Mimi65: Can I just stop duloxetine now?

[Blossom71]

Hi @Mimi65

 

I have the internal vibrating when I do a cut. I’m in the 4th week of my last 10% cut and the internal tremors have pretty much gone now.

I have previously got pretty bad hip and back pain when I’ve cut down too much in one go, but I didn’t get it this time with my 10% cut.

I noticed that you have dropped down 33% in the last month. 33% is exactly the same amount of drop that caused me the bad hip and back pain last time.

 

We’re both on different drugs, but the WD symptoms seem to be similar no matter what drugs people are on, so I would put it down to the drop being too large.

[Gigi68]

Hi Mimi, I have had the aches and pains in my back and hips as well as knees and ankles both when I was on 7.5mg of mirt and off and on since I began tapering. Not all at the same time. It usually lasts a few days and I can’t pinpoint it to any one time in my reduction cycle but I think it’s soon after a cut. 
 

I have also had the tremors since I started tapering. Mine are always in my chest area and always at night. Like you, it isn’t painful just extremely odd. I have read about others having them too. I tell myself it’s some receptors healing. Probably not but I like to think it is. 😊 

 

You are really getting down there! Take care.

[Mimi65]

Blossom and gigi

thanks for the responses, always good to know that we’re not alone on this journey. 
Gigi,

looks like you have got a nice pace going there, slow and steady, congrats on that.  I’m a little impatient to get off because I never felt good on mirtazapine, lots of side effects and also I was only on it for a couple months, in fact, I’ve been tapering off longer than I was on it and I don’t really want any more exposure to it than necessary.

[savinggrace]

Hi Mimi,

 

I read your posts because I follow Marie.  It looks like you have cut your mirt by nearly half in a month and a half.  Perhaps holding for now is what you need to do until you start to sleep better again.

 

Can I ask why your doctor "ordered you" off the mirt?  Is he pressuring you to taper this quickly?  I am considering starting a very very slow mirt taper so I am interested in your journey.

 

Grace

[Mimi65]

Hi grace,

doc wanted me off mirtazapine because of something he was seeing on my ekg which he attributed to the mirtazapine, some type of arrthymia

[Mimi65]

I have been at .8 for 10 days now and thought things had finally settled.  2 nights ago I slept well and yesterday had a great, symptom free day.  Last night things went awry again, little to no sleep due to those pesky tremors, vibrations that I get.  Fell asleep about 1030 then awake at 1 because of those prickly pins and needles feel down my back and across my hips and through my chest, they continued the entire night and into this morning,  could not sleep through them at all other than a couple minutes here and there.  I’m hoping they pass soon and I can try to get things to settle down again.

@Gigi68 I believe you mentioned you experience similar, how long do they normally last for you and is there anything you have found to settle them down.

[Gigi68]

Sorry you had such a rough night, Mimi! I do get tremors sometimes but they don’t last longer than a couple of minutes. They are also not as severe as what you describe. I don’t know of anything to do to stop them. I hope they settle soon; you are so close! 

[Mimi65]

I was taking a dose of .8 and had cut one week of them, near the end of that week I cut another week of what I thought was .8.  Three days later I was starting to get withdrawal symptoms again and when I went back and checked I somehow had cut the pills to a dose of .6.  I wasn’t  sure if I should try to hold on there or go back up to .8. I decided to just try to ride it out so I am now on day 8 of a cut to .6 and things are uncomfortable but not terrible.  I’ll hold until I feel stable and then try a dose of .5.  
marie and Gigi, I hope things are going well.

[Gigi68]

How are you doing Mimi?

[Mimi65]

@Gigi68

im doing ok, thanks for asking.  I’ve been on a dose of .5 for a week now.  We are getting ready to leave Saturday for a couple weeks at a beach about an 8 hour drive south which should put us in a little warmer weather.  I plan on holding at the .5 dose until we get back in early March and then maybe try .4.

how are things going for you?  Are you still in Arizona? I see you made it into the 2s, how nice.  I’m feeling more myself with every cut and hope you’re seeing that as well with your reductions.

[Gigi68]

@Mimi65I’m doing well- so happy to be in the 2’s! It’s been 6 days since I dropped and other than some insomnia last night, I haven’t had any WD. Could still happen but the drops seem to be getting easier which I know isn’t typical. Anyway, I’ll enjoy it while it lasts. 
 

I am still in AZ and will be here until mid-May. We own a house here so can stay as long as we like. Don’t miss northern winters at all! 
 

Hope you have a wonderful trip and feel well the whole time!

[Mimi65]

@Gigi68

glad to hear things are mild for you right now, hope that continues.  What’s with the insomnia, I hardly slept at all last night day 7 after drop.  Sleep was a few minutes here and there and that’s it.  Been unable to nap at all since chemo a few years back so I guess it’s going to be a long day.  Hope this settles before we go away.

