Remeron (Mirtazapine) Withdrawal Support Group

[[Ba...]]

Yes think it is as bad as benzo withdrawal from what I can tell thus far.  I don't know the answer to your question so will leave to others.

 

I so feel for you!!

[[He...]]

Thanks for the reply, not sure if I should just tough it out,

Hate to start after so long

[[Vi...]]

Thanks Vica for the good wishes. I am feeling some improvement although the waves can still get a little bouncy. Most of the time I'm feeling not too bad, and even the worse symptoms are better than at the beginning of the post jump stage. The waves are a little shorter and my sleep is better. Still a lot of waking ups throughout the night , but in between I get good rest and pleasant dreams are returning.

How are you doing ?.

Hi brave, I'm so happy to see you doing better!!! Is giving me hope!

I never had a window and even when I came off remeron the second time I never get better. I was off for 7 months and never had window just pure suffering with severe burning head pressure and squeezing.

This time I did a very slow taper and hoping I will get better after I jumped. Time will tell.but I'm very scared to jump. I can't take more pain.

Love and healing to you

Vica

[[ma...]]

Hello everyone,

I ordered Remeron in another state. I drove for Remron by car and now I lower myself. Remeron's reduction has been calculated for 7 months. So far I have little sleep. Thank you all for your advice.

Margarita. 

 

[[no...]]

wow, it seems like a lifetime ago that i started this mirtazapine support group section. it's amazing to see it now at 143 pages. it's also been a very long while since i've been on benzobuddies.

 

nearly 5 years after writing my first post here, i am currently at 0.7mg of liquid (compounded) mirtazapine - less than 1mg. it became abundantly clear after healing from the benzos that i needed to be very slow and cautious in my discontinuation from mirtazapine. i've had a vast array of withdrawal symptoms at each stage of withdrawal. at present, i am stable and in solid shape. currently, i cut about 0.1mg every month if things are going well. i hope to be done with mirtazapine, my final drug, by the end of 2018.

 

hang in there everyone, you are all abundantly brave and capable.

 

dave

[[Ry...]]

Wow! Now-Power, glad you came back. So it is true? You can heal from benzos while on Remeron?

 

Enjoy your life!

[[no...]]

ryano467, i'll tell you that i didn't think so, but it is, from my experience, absolutely true. for me, the benzos were the absolute monster. once i stabilized on the mirtazapine, the CNS damage incurred from the benzos seemed to heal underneath regardless of the fact that the mirtazapine was still going into my system. all of the benzo withdrawal symptoms are gone. of course the mirtazapine withdrawal has presented its own patchwork of symptoms - and i have a super sensitive nervous system - but for the most part, i've been able to keep the remeron withdrawal discomfort at a minimum by cutting ridiculously slow and small.

it's true though, healing happens 

 

dave

[[Ry...]]

Thanks Dave. That goes a long way!! you have no idea. I intend to go super slow as well.

 

Ryan

[[Ma...]]

ryano467, i'll tell you that i didn't think so, but it is, from my experience, absolutely true. for me, the benzos were the absolute monster. once i stabilized on the mirtazapine, the CNS damage incurred from the benzos seemed to heal underneath regardless of the fact that the mirtazapine was still going into my system. all of the benzo withdrawal symptoms are gone. of course the mirtazapine withdrawal has presented its own patchwork of symptoms - and i have a super sensitive nervous system - but for the most part, i've been able to keep the remeron withdrawal discomfort at a minimum by cutting ridiculously slow and small.

it's true though, healing happens 

 

dave

 

Hi Dave - that’s very interesting.  Can you say what sort of symptoms you’ve had while reducing Mirtazapine - was it as bad as benzo withdrawal, better or worse?  And when you say you kept the discomfort at a minimum, does that mean you were able to function normally while reducing?

 

As you can tell I’m somewhat terrified that I’m going to have to face this at some point in the future!

[[no...]]

MargUK, hi.

