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I was wondering whether anyone has taken Remeron (Mirtazapine ) during withdrawal and whether it helped at all with sleep? I'm currently on Valdoxan and Trazodone, can't say whether they help as still tapering the Diazapam.

 

Insomnia is where it all started for me. Feel like I'm going full circle back to beginning.

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I was wondering whether anyone has taken Remeron (Mirtazapine ) during withdrawal and whether it helped at all with sleep? I'm currently on Valdoxan and Trazodone, can't say whether they help as still tapering the Diazapam.

 

Insomnia is where it all started for me. Feel like I'm going full circle back to beginning.

 

I tried almost every drug that would supposedly help with sleep including mirtazapine.  All Rx drugs are a dead end road as tolerance will eventually be reached and then the dose will need to be increased.  Even then there is a point where the dose would get too high and be unsafe.  All Rx drugs have side effects too.  Your best bet is to take nothing.  The sooner you get off of all drugs, the sooner you will be on the road to recovery.  It was only after I decided that you shouldn't be taking an Rx drug to sleep with, that I began to heal.  Your brain will learn how to sleep on it's own without any drugs.  It may take a lot of time, but what other choice do you have?  The world of drugs is an endless cycle of withdrawal and the related symptoms.

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I am using 7.5 Mirtazapine off and on and it works most times this way but there seems to be always a price to pay. In my case it is worsened depression and hangover feeling so I keep trying NOT to use it.  Sometimes it doesn't even work and I feel even worse.  It feels to me like it delays healing but IDK.  I searched the forum for opinions on this and it varies between "don't do it", "can't tolerate it" and "you gotta do what you gotta do".  If you absolutely can't sleep enough to function its very hard to hold off on using sleep aids, I know.  I went 3 days straight without any sleep and ended in the ER and got Trazadone which was horrible for me.
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Thanks for the feedback. The goal of being medication free seems like a dream. One that I desperately want but am not even close yet.

Re the Remeron: I spose I am looking for something that will ease the pain and help the sleep issue (which for me is a big thing).

I have read some old posts and for some people it seemed to help, while for others it didn't so it's a bit of a trick.

When I was previously down to about 1.25mg and trying nights without things became really tough & I had terribly low moods which was all linked to anxiety. I know I now need to get back down and lower to 0.5mg etc... Out of interest is it a bad idea to try nights without the diazapam during the taper eg will it affect the slow steady taper down we are supposed to achieve?

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  • 4 weeks later...

The thing with remron for sleep is that it works best in very low doses. I take a 15 mg and divide it in 3rd and it works well. I never it take it more than once a week because I don’t want to build tolerance - so it will work if I am desperate for sleep

My experience w it

Dr told me if I took the 15 mg dose I “ would be camped out in front of the refrigerator”

a weight gainer

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Remeron is tricky. I started taking it right about the time I reinstated benzos but was far from stabilized and not sleeping well. Yes, it does help some with sleep, but there are caveats.. even at a low dose (I never took more than 3.75mg).

 

-Even at that low dose, it will drastically increase your appetite. This might be good for some, and it was partially what I wanted b/c I had completely lost my appetite. But it got out of control pretty quickly. It literally turns food into crack (especially junk food and carbs).

 

-It gives you very bizarre, vivid and intense dreams. But not necessarily nightmares. This can be good or bad. I don't know how much of it's my brain stabilizing from the benzo reinstatement, healing from years of tramadol use/discontinuation, or just the remeron, but my dreams are very intense. Like surprisingly emotional and often times very nostalgic. This can be a good or bad thing. It's like my subconscious goes into hyper-drive while I'm asleep, and is screaming at me to address all of the issues I must be repressing in my conscious life. I have feelings in my dreams that I simply do not have in regular waking life. I like to think of it as healing but who knows.

 

-It may just be me, and my messed up nervous system from years of psychotropic drugs, but for the first few weeks it gave me some bizarre neurological symptoms that are a bit hard to even describe. The best way I can try to explain it is that I just felt kind of icky for a couple of hours the next day. That subsided around the time I started tapering.

 

-Even at such a low dose, remeron can be pretty tough to come off of. Not as bad as benzos or tramadol based on my own experience, but no walk in the park either. I've currently tapered down to 1.7mg and lately I've realized that I need to slow down for a bit, mainly so I can try and assess what is causing what. If I go much faster, I get depressed. More like a panicky type of depression. No fun.

 

All in all, I don't necessarily regret taking remeron. Just wish I would have used the lowest dose possible, tried to taper down quicker earlier on, or maybe just used it as needed. I used it for about a month before I started tapering. But.. if you're not getting any sleep, it might be worth giving a shot if nothing else is working. Just weigh out the potential pros and cons, and realize that it doesn't come without it's own price to pay. Honestly, I think I'd personally try natural remedies, or stuff like melatonin, tryptophan, benadryl, or even trazadone before going the remeron route.

 

And to answer your question about skipping doses of diazepam. Don't do it. That might be a valid way of getting off of something like opiates, but with benzos, that's a good way to cause kindling, and a big part of what got me into this mess in the first place. Try to keep your levels as even as possible.

