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Remeron Advice


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I have been on Remeron for about a month and a half.  I never wanted to take it put was in the psych ward and wanted some relief.  It helped with the terror and akathisia at 7.5 and now I am at 15.  I am reading that you can't heal while taking other psych drugs and that remeron has a horrible withdrawal.  I am already holding on for life with severe mental symptoms that the remeron doesn't help.  The only difference I notice is the terror and akathesia has diminished but it makes me eat everything and I think it makes my OCD/compulsions worse.

 

Does anyone have any experience with using remeron short term during acute benzo withdrawal and how did you come off it.  I don't want to take it for much longer.  My mind tortures me about it all day long. 

 

I would appreciate any advice.

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I have been on Remeron for about a month and a half.  I never wanted to take it put was in the psych ward and wanted some relief.  It helped with the terror and akathisia at 7.5 and now I am at 15.  I am reading that you can't heal while taking other psych drugs and that remeron has a horrible withdrawal.  I am already holding on for life with severe mental symptoms that the remeron doesn't help.  The only difference I notice is the terror and akathesia has diminished but it makes me eat everything and I think it makes my OCD/compulsions worse.

 

Does anyone have any experience with using remeron short term during acute benzo withdrawal and how did you come off it.  I don't want to take it for much longer.  My mind tortures me about it all day long. 

 

I would appreciate any advice.

 

Your biosystem cannot return to a natural state of equilibrium as long as you are influencing it with some external agent (psych drugs).  But you CAN recover from the benzo dependency while taking some other psych drug.

 

FYI, I took 22.5-30mg remeron for about 2 1/2 years.  When I stopped, I did a 2 week taper then stopped.  Zero WD sxs.

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I have been on Remeron for about a month and a half.  I never wanted to take it put was in the psych ward and wanted some relief.  It helped with the terror and akathisia at 7.5 and now I am at 15.  I am reading that you can't heal while taking other psych drugs and that remeron has a horrible withdrawal.  I am already holding on for life with severe mental symptoms that the remeron doesn't help.  The only difference I notice is the terror and akathesia has diminished but it makes me eat everything and I think it makes my OCD/compulsions worse.

 

Does anyone have any experience with using remeron short term during acute benzo withdrawal and how did you come off it.  I don't want to take it for much longer.  My mind tortures me about it all day long. 

 

I would appreciate any advice.

 

Your biosystem cannot return to a natural state of equilibrium as long as you are influencing it with some external agent (psych drugs).  But you CAN recover from the benzo dependency while taking some other psych drug.

 

FYI, I took 22.5-30mg remeron for about 2 1/2 years.  When I stopped, I did a 2 week taper then stopped.  Zero WD sxs.

 

Very helpful builder.  Did you gain weight? I tried Remeron early on  in my taper when I wasn't having issues like I am now and it helped with sleep but I gained weight.  I also quit taking it in two weeks without side effects.  I don't want to gain weight but I feel this Clonazepam taper is causing horrible side effects now that are unbearable and I need some help.  Thank you.  :smitten::thumbsup: 

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I have been on Remeron for about a month and a half.  I never wanted to take it put was in the psych ward and wanted some relief.  It helped with the terror and akathisia at 7.5 and now I am at 15.  I am reading that you can't heal while taking other psych drugs and that remeron has a horrible withdrawal.  I am already holding on for life with severe mental symptoms that the remeron doesn't help.  The only difference I notice is the terror and akathesia has diminished but it makes me eat everything and I think it makes my OCD/compulsions worse.

 

Does anyone have any experience with using remeron short term during acute benzo withdrawal and how did you come off it.  I don't want to take it for much longer.  My mind tortures me about it all day long. 

 

I would appreciate any advice.

 

Your biosystem cannot return to a natural state of equilibrium as long as you are influencing it with some external agent (psych drugs).  But you CAN recover from the benzo dependency while taking some other psych drug.

 

FYI, I took 22.5-30mg remeron for about 2 1/2 years.  When I stopped, I did a 2 week taper then stopped.  Zero WD sxs.

