Remeron (Mirtazapine) Withdrawal Support Group

[[ju...]]

Jack, it may be the result of going fast of rem, isnt it?

[[Ja...]]

It’s certainly possible. It just isn’t coinciding with any cuts which is why I believe it’s benzo related.

[[ju...]]

You are saying that it may be related to benzo wd, but i am now experiencing heart and adrenalin issues which i never exp, as you know. So i think you may have exceeded the limits of cut, but of course who knows.

[[Ja...]]

I also started a new batch of liquid on monday. Maybe the compound is wrong.

[[Ja...]]

Well I have been resisting but I am getting ready to go to the hospital. To be clear not the psych unit. I need to go to ER and get checked out. The way I am feeling is not following any pattern I am accustomed to. I am concerned something may be wrong. I have been urinating constantly, have little appetite, constant nausea and EXTREME weakness. I have been shivering for three days despite no fever. It may be that the compounding pharmacy screwed up. I am not sure. It how now reached the point the point where writing this off as withdrawal feels dangerous and irresponsible. Worst case I get sent home with a clear mind to suffer. I have been down this road many times this year. I think I need the peace of mind. It feels like something is way wrong. I hope it’s nothing.

[Guest [Lo...]]

You are saying that it may be related to benzo wd, but i am now experiencing heart and adrenalin issues which i never exp, as you know. So i think you may have exceeded the limits of cut, but of course who knows.

Hello, I have stopped Remeron in June and experienced horrible symptoms, but now I am wondering the the latest and worst are actually related to Klonopin dependence withdrawal — numbness on bottom of feet and around mouth, tingling hands, legs,  adrenaline surges constantly with rapid heart beat, runny nose off and on.  Have not yet started Klonopin taper of .5 mg. Thanks!

[Guest [Lo...]]

Has anyone had numbness around mouth or on bottoms of feet?  Want to know it this is from the Klonpin still need to taper or if it could be Rmeron related.  Strange for it to come on after 4 months though.

[[Ja...]]

I have not had those symptoms since starting Remeron or since tapering Remeron. I did have all sorts of rotating symptoms like this when I was in Xanax tolerance.

[Guest [Lo...]]

I have not had those symptoms since starting Remeron or since tapering Remeron. I did have all sorts of rotating symptoms like this when I was in Xanax tolerance.

Thanks.  I just don’t know what to do if it is Klonopin related.

[[Ja...]]

So, about to be discharged from the ER. As usual all tests negative. I can’t believe how sick I feel. It feels like an intense flu. I am bedridden out of nowhere. One thing that I am wondering is the Nexium I take. I have been taking 60 mg Nexium because my gerd had been so bad in withdrawal. I still was having breakthrough reflux. So on Monday the gastro told me to up to 80mg for a month to see what the results would be. I did so for 3 days. I wonder if the increase in Nexium modified the way my Remeron was being absorbed. That would be the same as making a huge cut. These things are so understudied. Nexium and Remeron are not listed as having interactions BUT 80 mg is such an extreme dose when would they have trialed that. I have dropped back to down to 60 and of course will NOT be making my scheduled mirt cut tonight. I really hope the compounding pharmacy didn’t switch manufacturers or make some kind of mistake. It feels like I am dying out of nowhere. I have no idea when I will be able to return to work. I am so scared.

[[Be...]]

Hi Jack. You've had a rough time today. I am so sorry. They did not find anything so that is good news. I believe you are right about the Nexium. Look in the searchbox, it hits similar receptors to mirt. I find that anything "new in supplements, meds, etc. throws off the shaky balance we have in w/d. I believe the flu shot mucked up my taper but I'll never know. I would go down to the old dose of Nexium. You said you are holding your mirt taper, and that is the right move. You're in a wave now but it will settle. Flu-like symptoms are w/d. Feel better.

 

Becky

[[Ja...]]