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I was wondering whether anyone has taken Remeron (Mirtazapine ) during withdrawal and whether it helped at all with sleep? I'm currently on Valdoxan and Trazodone, can't say whether they help as still tapering the Diazapam.

 

Insomnia is where it all started for me. Feel like I'm going full circle back to beginning.

 

Mirt is good for sleep. Valdoxan is disastrous for the liver. You should have your liver function monitored. Here’s an article. I wonder if your pdoc told you about this. Mine did. I didn’t even try Valdoxan. My liver is on its last legs already.

 

If you think about tapering either of the ADs for sleep. You consult with your pdoc. Then best taper at a 10% rate per month. Only one psych med should be tapered at a time.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I didn't realise there had been more feedback and comments to my Remeron question from January and then I saw these posts  :) So thanks first to Cliffdweller, Pharmguy and Estee.  Ps Estee I like your quotes.

 

Since my original post I've more or less come to the thinking that I should just stick with what I'm already on and not request a change to Remeron.  And what Im already on is optimal (which i read as quite a lot) according to my pdoc and even there I'd like to reduce if and when I can. Yes Estee I have heard about the potential liver issues with Valdoxan and it does bother me as I'm on 50 mg per night and 25mg is the standard dose so I'm going to ask for a liver function test.

 

Noted Pharmguy about not trying nights without the valium, rather just the slow and steady taper. Slowly slowly wins the race hopefully for all of us. at present I'm sleeping ok (of course that could change) but for now I won't rock the boat.

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[57...]
I started taking 7.5 mg. of Remeron 4 years ago, it worked wonders for sleep.  Now it does absolutely nothing for my sleep and it's hard to withdraw from.
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I started taking 7.5 mg. of Remeron 4 years ago, it worked wonders for sleep.  Now it does absolutely nothing for my sleep and it's hard to withdraw from.

 

Yeah, it probably makes sense to taper those antihistamine psych meds over time. Or to take them occasionally. Remeron is not a psych med to be taken from time to time, though.

 

The problem here is that either antihistamine sleep aids or benzos or supplements for sleep. Pdocs prescribe ADs more and more often as they believe insomnia is caused by insufficient serotonin levels. If someone suffered from insomnia before benzos.

 

Some ppl benefit from Trazodone. You may ask your pdoc about it. It’s a different AD for sleep. Sinequan is another antihistamine TCA. Maybe a good sleep aid if one tolerates the sxs.

 

I guess only Vistaril or Phenergan can be taken from time to time. May cause weight gain and depression. Seroquel has to be taken each night. Everything on the list causes weight gain actually. Don’t know about Traz.

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I didn't realise there had been more feedback and comments to my Remeron question from January and then I saw these posts  :) So thanks first to Cliffdweller, Pharmguy and Estee.  Ps Estee I like your quotes.

 

Since my original post I've more or less come to the thinking that I should just stick with what I'm already on and not request a change to Remeron.  And what Im already on is optimal (which i read as quite a lot) according to my pdoc and even there I'd like to reduce if and when I can. Yes Estee I have heard about the potential liver issues with Valdoxan and it does bother me as I'm on 50 mg per night and 25mg is the standard dose so I'm going to ask for a liver function test.

 

Noted Pharmguy about not trying nights without the valium, rather just the slow and steady taper. Slowly slowly wins the race hopefully for all of us. at present I'm sleeping ok (of course that could change) but for now I won't rock the boat.

 

Yeah, do the liver enzymes test ASAP. Glad you like the quotes, Bronte beach :)

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  • 6 months later...
Hey guys, please be careful with the remeron. I took a crumb for sleep for about a year and fluctuated  low doses and then ended up having a adverse reaction and had to stop taking it. I went into severe remeron withdrawal (insomnia, terror, dysautonomia, jerks, parasthesia) which is why I’m went on Klonopin and am now tapering. I don’t want to scare anyone but there is a website called aurvivingantidepressants and I believe a thread on here about discontinuing remeron. Just be careful.
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And I've had wonderful luck with Remeron, couldn't have done this without it... counterintuitively the LOWER the dose the more sedating it is...

i take about 3.75mg and will sometimes take another 1mg in the night...

SS

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And I've had wonderful luck with Remeron, couldn't have done this without it... counterintuitively the LOWER the dose the more sedating it is...

i take about 3.75mg and will sometimes take another 1mg in the night...

SS

 

That’s great SufferingSixty!  It’s amazing for sleep at the low doses. When I had the adverse reaction I had been going up and down in low doses (3.75-15mg). I attribute the reaction to destabilizing everything by not being on a consistent dose. I took it and 30 minutes later went to the ER with a HR of 130, palps, shivering, tremors, and extreme panic. Craziest thing. I had also taken melatonin and tryptophan.

 

Two weeks later I took unisom and the exact same thing happened. Interestingly, unisom is an antihistamine and remeron at 3.75 also has more H1-3 activity with little seretonin activation. I guess my histamine receptors were what acted up and are still slightly out of whack.

