Carrey Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 Hi there I've been on Mirtz for only 2.5 weeks I want to get off of it what is the best way ? will I be OK. I'm only taking 7.5 mg the whole time Link to comment
Moderator brassmonkey Posted May 5, 2021 Moderator Share Posted May 5, 2021 Hi Carry-- Welcome to SA. I'm so glad you found us. Quitting after only 2 and half weeks shouldn't be a problem. You could just quit CT, but I think a fast taper would probably be a better idea. I would try 3/4 of a tablet for four or five days, then half a tablet for the same time, followed by a quarter of a tablet and then stop taking it. This should give you a fairly smooth exit from the drug, but there will probably be some WD symptoms pop up. These are very powerful drugs and can get their hooks into a person very quickly. Here is an article I wrote about just this situation. https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/23081-are-we-there-yet-how-long-is-withdrawal-going-to-take/?tab=comments#comment-492494 Give that a read and come back here with any questions you may have. 20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013. Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks. The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better. Final Dose 0.016mg. Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017 "It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general." Stephen Hawking Link to comment
Carrey Posted May 5, 2021 Author Share Posted May 5, 2021 30 minutes ago, brassmonkey said: Hi Carry-- Welcome to SA. I'm so glad you found us. Quitting after only 2 and half weeks shouldn't be a problem. You could just quit CT, but I think a fast taper would probably be a better idea. I would try 3/4 of a tablet for four or five days, then half a tablet for the same time, followed by a quarter of a tablet and then stop taking it. This should give you a fairly smooth exit from the drug, but there will probably be some WD symptoms pop up. These are very powerful drugs and can get their hooks into a person very quickly. Here is an article I wrote about just this situation. https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/23081-are-we-there-yet-how-long-is-withdrawal-going-to-take/?tab=comments#comment-492494 Give that a read and come back here with any questions you may have. Thank you so much for your quick response! I read the article which was helpful. And I understand your recommendation on how to taper. However, I'm confused on how I would do this with a 7.5 mg pill. I break the 15 mg in half. I've never taken more than 7.5 mg. Maybe I need to request liquid form ? Im not even sure my doctor would prescribe it for me Bc she would probably say not necessary. Link to comment
Moderator brassmonkey Posted May 5, 2021 Moderator Share Posted May 5, 2021 No need to get mixed up with the liquid. Because it is going to be fast taper after a short period of use there is no need to be really exact on the dose strength. It will be a bit awkward but I would just try breaking the half tablet into quarters and using those. Possible breaking it into thirds would be easier. The whole idea is to work down in dose over a period of several weeks instead of stopping all at once. Just a thought, you could crush the half tablet into a powder and then visually divide it into quarter piles. Sprinkle the powder on some apple sauce or custard and down it goes. 20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013. Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks. The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better. Final Dose 0.016mg. Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017 "It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general." Stephen Hawking Link to comment
Carrey Posted May 5, 2021 Author Share Posted May 5, 2021 25 minutes ago, brassmonkey said: thirds 25 minutes ago, brassmonkey said: No need to get mixed up with the liquid. Because it is going to be fast taper after a short period of use there is no need to be really exact on the dose strength. It will be a bit awkward but I would just try breaking the half tablet into quarters and using those. Possible breaking it into thirds would be easier. The whole idea is to work down in dose over a period of several weeks instead of stopping all at once. Just a thought, you could crush the half tablet into a powder and then visually divide it into quarter piles. Sprinkle the powder on some apple sauce or custard and down it goes. Thank you again!! Sounds like a good plan. If I do a 2 week taper (that should be sufficient, right?) then how exactly should I lessen the dose over two weeks if I do quarters? Week one should I take 3/4 (or 3 piles) then Week two should I take 1/2 (or 2 piles) for like 3 days and then 1/4 (or 1 pile) for 4 days and then just stop ??? do I have the right idea?? Would it be easier and faster (and just as safe) to do thirds instead? Week one 2/3 (2 piles) and Week two 1/3 (1 pile) and then stop?? you are the expert so I'll let you decide . I'm new to the tapering. And I'm terrified Bc I'm a recovering alcoholic (6 mos sober) and my doctor prescribed me Ativan to help with detox. I was on the smallest amount for only approx 5 weeks. My doctor told me I would be fine with no taper. I still tapered but only over a week. I had the worst withdrawals of my life but I realize I was also one one of the strongest benzo's and coming off benzos is like coming off heroin I hear, and I don't anticipate this to be anything near what I went through. But of course you hear stories about AD withdrawal in particular Mirt and so naturally I am scared. However I think being on only 7.5 for less than 3 weeks I'll be ok. Link to comment
Moderator brassmonkey Posted May 6, 2021 Moderator Share Posted May 6, 2021 You're going to be fine, but it is not going to happen right away. No matter how you come off of the Mirt there are going to be some WD symptoms involved and it will take longer than we'd like for them to dissipate. But they will clear up and go away. For some lucky people it happens quite quickly for others it can drag on. Congratulations on the six months sober. Just over six years myself. It takes four days to two weeks for a change in dosage to become steady state in the blood. What we are looking for with a fast taper is to make the next reduction before that gets established, but without causing the WD symptoms to spike. That is why I was saying a week to two weeks between reductions. Usually about a week works well. If you are not experiencing too many strong side effects, then I would try reducing by 1/4 every five days. So three piles for the first five days, two piles for the second five days, one pile for the third five days and then stop. I had suggested using 1/3s because it would be easier to cut up the half tablet that way. Getting off of Ativan can be a real trip. Benzos frequently get a person very dependent in about a week, ADs take over a month to really get their hooks into you. This should be a lot easier than that as far as symptoms go, but it may take longer. 20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013. Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks. The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better. Final Dose 0.016mg. Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017 "It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general." Stephen Hawking Link to comment
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