 

Very helpful builder.  Did you gain weight? I tried Remeron early on  in my taper when I wasn't having issues like I am now and it helped with sleep but I gained weight.  I also quit taking it in two weeks without side effects.  I don't want to gain weight but I feel this Clonazepam taper is causing horrible side effects now that are unbearable and I need some help.  Thank you.  :smitten::thumbsup:

 

I didn't gain weight, but the increased appetite, especially for sweets and carb was very obvious.  I was aware of this possibility before a started, and made a concerted effort to manage it.

 

Remeron does NOT change your metabolism, it just effects appetite.  And I realize some folks have more difficulty dealing with that.

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Hey Builder, if I’m taking Remeron to help with some of the symptoms of withdrawal how will I know when to come off of it after I come off K?
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I have been on Remeron for about a month and a half.  I never wanted to take it put was in the psych ward and wanted some relief.  It helped with the terror and akathisia at 7.5 and now I am at 15.  I am reading that you can't heal while taking other psych drugs and that remeron has a horrible withdrawal.  I am already holding on for life with severe mental symptoms that the remeron doesn't help.  The only difference I notice is the terror and akathesia has diminished but it makes me eat everything and I think it makes my OCD/compulsions worse.

 

Does anyone have any experience with using remeron short term during acute benzo withdrawal and how did you come off it.  I don't want to take it for much longer.  My mind tortures me about it all day long. 

 

I would appreciate any advice.

 

Your biosystem cannot return to a natural state of equilibrium as long as you are influencing it with some external agent (psych drugs).  But you CAN recover from the benzo dependency while taking some other psych drug.

 

FYI, I took 22.5-30mg remeron for about 2 1/2 years.  When I stopped, I did a 2 week taper then stopped.  Zero WD sxs.

 

Very helpful builder.  Did you gain weight? I tried Remeron early on  in my taper when I wasn't having issues like I am now and it helped with sleep but I gained weight.  I also quit taking it in two weeks without side effects.  I don't want to gain weight but I feel this Clonazepam taper is causing horrible side effects now that are unbearable and I need some help.  Thank you.  :smitten::thumbsup:

 

I didn't gain weight, but the increased appetite, especially for sweets and carb was very obvious.  I was aware of this possibility before a started, and made a concerted effort to manage it.

 

Remeron does NOT change your metabolism, it just effects appetite.  And I realize some folks have more difficulty dealing with that.

 

Once again.... extremely helpful Builder.  I am almost done (thanks to you) as you have helped me so very much through the last few years.  I just need to get through the next four months and this isn't easy right now.  My doc asked me if I wanted to go back on Remeron for a few months and I think I'm going to try it again and then taper after the Clonazepam.  :smitten::thumbsup:

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Builder

 

I am down to .56mgs of Valium as of today , DMLT with milk

 

I have struggled every inch of the way with symptoms from just 4mgs , I was not stable ever on this drug, and been tapering since last October to remove  3.5mgs of Valium and just the last bit to go, I would love to do it without anything else in my system , I take nothing at all , not even a supplement 

 

I had no real choice but to  get off a drug that was not helping me after the first week or so .  I do not know the reason but I do remember I tried the maximum prescribed at my age which was 6mgs a couple of times before I started tapering down the first time, and it made me very sick dry heaving,

 

I am struggling so much with daily fear which is unrelenting and need to complete this taper now,

 

If you were me in this positision  would you consider  a low dose of mirtazapine to help, I cannot take an SSRI  since tapering Valium, massively over stimulating so I am at a loss to find a way off,

 

I really cannot stay stuck on this drug.  I haven't ever  had a stable place so am wondering  mirtazapine might help with this last part, 

 

I need some sleep and an appetite, but I also need the fear to go down ,  I feel so stuck , I can't go back as the Valium made me really ill, and need to get off somehow.

 

Jen 

 

 

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I need some sleep and an appetite, but I also need the fear to go down ,  I feel so stuck , I can't go back as the Valium made me really ill, and need to get off somehow.

 

Jen

 

Its a near certainty that Remeron will improve your sleep and stimulate your appetite.  And probably will NOT have the stimulatory effect that an SSRI would have.

