Long term use of mirtazapine dilemma

[oldtime]

Hi Guys n Girls,

I've been on and off mirtazapine for 2 years now.

At 15mg I bumble along with some good days some bad.

At 30mg my anxiety is well under control and bad days are rare.

I have twice tried to come off slowly tapering and had my anxiety return after 6 weeks of being drug free.

So my doctor recommends that I stay of Mirt for at least another year and don't even think about stopping.

I'm 47 could I take mirt for the rest of my life and just forget about it. Has anyone here taken mirt for >5 years?

I guess improved drugs or maybe a permanent cure will become available in the future

Maybe I should be thankful that I have found a good treatment and not worry about it.

[ElizabethJane]

Hi Oldtime I'm afraid that I do not know the answer to your dilemma. I have been taking mirtazapine 45mg for over five years now. I have also taken lithium 1,000mg for fourteen years. I seem my GP regularly every month and psychiatrist when I need to (private) In my case I have tried to withdraw from mirtazapine (failure) and come off it successfully twice. I am more concerned about the damage that the lithium might be doing to my body. I cannot afford to become ill and lose my job and my friends it just isn't going to happen. I have had more therapy over the years than most people but I do appreciate the warning signs of the depression returning. Being on meds doesn't mean that you are immune to depression either. I am guessing that at some point I will have to come off lithium and go onto something else. The same is to be said for mirtazapine although I cannot tolerate duloxetine and seroxat. You could ask for a meds review with your GP or psychiatrist? EJ

[Mark13]

I'm 47 too, and been on mirtazapine since May 2007 (apart from a few weeks here and there trying alternatives).

TBH I'm not coming off it any time soon, it's the only thing that helps me sleep.

[Stormsky]

I took meds 11 yrs, been off them 2 yrs now.
My doc told me long term effects on the body aren't good.

[hanshan]

I've been taking mirtazapine for more than five years. Before that, I suffered from various anxiety-related conditions pretty much all my life (from before the age of ten). I was seeing a psychologist at fifteen and hospitalised for two weeks with a breakdown at sixteen, and then up and down from there on. I say this because now I have a combination of meds that seems to work well for me, I'm happy to stay on them for the rest of my life. It's a decision only you can make. Some people like me are happy to stay on meds forever. Others feel uncomfortable with this.