Hi again everyone ...
At the start of this month, I had to come off very-low-dose Mirtazapine after just a week. Before that, I'd just taken a low dose once a week or (later) once every few days (just from the start of my taper onwards), but my epilepsy reacted against it and gave me mini-seizures that stopped as soon as I stopped the Mirtazapine. I'm not out of the woods yet though...
Going by the '80/20' principle as I understand it, I'm now halfway through my benzo taper, having started in early May at a low-ish (20mg.) dose of the benzo, Clobazam (equivalent to 10mg. of Diazepam), and then tapered to 4mg. - very slowly at first (due to epilepsy-related 'hiccoughs') and then
slightly faster.
I carried on tapering after I stopped the Mirtazapine, but have had some muscle problems since that led me to wonder if anyone else has had similar experiences with an early withdrawal from Mirt: A week after the c/t, I experienced what I guess were some delayed Mirtazapine withdrawal symptoms (wriggling sensations in my calf muscles); these vanished after a couple of nights but came back with complications after another week: I was diagnosed with calf inflammation following a walk that was pretty short and easy for me (I'm also a cyclist and like to run sometimes); the strain seemed to start with muscle tension and then a couple of spasms (along with a lot of discomfort) when I went to bed at the end of the day. Due to a foot deformity, I've always been prone to calf problems, but I'm also aware that muscle tension and spasms are benzo withdrawal symptoms, and that I've already gone one step beyond this
only halfway through the taper.
I'm not experiencing any other obvious withdrawal symptoms, but I get the impression that any withdrawal symptoms you experience *while you are still slow-tapering from a benzo* will probably become near-unbearable during acute withdrawal. I'm just unsure as to whether Mirtazapine might be involved - The impression I get from this support group's experience is very much that withdrawing Mirtazapine seems to aggravate or bring on withdrawal symptoms of the benzodiazepine, peaking maybe a couple of weeks after the change in Mirtazapine dose. I guess I'm lucky to get it all out of the way so soon; just wondering if and when I'[...] stand some chance of finishing the benzo taper (even if I have to slow right down again) without bringing on months of excruciating agony - ending with both my legs having to be rebuilt or amputated from the waist
All advice appreciated as always