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Thank you Builder,  I was thinking  just a quarter of a tablet to get a night's sleep if I can for now, and see how I go , , 

 

My journey has not been a good one , However I have been tapering for so long and in very poor health now compared to when prescribed this, My taper has been snail slow and still it's been bad as I had no stable dose, I became ill very quickly and think my slow taper may have been a hinderance, with hindsight 

 

My only choice is off , at this point, I am reluctant to add in anything extra  but a night's rest is greatly needed ,

 

 

Jen

 

 

 

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Builder

 

I am down to .56mgs of Valium as of today , DMLT with milk

 

I have struggled every inch of the way with symptoms from just 4mgs , I was not stable ever on this drug, and been tapering since last October to remove  3.5mgs of Valium and just the last bit to go, I would love to do it without anything else in my system , I take nothing at all , not even a supplement 

 

I had no real choice but to  get off a drug that was not helping me after the first week or so .  I do not know the reason but I do remember I tried the maximum prescribed at my age which was 6mgs a couple of times before I started tapering down the first time, and it made me very sick dry heaving,

 

I am struggling so much with daily fear which is unrelenting and need to complete this taper now,

 

If you were me in this positision  would you consider  a low dose of mirtazapine to help, I cannot take an SSRI  since tapering Valium, massively over stimulating so I am at a loss to find a way off,

 

I really cannot stay stuck on this drug.  I haven't ever  had a stable place so am wondering  mirtazapine might help with this last part, 

 

I need some sleep and an appetite, but I also need the fear to go down ,  I feel so stuck , I can't go back as the Valium made me really ill, and need to get off somehow.

 

Jen

 

I am so sorry you are struggling but wanted you to know that I understand and you are not alone. I am struggling like you... became very sick taking Clonazepam but the last part of this taper has made me feel like I'm dying sometimes. It's awful.  I have Remeron sitting on the counter right now and haven't taken any yet.  I'm scared... something the taper has done to me. I fear everything and my thoughts are intrusive. Let me know what the results are if you start Remeron and I will let you know if I decide to take mine.  I know we will get through this.... I just have to believe that!  :thumbsup:

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Thank you Builder,  I was thinking  just a quarter of a tablet to get a night's sleep if I can for now, and see how I go , , 

 

My journey has not been a good one , However I have been tapering for so long and in very poor health now compared to when prescribed this, My taper has been snail slow and still it's been bad as I had no stable dose, I became ill very quickly and think my slow taper may have been a hinderance, with hindsight 

 

My only choice is off , at this point, I am reluctant to add in anything extra  but a night's rest is greatly needed ,

 

 

Jen

 

Look what I just found... hoping it is true! 💙

 

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/18581012/

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Don't take Remeron! I missed my dose last night and my symptoms are horrendous today.

 

We understand people will have different experiences with medications but remind our members to phrase advice in terms of ‘in my experience’ or ‘if I were you’ rather than do’s or don’ts.

Thank you,

:smitten:

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Don't take Remeron! I missed my dose last night and my symptoms are horrendous today.

 

So you basically did a "cold turkey" off another drug even if it was an accident? Of course you aren't going to feel good.  Even if you quit coffee cold turkey it causes horrible symptoms.  If Remeron doesn't work for you taper off that drug for a couple of weeks.  Everyone is different and maybe it isn't for you.    :-\

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[e9...]

Don't take Remeron! I missed my dose last night and my symptoms are horrendous today.

 

So you basically did a "cold turkey" off another drug even if it was an accident? Of course you aren't going to feel good.  Even if you quit coffee cold turkey it causes horrible symptoms.  If Remeron doesn't work for you taper off that drug for a couple of weeks.  Everyone is different and maybe it isn't for you.    :-\

 

I was only on them for 3.5 weeks so I had no choice but to do a fast taper.  NO doctor or psychiatrist would prescribe me more to taper long term.  I fell into the trap of trying remeron because I read a few stories on here that it helped them.  But if you dig deeper way more people have had trouble with it and it's absolute hell to get off.  It hits like 7 receptors.  You can't just taper of it in a few weeks.  Just offering my advice so you don't get stuck on another drug.  Have you tired benadryl of vistiril for sleep.

