Remeron (Mirtazapine) Withdrawal Support Group

[[Se...]]

Iamsickofthis,

I think you are going to be just fine!

You may even be able to taper a touch faster than that. Listen to YOUR body. It is the teacher in all this. 👍🏻

Best of luck.

[[Ia...]]

Iamsickofthis,

I think you are going to be just fine!

You may even be able to taper a touch faster than that. Listen to YOUR body. It is the teacher in all this. 👍🏻

Best of luck.

 

THANKS!

[[Be...]]

Dear Iamsickofthis,

 

I am off Remeron for 25 months now and still have terrible brain fog and dizziness.  It actually got worse once I completed the taper and got off.  The sleep got better once I got down to around 3.5mgs or less.  Once off completely, the insomnia set in and now, at 25 months off I am finally able to piece together 5-7 hours of sleep a nght after years of sleeping 0-4 hours a night, all broken up. , getting up anywhere from 3-6 times a night. 

 

So, while I dont want to alarm you, my experience with Remeron has been worse that the benzo I took, from which I am now off, (Klonopin) for 40 months. 

 

I am still very symptomatic with the dizziness, fog, nausea, anxiety, insomnia, and about a dozen other physical symptoms, the worst of which has been "air hunger" in which you cant finish your breath without feeling like you are suffocating.  Hopefully you wont get all the garbage that Ive had, as everyone is slightly different, but most do get these things to some degree.

 

After many years of this madness, you may wish to know that the general consensus, if you turn out to be a protracted withdrawal person, is that it will take 24- 40 months to actually get better once you stop your last drug, regardless of what that drug is.  I dont know of anyone who was well after completing a taper, no matter how long the taper was. Cold turkeying is the worst thing you can do as that takes much longer and the symptoms seem to be worse.

 

Better you know what may be ahead of you or you'll be constantly wondering why you're not getting better as soon as you expect to.  Good luck to you.  This is truly not for the weak.

[[Ia...]]

Dear Iamsickofthis,

 

I am off Remeron for 25 months now and still have terrible brain fog and dizziness.  It actually got worse once I completed the taper and got off.  The sleep got better once I got down to around 3.5mgs or less.  Once off completely, the insomnia set in and now, at 25 months off I am finally able to piece together 5-7 hours of sleep a nght after years of sleeping 0-4 hours a night, all broken up. , getting up anywhere from 3-6 times a night. 

 

So, while I dont want to alarm you, my experience with Remeron has been worse that the benzo I took, from which I am now off, (Klonopin) for 40 months. 

 

I am still very symptomatic with the dizziness, fog, nausea, anxiety, insomnia, and about a dozen other physical symptoms, the worst of which has been "air hunger" in which you cant finish your breath without feeling like you are suffocating.  Hopefully you wont get all the garbage that Ive had, as everyone is slightly different, but most do get these things to some degree.

 

After many years of this madness, you may wish to know that the general consensus, if you turn out to be a protracted withdrawal person, is that it will take 24- 40 months to actually get better once you stop your last drug, regardless of what that drug is.  I dont know of anyone who was well after completing a taper, no matter how long the taper was. Cold turkeying is the worst thing you can do as that takes much longer and the symptoms seem to be worse.

 

Better you know what may be ahead of you or you'll be constantly wondering why you're not getting better as soon as you expect to.  Good luck to you.  This is truly not for the weak.

 

 

I appreciate your info.. Luckily I have on;y been on remeron for a month and plan to taper now so I hope not to have all those issues.

[[lo...]]

hey guys, i've been using remeron sporadically so far with no problems. for the last 4 days I used it every night at 7.5mg. I noticed increased muscle twitching and pain. is this is common side effect of remeron? i know that those issues come with benzo w/d and I had them prior to remeron. but it seems to be way worse, and the tension especially.

I am also asking you guys for advice if this med is worth for insomnia (seems to help)

[[Be...]]

hey guys, i've been using remeron sporadically so far with no problems. for the last 4 days I used it every night at 7.5mg. I noticed increased muscle twitching and pain. is this is common side effect of remeron? i know that those issues come with benzo w/d and I had them prior to remeron. but it seems to be way worse, and the tension especially.