Hi Jack. You've had a rough time today. I am so sorry. They did not find anything so that is good news. I believe you are right about the Nexium. Look in the searchbox, it hits similar receptors to mirt. I find that anything "new in supplements, meds, etc. throws off the shaky balance we have in w/d. I believe the flu shot mucked up my taper but I'll never know. I would go down to the old dose of Nexium. You said you are holding your mirt taper, and that is the right move. You're in a wave now but it will settle. Flu-like symptoms are w/d. Feel better.

 

Becky

 

Thanks Becky. I have to believe the Nexium had something to do with this. I have already gone back to the old dose two days ago when I had the though that it was a change I made. It was the same day I started a new bottle of liquid. But I have started many new bottles of liquid with no issues. I will hold until I feel better. I am betting that the increase in Nexium somehow blocked my Remeron dose and now it feels like a HUGE cut. Hopefully as my blood levels come back up I will level back out. Of course this is all theoretical. But as usual the docs are clueless about it anyway.

[[ja...]]

Hi Everyone, hi Jack, so sorry. I agree about the Nexium. Hopefully get back to normal dose and hold on cut will get you back on top of it again. Darn it, I hate how we have to watch every single thing we put in our mouths. I don’t blame you for going to the ER. You never know what it could be. I’ll look forward to hearing you say you feel better again.

 

Lookinup, I have had pins and needles feeling in the bottom of my feet different times. I really have no idea what it comes from but I know you can have a delay in symptoms from these medications. I’ve known others who didn’t get hit for several months with symptoms. Personally I would let some time pass before tapering Remeron if you are getting hit with symptoms from K.

 

Making another cut tonight down to 0.021grams or 2.1mg. Getting there slowly. I just hope that I don’t get slammed when I take my last dose. And so it starts all over again....

 

Jackie  :smitten:

[[ju...]]

Jack, i am so sorry about the things that you lived. If you suspect about the safety of comp. pharmacy why dont you try dry cut?I am careful about the things that Jackie said. When i reach to lower doses especially, i will be interested in applying dry cut for that reason, because my liquid(1 ml 15 mg)doesnt allow me to make small arrangements. One more thing, when did you start to feel comparably well after your Xanax CT? This is very interesting that you have such a bad term after app. 9-10 months.

 

Jackie,I have been app. 5 month far away from my CT in hospital and as you know i have been holding. 5 months are enough to feel some relief from short term usages off three ADs? Of course i had had a background also before this bad fact but i may start to feel some relief, because i have been holding app. 7 weeks on rem. 11 mg although i have been having rough times. I am waiting for stabilization as much as i have never ever waited anything. 7,8,9,10..n weeks, whenever i start to see some improvements, i will consider starting to taper. Whenever my adrenalin rushes stop, my heart skips disappear, my mood stabilizes,i will say "the time has come" as it was in steady prozac use. i have been always impatient in this process because the thought of uselesness and side effects of ADs, but i forgot(or i didnt know) that the most destructive fact is changing the brain chemistry steadily.

 

lookinup, i have also sometimes numbness feeling around my mouth. if you feel mess, you can try to calm down a little with some hold..

[Guest [Lo...]]

Hi Everyone, hi Jack, so sorry. I agree about the Nexium. Hopefully get back to normal dose and hold on cut will get you back on top of it again. Darn it, I hate how we have to watch every single thing we put in our mouths. I don’t blame you for going to the ER. You never know what it could be. I’ll look forward to hearing you say you feel better again.

 

Lookinup, I have had pins and needles feeling in the bottom of my feet different times. I really have no idea what it comes from but I know you can have a delay in symptoms from these medications. I’ve known others who didn’t get hit for several months with symptoms. Personally I would let some time pass before tapering Remeron if you are getting hit with symptoms from K. 

 

Making another cut tonight down to 0.021grams or 2.1mg. Getting there slowly. I just hope that I don’t get slammed when I take my last dose. And so it starts all over again....

 

Jackie  :smitten:

Thanks for your reply.  I am off the Remeron for 5 months and am starting to think my symptoms are from tolerance withdrawal from K.  Have not started tapering that yet.

[[no...]]

Jack, hey.

