Hi just looking for anyones experience in coming off mirtazipine and getting through the withdrawal process. I am nearly 2 weeks off and felt I was doing well but I have had a bad night last night, I can feel my anxiety levels are rising and I have stomach issues. Has anyone had the contant itching?
Hi Claire. For most people the withdrawal kicks in around 2 weeks so expect it to get worse for a while. Get plenty of exercise as much as you can, dont eat anything sugary and try to sleep the best you can. I have the itching, bad stomach etc. My withdrawal has lasted months so far but mine is a rare case lol. If your itching is really bad ask your Dr for some anti histamines.
Hello Clair I'm on nearly 4weeks without mirtazipine I've had extreme insomnia stomach problems anxiety panic attacks and severe itching on my hands and scalp all these things are starting to diminish now thank God I found the 2 week mark and after to be the worst I've been taking multivitamins and minerals eating more healthy and trying to keep busy a nice lavender bath and candles at night before bed helped too .Now I am starting to feel better again I wish you all the best hun 🌷
I had the stomach and anxiety but eases about four weeks in. However I was put on sertraline same time so can't be sure if that kicking in helped. Had to take diazepam some days for the anxiety too. Good luck. Are you tapering or cold turkey?
Hi Claire
Sorry for your suffering. Did you wean off slowly, if not the wd symptoms may be acute. Anxiety & Insomnia, nausea & IBS - terrible stomach cramps, itching to name a few.
The full WD kicks in after about 2 weeks. You may want to replicate the huge histamine block that Mirt' contains - you can buy these, Clarityn will do, maybe non drowsy for the day. Also for insomnia try Benadryl tablet - 2 before bed.
Don't hesitate to contact your doctor for Diazapam also, for the anxiety ... Doctors advice to me for wd was 2 weeks to wd from Mirt' - no way .... not doable - I'm going to put a link on this page after this post - if I put it up here the Moderator will take it off.
Hope you have a better day and I wish you well.
This is a very useful web site that explains why we need to WD slowly, I hope the moderator will allow it on this site as so many people are suffering unnecessarily from the extreme WD that Mirt' brings. An informed choice is a very useful choice indeed.
I myself am doing this as I want to avoid the majority of the suffering!
Hi I tapered off slowly going 10% each week for 10 weeks. This was after 2 failed attempts to come off it before where I went much faster.
My withdrawal kicked in the day after I stopped and has continued for the last 2 weeks, until yesterday things were getting better but after a bad nights sleep last night I feel like I have gone backwards.
Benadryl doesn't seem to help at all, seeing GP tmrw but not optimistic that she will be able to offer anything
Well done for tapering successfully this time. I came off after two weeks following doc advice. Not good. On sertraline and small dose quetiapine at night and works for me. Good luck at docs.
Thank u x
Hi Louise, where are you located? Did you take anything for the insomnia? If not how did you manage? This is by far the worst symptom for me, did you find your sleep just got better eventually?
Hi Claire I am in the Midlands 😁
I didn't take anything for the insomnia I was literally having an hour or so every few days made me feel extremely ill it's only now at nearly 4 weeks I'm finally getting to sleep I was basically up all night long watching tv and reading...I didn't want to use diazepam or sleeping tablet as I have been addicted to them in the past and the withdrawal was horrific . I know how hard it but you will get your sleep pattern back unfortunately for us it just takes time 🌷
Hi Claire, though slower than what most docs advise, your slow taper was still a bit too fast at 40% per month. As others have noted, WD from each cut can come on 10 to 14 days later so you made the next cut before your body had adjusted to the previous one. Just for everyone's info, it is better to make a cut and allow for stabilizatin over the course of at least three to four weeks to allow your brain and body to adjust to the reduction. It isn't a matter of getting used to the med being absent so much as it is a matter of your neurons remodeling, up-regulating or down-regulating neurotransmitter receptors as the med's actions on them is reduced. Bigger cuts or more frequent cuts cause bigger symptoms.
Also, it is normal for there to be what is known as windows and waves in WD. Windows are periods where you feel better, feel like you're getting through it, and waves are when you seem to regress and have symptoms again. You can oscillate between the two over time until finally the windows are longer and the waves are shorter and/or milder. Recovering from going off ADs in not necessarily linear.
Hi Betsy, where did you find out about the waves in WD? I would be interested in reading something, might help me through the bad times. How are you getting on? X
Hi Claire, I first learned of the windows and waves phenomenon at surviving antidepressents - if you do a web search for those two words you will find their website. There is a ton of information and they are a very knowledgeable, supportive group. If you create and account and post an introduction, the moderators and senior members will jump in and give you guidance. Yes, it does help to know that there will be waves after feeling good so that you have awareness about your experience and don't get majorly distressed!
I did a 10% cut from 19 mg to 17 a week ago Sunday night, and was doing fine, but then I had a major stressor hit me on Friday and got thrown into a wave :-( Anxiety, intestinal issues, and insomnia. You should know that your nervous system is highly sensitized right now and to take it easy on yourself, be nurturing to yourself, and try to avoid stressors if at all possible as it is easy for stress to throw you into a wave even if the time-line "says" it shouldn't be hitting...
Hope to see you there! My username is SquirrellyGirl LOL!
Hi Claire,
I've been off the Mirt for just over a month now and it does get better. I found I hit a wall around the 10 day mark and felt awful for the next 5 but after that I started feeling better. I also have the itching problem though, seems to be a whole body thing. I haven't yet taken anything for it, it only started happening a few days ago so I didn't actually consider it to be sort of the WD. I had insomnia really bad too but didn't want to go onto any other strong/addictive drug that would be hard to come off so my doctor prescribed be Circadin which is a slow release melatonin tablet, it helps reset the brain to produce enough melatonin naturally to sleep and I've found it works and has no drowsy side effects. I tend to wake up when the sun comes up now which is very new since I could sleep all day on Mirt. Every WD is different to others, I came off mine cold turkey at 30mg and I'm doing pretty good compared to what I was expecting based on others experiences but it seems everyone handles it differently. Good luck 
Another awful night with just over 2.5hrs sleep. This is now day 15 and not sure how much more I can take, I think I could handle any other symptom but insomnia is just too much.
I could do with any motivating stories to help me keep going. 😂
Hi I take it you're in the states as I'm in the UK and you can't get melatonin here. Did you feel better because of the melatonin?
I'm actually in Darwin, Australia. I don't know if there's a difference between circadin and melatonin tablets but I didn't have any issues getting it here. It took a couple days but yeah I'm a lot sleeping better then I was. I take a little bit of codeine as well so keep me sleeping a little longer though or I will wake up before the sun comes up.
Oh no, sounds awful, insomnia is the worst thing after wd. What dosage did you stop the Mirt' at Claire? and how long were you on that lower dose for?
Ihope you get on OK with the doc today, let us know x
I was tapering down by 1.5mg every week so I stopped at 1.5 mg