I am trying desperately to come off mirtazipan and I am trying to work out the best plan to withdraw, 26 days ago I reduced my dose from 30 to 15, although I am bearing it, the side effects are awful, I have a thick headache, nausea, trembling, but to name a few, today I burst into tears for no apparent reason, please can someone tell me if this is normal? I was hoping to cut the dose down by half again, does anyone know if this happens after each reduction ? And when is right time to reduce. Thank you in advance for your help.Margaret x
Hi Margret ,I'm coming down off Mirtazapine after 4yrs on it.My first reduction was down to 30 mg I think it was to much to soon,I couldn't sleep,cried a lot,and also very bad tempered oh and anxious but I rod the storm for 6wks.when I went back to my doctor to come down again I told him he said you know your own body best and to come down as slow as I liked. At the moment I'm on 22 and a half?I am still struggling with sleep a bit,but the other symptoms have subsided a bit.My next drop will be to 15 mg .I think you you may have been like me and dropped to much to soon.Take it at your own pace and I think you will be fine.Good Luck
Hi Norma, thanks for your reply, do have any physical symptoms? For example heavy head, nausea trembling,generally feeling unwell, now and again a feeling of doom.how long have you been on your current dose? I'm afraid I can't get any help from my gp as all she wants to do is increase my dose, I have been taking it for 17 months. and it wasn't helping one bit, this is why I want off this awful drug.l wish you well in your journey.
Right Margret take no notice of your GP,and I don't say that lightly.Its your body and if you feel this drug is not working for you start comeing off it,that's how I ended up on it for 4yrs .I also am on other drugs for the same reason which I will come off slowly.My best suggestion to you is to whether the storm for as long as it takes,it may take you another 2wks or more,but you will start to feel better then drop down the next mg to half stay at that for as long as it takes as all our bodies work differently.Dont worry it will get better.Use your own judgment on how you feel.I really do wish you well.
Thank you Norma, please keep me posted on your progress, looking back on old posts it seems that a lot of people have a rough time withdrawing from this drug, why is it that GPS put you on a powerful drug that is difficult to come off of and then reluctant to take you off? Can I ask why you are taking it, I was put on it for anxiety, but have had so many problems since taking it. I have read a lot about it and it says that it causes problems, messes with your head etc.anyway nice talking with you.
I agree with you Margret it does seem to be what I call a dirty drug.I was given it by a psychiatrist believe it or not for chronic IBS,I think he must have thought I was anxious,which I was and he put me straight on 45mg,that was 4yrs ago and I'm still anxious and I still have chronic IBS ,at the same time I was put on Pregablin for pain also done no good so after I've come off Mirt I'm going to try and come off that.I was also given Diazapam for anxiety and that does the job.I was told on one of these sites not long back to take responsibility for my own health,and I believe that was good advise as no one knows your body like yourself.Good Luck Margret and keep in touch.
Hi norma iv been on this drug now for ten years and my moods havd been up and down all time i was put on it for Anxitey and fibromyalgia and still feel that its not working im in constant fear ov life itself and every little thing that goes wrong im in the middle ov changing my g.p and hope to get some help with my moods good luck liz
You need to withdraw really slowly with this drug Margaret and also u need to make sure u have recovered fully before doing so . I was on Mirt for three yrs fully recovered I wld take 30mg every second nite for three weeks then 30 every third nite for three weeks then 30 every fourth nite for three weeks and so on and I experienced nothing and was well for six years so my advice is make sure u have recovered and don't b in a rush to to come off them the secret is slowly x
Whilst everyone is different and react differently to withdrawing from Mirtazapine I do not think the above advice is generally considered best practice.
The problem is Mirtazapine has a short half life 20-30 hours depending on the persons metabolism. By alternating doses in this way you are causing quite big fluctuations in the level of the drug in your system from day to day.
If you look at the charity MIND's website you'll find they have some really useful web pages on advice for withdrawing from ADs. They also don't recommend withdrawing by alternating doses by rather just by simple gradulal reductions.