 

Sorry to hear about the Nexium thing. I am going through a similar disruption myself at the moment, and I'm not even on Mirtazapine (nor benzos) anymore. I'd had an ear drum rupture in the Spring and was told to take Zyrtec (cetirizine hcl) for the remainder of allergy season to keep the pressure off my healing ear drum. Well, allergy season ended about a month ago and I have not been able to outright discontinue the Zyrtec. My histamine receptors were still too beat up from the Mirtazapine I believe and I should have never taken the Zyrtec. I feel rather stupid for having done so, for having had the doctor say "here, take this" and having done so, but that will do me no good now. When I tried to discontinue the Zyrtec, I had overwhelming anxiety, nausea, some dizziness, and itchiness all over my body. So, I am using the over-the-counter children's formula (which just so happens to be a 1mg/1ml suspension, grape flavor bonus ) to taper. Another taper. Awesome...

Hang in there, man. If nothing else, we are truly proving the interconnectedness of all of these things, and the true need to question what we take for what ails us.

 

Dave

[[Be...]]

Hi Everyone, hi Jack, so sorry. I agree about the Nexium. Hopefully get back to normal dose and hold on cut will get you back on top of it again. Darn it, I hate how we have to watch every single thing we put in our mouths. I don’t blame you for going to the ER. You never know what it could be. I’ll look forward to hearing you say you feel better again.

 

Lookinup, I have had pins and needles feeling in the bottom of my feet different times. I really have no idea what it comes from but I know you can have a delay in symptoms from these medications. I’ve known others who didn’t get hit for several months with symptoms. Personally I would let some time pass before tapering Remeron if you are getting hit with symptoms from K.

 

Making another cut tonight down to 0.021grams or 2.1mg. Getting there slowly. I just hope that I don’t get slammed when I take my last dose. And so it starts all over again....

 

Jackie  :smitten:

Hi Jackie. You are getting nice and low, good for you. I was wondering what tapering is like when I start again. What are the symptoms for you and do you stabilize from them? Thanks.

Becky 

 

[[Ja...]]

Jack, hey.

 

Sorry to hear about the Nexium thing. I am going through a similar disruption myself at the moment, and I'm not even on Mirtazapine (nor benzos) anymore. I'd had an ear drum rupture in the Spring and was told to take Zyrtec (cetirizine hcl) for the remainder of allergy season to keep the pressure off my healing ear drum. Well, allergy season ended about a month ago and I have not been able to outright discontinue the Zyrtec. My histamine receptors were still too beat up from the Mirtazapine I believe and I should have never taken the Zyrtec. I feel rather stupid for having done so, for having had the doctor say "here, take this" and having done so, but that will do me no good now. When I tried to discontinue the Zyrtec, I had overwhelming anxiety, nausea, some dizziness, and itchiness all over my body. So, I am using the over-the-counter children's formula (which just so happens to be a 1mg/1ml suspension, grape flavor bonus ) to taper. Another taper. Awesome...

Hang in there, man. If nothing else, we are truly proving the interconnectedness of all of these things, and the true need to question what we take for what ails us.

 

Dave

 

Dave,

        Yes this site is a great case study. I am realizing that many of us are significantly more intelligent than our doctors. I could have been a doctor and a damn good one. I was intelligent enough to know that I can make more money working with my hands and save myself a student loan. I am not bashing higher education, I am merely pointing out that it is not a marker of intelligence. Higher education mixed with a higher IQ is an incredibly powerful net positive. However, I am learning quickly that many of our doctors are not willfully ignorant. They do not possess the intellectual capacity to safely do their jobs. My gastro came in the room the other day and quoted the first google search hit about the risks of Nexium as he recommended my dose increase. This is not an intelligent man. I felt like Will Hunting. I sat there while this man quoted a google hit to me as if it was his own words. He did not know that this blue collar worker has a semi photographic memory and I knew the exact article and author he was quoting to me verbatim. I read it too. What concerned me is that he did not dig deeper. I read that article because it's the first thing that google fed me. But a responsible researcher does not let google do their research for them. His knowledge stops where the first google results page ends. That is very scary. It would have been very rude of me to call him out like in the Harvard bar scene, lol, so I let it go. I know I sound arrogant, it is because I am upset. I chose a different path but have always been excellent at everything I have done. I expect the same level of excellence from those I hire to help me. Doctors continue to fail me. I have come to the conclusion I have to be my own doctor. To continue to allow myself to be injured by these lazy, irresponsible degree collectors would make little sense at this point. The medical field is not the exception to the rule. In all fields there are only a handful of competent people. Yes I am mad.

