Remeron (Mirtazapine) Withdrawal Support Group

Thanks for your replies, Coralashley and Angel. I will resume my taper tonight, and will hope for the best. I will have to remind myself that this too shall pass. Wish me luck!

Tiger Lily

Wish you luck!  This will pass and you are so close!

 

Angel

Sorry folks. I can't hack this. My w /ds have been horrendous but they are probably underlying Effexor withdrawals which are severe as Mirtazapine ones are not supposedly that bad though bad enough.  I haven't been sleeping or eating either.

 

Saw my doctor today who has said I am in no emotional state to think of getting off and has raised it to 15mg. He said I should get some relief in a few days an if I am not better in a week he will refer me to a psych doc for review.

 

I don't want to spend the whole of my 60's undergoing w/ds and missing out on my family life, grandchildren etc so if I have to be on something for the rest of my life so be it.  Big Pharma has won.

 

I now want to focus on getting better but wish all of you all the best in getting off this drug. I am sure you will succeed.  I may pop back from time to time to check your progress and let you know how I am doing.

 

Angel xx

Angel, you will eventually win this battle too. Do it at your own pace whenever you feel ready. Your body might be still healing from the Effexor w/d. Let time do its trick. Many people here says that they had to wait a while before coming off remeron because their bodies were still sensitized from previous withdrawals, but after a year or so they were able to come off with no problems. That might be your case. I hope you stabilize on 15 mg. Please let us know how you are doing, regardless of your decision to continue on remeron.

Big hugs,

Tiger Lily

Hi Tiger Lilly and Angel!

I'm sorry to hear u don't feel well Angel, but I'm glad u went to the doctor... I pray that this will eliviste ur w/d... How long have u been off Effexor?

I hear it's a nasty drug to come off of..

I took it for a short amount of time while I was in college, long story, but I believe I cold turkeyed it too..back then no one knew the stuff we know today.. I don't remember the experience or anything but my mom says she remembers talking with me and it wasnt good.. But I still managed to finish college with great grades..thank the Lord!

 

Tiger lily, have u been on the site surving antidepressants? U may want to post ur question, etc there... I don't want to give u bad advice...

Why didn't u wait longer after stopping ur benzo before u started tapering off the remeron? I know I hate the weight gain too.

By the way u said the diet out in Spain is helping u loose some weight, please update me to the progress u've made in that area!

 

Blessings!

C

 

Wishing you well Angel.  Sounds like you have gotten through some tough hurdles....wishing you peace, happiness and good health

Thinking of you, Angel. The time element is so key. Please be gentle w/ yourself. You are very strong and you have been valiantly tolerating some very nasty withdrawal symptoms. If you can settle and recalibrate at 15mg, it may actually put you in a BETTER position for a slower taper when all is said and done.

 

Please consider sticking w/ us here to let us know how you are doing w/ the increased dosage. I wish you MUCH relief.

 

Thanks to everyone for your kind support for me too.  Very much appreciated. I am feeling pretty well, but I've got a few things coming up in the near future and have decided to hold @ 6.8mg for the time being. Will let you all know when I am cutting again.

 

My best to EVERYONE - love and blessings and healing be yours. Comfort too. And thanks Maranatha for stopping by and offering your kind support, sister.

 

All the best everyone - hang in there - Angel, please let me reiterate - I am very proud of you for all you have endured.

XX

-Dave

Hello everyone, I hope all is great!

 

So I've been having great sleep and feeling great for the past several days..

 

Then last night i took my .7 of liquid remeron, same time, same routine, etc and my 400mg of magnesium and I didn't sleep well at all.. Acutally I layed down to go to bed at 9:45pm and didn't fall asleep unto 4am.. or something like that. I made sure that I wasn't laying in my bed the whole time, I got up to sit in a reclyner,etc.. just as the dr says to do, etc.. (remove yourself from the bed and sit and read or watch boring t.v and then try to fall asleep, etc)

But I was itching all over...

I found I am allergic to Benadryl and once when I was prego, I took tylenol Pm to help me sleep and I was itching all over..so the dr told me it has benadryl in it to help you sleep and I must be allergic to it.

So I know that Remeron has histamine like Benadryl.. but do they hit the same receptor sites, etc?

 

Anyways, I am not quite sure why I couldn't sleep and why I was soo itching.. I was thinking it might have been from a sunburn I got 2 weekends ago.. but it's had been 8 days since I got the burn.

 

Plus I'm not itching all over today.. i am here and there but not like last night.