 

for me, the benzo withdrawal was by far worse. of course i had done a rapid taper before i knew better. the mirtazapine withdrawal has not been fun by any means, but it hasn't been life-halting the way benzo withdrawal was. i would say my primary mirtazapine withdrawal symptoms - the most troublesome - were histamine intolerance (due to mirtazapines affect on the histmine receptors), increased anxiety and depression following a dose reduction, some gastrointestinal disturbance and lack of appetite, decreased sleep and oddly enough increased sleep in intervals, and restless legs. at my current dose of 0.7mg, these symptoms are barely perceivable. the histamine intolerance probably became the most pervasive symptom. if i ate high histamine foods like strawberries or tomato products, i got massive headaches (migraines) and increased nervous system sensitivity. for a very long time, i subsisted on a diet primarily of meat and rice and select low-histamine carrots. but just like benzo withdrawal and the eventual repair of the gaba receptors, as my histamine receptors have healed on the lower doses of mirtazapine. i have been able to tolerate the foods i had to stop eating for awhile.

don't be terrified, though that is certainly a normal response based on what we already experienced with the benzo withdrawal. after making it through benzo withdrawal, you will be able to make it through darn near anything in life in my opinion. the key (with mirtazapine) i have found is very, very slow and deliberate cuts. reducing the dose no more than 10%, waiting a minimum of 4 weeks, and then decreasing again only if your symptoms are manageable. you'll come to know this rhythm. at this stage in the game, i know immediately when 4 weeks has passed if i am ready for a cut. if i am not ready, i hold. i also try not to cut if i know i have stressful life things coming into play like an increased workload in the office or family obligations.

my mirtazapine cuts have had a very trackable symptom pattern. i take my dose in the evening. if i make a cut, the next day i feel some increased symptoms. then the symptoms die down almost leading me to believe the cut was inconsequential. but usually around the 2 week mark after a cut, i notice symptoms again that slowly begin to fade through weeks three and four.

you will be equipped to face all of this when the time comes for you to think about mirtazapine reduction.

i have approximately 7 more cuts to make before i am done with the mirtazapine. i am in no rush. at this low a dose, my symptoms are manageable, side effects are negligible, and i am able to handle life the way i need to.

i hope some of this helps.

 

dave

[[Ma...]]

MargUK, hi.

 

for me, the benzo withdrawal was by far worse. of course i had done a rapid taper before i knew better. the mirtazapine withdrawal has not been fun by any means, but it hasn't been life-halting the way benzo withdrawal was. i would say my primary mirtazapine withdrawal symptoms - the most troublesome - were histamine intolerance (due to mirtazapines affect on the histmine receptors), increased anxiety and depression following a dose reduction, some gastrointestinal disturbance and lack of appetite, decreased sleep and oddly enough increased sleep in intervals, and restless legs. at my current dose of 0.7mg, these symptoms are barely perceivable. the histamine intolerance probably became the most pervasive symptom. if i ate high histamine foods like strawberries or tomato products, i got massive headaches (migraines) and increased nervous system sensitivity. for a very long time, i subsisted on a diet primarily of meat and rice and select low-histamine carrots. but just like benzo withdrawal and the eventual repair of the gaba receptors, as my histamine receptors have healed on the lower doses of mirtazapine. i have been able to tolerate the foods i had to stop eating for awhile.

don't be terrified, though that is certainly a normal response based on what we already experienced with the benzo withdrawal. after making it through benzo withdrawal, you will be able to make it through darn near anything in life in my opinion. the key (with mirtazapine) i have found is very, very slow and deliberate cuts. reducing the dose no more than 10%, waiting a minimum of 4 weeks, and then decreasing again only if your symptoms are manageable. you'll come to know this rhythm. at this stage in the game, i know immediately when 4 weeks has passed if i am ready for a cut. if i am not ready, i hold. i also try not to cut if i know i have stressful life things coming into play like an increased workload in the office or family obligations.

my mirtazapine cuts have had a very trackable symptom pattern. i take my dose in the evening. if i make a cut, the next day i feel some increased symptoms. then the symptoms die down almost leading me to believe the cut was inconsequential. but usually around the 2 week mark after a cut, i notice symptoms again that slowly begin to fade through weeks three and four.

you will be equipped to face all of this when the time comes for you to think about mirtazapine reduction.

i have approximately 7 more cuts to make before i am done with the mirtazapine. i am in no rush. at this low a dose, my symptoms are manageable, side effects are negligible, and i am able to handle life the way i need to.

i hope some of this helps.