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Don't take Remeron! I missed my dose last night and my symptoms are horrendous today.

 

So you basically did a "cold turkey" off another drug even if it was an accident? Of course you aren't going to feel good.  Even if you quit coffee cold turkey it causes horrible symptoms.  If Remeron doesn't work for you taper off that drug for a couple of weeks.  Everyone is different and maybe it isn't for you.    :-\

 

I was only on them for 3.5 weeks so I had no choice but to do a fast taper.  NO doctor or psychiatrist would prescribe me more to taper long term.  I fell into the trap of trying remeron because I read a few stories on here that it helped them.  But if you dig deeper way more people have had trouble with it and it's absolute hell to get off.  It hits like 7 receptors.  You can't just taper of it in a few weeks.  Just offering my advice so you don't get stuck on another drug.  Have you tired benadryl of vistiril for sleep.

 

I was on it in 2017 for four months after my fiancé passed to help me sleep and get through that awful time in my life. It was before my Clonazepam taper began.  The only side effect I had was grogginess and I tapered in two weeks and went back to work. No problems.  Thing is... if I don't find something... if I don't get some sleep I'm not going to be able to work and I'll be homeless. I'm at the end of my taper and I'm going through hell. I cannot function and I need something. I need to sleep as I don't have a husband and I pay my own bills.  Everything is falling apart in my life. I cannot do this without help and I'm just trying... I just need some hope  here.    :-\

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Raquel, have you tried chamomile tea before bed? I had a lot of luck with it and still use it if I have trouble sleeping (lifelong problem with sleep, not benzodiazepine related)

 

I double bag chamomile tea in a small amount of hot water.

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I like Remeron.  Some have some withdrawal issues from it, but as many posted, most do not with a short taper.  You CANNOT go into acute Remeron withdrawal from missing one dose.  It doesn't work that way.  Whatever was going on underneath the Remeron, like if you are in a benzo wd wave, will be revealed if you miss a dose, but that is NOT acute Remeron withdrawal.

 

I agree with everything else everyone else posted about Remeron except one thing, it actually does slow your metabolism in addition to making you crave carbs and fat.  This has been proven, although right now I cannot put my hands on the study.  A group of people ate the exact same calories for weeks.  The remeron group gained weight.  So you actually have to eat fewer calories to maintain your weight on Remeron, and for the first few months, you would kill your won mother for 5000 calories of junk food.  It is like the indicator for "full" is turned off and you will just eat and eat and eat until you get bored of trying to fill a hole that cannot be filled.  I gained 25 pounds.  At least that it how I felt. So it can be hard. After about 6 months, it gets a lot easier.  I lost all the weight I gained.

 

Ramcon1

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Ramcon1 - That's the problem with this whole thing.  I don't know what is causing what anymore.  I know that last night I took my dose and I don't feel like it need to pace and scream all day like I did yesterday.  Is it psychosomatic?  Who knows? 
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I doubt it is psychosomatic, but no one can know that.  My guess, and it is just an educated guess, is right now you are in a wave that is mostly histamine in nature.  One of the most powerful effects of Remeron is its antihistamine (H1 inverse agonist).  So when you take the Remeron, it blocks the histamine of your wave.  And when you do not, you feel it.

 

That is just an educated guess.  The only thing I can tell you for sure is that you do not go into rapid onset acute withdrawal from Remeron when you miss a dose.  It cannot work that way.

 

Ramcon1

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Ramcon1 - I believe the remeron helps with slowing my body down. I think it's definitely the antihistamine properties helping. I had a couple of questions if you don't mind me asking. What do you think could be causing extreme racing thoughts? Also, everything I read, watch, and hear repeats constantly in my head. I've had both these symptoms for nearly a year now with no sign of relief. What causes these symptoms and is there anything out there that can help. I don't want to go back on benzos but loosing hope and pretty desperate.
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failureisnot,

 

Racing thoughts are a classic expression of overactive glutamate reception.

 

The ONLY thing I have found that helps is drastically removing free glutamate and histamine liberating foods from my diet. 