 

So, your Zyrtec withdrawal is not necessarily related at all to mirtazapine. Zyrtec withdrawal is well documented. Your doctor should have known about this. He should have mentioned this as a possibility. It sickens me how little these doctors know about the drugs they prescribe. There are multiple class action lawsuits and even talk of the FDA requiring a discontinuation syndrome warning on the box.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6680163/You-dependent-Zyrtec-itchy-withdrawals-allergy-drug.html

 

https://elemental.medium.com/quitting-zyrtec-is-total-hell-c3e79d753a1a

 

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/rx/zyrtec.html

 

https://themillennialsmantra.com/2019/05/02/the-zyrtec-nightmare/

 

http://www.floodlawgroup.com/zyrtec-withdrawal-lawyers/

 

https://www.agupdate.com/tristateneighbor/opinion/columnists/your_health/your-health-fda-acknowledges-zyrtec-withdrawal-itch/article_dc6278ac-d558-11e9-9037-1f9dfe3ee57b.html

 

P.S. Do not forget your old friend Quercetin. A woman reported an 80 percent reduction in symptoms as she healed from Zyrtec discontinuation through Quercetin supplementation.

 

Good luck Dave! So sorry.

[[no...]]

 

Dave,

        Yes this site is a great case study. I am realizing that many of us are significantly more intelligent than our doctors. I could have been a doctor and a damn good one. I was intelligent enough to know that I can make more money working with my hands and save myself a student loan. I am not bashing higher education, I am merely pointing out that it is not a marker of intelligence. Higher education mixed with a higher IQ is an incredibly powerful net positive. However, I am learning quickly that many of our doctors are not willfully ignorant. They do not possess the intellectual capacity to safely do their jobs. My gastro came in the room the other day and quoted the first google search hit about the risks of Nexium as he recommended my dose increase. This is not an intelligent man. I felt like Will Hunting. I sat there while this man quoted a google hit to me as if it was his own words. He did not know that this blue collar worker has a semi photographic memory and I knew the exact article and author he was quoting to me verbatim. I read it too. What concerned me is that he did not dig deeper. I read that article because it's the first thing that google fed me. But a responsible researcher does not let google do their research for them. His knowledge stops where the first google results page ends. That is very scary. It would have been very rude of me to call him out like in the Harvard bar scene, lol, so I let it go. I know I sound arrogant, it is because I am upset. I chose a different path but have always been excellent at everything I have done. I expect the same level of excellence from those I hire to help me. Doctors continue to fail me. I have come to the conclusion I have to be my own doctor. To continue to allow myself to be injured by these lazy, irresponsible degree collectors would make little sense at this point. The medical field is not the exception to the rule. In all fields there are only a handful of competent people. Yes I am mad.

 

So, your Zyrtec withdrawal is not necessarily related at all to mirtazapine. Zyrtec withdrawal is well documented. Your doctor should have known about this. He should have mentioned this as a possibility. It sickens me how little these doctors know about the drugs they prescribe. There are multiple class action lawsuits and even talk of the FDA requiring a discontinuation syndrome warning on the box.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6680163/You-dependent-Zyrtec-itchy-withdrawals-allergy-drug.html

 

https://elemental.medium.com/quitting-zyrtec-is-total-hell-c3e79d753a1a

 

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/rx/zyrtec.html

 

https://themillennialsmantra.com/2019/05/02/the-zyrtec-nightmare/

 

http://www.floodlawgroup.com/zyrtec-withdrawal-lawyers/

 

https://www.agupdate.com/tristateneighbor/opinion/columnists/your_health/your-health-fda-acknowledges-zyrtec-withdrawal-itch/article_dc6278ac-d558-11e9-9037-1f9dfe3ee57b.html

 

P.S. Do not forget your old friend Quercetin. A woman reported an 80 percent reduction in symptoms as she healed from Zyrtec discontinuation through Quercetin supplementation.