I am also asking you guys for advice if this med is worth for insomnia (seems to help)

 

IMO, I would not sell my soul to get sleep at this point.  Remeron can be a very nasty drug for many, including myself.  With hindsight, I'd rather not sleep for a long time rather than deal with the aftereffects of this poisonous substance for years.  I fyou currently have the choice to not take it, stop it and count your blessings.  Good luck

[[Ia...]]

Ok I need some advice... things are getting bad.  Yeah I have insomnia and have been off of benzos for a bit over 2 months, Been on remeron for 1 month and a half.  My head is such a mess... I am 6.7 - I tried to taper to 6.6, is this seriously a big cut?  It destroyed me.... Its about as small as you can go.  I feel trapped. I can;t drive or work,,,, this is ridiculous. If it is benzo w/d then I would love to know.  But it is building and building.... my head pressure is intense and my dp/dr is unreal.  If I try to taper remeron I am put into a whirlwhin... I have no idea what to do as well as my PDOC has no clue.  this is horrible.

[[Be...]]

 

Ok I need some advice... things are getting bad.  Yeah I have insomnia and have been off of benzos for a bit over 2 months, Been on remeron for 1 month and a half.  My head is such a mess... I am 6.7 - I tried to taper to 6.6, is this seriously a big cut?  It destroyed me.... Its about as small as you can go.  I feel trapped. I can;t drive or work,,,, this is ridiculous. If it is benzo w/d then I would love to know.  But it is building and building.... my head pressure is intense and my dp/dr is unreal.  If I try to taper remeron I am put into a whirlwhin... I have no idea what to do as well as my PDOC has no clue.  this is horrible.

 

You are off benzos a very short time, so unless you were off benzos for at least two years, you can't really say what is doing what. It's probably a combination of both.  After getting off Klonopin, taking 17 months to get off .25mgs,  I waited 5 months to begin my Remeron taper and then took 10 months to get off 15 mgs Remeron, utilizing a liquid titration.  Just cutting proved too awful, so with a liquid titration, you can do a daily reduction of a miniscule amount every night.  You dont get hit after a big cut, then suffer for a week, and then do it again in a week.  I also used MJ for my tapers to make it more tolerable, even with liquid titrations.  I would hold steady until your symptoms become more tolerable and then possibly go to a liquid titration removing a miniscule amount each night to equal about 5% every two weeks.  If that is also too much, reduce the amount you reduce by more. 

This is a long road, and gong too fast will backfire on you making you wish you went slower.  This is not a race.  YOu just have to survive this journey somehow and do whatever it takes to get to the finish line.  Even when you finally get off, the chances are that there will be another few years before you feel right again, depending on the drug,, your length of time on it or them, and your age.  I hate to sound so negative but its better to prepare for the worst and possibly be happily surprised.    I'm 41 months off Klonopin and 26 months off Remeron and still suffering with all the same stuff I had during the tapers.  Just beginning to sleep more than 4 hours, but still awake 3-5 times a night to piece together 6-8 hours of broken sleep.  Those who have gotten through this seem to agree that if you are in the protracted group, which you may not be, it will likely be 24-36 months once off your last med before you will be better.    Hang in there.  BT

[[Ia...]]

I was only on benzos for 3 months so I hope its not that long.  I just hate not knowing where the major head symptoms are coming from.  I find it odd that my body feels rather good... other than the anxietybuzz..... Some seem to think it is the remeron and some think it is the benzos... maybe both.  I have a sesitive scale and I cut to get to 6.7 every night... I just thought it was odd that going to 6.6 th eother night made me so bad.... maybe it didn't I just can't tell what is what.  Im sticking with 6.7. 

 

I appreciate your words and advice.  I think I will remain on remeron 6.7 for a bit and see how it goes in a month.....ateast see where I am at

[[ja...]]

Hi BB's, I am posting for some help. I did a long taper over 2 years 10 months ago. When I say long taper it was over 2 years. I tapered from c/o from 2mg Xanax to 40mg Valium. I was so happy to have that behind me and was doing very well. Then this past summer, August 10TH I became very sick and was unable to eat any solid foods. During this time I was in the hospital and even went to Mayo Clinic to try and find out what was wrong with me.