 

Believe me, I wish I could take it for sleep. I doubt anyone will have an adverse reaction like me but  it’s a tough AD to come off. If it works for you and you know to taper off sensibly then you should be good :)

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And I've had wonderful luck with Remeron, couldn't have done this without it... counterintuitively the LOWER the dose the more sedating it is...

i take about 3.75mg and will sometimes take another 1mg in the night...

SS

 

That’s great SufferingSixty!  It’s amazing for sleep at the low doses. When I had the adverse reaction I had been going up and down in low doses (3.75-15mg). I attribute the reaction to destabilizing everything by not being on a consistent dose. I took it and 30 minutes later went to the ER with a HR of 130, palps, shivering, tremors, and extreme panic. Craziest thing. I had also taken melatonin and tryptophan.

 

Two weeks later I took unisom and the exact same thing happened. Interestingly, unisom is an antihistamine and remeron at 3.75 also has more H1-3 activity with little seretonin activation. I guess my histamine receptors were what acted up and are still slightly out of whack.

 

Believe me, I wish I could take it for sleep. I doubt anyone will have an adverse reaction like me but  it’s a tough AD to come off. If it works for you and you know to taper off sensibly then you should be good :)

 

Yes it works, and if I need to take it for along time I don't mind.  I will never be held hostage by insomnia again if i have anything that can help with that.  Too too many years wasted...

I know that for many being off all meds is the goal and I support that.  For me being off benzos is the goal, and sleeping..... so we'll see how it all works out.

I'm very sorry to hear what a rough time you've had with antihistamines!  I do hope that you are sleeping and that the taper is going well.

:smitten:

SS

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I've been on Mirtazipine for over 2 years and it helps with my sleep, that's about it. I was on 30mg daily but found this too sedating so I cut down to 15mg with no issues. I'm tapering off of Valium and am really struggling with depression at the moment.
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And I've had wonderful luck with Remeron, couldn't have done this without it... counterintuitively the LOWER the dose the more sedating it is...

i take about 3.75mg and will sometimes take another 1mg in the night...

SS

 

That’s great SufferingSixty!  It’s amazing for sleep at the low doses. When I had the adverse reaction I had been going up and down in low doses (3.75-15mg). I attribute the reaction to destabilizing everything by not being on a consistent dose. I took it and 30 minutes later went to the ER with a HR of 130, palps, shivering, tremors, and extreme panic. Craziest thing. I had also taken melatonin and tryptophan.

 

Two weeks later I took unisom and the exact same thing happened. Interestingly, unisom is an antihistamine and remeron at 3.75 also has more H1-3 activity with little seretonin activation. I guess my histamine receptors were what acted up and are still slightly out of whack.

 

Believe me, I wish I could take it for sleep. I doubt anyone will have an adverse reaction like me but  it’s a tough AD to come off. If it works for you and you know to taper off sensibly then you should be good :)

 

Thanks, SS! I hope the same for you. i'm glad you've found reprieve from insomnia. I sleep between 5-7 hours a night so I'll take it!  Thanks for sounding off in the Pink Elephant TW post too! You're insight was very helpful!

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I actually never had insomnia UNTIL I was on Remeron (I was put on Remeron for anxiety). It caused crazy restless legs (which I never had before Remeron either), crazy dreams, bad hangover, I started to become depressed on it, DP/DR hit me, I started having food sensitivities. Now, some of it might have been from Klonopin, but most of it went away after I CT'd off of Remeron (stupid idea, 2.5 months of horrific withdrawal) and was done with withdrawal.
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  • 3 weeks later...
I was put on Remeron in Jan because surges were waking me up at night into a panic attack. I really regret it. I tried to get off it after 2 months due to a 30lb weight gain but I couldn’t handle the withdrawal so I microtapered across 5 months. Finally off it as of July. Lost all the weight too.
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I was put on Remeron in Jan because surges were waking me up at night into a panic attack. I really regret it. I tried to get off it after 2 months due to a 30lb weight gain but I couldn’t handle the withdrawal so I microtapered across 5 months. Finally off it as of July. Lost all the weight too.

Did it help with the panic?

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I’m on 7.5 for about 6 weeks. It helped immediately. I was so dizzy I couldn’t get around the house before I started it. I’ve now gone down about 30% of my klonopin since beginning of August. I hear it’s hard to get off of but I don’t think I could have done without it and if I have to stay on it for a while so be it.

 

Hopefully it won’t konk out on me because I tapered off Prozac before klonopin and was in a bad state while trying to taper but couldn’t get back on any of my old stand by ad’s without symptoms increasing. This was the only one I was able to tolerate.

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Remeron can be a nasty drug to w/d from for those that are sensitive. I've been on 3.75 for  2years and have started tapering and for me, it's much worse than the benzo to taper. My compound pharmacist said that he doesn't understand why this crud is still on the market as it hits more receptors than any other med and it has a very problematic w/d profile.  It made my benzo taper brutal too but I kept blaming the benzo not realizing that most of the sxs were from Remeron. Be careful with this med, it's nasty and tricky to taper off.

 

Blue

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