.  My husband has been great through all of this but he has no idea what its like.  I was planning to jump tomorrow but now I'm unsure of it all.    What if I went too fast and will be stuck with this feeling longer than I can tolerate it?  ughhh...I wish the negative thoughts would just go away.

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You had a relatively quick taper from Klonopin, and a quick taper from the mirt.  The mirtazapine may have helped with the success of such a quick taper from the benzo.  IMHO you need to stabilize on the Mirtazapine, maybe at 3.75 mgs. and then liquid taper from there.  I know you want to be done with all meds at this point but I'm not so sure your body is ready for it.  Your not yet 2 months off the benzo as well, so that may have something to do with how you are feeling.  So, yeah I would try to stabilize on the Mirt if you can.  Stabilize, then go slow.

I did a very similar thing as you, I was about 2 months off my benzo taper and I wanted to be done with all meds and I cut my Mirt in half every week (with no bad consequences) until I couldn't cut it anymore and I stopped.  I was functional after I stopped but was dealing with some tough withdrawal symptoms, I still am.  Looking back (8 months later), I wish I had done a slower taper from the Mirt.  Hope this helps.

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Thanks!! Wednesday night I decided to reinstate at 7.5. I felt a little better yesterday and today but still not where I was before this. Has anyone had to reinstate and how long does it take to feel better? By the grace of God I am hanging in there.

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Hey Blee ; I started rem back in jan. feb the 8th I stoped it cause it was revving me up when I dosed. I was at 3.75. 9 days later the sh*tstorm rolled in. I reinstated 5 days after that @ 1.87 1/8 of the 15 pil. So I've been of and on it for under 4 months. I can say that a few weeks ago my doctor said,  ahh

Your only on less than 2 mg just skip a dose.  Well stupid me obsessing about getting off of it I did skip a dose. As of today I still can't stabilize. I'm still on 1.8 liquid and feeling like crap every signal day for weeks now. I'm hoping I will stablize at some point but it takes all I've got to function. My doctor does say that I still am dealing with benzo WD and I belive he's right! So even though we are on a realitively low dose we still unfortunatly need to go slow. And I'm desperate to get off, reason is I can't stabalize but when I was stable it helped. Now we are stuck with the big question whats wrong with me , is it the remeron or the benzo WD. I personally just need to stay as busy as possible so I stop obsessing about the rem( obsession is a sxs of rem) but when you feel like crap it's tough.

We will make it!

Hang tight

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One of my problems is that my endo changed my thyroid med dose just as I was making my last cut of the mirt.  I should know better.  Now I really dont know what my symptoms are caused by.  May actually be a combination of both.  I have decided to go back where I was with the thyroid meds too and just let it all settle down and then try one at a time so I can be sure whats going on. 

 

I really wanted to post about a doc I spoke to yesterday.  Now 3 months ago I had a doc tell me that the Remeron is often prescribed to assist in benzo taper.  This guy yesterday told me he would recommend a benzo to assist with the Remeron taper.      Can someone stop the roller coaster??!!  I would like to get off now please!!