New here. I was started on 15 mg and was sedated for almost 24 hours! My Dr said to cut in half and it worked great for the next night. Last night I was ready to run a marathon I took the half dose and was ridiculously high I then took the second half and it didn't help at all. I only slept 4 hours. I want to just stop the med completely now.
I see my Dr in a week (on vacation) does anyone think it's safe to just stop it after 3 days? Any advice appreciated.
Hi,
Yes, better stop now then later. It only gets worse the longer you take it.
Remeron is a super strong drug and very hard to ween off from. Better don't touch it at all. My own experience, I am not a doctor though, but good experineced doctors in my opinion don't describe it anymore.
So after just 3 days it's ok to just stop? The drug gives me horrible headaches and I'm either super sedated or higher than a kite!
Thanks for responding
Well I'd say 3 days is far too early to judge, mirtazapine needs a few weeks to show it's benefits and for any side-effects to settle down. It's your decision whether to just stop, but you'll be left with whatever problem you had to start with, and you'll never know if it could have helped you. Is there another doctor you could see, to perhaps get some temporary medication to help you sleep while the mirtazapine starts to work. It sounds like you are very anxious, perhaps a tranquilliser would help in the short term, or something like zopiclone to make you sleep? However, it is your decision, weighing up the pros and cons.
again I am not a doc, and not knowing anything about your medical history.
Mt personal experience with remeron was horrific, hands off. there is better stuff out there for sleeping and depression or else
Have to disagree slightly with georg85519 about mirtazapine. It's been a wonder drug for me, given me back my life. So you can't generalise, what suits one person might not suit another. It's your choice.
I do have Xanax and I did take one last night. From what I've experienced, super sedating to super highs over a span of 3 days I don't think this is the right drug for me. I can't imagine going for a few weeks like this. My main dr, not psych has wanted to start me on cymbalta for a while now. I think It's time.
Thank you!
I'm sorry Georg, that's just not true. Mirtazapine is one of the better ADs out there—that's not my opinion, that's a medical fact. If you had a bad experience with it, then it's totally understandable that you'd feel that way, but the vast majority of people who take mirtazpaine love it. Saying "it only gets worse the longer you take it" and "better don't touch it at all" is just going to further frighten people that are already dealing with depression and anxiety and are scared and vulnerable in the first place.
I quit mirtazapine cold turkey 7 weeks ago after taking 45mg for 12 years and it was a walk in the park compared to quitting Paxil more than a decade ago. SSRIs are generally harder to taper off of. Just because it was easier for me doesn't mean it will be easier for everyone, of course.
Mirtazpaine isn't right for some people, of course. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a try. Especially if you have anxiety and insomnia.
Tess, I wouldn't recommend messing with the dosages set by your doctor. Although, I'm now questioning your doctor's knowledge of mirtazapine if he told you to cut 15mg in half so it wouldn't be as sedating. That may be true with some ADs but not mirtazpaine: it is more and more sedating the more you lower the dose. (To a point—it's not like if you take 1mg you'll sleep for a year or anything.) But 7.5mg is more sedating than 15mg, in fact, at 7.5mg it's just a sleeping pill with antihistamine properties that won't do anything for depression whatsoever.
It's not until you get up to 30mg or even better, 45mg, that it becomes much less sedating, begins to combat depression, and you can function well on it.
Are you on any other meds at the moment? Or did you just quit another med before you began mirtazapine? Are you taking tramadol or St John's Wort or opioids for pain or drinking any alcohol? (I'm a wine freak, and one drink while taking mirtazapine felt like 3 drinks, to me. Which was a problem when I just wanted wine with dinner and had no desire to feel completely loaded at 8pm on a Tuesday LOL.)
And yes after 3 days it's totally fine to stop. Especially at that crazy-low dose. It takes time for these meds to work so I'd say don't give up after only 3 days. Everyone goes through that adjustment period and it, more often than not, improves dramatically and you feel completely normal again.
Keep us posted and good luck!
Hi tess
i agree with pixie. It's only been three days and i personally know how good mirtazipine can be. How was you feeling prior to taking it? I would not just come off it without talking it through with those you trust.
♥♥
Thanks for the great response (everyone) I've been on Xanax and a sleeping pill Dalmane forever. I let the depression go far too long and Sunday went to the ER for an overnight stay in psych for med adjustment. The Dr there started me on the mirtazapine. My regular dr advised me to increase the dose to 30 mg which didn't make sense at the time, I've learned a lot since then, she said I could stay on the 15 since it worked well for me. I'm going off it for now since I have an appt with my regular dr next week and will discuss best med for me.
Again, thanks for all the great responses. Wish me luck!
Tess, put that stuff in the bin. If you need sleep help, then find something else, Remeron has ruined my life. I am 62, and after 8 years at 45mg, had to get off of it due to side effects. It took three tries and I am still suffering. I started trying to get off that crap 2.5 years ago, and have had more suffering and pain than the entire rest of my life, and I did not have an easy life. I am in bed now, lost over 40 pounds, and it doesn't look like I will recover. So look at me as what you don't want your life to become. If the doctor won't give you something else, then get another doctor. I have spent thousands of dollars on ER visits and hospital bills trying to get my life back, with no luck, thanks to mirtazapine. THROW IT IN THE TRASH! BE KIND TO YOUR BODY! David
Hi Lorraine
I am a recent user of Mirtazapine for nerve pain and
have had no significant side effects other than (don't
know if I'm becoming paranoid) noticing a few
strands of hair shedding more than usual. Have you
any experience of this kind? In the patient leaflet
it doesn't mention this as one of the common side
effects.
Hi, I've stopped twice totally after 2 weeks with zero side effects.
Hi Tess
David may not of had a good experience with mirt. That doesn't mean that it's the same for everyone. Please dont throw your medication in the bin, this action is not going to help you tess, considering how bad you felt when you went to ER a couple of days back due to untreated depression. I liked mirt it was a life saver. I am no longer on it and found tapering carefully gave me no problems when i was ready to come off it. The sedation will dissappear and you will start to feel so much better xxx
David, I'm sorry you're having such a hard time but if Remeron was truly evil then it would ruin EVERYONE'S lives, which is simply not happening.
Do you have any other medical conditions? Were you diagnosed with some sort of reaction to mirtazapine? Are you taking other meds?
I hope you feel better really soon, but it is irresponsible to tell people to throw their meds in the garbage just because you're having a difficult time, esepcially since it might not even be the mirtazapine that did this to you. Please tell us more?
I'm not trying to be a jerk, I just don't think it's constructive to be an alarmist about AD drugs like this. In fact, it can do MUCH more harm than good. It's like this: peanuts are geneally harmless. Billions of people eat peanuts every single day without any problems whatseover. But hundreds of thousands, maybe a few million people, are deathly allergic to peanuts and even a tiny peanut crumb will send them to the hopsital, or worse. But that doesn't mean that all peanuts should be thrown in the trash, it just means that THOSE people should avoid peanuts.
Hi Woodie
when I was first on mirt, I did notice more hair shedding then what was normal, but that stopped around month two. how are you finding mirt?
Tess, is there a chance you're bipolar, which would explain the lows and highs? Some AD meds can wreak havoc on people with bipolar disorder.
Same here Ian ♥
Hope you are well now?
Brilliant post 100% agree with you ♥
Yes Tess, listen to Lorraine, I had a rough go, and only wish that I had never heard of the stuff, and know many others who feel the same. But in the end, regardless of how it effected me, or Lorraine, if you use it long term, it will be how it effects you that matters, and that is all that will matter. I wish you well. David