 

I literally eat the same 7 foods every day, with no grains or vegetables yet, except this one all natural cookie I seem to tolerate well, called Joe Joe's by trader joes.  Vanilla, NOT gluten free.

 

I have gone mad with food sensitivities, but it does calm my brain down.  I also only eat once a day at 9:30 at night, after remeron, because the act of eating itself re.leases glutamate and histamine.

 

So forced intermittent fasting eating only beef, pork, potato chips, apples, blueberries, organic died figs, and Joe Joe's, washed down with watered down apple juice with some lite salt and probiotic mixed in.  It is ridiculously restrictive, but it keeps me sane-ish.

 

You might start with just cutting out the major culprits, and everyone has an opinion as to what the worst offenders are so the internet will make you even more crazy.

 

Here are Here are my dirty dozen, and suspicious 3-4:

1. Aspartame/Nutrasweet

2. Thickening gums, like guar, xanthan, carrageen (I do ok with lecithin, even soy lecithin)

3. Tomatoes processed in any way, sauce, paste, stewed

4. Vinegar (this includes Italian dressing and most condiments like ketchup)

5. All citrus fruits and juices, including pineapple

6. Spinach and all dark leafy greens

7. All nuts and seeds

8. All beans and peas, including peanuts

9. Gelatin (the food additive “agar” is a type of gelatin)

10. Aged, sharp cheese (parmesan, cheddar, etc.)

11. Cured meat like bacon and sausage

12. Dried fruits with sulfites, and prunes, apricots, and raisins even if they don’t have sulfites.

 

Those for certain, then these are very individual, as in some do ok, some people find they hurt:

13. Dairy, is a source of glutamate and calcium.  Many find calcium from dairy very stimulating

14. Grains, in order of glutamate

a. Wheat

b. Oats

c. Barley

d. Corn

e. Rice

f. (For example you may find you tolerate corn and rice ok but not wheat and oats)

15. Chocolate also liberates histamine, but many do ok with small amounts

16. Coffee, I drink coffee even though I “feel” it, because the Remeron/mirtazapine I take backs me up, and I need it or I will die of constipation.  I actually do better with coffee than other forms of caffeine like tea or pills, but everyone is different with that one.

 

Hope that helped at all,

 

ramcon1

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[e9...]

Ramcon1 - I actually already avoid everything you listed and have done for about a year now.  I occasionally eat rice and oats but not very often.  I mainly stick with grass-fed meats, sweet/regular potatoes, fruit, and vegetables.  I can't limit my diet any more than I have especially since I am on Remeron and it makes me hungry all the time. 

 

The only thing that I can think of is causing the non-stop racing thoughts and earworms is smoking.  All 3 times I have been in the psych ward this year I have felt the best since this whole shitstorm started.  As soon as I got out and started smoking it all came back full force.  However, I noticed when I started Remeron my OCD like symptoms have gotten worse.  I don't know if that's the case for sure or if it is benzo brain telling me that but I feel a compulsive need to eat, smoke cigarettes, and research about this bullshit all the time.  I have tried to stop smoking a few times over the past year but I would get down to 8 cigs or so and then shoot back up to 30. I wish I never started up again after quitting when I was in the psych ward a month or so ago.  I was feeling a lot better or at least able to handle the mental symptoms. 

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So basically it all comes back to glutamate. Is it possible that people who are predisposed to anxiety and depression have excessive glutamate receptors, or am I oversimplifying? This might also correlate why Lamictal is often successful for treatment resistant depression because it somehow affects glutamate in the brain. From what I remember reading it helps normalize hyperactivity in the brain. Don’t quote me on that but that’s kind of what I remember reading about it.
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Raquel, have you tried chamomile tea before bed? I had a lot of luck with it and still use it if I have trouble sleeping (lifelong problem with sleep, not benzodiazepine related)

 

I double bag chamomile tea in a small amount of hot water.

 

Yes... I actually did that last night. Double bagged the cup.. let it steep for 15 minutes.  Nothing... I could not sleep and the lack of sleep is magnifying my already hellish side effects.  :-[

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