[Mimi65]

Well we are at the beach, it’s very nice here but things have not settled so far.  I’m still holding at the .5 dose, been two weeks now and I haven’t slept more than two hours a night for the last week.  Hip and back pain has been really bad again too, doesn’t help the sleep.  I’m not sure at this point if all of this is withdrawal or some of it is caused by the mirtazapine.  I guess I will continue to hold at .5 for now and pray for some relief.

[Mimi65]

Been 3 weeks at .5 and most things have settled down but sleep is still pretty bad.  At this point I am not sure if it is the mirtazapine withdrawal or return of the insomnia which caused me to start Mirtazapine.  I guess I will try holding a little longer at this dose and then cut a little more. 

[Gigi68]

Hi Mimi, sorry to hear the sleep has been so bad. I hope you were able to enjoy the beach some. I had three nights of really poor sleep on my latest drop but the past two nights have been good. Hope things improve for you soon.

[Mimi65]

Thanks Gigi.  Beach has been nice.  Sleep has been bad for the past couple weeks, maybe 5 hours interrupted sleep on a good night, most nights 2 or 3 hours.  Not sure if it’s still withdrawal or a return of the insomnia I started taking Mirtazapine for.

[Gigi68]

Hi Mimi, how are you? Sleep getting any better?

[Mimi65]

@Gigi68

sleep is very hit or miss, one night it will be absolutely horrible, 2 hours or less then a few nights where I get about 5 hours interrupted.  I am hoping things improve after I get off entirely. Despite the bad sleep, I feel so much better getting off this drug then I ever felt on it, way too many side effects for me.  I’m down to .3 and it’s getting to be a ridiculously tiny crumb that I am taking, no more than a speck.  May do 1 more cut after this or just try stopping after another week at this dose.

how are you doing, looks like you’ve got a nice rhythm going there for your taper.

[Gigi68]

Yes, I’m plugging slowly away at it. I’ve had a few nights lately of very poor sleep and an increase of nausea in the past month. I’m happy however that the horrible anxiety I had since starting Mirtazapine completely disappeared two months ago. I’m hoping it never comes back! Take care. You’re almost there!

[Mimi65]

I took my last dose of mirtazapine on March 12 and since then have been having very many symptoms.  The worst are the insomnia is crazy, I fall asleep about 10 but wake up an hour later unable to get back to sleep. I must say though that this same insomnia is what my doc put me on mirtazapine for.  Usually about midnight I try something to help get a few more hours of sleep.  I have been alternating between trazodone, baclofen, Benadryl and also using a few drops of sublingual melatonin.  I usually fall back asleep about 1 but always wake up between 3 and 4am with body tremors that I can’t find anything to help with.  My lower spine, across my hips and across my chest just vibrate and tingle and nothing settles them down.  They are present during the day as well but not as bothersome as a night when I’m trying to sleep or at least rest.  I have seen quite a few people on the forum complain of these but I haven’t seen anyone who has given a solution.  Can anyone offer advice.  I really don’t want to go back on mirtazapine because after a couple months  it wasn’t helping so much with sleep anymore and I was getting too many side effects.

[Gigi68]

Hi Mimi, I have been thinking about you and wondered if you are off. Sorry you are having so many issues. When I was on 7.5mg, I had insomnia like you are describing. I couldn’t find anything to help but I was only on it for about 8 weeks before starting to taper. It’s miserable! Fortunately my sleep has improved a lot as I’ve reduced. I’ve read that valerian root, cbd, and tart cherry capsules can help although I haven’t tried any of them since I am still on it. Every night I go to sleep listening to a yoga nidra on YouTube. There are a lot available but I like the ones by Melissa West. I feel it has helped a lot with sleep. Hang in there! Sending you a big hug!

[Mimi65]

So at 3 weeks off things have gotten really bad.  I can barely sleep at all.  Last night there was no sleep at all despite the fact that I went to bed at 930 and took my marijuana gummy, a combo of CBD and THC, and put a few drops of sublingual melatonin under my tongue, was still lying in bed awake at 11 so I tried taking a baclofen and still no sleep, so when still lying there awake at 2 I decided to try one more thing so took a trazodone and still nothing.  I have tried other things as well such as Benadryl, magnesium, cherry capsules and a couple different otc sleep aids, no success with any.  I went on mirtazapine because of insomnia and after trying a few other drugs that did not help at all.  Mirtazapine was the only thing that allowed me to get some sleep, about 6 hours in the beginning but after a few months not so much help with sleep and difficult side effects so decided to try to get off.  I am at my wits end trying to deal with this insomnia.

[Gigi68]

I’m so sorry Mimi. Insomnia is horrible. It makes everything worse. I hope you get some relief soon. ❤️