So very anxious

[ElizabethJane]

I have been off mirtazapine for a week. In the last few days I have experienced quite bad anxiety. I'm not sure whether I am strong enough to cope with this. It would be easy to go back on the pills. I have some valium but during the latest anxiety attack I didn't think to take them. My sleeping is becoming more erratic. My husband goes away this week to Brussels on business and my son is also away on a school trip. I will be taking a sleeping tablets to cope with this. If my phone my psychiatrist it will be more pills. Any suggestions of support or tactics will be gratefully received. If I can't cope I'll be back on the pills.

[spotty socks]

I used to be on zispin for a few years, i have now come off duloxetine and am in between meds. So i guess we are in the same boat. I am trying hard to keep busy and use all my distraction skills. I try to plan out my day and night ahead ( i am an insomniac and have been for years).
I have to say stop in my head and try to imagine putting all my thoughts in a drawer or watching them float on an imaginary cloud . I end up doing this a lot of times in a day but it somehow brings me back to the reality of life and get rid of someof my fears even if it is a short time .
Not sure if any of this will help you , but its what i am doing. I don t really want to go on to new meds but have been medication depentant for a long time.
Take care
Spotty socks

[ElizabethJane]

thanks for your reply. I am already on other meds lithium and prothiaden. If I sit quietly I can sometimes control the panic and anxiety. Sometimes it is just overwhelming. Sometimes I just want to cry because it is so bad and I can't control it. It is very tiring. If I can get through work or a social occasion then I think that it is all worth it. Sometimes I fail. I have a relaxation cd onto my ipod and other techniques similar to the floating cloud that you use. I wish you well to be medication free. I guess that will not be the path for me.

[lostsoul]

Elizabeth Jane

I wish I was med free too :-( you shouldnt find that Mirtazapine increases your anxiety its not a SSRI it has a low side effect profile that does not include increased anxiety. I guess it does make you feel weird after you take it which can make you feel anxious.

I´m considering upping my dose to 45mg from 30mg as its seems to have stopped helping me to get better if anything the panic has come back and I reallly dont want to change meds- I´m not a fan of side effects at all. I´ve just come back from my girlfriends parents we only went there for dinner and I was shaking all the way there and all the way through dinner - couldnt breath properly and I felt unreal - its so frustrating when I had got to the stage where I was able to go out more. The feelings of fear just come from nowhere and it ruins your ability ro enjoy life. So a change in meds for me might me the only option!!

What made you stop taking the Mirtazapine - out of interest did it make you feel like S*@t in the morning because I find that just makes the depression worse if you start the day on a bad foot - typically thats how all my days start

[ElizabethJane]

I'm far from being med free Dave. I'm curently taking lithium and prothiaden. Mirtazapine was used as an add on because I had a relapse last year. Tried to come off them in July but relapsed further so went back on them at 30mg. I have put on a stone and a half and he wants to try something else possibly a low dose of risperidone. I still feel anxious today but no panic attacks. Withdrawal from mirtazapine last time caused major panic and anxiety attacks.

[ElizabethJane]

Have posted on the anxiety forum but I didn't get one reply not one zilch ziltch. Ithink that we are all on our own over this panic and anxiety. I am on my own tonight not panicing but know I wont sleep without the help of a sleeping pill. I have experienced panic anxiety and deepression since I was a teenager. I feel low and sorry for myself tonight. At least I know and recognise my illness and usually there is no room for self pity. Perhaps this is still withdrawal from mirtazapine. If anybody reads this I wish you well with your struggle.

[jo61]

Maybe you're adjusting to being without the sedative in Mirtazapine? These things take time and I'm sure you will get there. Have you tried more natural sleeping stuff, like Nytol? I use that, not the herbal one, the anti-histamine one and find it great if I'm struggling with sleep. I've been on mirtazapine for 7 years and will probably be on it for another while. I'm also on 1200 mg lithium which has made the difference between day and night.

[ElizabethJane]

thanks Jo for your post. I'm feeling a little better this evening and stopped myself sleep walking down the stairs last night. I will take some zopiclone again to try to get a reasonable nights sleep. I am already worrying about half term as we are going away for a few days and I'm not sure what will happen if I panic. I have phoned my psychiatrist who is on holiday but will ring me on Monday. Please no more drugs.

[ElizabethJane]

Have beedn to see my GP today and told her that I was feeling very panicky and anxious. She told me to take half or a quarter of the mirtazapine every other day. I just dont want to take this drug anymore. It is fine whilst you are on it but try coming off it it is horrible horrible horrible. I am experiencing bad panic so I am taking valium so I can cope. I am also taking zopiclone at night. I know these drugs are highly addictive they are crutches. They are for short term use. I really think that I should have been told that I might get severe withdrawals. Anybody reading this should be warned that this type of anti depressant can cause severe withdrawals in some people.

[ElizabethJane]

I'm definitely feeling better today. I have felt anxious but I haven't taken any valium. I was worried about taking it and then driving so I've been taking it once I have got to work. I have had reallly bad feeling of depersonalisation and unreality whilst driving. I'm determined not ot let this thing beat me but it is hard hard hard. Anybody reading this it is not a doddle coming off SSRIS.At least I know I can cope after taking a 2mg tablet of valium it takes the edge off the panic. It is soo bad. You can feel it rising it is like something crawling under my skin. Your brain is telling you all sorts of bad things and you are believing it. Dont believe it it is all lies!!!! My bowels are shot to pieces my IBS is back. Hopefullly it will get better. The panic is subsiding but I will take zopiclone tonight. I dont want to walk (sleep walk)