 

Hopefully you all can give me some good insight as to what you think might be the culprit!

 

Thank you as always!  Coralashley

Hi Coralashley,

 

I found this:

 

The sedative effect of mirtazapine at low doses is consistent with its high affinity for the histamine-1 receptor. Given that mirtazapine binds more avidly to that site of action than to sites capable of mediating relief from a depressive episode, sedation occurs at doses of mirtazapine below those needed for antidepressant efficacy (i.e., less than 15 mg/day).

 

So what I am wondering, not stating, but wondering is that since the mirt has an affinity for that histamine receptor (and because of that, it helps us sleep), as you've cut the dose, is that site now, with the lack of mirt, overactive? and therefore the itching and sleeplessness is ensuing in the vacuum? That's my best guess. I haven't hit the hardcore sleep issues yet. But I remember the itching.

 

-Dave

How that is awesome Dave!

I know when I started remeron I started out at 1/8 of a 15mg pill and working my way up to 7.5mg.. I am soooo super sensitive to meds!  I didn't get itchy back then.

 

I am hoping that tonight might be better..

 

My mom said that sometime people get alergic to the meds they are on.. but I don't think that is the case.. or at least I hope not. :-)

 

One of the side effects of coming of a bezno can be itchy or crawly skin.. my skin isn't crawling but it is a little itchy..

 

I don't want to up the remeron from .7 to .8 again.. but I will if I have to.. i cut the remeron almost 3 weeks ago or maybe it's almost 4 weeks now..

 

Update: now I have a big rash up and down my right forearm.. I must be having an allergic reaction to something but what? I didn't eat anything out of the ordinary..

Mmmmm could my benzo taper be causing lots of bumps, etc to show up on my arm?

Or maybe the remeron?

 

Like I said for several days I was sleeping as good as the last several days and then last night I only slept for 2 hrs...

 

Thank u, C

Yeah, I slept great last night....

Mmmmmm but I still have those red bumps on my arm, maybe I did have an alergic reaction the other night and thats why I couldn't sleep.

 

I saw those in benzo withdrawal u can get rushes b/c benzos effect nerves, etc..

 

 

Coral, I also get itchy, it's a remeron w/d symptom, don't forget that remeron is a powerful anticholinergic.

 

Dave, it's so good to know that you're doing well. Sometimes I think it's impossible to get off this drug, it's encouraging to hear positive experiences.

 

I'm still having a hard time with insomnia, anxiety and social phobia. Last night was a "good" night because I got five interrupted hours' sleep. I'm waking constantly to pee even though I don't have much too pee. I know it's a nervous reaction. I'm getting a massage and going to yoga tonight, and I'm considering taking a rescue dose of valium. I need a good night.

I take it back: I won't take the rescue dose of Valium just yet. I can survive with 4-5 hours. I need to remind myself that I should trust my own body's ability to sleep. Because eventually I will sleep. Dr Ashton said that the body has powerful mechanisms to make us sleep: I should let them do their work. I wrote what I wrote out of despair: I'm supposed to be enjoying my holidays and I'm struggling with this. Anxiety is pretty bad in the mornings, but it tends to ease up as the day goes by. Frequent urination is very unerving too, but i will overcome it.

T. Lil,

 

I LOVE how you caught yourself here 

 

I take it back: I won't take the rescue dose of Valium just yet. I can survive with 4-5 hours. I need to remind myself that I should trust my own body's ability to sleep. Because eventually I will sleep. Dr Ashton said that the body has powerful mechanisms to make us sleep: I should let them do their work.

 

Proud of you!!!!

 

And I suffer, in cycles, the frequent peeing too. Especially unfortunate when trying to sleep and travel - both of which you are undertaking.

 

Seriously - very proud that you caught yourself on this one. Desperation tries to over-power, but you just NAILED it to the wall!  Your body wants to rescue itself.

 

-Dave

Great job for catching ur self Tigee Lily!

The last thing u want is for nasty benzo w/ds acting up with the remeron w/ds.

Where r u at with ur weight loss?

Where r u at with ur dosage on remeron?

 

We r here for u girly!

I get social phobia too, but I am in sales so that can't happen, ugg.

I know when i came off the remeron it flaired up, nasty side effect of the drug!

 

Be strong and oh could courage...

 

And way to go Dave for ur positivity! U r a strong man! Keep up the great work!

 

Thanks Coralashley... It's good to have you here. I think we are collectively helping one another - so important! 

