Remeron (Mirtazapine) Withdrawal Support Group

Thanks Dave and Laelani

 

Remember I also have the Effexor to get off though and that is going to be a biggie.  But I'm so glad I am off the Mirt/Rem and just have one A/D in my system.

 

My day hasn't been too bad but I will see how I am tomorrow and the following days now I won't be taking it again.  What will be will be and I no doubt will get through them.

 

Laelani I haven't really read your past threads but I wondered whether the Mirt is helping or hindering?  If it is the latter and your doctor approves, I would probably taper it down alongside the Klonopin and get it over and done with and that would be one less concern for you. 

 

Cheers

Angel xx

Hi everyone!

Angel congrats on getting on Remeron!!

Laelina- You will get to the finish line soon sweetie!

Dave- you rock!

 

I've been o.k.. I'm sooo frustrated though and heres why.. I was told by 2 doctors that taking bioidentical progesterone would help b/c I was low.  Before each visit with 2 different doctors I prayed that the Lord would give them wisdom on making medical decisions on my behalf.  the 1st doctor I wasn't even asking to be put on anything I went to him for the DNA test that would show what meds worked best for me.. then while I was there he said he wanted to run blood tests on me and he did and thats when he said my hormones were not in the ideal ranges.

Then I heard of a doctor from my home town (which is about 45 minutes north of me), I heard that she helped people get off meds in natural ways, like food, etc.  I though cool, I'm going to see her.

Then I went there and she had a ton of blood work done on me, I haven't seen the results yet.. but she looked at my old blood work and asked me tons of questions and she said, you are low on progesterone.. I told her about my tapering off benzos, I told her about the cross tolerance thing and she said she knows all about that, but she says I'm going to give you what God naturally gives you.. you will be fine.

 

I like everyone on benzo was skeptical but I decided well if it's not good I wont take it.  I'll just try it...

I started taking it last Thursday evening.. the 1st day on friday was horrible with bad anxiety (but they said it gets worse before it gets better)  but then things got better.. but I still felt a lingering of anxiety (mainly about taking them) I also felt it was hard talkign with people b/c I felt a little paniky.

Then yesterday I took (1) Omega 3 during the day, that I got from the doctor, and I didn't feel as good.. then last night while I was laying on the couch relaxing I got up quickly and I felt eveything get dizzy and rushing up into my head, etc... I felt very off balance.. I then had to pull it together and get in the car to take my 4 yr old son to his 3rd sleep study.

As I was driving I felt dizzy, etc, then my mom said well maybe your blod pressure is low.. so when I got there I asked to take my blood pressure, which was normal.. (I do want to mention that I did call and leave a message with my doctor to let her know I had a major dizzy spell).

As I lay/sit in the room at the sleep study center I started feeling, hot, and burning in my head.. I felt like adrug addict in need of a drug.. I took my remeron which usually helps me feel better in situations like w/ds but it didn't help. I was debating on whether or not to take the progesterone.. but i did and within 30 minutes I was feeling a little better..

But today I had a lot of appehension about talking to anyone at work, and although I feel a little better right now I am still space and cannot concentrate much.

I have a little anxiety and lingering breathing anxiety.

I again have called the doctors office to let them know I believe I am having a bad reaction to the progesterone.. and it makes me so embarrised to have to call them again.. plus on top of it all yesterday evening I started getting my girl-time.

Ugg..

So do you all think after taking it for 7 days I can just stop taking it or should I take 1/2 tonight and see how I feel tomorrow.. that's why my mom thinks I shoud do.

i know the doctor will think I crazy bc she says yes progesterone hits the same receptor sites but it's not going to give you benzo w/d or cause you any problems.

 

thank you everyone for your thoughts in advance!

 

Hi Coralashley

 

Sorry to hear about your problems with progesterone.

 

I just recently stopped HRT with no repercussions as my doctor ( not the original prescribing doctor) told me the progesterone and oestrogen interacted with the antidepressants and can also cause anxiety and agitation.  I checked online about stopping it dead and there were some who tapered and others who didn't and they were okay so I just stopped it.

 

Hope you feel better soon.

 

Angel xx

Thank you Angel.. maybe that's why I feel this way.. maybe the progesterone and the remeron are not good together.