 

Good luck Dave! So sorry.

 

Thanks Jack, I really appreciate your response - and you gave me a much needed laugh w/ the Will Hunting reference. One of my favorite movies. And point well taken. Awesome that you have the memory to such a degree that you could actually spot that the doctor was giving you a Google result instead of an informed and educated opinion. I think being mad is a called-for response.

 

I have seen the research on the Zyrtec discontinuation syndrome, so know I am in for an itchy taper on that. My rationale for calling into question the Mirtazapine factor however is due to not seeing much documentation on the other symptoms which for me, are more disconcerting than the itchiness: the anxiety, insomnia, dry cough, dizziness, nausea, etc. To me, it feels like a lot of what I dealt with in tapering the Mirtazapine. I wish I could see some good documentation on these symptoms. I know that if I don't take the Zyrtec tonight, I will be fine. But by tomorrow night, 48hrs later, the discomfort comes. And taking one will alleviate almost all symptoms.

 

But yes, I am actually using a quercetin/c supplement, as well as magnesium glycinate and some hawthorn as my BP has been up a bit. I'll just go back to what I know - a slower taper off the Zyrtec and hope that it will bring about the same positive results as the Mirt taper did. I feel like I should have known better...

 

Thanks again for the kind and thoughtful response.

 

Dave

[Guest [Lo...]]

I am in the same position as Dave.  Cut Mirt. And having benzo tolerance.  Need help!  Don’t know what to do.

[[ja...]]

Hi Becky, yes I do stabilize but it seems like each month has been different. I just cut last night and earlier this morning I felt revved up and brain fog was up too. Tonight was better. I feel very agitated tapering this medication. Sometimes I get hit right out the gate and other months it doesn’t hit until about day 8. Usually I feel better by the latter of the month only to start all over again for the next month. It’s pretty strange. I feel really brain dead most of the time. I have to keep reminding myself that I’m intelligent and bright, this is not me it is the medication. When are you starting?

 

Jackie 

[[Ja...]]

I am in the same position as Dave.  Cut Mirt. And having benzo tolerance.  Need help!  Don’t know what to do.

 

No one can tell you what to do. However, I can give my opinion. Benzo tolerance is brutal. It is brutal because you are already sick even before you start tapering. I could not taper and I could not hold. It is catch 22. I read the Ashton manual when I was in severe tolerance. I had just found out I was in tolerance withdrawal. I couldn’t figure out why I was so sick. In the hospital they took me off Xanax and put me on Ativan. I got 100 times worse. That’s when I knew for sure it was the Xanax. I also figured out that the doctors did not know what they were doing. They were going to either kill me or completely fry my brain. So I lied my way out of there. I had to. When I got out that is when I read the Ashton manual. She talked about people who were sick on benzos. She spoke of severe tolerance withdrawal. I wasn’t able to stabilize. She said that some people just get sicker on benzos and will not heal until they are off. She recommended a fast taper for these people. I knew I was one of them. So I followed her advice. I tapered myself off the Ativan over the course of 5 weeks. At 10 months off I am positive that I made the right choice. I am positive that Ashton saved my life. None of the doctors thought that what I was doing was wise. I was in outpatient care. I told them I was doing it with or without them. So they, including the in house psych supported me through this fast taper. I started Remeron right at the beginning of the Ativan taper. I could not have done a fast taper without the help of Remeron and I don’t think I could have dealt with the fallout from it either.

 

Dave had quit Remeron and successfully reinstated after a fast taper as well.

 

If you are in severe tolerance withdrawal I personally believe that the route I took is the only way out. I would reinstate Remeron and start tapering the benzo quickly.