 

I just want to let everyone know that I'll be away from a computer, and hence the site, for about a week beginning Friday (tomorrow) morning (East Coast U.S. time). I should be back Monday 6/17.

 

I've been feeling pretty well - still holding my 6.8mg. I've felt some symptoms in the last few days. Nothing horrible, but annoying nonetheless.  Could it really be slight repercussions from cutting just .2mg??? Timing would be right - days 9 thru 12 of the cut... Anyway, it will pass - I know. Terrible to think that even the micro taper will be not without its assaults... 

 

OK - well, for at least the next 24 hours, I'll pop in and out here to see you all and be here.

 

Healing to you all, blessings and love...

 

xxoo

Dave

Oh how we will miss you Dave!!!!!!!!!!  I wish you safe traveling!!

If you can pop in while you r away we will be here stearing the remeron withdrawal ship :-)

 

Quick set of questions Dave, when did you start Remeron?

How long were you off the benzo before you started tapering?

what withdrawal effects do you get from the remeron when you've tried to cut/stop the remeron?

 

I have read that people find it easier to give themselves time to heal from the benzo before they start tapering the remeron.. like 8-12 months.. they say the sleep, etc from the remeron helps the healing process which makes sense.  They also say it's easier to come off of that way too.

 

The 1st time I stopped remeron I had just found out I was prego, which my hubby and I weren't planning.  But non-the-less I found out and my psych doctor told me I could stop the remeron 100% at 7.5mg.. so i did and the 2mg of valium I was on..

For the 1st few days I felt great!  I was like wow I feel awesome and he was right I could just stop.. the sleeping wasn't good but I felt good.. then by the 13th day I was getting paniky feeling and you could see I was pale and you could see in my eyes I wasn't 100%..

So to make a long story short I had a miscarriage and was having bad cramps so I reinstated the valium and started back on the remeron at 1/8 of a 15mg pill.  (I'm o.k about the miscarriage, God knows best, and I already have 2 beautiful wonderful little ones, so 1 more would have been a lot for me right now trying to come off these 2 meds)

So I caved in and took the meds, ugg.. it took me about a month or so to level out and I was back taking 7.5mg of remeron.  Then I tried to stop the remeron 2 other times I've slowly weened myself off of the remeron (but not as slow as you all have state you are tappering) and I can't remember those experiences quite as well. 

But I know my sleep wasn't very good, I  felt paniky at times while driving on the major highways and speaking in front of people, lots of sweating under my arms and behind my legs, my breathing freaks me out b/c sometimes I'll just stop and it's like I feel I have to help/force myself to breath, I was OCD about not sleeping, I has reservations about going out in the community/social phobia, I pee a lot, I had bathroon/stomache issues, I didn't have a big appitite, dry eyes, itching and I'm sure there are more but that's what I can remember.

 

 

Just wanted to hear from you on this and anyone else that would like to chim in! 

 

Thank you,

Coralashley

Coralashley,

 

Thank you! And absolutely, should I find myself w/ an opportunity to pop in on my Remeron w/d buds, you KNOW I'll be here. 

 

So to answer your questions:

 

**I started Remeron in 1997 - yup, you read that right. I was anywhere between 3.75 and 7.5mg that entire time. BUT, get this. In early 2012, I wanted to stop Remeron. READ THIS ALL - My Dr. told me to quit it, cold turkey. Too low a dose to cause a problem she said. Well, it did cause a problem. And something I wonder if you are all aware of - Remeron actually slows the rate at which benzos are metabolized. SOOOOO, when I quit the Remeron in early 2012 - WHAM - I immediately hit tolerance w/ the benzos and the whole shitshow began. I was off Remeron from 1/2012 to 7/2012. But when I was in acute benzo withdrawal and they wanted to put me on anything and everything under the sun, I politely told them to screw that and give me Remeron. But they shot me too high - 7.5 mg my first night in the hospital, 15 mg my second night, 30 mg my third. They doubled it every night.

 

**I began tapering the Remeron at about month 4. But I did a lot of cutting and updosing because I wasn't ready. I didn't begin cutting for keeps until around month 6 when acute benzo withdrawal was ending.

 

**My withdrawal effects are in no particular order - increased anxiety AND depression, itchiness, nausea, stomach cramps, lack of appetite, decreased or increased libido, DIZZINESS is a huge one for me, muscle twitches, and general feeling of crappiness - like I'm coming down w/ some illness. But these always pass as soon as I stabilize. My anxiety can include panic, social phobia, and trembling. Interestingly, you probably would have no clue anything were amiss if you saw me. But inside, I'm a total wreckage. Again, when I stabilize, this is taken care of. I have NOT had sleep issues yet. And I can't believe it. I hope I don't, but... Well, one day at a time, right?