 

During this time my doctor gave me Lorazapam and Remeron. I didn't want to take the Lorazapam because I was afraid of going into w/d again but because the Lorazapam helped me eat a little my family encouraged me to take it, so I did. In all I took about 80 Lorazapam over 4 months and have been on 3.75mg Remeron will be 3 months on the 28TH of January.

 

I did go Into w/d from the benzo but it has been tolerable enough that I have been coping. It has been 3 weeks as of tomorrow that I stopped taking the Lorazapam, 21 days. The past few days my anxiety has gotten a little stronger off and on. I'm handling it but it sucks! I feel so wore out and burning and cold feet. I will not taper the Remeron yet since I am in acute from the Lorazapam but want to be ready to taper so am collecting advice and Idea's.

 

My questions are

 

As I was reading this blog I ran across someone talking about tapering the Remeron by skipping days and outlined a 14 week plan. Has anyone had success with this way of tapering Remeron?

 

I have a gram scale but my 7.5mg pills are so small. How do you cut so small?

 

What about water titrating?

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I was very angry with myself for getting in this position but decided that beating myself up right now isn't going to help so Instead I need a plan and get that in place for when I taper.

 

Thanks so much for all your help!!

 

Love Jackie :smitten:

 

 

[[Be...]]

Hi guys, just cutting and pasting from Other Meds:

 

Hi folks. In the nicest possible way I hoped I'd never be back here...but here I am!

I had a horrible benzo taper in 2016, I came down from 35mg Diaz  to 3mg in 9 months. I was really really ill during it - not surprisingly, at that rate. I got to 2.5mg and decided to stop tapering and updosed by half a mg, and within a fortnight I was 100% better. Absolutely symptom free. I never had any problems while on Diazepam, it was only when I tried to taper too fast I got ill. And I didn't realise just how massive an undertaking  it was until it was too late - I had awful medical advice.

 

Part of that awful medical advice was that this time last year I was put on Mirtazapine. An idiot GP who didn't understand what she was dealing with put me on it for 'anxiety' and 'depression' - it was benzo WD. I ended up on 45mg.

 

I lost my job last August over the benzo taper. It devastated me. But from when I stopped that taper

In August, I didn't have a SINGLE WD symptom. I was absolutely fine, apart from the awful price I'd had to pay in my personal life. I thought I was finished in work, and I fell into an awful depression. Not a benzo inspired one, a normal reaction to a massive loss. I thought I was finished. My job wa everything to me. My identity and my family's income. I went to a verg bad place.

 

Then at the end of 2016 some people from my work reached out to me and I told them what happened. They were horrified and told me that I was missed in work and that there would be a route back for me, when I was ready. So I set about having lots of lunches and coffees with former colleagues. They all said the same thing. And they all went back into my work and says 'that guy has been through hell' but he's totally himself again'. And I was. I was utterly well and symptom free.

 

I got a new prescribing psychiatrist who was great: he totally got the benzo thing, and said he would  prescribe me with whatever I needed, for as long as I needed. My GP was trying to RT me and I was terrified. I was done with tapering for a very very long time. It nearly killed me. As I said, I had no problem on my full dose of Diaz, and none when I stopped tapering at 3.

 

I decided in discussion with my new doc that I should try to get off the Mirtazapine 45mg before going back to work. It never did me any good and I thought, what are the chances of me getting unlucky with another, totally different drug? He gave me a schedule taper which was: 1st week 45 / 30 alternating daily. Then second week 45 one day, 30 for two days. I was fine for the first week. Then half way through week 2: BAM. Sudden wave of WD. Dizziness, head pressure, hot flushes, anxiety.

I immediately reinstated and I've continued to have those symptoms since. That reinstatement to 45 was 6 weeks ago.

 

For weeks I just hung in there, assured by that doctor I would stabilise. It was far far far too aggressive now, I know, the Mirt taper.

 

I am part of a Facebook group for Mirt WD sufferers and when I hadn't got relief after a month, they suggested the Mirt taper might have thrown me back into Diaz WD. That sounded unlikely to me, but the symptoms were similar to what I suffered in Diaz WD - they just feela little different. But broadly

speaking the same sort of thing: headaches, dizziness, depersonalisation and anxiety. An anxiety which switches on when I wake up and is almost like a pain in the pit of my stomach.