As I say everyone is different and not trying to be little anyone's advise but, from personal experience, my partner was wrongly advised to withdraw from Citalopram (another drug with a short half life) by alternating 20mg doses rather than stepping down to 10mg and she still suffers effects several years laters.
My advice would be to just step down the daily dose as gradually as you feel the need. Split pills if you have to, or there is a liquid form of Mirtazapine available if that proves too problematic.
Good luck and take care of yourself
Whilst I appreciate wat u r saying and u r absolutely rite that everyone is different I reduced gradually and this was the advice of my consultant psychiatrist...
I totally agree with you, i have quite a strong metabolism but as you say we are all different go by what your own body tells you.If my husband took some of my meds he would never wake up yet they have no effect on me .So listen to your own body and slowly does it .( what's the rush )
Hi Elizabeth sorry I never replyed to you I thought I had but looking this morning I probley forgot to press the reply button.Anyway if I were you I would wait until you see your new GP and tell him how you feel,but if you've been on a tablet for 10 yrs and you don't think it's doing it's job let him know.He may be able to give you something else while you withdraw from Mirt.But please wait until you see your new GP good Luck let us know how you get on and keep in touch.
Thank you for your advice, I am on day 27 on my reduction from 30 to 15, I had no idea how awful I would feel by each passing day, nobody prepares you for this, please tell me it gets better
I really don't know what to do with myself. Excuse my ignorance but what is meant by a short half life?would really appreciate some help.I think these forums are wonderful and a very big thank you to all for their valuable info.Take care to each and every one of you.
Sorry to hear of your problems Norma, the reason I have decided to come off this awful drug is because it just isn't working, why take a drug if it doesn't work, every time I tell my gp she just wants to increase the dose,useless,I do think this drug causes the symptoms, my daughter says that they mess with your head and I do believe she is right. Docs are all to eager to prescribe these drugs but are not ready to help when the going gets tough, hope you manage to sort yourself out and stay strong.
The half life of a drug refers to the amount of time it takes for the level of the drug to reach half what it was when you took it. For if you took one pill of 30mg of Mirtazapine in 20-40 hours you would have 15mg left in your body. After another 20-40 hours you would have 7.5mg left etc.
It's one of the reasons why when you start a drug it can be a while until you get any benefit as it takes a while for the accumulated level of the drug to build up. Its also why when withdrawing if you are going to get any side effects when dropping the dose they often appear a little while after dropping the dose (as you still have the accumulated level of the higher dose still in your system gradually working down it's half lives).
However everyone is different and what works for one person for withdrawing may not work for another. Sompe people tend to have withdrawak symtpoms more that others etc.
One of the problems with withdrawing is that it is sometimes difficult to tell what are withdrawal symptoms and what are whatever illness you were taking tyhe drug for re-surfacing. Again I would recommend having a read of the MIND web pages on Anti Depressant withdrawal as they cover this.
On the plus side you've done really well to get down from 30mg to 15mg. If you can bear it I would just stick at 15mg for a while longer and see if your symptoms get any better before attempting any more drops in dosage. Trust your body and take it as slow as you need.
Good advise don't rush it untill you feel better.
Hi, sorry to be a pain but I wonder if you can help, your advice is most welcome, whilst I am feeling dreadful all day l forget to mention that by the evenings I feel lot better can't understand this as once I top up the meds overnight I am back to square one again feeling bad. I question myself as to whether I should be taking this at all, do you know if this is normal? I have looked on the Mind website but cannot find anything on withdrawal.
Hi norma thank you for your reply im at new docters on friday going to have a long chat about meds and the way i feel will keep intouch and let you know how i get on good luck everyone liz
No Margret don't come straight off it you will just feel a lot worse.Ride with the storm untill you feel better then next time you come down make it even slower even if you break them in half.But please don't just stop it won't help.Take your time and be patient .
Be strong and make sure they listen to you.I repeat it's your body.Good Luck