 

dave

 

(Apologies for my quote being in your quote in my last message )

 

Yes Dave that’s really helpful - thanks so much for the quick reply!  Gives me hope for the time I’ll have to face this.  One other thing I was wondering if you could help me with - I’d prefer to try and do the whole thing with dry cutting but I admit that’s because I’m assuming I would need a doctor and pharmacist involved if I was to do a liquid taper which might not be the case (I haven’t looked into it all yet).  In your opinion - is it possible to get right down using the right scales or is it just too dodgy in terms of precision?  Is it better switching to liquid once you’re down to the very low amounts?

 

[[no...]]

you're very welcome MargUK. dry-cutting does get more difficult the lower you go. and as you know, consistency of dosage is a very key part of a successful taper. i found that by the time i got to the 3.75 mark, dry-cutting and weighing accurately was nearly impossible for me. i'm not-so-good with math anyway  i was not excited to go to a doctor to get a script written for a compound to be made, but i did (found a naturopath with prescription writing powers) and it has been fine.

at one point however, the pharmacy that i was using to do the compounds stopped compounding, so i feared i was going to have to do it on my own. i had found this recipe:

 

I made 60ml each time. Each ml = 1mg of mirtazapine.

 

Grind up 4 x 15mg mirtazapine pills using the pill grinder. If you have the normal pills, the pill coating does not grind so fine as the mirtazapine inside, but don't worry about that. Measure out 30 ml of water and mix in 30ml of maple syrup. Put into bottle and shake. Pour in the mirt and shake. Keep in the fridge for up to two weeks. Shake vigorously before using syringe to measure the required amount of the liquid. 1ml = 1mg of mirt, so very easy to do. The mirt does not disolve which is why you have to shake the bottle well each time you dose.

 

i cannot speak to the efficacy of this recipe because i never needed to use it because i found another pharmacy to do it. but just looking at the recipe, it certainly seems viable. it uses maple syrup for the suspension fluid. for me, the importance is in the first line of the recipe - the 1ml = 1mg part. that makes dosing easy because if you are on 3.75mg, then you are going to take 3.75ml. you don't have to worry about the math.

 

i hope this helps.

 

dave

 

[[Ma...]]

That does sound fairly easy to follow Dave - thanks very much - I’ll make a note of where this is just in case I ever need it.  I don’t know how easy it is to find a pharmacy which does the compounding over here and I’m reluctant to get my doctor involved as she’s been pretty useless to date so it would be all the better if I had some way of doing this myself when the time comes

[[br...]]

 

Marg. 'Pretty Useless' is a good description of most of the Dr's we have to deal with. I met with a new one this week and O.M.G. At least he was polite , but totally clueless. He kept pushing antidepressants at me. And this was after I had given him a full history of the painful withdrawal from the benzo and remeron. He didn't 'Get' that my remaining anxiety was due to my altered C.N.S. and not to life situations.

What an idiot. 

[[Ma...]]

Instead of remeron, why didn't group members use doxipen?

[[Ry...]]

I tried Doxepin and couldn't handle it. I woke with sleep paralysis the first night. I am also not able to handle the major anticholinergic effects (dry mouth, dry nose, urinary issues, slowed cognition, ect.)

 

In short, side effect profile didn't work for me.

 

All I had from Remeron was restless legs and drowsiness for a couple weeks. That all went away.

[[no...]]