 

Two days ago, I decided to see if a one MG updose of Diaz would help. It's only the second time I have ever updosed, the first time being that .5mg I mentioned before. I haven't noticed any improvement as yet.

 

Basically, I am at my wit's end. I don't know if this is Mirt WD because of the aggressive taper, even tho it was quite short...or if somehow that Mirt taper has tipped me into Diaz WD again.

 

This is like a bad dream. I lost almost everything due to the benzo taper and just when I was about to maybe get a chance at my job back again, it all collapses. I ain't getting another chance at this. And I can't start tapering the Diaz again. I just can't. I was solid on 3mg until I messed with the Mirtazapine. I was solid on 35mg before I tapered. I can't face another Diaz taper, please don't tell me that's the only option. With all due respect if that's what you have to say, then it would be best not to post it. I'm not doing it. It would be the end of everything. Please

 

So I'm asking: could this be Diaz WD or is it as seems more likely to me just a heavy hit from the Mirt taper? What can I do, if snything? If I sit at 45mg will it eventually level  out again?

I BITTERLY regret that Mirt taper. I was SO good and everything was possible again. I was able to be a father again, I had another shot at work.  I don't see how that Mirt taper could throw me into Diaz WD. But I updosed to see if that helped. Maybe it will it's early days.

 

So if anyone has any advice re Mirt WD and what I can do or expect, id really appreciate it. I was so, so good until I did that Mirt taper. How could I trust a doctor again?

[[ja...]]

So sorry you are in the thick of it. I certainly understand your frustration. This is the reason I  am not coming off the Mirt. I know it is not in my signature and I will put it in there but I tapered over 2 years off Valium and as you can see by my sig I've been off for a long while and was doing great until August of 2016 when I had a scary health Issue that caused me to take about 80 Lorazapam over a 4 month period. I also started on Mirt at the end of October 2016 to help with sleep.

 

Sadly I went into c/t w/d from the Lorazapam. I am 81 days from a Lorazapam c/t. The Mirt is what is saving me. The reason I am staying on the Mirt is because I am afraid I will be in a hellish w/d. So for now I will wait until I feel the w/d has passed then taper the Mirt. That is probably what was helping you. You say you are at 45mg Mirt for 6 weeks and not stabilizing and you are at 3 mg Valium? I really feel when we mess with these drugs they cause problems. These doctors don't have a clue.

 

I wonder if you upped a little more on the Mirt if that would help to stabilize you enough so you could eventually finish your Valium taper. I was told by some good benzo friends to not touch the Mirt until I am passed the benzo w/d and it makes sense to me. I hope you can get stable and want to encourage you that even though you feel you have lost everything and still are that you will get better and things will turn around. I hope someone more knowledgeable then me can help you.

 

Love Jackie :smitten:

[[Bi...]]

I am shocked and very humbled today!  I always assumed Mirtazapine was just a pathetic/weak h1 blocker. 

I had my first experience with Remeron withdrawl for the last 3 days.  I had know idea what was happening to me, was this a wave?  I finally thought about it and 4 weeks ago I stopped the Remeron C/T since I had no respect for it and slept great anyhow.

WOW my first Brain Zaps "so this is what everyone talks about". I felt like an official AD club-member for at least a few seconds While interesting it was NO fun at all come to think of it ! 

 

Last night I took 15mg Remeron to test my theory while watching TV on the sofa and BAM I was out like a light 20 minutes later! I do not even remember falling to sleep, it was like I just got hit in the head by a hammer, glad I was not driving It put me down faster than a xanax bar did 20 years ago!  I was watching reruns of StarTrek Voyager sure which is boring enough but not THAT boring    My husband tried waking me up 6 times and when I came too I was delirious.  The horrible feelings had stopped and so did the shocks. These where not only brain zaps but they went down my spine too. Also after every shock my arms felt weak and tingling.  It was a nasty feeling.

 

My brain metabolism is weird anyhow since ALL drugs I withdraw from takes weeks to really hit me hard.

Even a month after C/T'ing Benzo's I felt like a victorious-gladiator but at 3 months off it kicked my ass right into the ground as I had full blown psychosis and it felt like a bad LSD trip that never ended!

