Kerrijane:New Here from Adelaide, Australia

[Kerrijane]

Hello,

I am new here although I have been part of a Facebook Mirtazapine withdrawal group.  I am wanting to get off firstly Mirtazapine and perhaps Zoloft as the 2 combined haven't been good and now Mirtazapine is causing me all sorts of problems.

I have stopped working for now and I am lucky to have an understanding husband supporting me. I am not sleeping much some nights and some other nights but I am feeling generally unwell even when I have slept.

I try and take the dog for a walk every day.  She is a border collie cross Labrador.  I do some yoga and weights in the morning and it can be a bit of effort.  Especially the weights.  I am a 52 year old female but feeling a lot older at the moment.  Looking for some support here and also wondering if anyone else is on Mirtazapine and Zoloft?

I look forward to learning more on this site.

Edited September 7 by Catwoman73
Name to Title

[Catwoman73]

Hi @Kerrijane, and welcome to SA!  We are a community of volunteers providing peer support in the tapering of psychiatric medications, and their associated withdrawal syndromes.  

 

Thank you for completing your drug signature, though I would love to see a bit more detail, including dosages, and dates to the best of your memory.  You can have a peek at my signature to see the general format.  This helps us see your history at a glance, so we can assist you better when visiting your thread.  

 

I'm so sorry for the issues you are facing as a result of these medications.  You are most definitely not alone.  I'm not sure if there are any currently active members who are on your particular drug cocktail, but if you type mirtazapine and Zoloft into the search bar in the upper right corner of the screen, and ensure that 'everywhere' is highlighted in the drop down menu on the right hand side of the search bar, you may get some hits.  

 

I'm going to offer you some general tapering advice to start, along with some advice on coping with withdrawal symptoms. 

 

Here at SA, we recommend tapering by no more than 10% of your current dose, no more often than every four weeks (so, as an example- 10mg, 9.0mg, 8.1mg, 7.3mg and so on).  This is known as hyperbolic tapering, and is designed to release the receptors in your brain slowly, giving the brain time to make the necessary adaptations as you proceed.  This serves to minimize withdrawal  symptoms, making the journey much more tolerable.  You can read more about hyperbolic tapering here:

 

Why Taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

As you proceed with your taper, you will notice that you have periods where you feel a bit better, and periods where you feel just awful.  This is an absolutely normal part of the healing process that we refer to as the windows and waves pattern of stabilization.  If you are experiencing this, it is a very good sign that you are healing.  Read more about windows and waves here:

 

Windows and waves pattern of stabilization

 

Since you are taking more than one psych drug, we recommend tapering the more activating drug first.  It sounds like this is the mirtazapine for you, so good job on choosing the right one first!

 

Taking Multiple Psych Drugs?  Which Drug to Taper First?

 

There are a handful of things you can do to help your brain and body with healing- many are somewhat intuitive.  Eat a balanced, whole foods diet, stay well hydrated, get gentle exercise, and as much rest/sleep as you can.  It seems like you are already doing some of this, so that's fantastic.  Do be cautious about going to hard with the exercise- intense exercise can trigger waves for some.  Avoid neurologically active substances, such as caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, and recreational drugs.  Using these is like pouring gasoline on your symptoms.  Also avoid adding any other psychiatric drugs to the mix to treat your withdrawal symptoms- the results are not predictable, and can make you worse rather than better.  Not to mention the fact that you would just be creating a situation where you would have to taper off of something else down the road, thereby prolonging your tapering/withdrawal journey. 

 

As for supplements, we only recommend two here- magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids.  Do be mindful though- it is very common for those in withdrawal to develop hypersensitivities to all sorts of things- medications, supplements, and even foods!  So if you do decide to try any supplements, including the ones we recommend, start with a very low dose, and increase slowly over time if you are able to tolerate them.  I am a prime example of this hypersensitivity- I can no longer tolerate coffee (even decaf- causes severe stomach pain), chamomile (makes me itchy), and I react adversely to magnesium (gives me brain zaps and insomnia). 

 

It's a really good idea to start a symptom journal at the start of your journey.  Track your symptoms every day, rating them on a scale of 1-10 for severity.  This can help you identify your windows and waves.  You can also track foods, supplements and activities in order to help you identify anything that might be triggering your symptoms.  You can use the following list of typical withdrawal symptoms as a template for a journal, if you wish:

 

Daily Checklist of Antidepressant Withdrawal Symptoms (PDF) 

 

As for coping with symptoms, it's a really good idea to start working on some non-drug coping mechanisms as early as possible in your journey.  We have many threads on non-drug coping mechanisms here at SA- I will link some below.  You may find some of your own as well.  For me, I practice mindfulness every minute of every day, I listen to calming music and meditations/yoga Nidra at night to assist with sleep, I swim, because I feel normal in the water, and I distract myself with artistic stuff, like painting.  There is no magic here, and things like mindfulness and meditation take a lot of work and practice, but I can assure you that it is work that is worth doing!

 

Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms

 Easing your way into meditation for a stressed-out nervous system

Music for self-care: calms hyperalertness, anxiety, aids relaxation and sleep

Ways to cope with daily anxiety

"Change the channel" - dealing with cognitive symptoms

Dealing With Emotional Spirals

 

Here are a couple of additional links regarding insomnia, since this is one symptom you highlighted in your introduction:

 

Tips to help sleep: so many of us have that awful withdrawal insomnia

 Path to Better Sleep FREE online for everyone from the US Veterans Administration

Melatonin for sleep

 

Once I know a bit more detail on your current drugs, like how long you've been taking each of them and at what dosages, I'm happy to provide a bit more specific advice on your tapering, but this is a start for you. 

 

The most important thing I want to say is that I don't want you to lose hope.  You absolutely will not feel like this forever!  We are all healing, all the time, whether it feels like it or not.  If you treat your body right, it will heal.  It just takes time and patience.  I look forward to following your journey, and helping out along the way!  And I would LOVE to see a pic of your dog lol!  

 

This is your introduction topic- each member gets one intro topic.  Please post updates, questions or concerns here, on this thread.  But do feel free to explore the rest of the forum- there's lots of good information here!  And if you feel up to it, check out some of the other members' intro threads, and drop a comment of support.  This can be a lonely journey, but it definitely helps if you have a community of people in your corner who understand the challenges you are facing.  We can be that community for you! 

 

Sending healing vibes! ❤️‍🩹