She wanted to me half the remeron this Friday, which would take me to 2.4mg and then eventually come off of it all together.

Her office hasn't called me back..

Were you taking bioidentical progesterone?  If so how much? I am on 10mg.  Maybe it is having a problem with remeron.

Let me know what you think.. thanks!

Does any one have any advice for when to come off the 2 mg remeron I've been on? I'm 5 months post benzo and doing good, not completely healed tho. I can't tell if its adding to fatigue at this point...

Welcome Butterflyz!!

I would look through this thread and find the UK tapering plan I posted.. it will help you get off the little bit that you are still on. Congrats on doing well at 5months post benzo!

How long were you on a benzo and how long were you on remeron?

 

 

Coralashley. No I wasn't on the bio identical whatsit. I am a lot older than you and was on HRT. I don't know if it definitely causes an interaction. I think we often get strung up about certain drugs an supplements when we are withdrawing and what works for one person may not work for another.

 

Jeez my memory has gone from thes A/Ds. I wanted to tell you something else but can't remember what it was!

 

Oh yes be aware the Reneron has a high poop out rate.  In my case it caused anxiety so that could also be a cause. There are many reasons why it can happen. Try to accept it and not overanalyse and just work on getting off it.

 

Angel xx

Coralashley - Wowie zowie - you've been thru the wringer. I've gotta think that having only been on the progesterone for 7 days, you wouldn't experience withdrawal from it. I'm not certain of course. But it could be aggravating the benzo withdrawal. It's so hard because until we are at a state of being med-free and healed, we will never know our baseline. And if we don't know our baseline levels of anxiety, depression, insomnia, etc., we'll never know if the new stuff we are adding is helping, hindering, or neither. I think Angel is doing the right thing because she was having such a horrifying reaction from the Remeron - so taking another med that is less intensive on her body and then tapering from that seems intuitive - she was in crisis. But for the rest of us, it is probably worth making a valid attempt to smartly taper off everything before adding anything new to our bodies (I don't mean vitamins and minerals, just pharmaceuticals). I have a feeling if you hop off the progesterone and sit tight, your chemistry will right itself. Then you can refocus on the UK plan. I think you were moving in a strong and positive direction. Does this make sense?

 

Welcome Butterflyz  Congratulations on being on such a miniscule amount of Remeron already. What is your intuition telling you? How have you tapered thus far? Have you been dry cutting, or using a liquid prep? Some more info might be useful for us. You are in a good spot if you are hanging in there 5 months post benzo. I barely knew what planet I was on at that point.

 

Angel - keep us in the loop. I like what you said to Coralashley about accepting that something might be hindering her path and moving on. That acceptance is key in so many aspects of withdrawal.

 

Laelani, I am very proud of you. Thank you for checking in today. I was curious on how you were doing.  I hope you won't suffer too bad as you progress. Reach out to us if you need a good word to pull you through. I've got faith in your perseverance and strength.

 

All the best buddies...

 

-Dave

I love u all for all this!!

 

U r right right right dace and angel.

 

I took only 1/2 of the progesterone Capsule tonight. I let it dissolve in water and drank half, that's what my mom told me to do.

I have to work tomorrow so I didn't want to feel too much like crap tomorrow at work.

The crazy thing is after noon today I stated to feel so much better!

I also thought a About a few other things. On Monday I took two strong anti-oxidants, and then started feeling lucky. I didn't take them on Tuesday but I did take one at night and I didn't feel very well. Then on Wednesday I only took 1 omega-3 and again I felt bad..  And thats when my story

Picks up from my last post. Plus I got my girl time yesterday.

So maybe it's not the progesterone, I really wanted to take it (progesterone) and start the uk tapering plan this Friday.

What r ur thoughts?

 

 

Thank you all for the warm welcome! I was on temazepam for 5 weeks, then off for 4 weeks and reinstated diazepam for 2 month taper. 

      I have been on remeron since dec 2012, first at 15mg for a couple weeks then 7.5 , 3.75. Dr talked me into starting back at 15 for a week( during the diazepam taper) and it was bad, so down the doses went again. I've been at about 2mg ( I dry cut) for the whole 5 months. The thing is I don't know what a normal( person not in wd) response to the med is? Makes me sleepy, Doesn't do much for my appetite, can tell a mood boost is happening tho. It might also be making cog function worse?