 

I swear my brain hoards drugs in some dark place and saves them up.  I always feel withdrawals so long after quitting a substance? Anyone else like me out there or am I just wired wrong?

 

So I need some help from you guys.  Anyone had an experience like me?

 

What's the best way to taper Remeron which I highly underestimated? 

 

My dose was 7.5mg to 15mg off and on for the last 2 years.

 

Love Birdy

[[lo...]]

Birdman: not with remeron, but I had huge delay with gabapentin. here is my delayed w/d theory: when you stop the drug, you have a small 'break in the dam' which your brain is able to work around. but with time the hole becomes larger and the dam breaks. do you think big pharma 100% understands how the brain works? its a fairy tale. they do some in vitro tests, realize the chemical xyz has an affinity to receptors xyz, do some tests, submit some fraudulent reports to the fda, which rubber stamps it, and billions can flow.

they probably have no clue about 99% processes in the brain. yes, lets say an h1 blocker makes you sleepy, but what else does it do? thats why w/d is such a nightmare for most psychiatric and other drugs.

 

 

 

[[Bi...]]

Birdman: not with remeron, but I had huge delay with gabapentin. here is my delayed w/d theory: when you stop the drug, you have a small 'break in the dam' which your brain is able to work around. but with time the hole becomes larger and the dam breaks. do you think big pharma 100% understands how the brain works? its a fairy tale. they do some in vitro tests, realize the chemical xyz has an affinity to receptors xyz, do some tests, submit some fraudulent reports to the fda, which rubber stamps it, and billions can flow.

they probably have no clue about 99% processes in the brain. yes, lets say an h1 blocker makes you sleepy, but what else does it do? thats why w/d is such a nightmare for most psychiatric and other drugs.

 

Hey, locutusOFborg  (my favorite person from star trek )

I like your dam theory as it explains a lot.  I sure felt like a glutamate dam broke in my head after a while.

 

True big pharma is always using phrases like "The mechanism of action is not fully understood"  What kind of crap is that!

I wonder if they could market baby formula with the same tactic  "It's great for your baby but we have no idea why"   That would not go over too well I am guessing.

 

Well for me it looks like another chapter of my psych med nightmare continues. I'll call it "THE AD YEARS"

I am slowly learning that using one med to fix another med is a bad move.  Sometimes you just have to suffer. 

Maybe I can build my own private padded rubber room and just scream in there for a year or so or until my lungs turn inside out.  Never seems to end.  I must say the benzo part was the worst.

 

Any one have luck or know any good tricks for getting off Remeron?

Last night on the sofa it felt like every H1 receptor was dying for a little piece of remeron and when they got hit I went down for the count!  

Never felt anything like it.  Took that 15mg Rem. pill and the next thing I know my husband is shaking me pretty hard screaming "wake up, wake up now!"

 

I wonder if they call them 'psych-meds' is because they eventually drive you crazy?  Beginning to wonder!

 

Thanks locutus 

 

 

[[ja...]]

Hi Birdman, I will be watching to see how it all goes with you. I will eventually have to taper 3.75mg Remeron and I am not looking forward to it. If I tried to taper it now I am afraid all hell will break loose from the Lorazapam c/t I did 3 months ago. I've been told no more then 10% cuts. I have a very hard time cutting the 15mg pill into 1/4s to get my dose. I weigh it on my scale but still is not totally right. Not sure how I will do it either. Will be watching to see what works for you. I wish you the best!!

 

Love Jackie :smitten:

[[Bi...]]

Hi Birdman, I will be watching to see how it all goes with you. I will eventually have to taper 3.75mg Remeron and I am not looking forward to it. If I tried to taper it now I am afraid all hell will break loose from the Lorazapam c/t I did 3 months ago. I've been told no more then 10% cuts. I have a very hard time cutting the 15mg pill into 1/4s to get my dose. I weigh it on my scale but still is not totally right. Not sure how I will do it either. Will be watching to see what works for you. I wish you the best!!

 

Love Jackie :smitten:

 

Thanks Jackie,  10% cuts, here we go again.  I'd say remeron is as slippery as benzo's now. 

It's amazing how normal one feels while taking all these pills and how bad they can make you

feel when quitting. I do not think you will have too much trouble on 3.75mg since I quit that dose

a few times for a few months so I felt cocky about this drug and under estimated it. 

