Hello all,
I am writing this post to provide the assurance I was seeking when starting my journey of mirtazapine withdrawal. I'll first start with some background. Since high school I had always had trouble sleeping. This past year, as a senior in college, I finally saw a doctor regarding my insomnia. I was started on 15mg mirtazapine, which seemed to have no effect. My dosage was soon increased to 30mg to see if my insomnia would improve. A few weeks after starting 30mg I started developing terrible anxiety/panic. My doctor, thinking that there was no way the mirtazapine could be the cause, again increased my dose to 45mg. Soon after starting this dosage i felt absolutely awful, experiencing constant anxiety, depersonalization, terrible depression etc. I had no idea what was happening to me.
A few weeks later, after having been on the drug for about 4 months, I had a thought that maybe it was actually the meds causing my struggles. After pleading my case with my psychiatrist, she finally agreed that I could possibly be right. Assuming I would need to taper, I asked my doctor what type of taper schedule I should use, and she informed me that mirtazapine actually didnt require a schedule, and that I should just reduce by 15mg every week until I was off. I took her advice, however lowered from 15 to 7.5mg instead of coming off. All I can say is wow. I did not even know the despair i experienced existed until I started my taper. Once Lowering down to 7.5 I felt unbelievable depression, feeling like their was a ton of bricks on my chest at all times. I also felt a long list of other symptoms, such as unbearable anxiety, depersonalization, severe tension in my legs, weakness in my left arm, shaking and night sweats.
These symptoms still linger today 3 months later, however have greatly reduced to a mostly tolerable level. I've found that my recovery has come in waves, as I'll feel great for a week then feel terrible for a few days. All I can say to those trying to come off this drug is that you need to be ready to commit. There is no shame in reinstating if you feel the need, as it took me several attempts to get below 7.5mg before I was actually successful, but you need to know that once you get through the intial withdrawal symptoms will improve. I hope this post can help give someone the peace of mind I was seeking, and good luck to all attempting to taper.