Cold turkey from 7.5mg mirt

[melfish]

I need to stop all supplements and meds that affect cortisol for two weeks prior to taking a four-point saliva test. So that means no more mirtazapine to help me sleep. I have been taking 7.5mg for 12 months and took my last tablet Friday night. First three night were fine, but last night (4th night) I didn't sleep much and have had bad anxiety all day today and no appetite.

Surely such a low non-therapeutic dose - a dose that is basically an antihistamine - should not cause severe withdrawal, correct? Insomnia and loss of appetite I can deal with for a couple of weeks. Does this sound about right, or am I in for a hell ride?

[nomorepanic]

i didn't think you could just stop taking it like that without side-effects.

Did the doctor's just tell you to stop it cold turkey like that?

[melfish]

It's already half a 15mg pill. Therapeutic dose is 30mg. I'm taking it as a sleep aid, not an AD. AD effects don't kick in until much higher dosing. I was hoping someone who was familiar with the drug's pharmaceutical profile could advise

---------- Post added at 17:43 ---------- Previous post was at 17:40 ----------

Think I will just take 50mg Benedryl at bedtime for the antihistamine effects, short-term

[BikerMatt]

Hi Melfish, I've been on Mirtazapine for 4 years, all i can tell you is i've played about with my dosage and never really had any side effects going up or down by 15mg. I know it's not exactly your situation but at 7.5mg i can't see you having withdrawal.

[MyNameIsTerry]

It's a very low dose but some level of withdrawal is still possible, it just might not be as bad as if your body had got used to the higher doses.

But how about reducing for a short time first and seeing what happens? Is there time for that? I take it you will also need to allow enough time for your body to cycle out the remaining drug so has your doctor advised a date not to be taking Mirt from?

[melfish]

No, since I'm taking it for sleep, doctor is completely not interested in it one way or the other. I ordered the cortisol test myself, since the doctor is does not give a crap about my low blood pressure issues and hypothryoidism (but that's another story).

I've stopped in the past a couple of times, from the same dose, and just had a bit of insomnia. But I stupidly googled, and there is forum after forum of people with withdrawal horror stories, and they are titrating down with water solutions in almost homeopathic amounts. It's ridiculous. I think if I'd not read those tales of woe, I may not even have the anxiety today

---------- Post added at 18:44 ---------- Previous post was at 18:43 ----------

Hi Melfish, I've been on Mirtazapine for 4 years, all i can tell you is i've played about with my dosage and never really had any side effects going up or down by 15mg. I know it's not exactly your situation but at 7.5mg i can't see you having withdrawal.

Yes, in the past I've stopped abruptly and had no real issues

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yeah if you search for them you are going to find all the horror stories out there. Strange how we find much less of the stories about it being manageable though so we have a huuuggeeee number of people who never mention their antidepressants.

As ever, part of the battle with these meds is how unique our experiences of them are so it only matters how you feel.

Some people can be very sensitive to meds too. I've gone on and come off meds at doses far higher than some who use liquid solutions. I feel bad for them because it's just another unpleasant battle to get the help they need.

Sleep changes are the most likely I would have thought. You can work on that or try to battle through it for the short time you will be off but I would always be wary of saying "you'll be fine" as I remember how much messing up my sleep upset me.

Do you feel confident about it or are you very worried about it?

[hanshan]

"they are titrating down with water solutions in almost homeopathic amounts ..."

And lots of people believe in homeopathic effects, when it's really just water

But stopping 7.5 mg mirtazapine abruptly could still cause some withdrawal, though hopefully short-lived.

[melfish]

Thanks, guys. I'm not too worried, just having some anxiety, because mirt at that dose is quite sedating. I thought it was just helping me sleep, but apparently it lowers cortisol as well, so I am probably experiencing a rebound effect. I have no appetite either, which sucks because that was the other reason I went on it. I really what to get an accurate results on the adrenal test, though, so I guess I just have to suck it up

---------- Post added at 21:27 ---------- Previous post was at 21:03 ----------

i want to get off it in any case, because it's a very dirty drug and I'm only using it for its antihistaminic effects. It hits A LOT of receptors you don't want it to. There are better options for insomnia ...

[SmilingAlbert]

It may be a low dose, but it's still something... And many would assert that 7.5mg is more helpful for sleep than 15mg, and some might even assert that 3.75mg is even better, which leads me onto:

Maybe get a pill cutter, and chop it into 3.75mg chunks to try and take you down slowly.

The oro-dispersible form of Mirt is a flatter pill, and thus is easier to chop, so that might be worth looking at

Albert