New to sit & Med so some advise needed

[Maca44]

Hello
Been on Mirt for a few days now after a really bad episode of HA. I had 3 days of no sleep and no food as I was coming off Zopliclone which I have been using for about 6 mths without my GP knowing (Purchased online)and plucked up the courage to see the gp who gave me Mirt 15mg. The first night of taking it I slept the best I have in ages and the next day felt groggy so this was good for me as it calmed my mind down abit. The next night I couldn't sleep at all and that day my HA returned bad then that night I slept like a baby again with another good calm day then another disturbed night, last night, and today I dont feel sedated. Why is this one day ok one day bad going on im confused but understand its early days and guess the Zopliclone might still be in the system.

Any thoughts

Thanks
Mark

[panic_down_under]

Hello

Welcome to No More Panic, Mark :welcome:


I had 3 days of no sleep and no food as I was coming off Zopliclone which I have been using for about 6 mths

Were you taking zopiclone for insomnia, health anxiety, or both?


Why is this one day ok one day bad going on im confused but understand its early days and guess the Zopliclone might still be in the system.

The last of the zopiclone would have been out of your system within 48 hours, but withdrawal can continue for some weeks.

Mirtazapine is primarily a very potent sedating antihistamine which should ease the rebound insomnia from quitting zopiclone and have some affect on health anxiety, however, it can take up to 9 days for plasma levels to stabilize, plus 15mg is only a small dose. It might be enough to soon get the insomnia under control, but you will probably need more for the HA. However, there are, imho, more effective antidepressants for HA, which being part of the OCD spectrum tends to be harder to control than other anxiety disorders.

[Maca44]

Hi and thanks for the welcome.

It started with sleeping then soon I used it to try and control my Anxiety so would take it in the day often. The problem is that my recent episode of anxiety has really frighted me so I was so relived when my first dose of Mirt knocked me out and I was able to sleep then when the next night came and I could not sleep I was confused.

I guess I need to try and relax and just wait for everything to level out I know this drug takes time to work but as you all know, you just want the anxiety to go away.

[panic_down_under]

It started with sleeping then soon I used it to try and control my Anxiety so would take it in the day often.

Zopiclone isn't really an anti anxiety med, but sedation can lower anxiety levels. Antihistamines like mirtazapine mostly ease anxiety by sedation too, not by the usual antidepressant neurogenesis (http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/depression-and-the-birth-and-death-of-brain-cells/99999) mechanism.

[hanshan]

Zopiclone is not marketed as specifically an anti-anxiety drug, but it has a similar pharmacological profile to benzodiazepines. If you have been taking it for six months and abruptly stop, withdrawal symptoms like rebound insomnia and increased anxiety are likely, but they won't persist forever. However, your original anxiety may reappear.

Mirtazapine's effect on sleep appears almost immediately, but its other effects can take two to four weeks to emerge. By then, you should know if it's working for you. Good luck.

[Maca44]

Yes thanks, I think im just being impatient so need to calm down and wait to see if the Mirt settles my mood/anxiety. The withdraw from Zop has been horrendous but for some reason I thought it would be easy so it would explain why my anxiety has been out of control. Can you tell me if Mirt is normally used long term as I am looking ahead and feel long term medication is a good idea.

[hanshan]

Yes, mirtazapine is usually prescribed long-term (several months to indefinitely).