I can tell you this, in doses of 15mg for a few years it sure bite's back hard when quitting!!

 

You should be fine at 3.75 

 

[[ja...]]

Hi Birdman, thanks for the reply. So you stopped at 3.75mg, how long were you on it then and did you taper? I just hate having to deal with another drug. I hope you can get through this with minimal sx's. Did you take Remeron to help with benzo w/d?

 

:smitten:

[[Bi...]]

Hi Birdman, thanks for the reply. So you stopped at 3.75mg, how long were you on it then and did you taper? I just hate having to deal with another drug. I hope you can get through this with minimal sx's. Did you take Remeron to help with benzo w/d?

 

:smitten:

Hi Jackie, Yes I started taking 3.75mg on 11-15-12 and quit C/T on 8-9-14 - Then on and off for awhile.  Never had an issue.  Then started back on 4-19-15 and worked up to 15 mg  so about 17 months?

Quit  c/t 3-2-17 and got hit hard a few days ago.  Back on 15MG and still shaky unless I double dose which is only a short term strategy to get my brain back up to speed after missing 450mgs total in the last month.  My addiction doc. called this trick  "MAKING UP FOR LOST DOSES",  it works to break C/T problems and SHUT THE DAM as Locutus might say .

 

Don't worry until you have something to worry about 

 

[[ja...]]

Thank you Birdman. You are right, no need to worry now. I appreciate you and wish you the best.

 

 

 

Love Jackie :smitten:

[[Al...]]

Question: I have been using Remeron for sleep at dosages between 0.3mg and 1.5mg (mostly 0.5mg) for 3 months. Only on 8 nights have I attempted dosages above this and I am currently using 1mg. At this dose, would I have any trouble getting off? A withdrawal syndrome? Should I taper? Or am I just taking an antihistamine at this dose? I already tried getting off once and it didnt work out for my insomnia but maybe that was due to something else?

[[Em...]]

I started Remeron last October and it helped me get off of Ativan. I tried to taper off of it in mid March but it did not work, I got horrible withdrawals. Well I went back on it after second week in April about six weeks taking 1/4 of a 15 mg tablet. Monday May 15 I decided to go up to 1/2 of the pill because most of the withdrawals went away but it didn't hardly touch the insomnia. First day I slept pretty good but Tuesday night didn't sleep good. So I went to doctor Thursday for something for sleep. He told me to go up to the full 15 mg so I did Thursday night and slept good. Except last night I didn't sleep and my anxiety is not too good today. I want to go back down to the 7.5 mg. But I know I shouldn't keep going back and forth.

 

I know my anxiety causes some of this insomnia and it just gets worse because I'm dreading bedtime every night. My main goal is to eventually start to taper once I can stabilize my sleep. But it seems so out of reach for me. I was doing so good on stabilizing my anxiety until today and I think it is because of the 15 mg. Should I halve it?

[[ja...]]

Hi Emily, I wish I could help you with this but I am unsure of what you should do. I posted to you because I am a few days short from a  c/t Lorazapam, almost 5 months off. I started 3.75mg Remeron /Mirtz also in October. This is my 2ND time taking a benzo and the first time I tapered for over 2 years to get off 40mg Valium. I started having really bad health problems at 2 1/2 years off the Valium and so the story goes. I was told by some good buddies that I knew from my first taper that said I shouldn't touch the Remeron until I feel I am better from the c/t so that is what I am doing. I hope you can get stable and find a way to taper very slow. I will follow your journey. This is so hard and I know what you are going through.  Wish I could help more, I'm here if you need me.

 

Love Jackie

[[Em...]]

Thanks Jackie. I went ahead and took 7.5 mg last night and slept well. I will try the same again tonight and see how it goes. I felt pretty good when I woke up this morning, not like yesterday. Hopefully I can become stable on this dose and then I want to start tapering, slowly.

 

The withdrawals I had with this stuff was awful. I didn't know that in the beginning that those symptoms I thought were caused by Remeron were probably early withdrawals. Going to go real slow but worried about when I do drop off after reading about everyone's experiences. Good Luck to everyone.

[[ja...]]

Emily, can I ask what were your w/d sx;s?