 

If you are in relatively minor tolerance then you might be able to stabilize by crossing over to another benzo and then tapering from that. All benzos work slightly different. I did have some relief in my symptoms after a couple of weeks switching from Xanax to Ativan even as I fast tapered. The pysch told me that she observes this all the time. She said that she will see someone sick on a benzo, switch them to a different benzo and they stop feeling sick.

 

This is what I have for you. A lot of us do not jump in because it is a lot of responsibility. What I mean is you are asking broad questions about what you should do? I just suggested that you reinstate Remeron and then quickly taper your benzo. If you follow my advice and it all goes wrong is that on me now? That’s why many don’t answer these questions.

 

So keep in mind I am telling you what I THINK would work for you. It worked for me. Mileage may vary.

 

 

[[Ja...]]

Btw all, I believe it was the Nexium. I seem to be stabilizing.

[[ja...]]

Glad your better Jack!

 

Jackie 

[Guest [Lo...]]

I am in the same position as Dave.  Cut Mirt. And having benzo tolerance.  Need help!  Don’t know what to do.

 

No one can tell you what to do. However, I can give my opinion. Benzo tolerance is brutal. It is brutal because you are already sick even before you start tapering. I could not taper and I could not hold. It is catch 22. I read the Ashton manual when I was in severe tolerance. I had just found out I was in tolerance withdrawal. I couldn’t figure out why I was so sick. In the hospital they took me off Xanax and put me on Ativan. I got 100 times worse. That’s when I knew for sure it was the Xanax. I also figured out that the doctors did not know what they were doing. They were going to either kill me or completely fry my brain. So I lied my way out of there. I had to. When I got out that is when I read the Ashton manual. She talked about people who were sick on benzos. She spoke of severe tolerance withdrawal. I wasn’t able to stabilize. She said that some people just get sicker on benzos and will not heal until they are off. She recommended a fast taper for these people. I knew I was one of them. So I followed her advice. I tapered myself off the Ativan over the course of 5 weeks. At 10 months off I am positive that I made the right choice. I am positive that Ashton saved my life. None of the doctors thought that what I was doing was wise. I was in outpatient care. I told them I was doing it with or without them. So they, including the in house psych supported me through this fast taper. I started Remeron right at the beginning of the Ativan taper. I could not have done a fast taper without the help of Remeron and I don’t think I could have dealt with the fallout from it either.

 

Dave had quit Remeron and successfully reinstated after a fast taper as well.

 

If you are in severe tolerance withdrawal I personally believe that the route I took is the only way out. I would reinstate Remeron and start tapering the benzo quickly.

 

If you are in relatively minor tolerance then you might be able to stabilize by crossing over to another benzo and then tapering from that. All benzos work slightly different. I did have some relief in my symptoms after a couple of weeks switching from Xanax to Ativan even as I fast tapered. The pysch told me that she observes this all the time. She said that she will see someone sick on a benzo, switch them to a different benzo and they stop feeling sick.

 

This is what I have for you. A lot of us do not jump in because it is a lot of responsibility. What I mean is you are asking broad questions about what you should do? I just suggested that you reinstate Remeron and then quickly taper your benzo. If you follow my advice and it all goes wrong is that on me now? That’s why many don’t answer these questions.

 

So keep in mind I am telling you what I THINK would work for you. It worked for me. Mileage may vary.

. Thank you for all of your information.  Had a bad day today. Wash supposed to see a psy. to help with all of this,but he didn’t pan out to be the support Ineeded.  How did you ever get the hospital staff to work with you?  My husband has been part of my craziness since the Mirtz withdrawal and subsequent tolerance to K dose.  He convinced me finally to try to take a small amount of K a few times a day to see if that helps.  Now, I hear I may need a switch?  This is all good to know.  I have a thyroid issue that needs to be resolved.  I know that has to come first.  As for the Mirtz, that was the best I felt.  Don’t know why I got off, but when I did, really had some horrible side effects that I still could be carrying around in addition to the K problem.  I often wonder what would happen if I retook that.  Am scared because of hearing that many people begin to experience those horrible side effects when they go back on then have to taper that way.  Ugh, this is so frustrating!