Instead of remeron, why didn't group members use doxipen?

 

in my case, i'd been polydrugged with remeron for over a decade. i'd essentially cold-turkeyed both the remeron and the ativan/xanax. so when i admitted myself to the hospital and they insisted i reinstate something, i reinstated the mirtazapine. of course they pushed me way too high and at 30mg, it was making everything worse. but as slow as i've had to go tapering the mirt post-benzo withdrawal, i do believe the lower-dose mirt did help me get through the benzo healing. hope that makes sense.

[[Ma...]]

 

Marg. 'Pretty Useless' is a good description of most of the Dr's we have to deal with. I met with a new one this week and O.M.G. At least he was polite , but totally clueless. He kept pushing antidepressants at me. And this was after I had given him a full history of the painful withdrawal from the benzo and remeron. He didn't 'Get' that my remaining anxiety was due to my altered C.N.S. and not to life situations.

What an idiot. 

 

I hear you brave!  The ‘Addictions Doctor’ at my surgery told my sister and daughter it was absolutely fine for me to immediately stop taking Diazepam when they went to see him in October although having said that he did make the remark about a year ago when another doctor had prescribed Diazepam for me “You don’t want to be taking that stuff - it rots the brain!”  On that we do agree!

 

I had a Psychiatrist appointment made for me by an Adult Mental Health team here in January which I cancelled because I just couldn’t face the risk of being told I wasn’t in withdrawal - or worse - being prescribed more shit!  Unfortunately they made another appointment despite me saying not to but it’s not until March so hopefully I’ll be a bit stronger to deal with it by that time

[[Rh...]]

Hello everyone, here is a bit of my "history" with benzodiazepines and Remeron.  I started my V taper and hit a really rough patch.  I was nauseated everyday for months, weighted almost 100 lbs., had zero appetite, insomnia, headaches and was just plain old sick.  I was very hesitant to add anything to my V as it was the only thing I have ever been on.  But desperation kicked in and my doctor suggested Remeron.  I started at 7.5 mg's and was a zombie, I then experimented and started taking half of 3.75.  I've been on that for 6 months and it has helped and I have been able to almost taper to 1 mg.  I have also gained a ton of weight, which at first was good, but now it's not so good!  So I'm looking to taper from 1-

/2 of 3.75.

 

Any suggestions, I do have a compounding pharmacy available that compounds my V.  Could I just skip nights until I'm done???

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

[[Ry...]]

I’d wait some time after you are off the V before tapering Remeron and then taper it with liquid the same way.

[[Rh...]]

Yes, I know that is what Ashton recommends, just wanted to see if it's the same percentage too.  5-10% a month, I just know that my body is effected by the Remeron as I've gained a ton of weight on it and I never, ever had weight issues before.  BUT I do feel the benefits outweigh the negatives as my olny side effect seems to be the weight gain.

 

Thanks for the input!

[[Vi...]]

Off remeron February 28 /18 !!! No more medication! Not doing good but hoping it will get better with time. Terrible burning squeezing head, anxiety.

Huge fair I never going to get better.

Love and healing to you all

Vica

[[ja...]]

Congratulations Vica  for getting medication free! Huge Accomplishment that you can be proud of. Wishing you healing everyday.

 

Love, Jackie 

[[Vi...]]

Congratulations Vica  for getting medication free! Huge Accomplishment that you can be proud of. Wishing you healing everyday.

 

Love, Jackie 

Thank you Jackie!

I'm proud but so scared,

I try to be positive but fair is stoping me

What a nightmare! I want to wake up and be well again!

Had a beautiful  life before medication, now is suffering 24/7

Thank you again

Love and healing

Vica

[[Jo...]]

Following this group. Didn't even know it existed!

 

I'm going to be waiting at least 6 months after Valium jump before even considering Mirt taper. My Mirt "taper" is the reason I relapsed back on benzos.

 

I'm going to give this thread a proper read through. Congrats to those who have not long jumped off Mirt! Wishing you well