 

Sorry to hear about your miscarriage, sister Coralashley. Thank you for sharing your story here. I find this kind of thing so useful. You know, I think it lends to a broader understanding. And 5 years from now, when we're all doing our thing - free of these drugs and the withdrawal that is happening to us. some people in our shoes might be able to take much, much, comfort in what we log here.

 

Hang in there everyone. I'll check back in tomorrow before I am off.

 

We're all going to be ok.

 

XX

Dave

Thank you Dave, that is just wanted I asked for!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Thank you for your kind words about the miscarriage.. that was in December of last year...

 

Yes I heard that:  Remeron actually slows the rate at which benzos are metabolized...

 

So once I am at least 3 months off I'll start the slowwwwwwwwwwww remeron taper..

How do you calculate 10% of .7mg.. so my next cut with be .07.. wich wouldn't be .6 but .63 right?

 

Thanks!

Thanks for your support, Coralashley and Dave. Dave, have a wonderful trip, enjoy it! Thanks for sharing your story about the remeron.

Coralashley, I'm so sorry about your miscarriage, and I hope you beat the remeron this time around, you deserve it (we all do). To answer your questions, I'm still on 0.75 mg remeron and my weight has gone up again. I don't try to make sense out of it because I'm eating actually less than last week, and I'm walking lots everyday (which I love), so my weight fluctuations are strange. As  you have mentioned before, it must be some water retention.

 

I was desperate yesterday after yet another terrible night, I was having very dark thoughts, so I went to see a naturopath that a friend of mine, who is a PhD in Physics, recommend me. He told me: "I'm a skeptical person, I don't know how she does it, but it has worked for me". So I went there being a huge mess,  and came out very relaxed, I'm amazed. She gave me a cranial massage and performed acupuncture on me. She said that my CNS is compromised and anxiety is out of hand, but she also said that I don't seem to have other health issues, which is good.

After seeing her, I was able to take an hour nap and felt very refreshed afterwards. Last night sleep wasn't great either (a little less than five hours), but I went to pee only twice, which is surprising and, most importantly, I was calm. It's amazing the calming effect that some people can have in others. I'm taking some homeopathic products she gave me, I don't know if homeopathy is pseudoscience or not, but whatever works.

The naturopath has told me that I shouldn't nap for more than an hour and to force myself to be up during the day even if I feel like I'm passing out, until my body goes back to normal. So basically sleep hasn't improved dramatically, but my attitude has, and attitude is everything. Yesterday I finally felt like my normal self again, happy, calm, and in charge. I understand that I should trust my body and its innate ability to heal, and I should be patient and gentle with myself.

 

Peace and healing,

 

Tiger Lily

 

I'm getting better and better! I wanted to share it because I normally write when I'm in pain. Anxiety is gone and last night I only peed once. I only slept 5.5 hours, but I'm sure that I'll take a nap later. I'm happy!

Love and healing to you all,

Tiger Lily

That is great news Tiger Lily!

How r u doing now?

 

I cut my benzo down again and by Friday I'll be off my benzo 100%! Yeah!

I'm going to wait until all my bezo w/ds are gone before I start to taper off of the remeron. I don't want to make this taper harder than it has to be..

I too hate the weight gain but I'm thankful for the sleep right now!

 

Xoxo

That's wonderful news, coralashley!  I'm so happy for you! Let us know how you do

I'm back to normal, sleeping well and happy. I'm still tired because I had almost 3 sleepless weeks, and I'm a bit nervous about the last 0.75 mg to go, but determined to be done with this drug. 

Great to hear! R u doing anything different?

Do u write in adaily journal to log what u eat and what supplements u take?

This could help u pin point what may upset ur windows.

 

I had a hard day today but I pushed through it and am sooo happy to be home and relaxing! I'm also coming down with a sickness.

I also am 6 days late on my period, so I'm a little worried about that. My hubby and I aren't trying and we really haven't been together much lately with work, the kids, etc. That would be crazy if I got prego again, God would really be working behind the sceenes on that! That would also mess up my tapering plans for remeron,etc. ugg!

 

On another note I hope that I can handle not being on a benzo and that I can naturally handle my social phobia/anxiety!

 

:-)