    If I take it at 9 pm, I wake up tired then about 9-10 am I feel strange till about 3 pm. The day gets better after that, with evening feeling the best. Any ideas?

    My intuition says get rid of it. Will it slow healing to remove or keep it?

   

I'd say go with your intuition.. I would use this tapering plan... I am going to use it to get off of the restof the remeron I am on, i am on 6.5ml (of a 1ml syringe) which equals 4.8mg... I am going to go down by 1.5ml...

 

Since you are only on 2mg.. you would do this for 2 cycles..  (where you see .1ml you put in your amount and then instead of going to nothing, you replace it with 1mg) Does that make sense, if not I'll write it out for you.

 

Week 1, take 0.1ml apart from wednesday when you take nothing

 

 

Week 2, take 0.1ml apart from monday and wednesday \"\"\"

 

 

Week 3, take 0.1ml apart from monday, wednesday and friday \"\"\"

 

 

Week 4, take 0.1ml apart from monday, wednesday, friday and sunday

 

 

Week 5, take 0.1ml apart from monday, tuesday, wednesday, friday and saturday (only take 1ml on thursday and sunday)

 

 

Week 6, take 0.1ml only on thursday.

 

 

week 7 , take nothing!

 

Then you would start this all over again with 1ml...

 

I am starting this tonight for mine.. if I cut mine down 1.5mg every 7 weeks then I will be off of remeron in 3 cyles.

 

This is form of the UK tapering plan I have..  B/c remeron is a nasty little drug and it's harder to get off of for us sensitive to meds, this should help with and not give us such bad w/ds.

 

Let me konw when you are going to start this Butterflyz.

 

Best of luck!

Oh I did want to give you all an update.. my doctor said to stop taking progesterone.. but I decided last night I'd take half the dose and I feel pretty swell today.. my sleep wasn't as good as it has been b/c I took less progesterone.

I was thinking I'm probably going to need help during the remeron w/d and maybe I should stay on a low dose of progesterone for sleep, etc.

What do you all think?

 

Thanks!

Thank you so much coralashley!  So I take my 2 mg every night minus Wednesday for week one, week 2 stays at 2mg but take nothing Monday and wednesday( so one and so forth). Then drop to 1 mg and follow the same steps to zero?

    Do you know why skipping days works? Just curious:) ill let you know how it goes.  Pharmacy is making me some tutti frutti flavor right now, lol

And now I feel like crud.. around noon I started getting a little anxiety and paniky while driving, but I held it together.. this is soo crazy.. it was the opposite for me yesterday..

In the morning that is how I felt and then I felt better after noon.. and today it is the total opposite..

I gues I will have to cut out the progesterone 100% then.. so I may have to wait on the remeron tapering to begin.. This is so crazy to me..

 

Sorry to keep posting but it's good for me b/c I can vent and use this as a journal on how I feel so i can look back!

 

ta-ta- for now!

 

Thank you so much coralashley!  So I take my 2 mg every night minus Wednesday for week one, week 2 stays at 2mg but take nothing Monday and wednesday( so one and so forth). Then drop to 1 mg and follow the same steps to zero?

    Do you know why skipping days works? Just curious:) ill let you know how it goes.  Pharmacy is making me some tutti frutti flavor right now, lol

 

yes and no..

You would take your 2 and then on Wednesday take 1 and then so on and so forth following the tapering plan..

Week 1, take 2 apart from wednesday when you take 1, and then so on and so forth..

 

 

then you would start a new cycle and start with 1 and then on Wednesday go to 0.

Week 1, take 1 apart from wednesday when you take 0, and then so on and so forth..

 

 

Does that make better sense?

 

Thanks,

Michele

Ok I think I got it now! Thank you for your help, my brain feels fried today😳

I understand.. keep us informed on your progress.. when do you plan on starting this?

 

hey butterflyz - yes, please let us know how you make out! keep checking in (i like your icon photo) and it's nice to have you on-board, especially at such a low dose. i think you'll be graduating soon 

 

coralashley, sorry you feel like crud! glad you feel you can vent here tho - definitely part of what all of this is about. be gentle w/ your system. remember, there really is going to be no true sign of how you will ultimately feel until the scripts are eliminated. and you'll get there. so a certain amount of cruddiness is to be expected.  try to keep the chemistry changes as minimal as possible. it'll make it easy to sort what is making you feel what.

 

angel - oh angel? hellllo? how are you today. i know you are now off the remeron, so would like to hear how your day went. hopefully well!

 

laelani - how are you? keep the faith, you are on the right path. check in when you have a chance. strength be yours! 

 

as for me, well - sleep has been kind of off the last few nights. perhaps it is the incremental waking of a toddler and an infant  but no, for real, i have had some sleep issues - which is new for me. logging some hours, but not great. anxiety and depression levels have been higher last few days - especially the anxiety. no apparent reason, that is to say, i've made no changes. so, i'll hang tight @ 6.4mg remeron, 600 to 800mg of magnesium glycinate, 1tsp high quality fish oil, and eating as clean as possible. will keep you all in the loop-de-loop.

 

hey, smile - no seriously, raise the corners of your mouths ever so slightly, scrunch your noses, wiggle your toesies, and give a big old smile to your progress and courage and strength - and your future healed state of being.... soon.

 

-dave

Hi Dave u r sooo strong, u can do this! U r so close to jumping off!

I really suggest moving forward to taper down 1mg using the method I gave butterflyz. I know u will feel less side effects this way!

 

i have quick ? what kind of fish oil r u taking? I used to take it for months with no problems, then once off benzo I got light sensitivity & some anxiety, etc. once I stopped taking it within 3 days I felt

So much better.

I'd cut out the omega 3s for a week and see how u feel.

U should do this test with ur omegas.. Open a capsule up and pour it into an empty styrofoam cup, if its not a certain kind it will eat a hole in the bottom of the cup.

Think of what it does to ur gut! U make most of ur serotonin in ur gut, plus u have gapa sites there as well.

I just bought some from this company, so read about the omega 3s they have.

http://www.neurogeneticsolutions.com/omega3%20supreme-enteric.htm

 

Just replying quckly to Dave as am off to bed now.  Day went ok - just some physical body sensations

the stomach area - hard to describe - as if my body is missing the Mirt which it hasnt had since 2 nights ago, occasional shaky hands but felt more alert than I can remember although I didn't sleep so well last night.  Otherwise it wasn't too bad

 

Have just got back from a street party where I met some fun neighbours and we shared a bottle of wine and didn't think of w/ds once. Feeling fairly good

 

How are you Dave?

 

Dave also u r taking a lot of magnesium and if I take more than 400mg it gives me more anxiety.

Take ur 400 mg magnesium at bedtime only!

 

Sorry just read your update Dave.  I agree with Coralashley that perhaps you can go a bit faster.

 

Nite

Angel xx

Angel, have a lovely evening!

I hope u sleep well! U r doing so well!

Hugs!

thanks everyone 

 

i will tinker w/ the magnesium. i tend to play with that anyway. my fish oil is nordic naturals' ultimate omega. it's been clinical trialed in the treatment of brain injuries. and i don't rev at all from it, but if i don't take it for a few days, i get wicked depressed. i think it does me good. so i'll stick w/ that for now.

 

all right, all right - i'd like to go faster - but may i humbly admit that the UK program scares the piss out of me? not that i think the brits are incapable of developing a good taper plan, but because i'm afraid of the proverbial shit hitting the fan  i've got to think on it a bit more. it's definitely tempting with butterflyz and coralashley about to hop on the train, t lil is already off the remeron, as is angel. my benzo withdrawal was such a hell-on-earth that i think it sort of put me off radical moves. but... but... this slow tapering is for the birds. because not only do i withdrawal, but i also experience the remeron side effects (which i despise).... soooo.... oh boy... what to do...

 

i'll sleep on it.  (if i can sleep!)

 

all my all to all...

 

dave

Coralashley- starting now, I guess I will see how it goes.  I know it will not be comfortable, but I just can't shake the feeling of remeron slowing healing.

 

Dave- I totally understand not wanting to rock the boat after a bad benzo wd.  BUT this won't last as long or be as bad( I hope). I'm sorry your not sleeping well! I have 3 little ones and know how we are always on alert. 

 

    I'll let you all know how it goes! Everyone stay strong and have a great night!