Posted by Tony P on May 13, 2009, at 0:36:13
In reply to Re: mirtazapine/remeron updates?, posted by anitadean on April 28, 2009, at 10:53:32
Wow! I had no idea I was potentially letting myself in for this much trouble going cold-turkey off Remeron! Neither, evidently, did my pdoc.
I decided I needed to get off Remeron because I was sleeping up to 36 hrs at a time & had gained about 40 lb. My new pdoc agreed, and said to cut the 30 mg in half. No problem, so after about 3-4 weeks I gave him a call & asked if I could drop it altogether; he said to go ahead. So I went cold turkey from 15 mg (with occasional missed doses) to 0. About the only withdrawal effect I noticed was apophenia, a tendency to hallucinate faint voices or music (like a radio going in the next rooom), especially in a noisy environment, such as an air filter going full blast. I'd experienced that before so it didn't really bother me.
The other symptom I have right now is a coarse tremor, mostly intention tremor, but also resting, especially if I'm holding up something like a book or the phone receiver. Has anyone else had that?
The tremor could also be due to lamotrigine, which I started at the same time I began decreasing the Remeron. I've been on 200 mg a day for 4 weeks now.
** Re insomnia, I discovered (thanks to Wikipedia) a "new" (actually very old) remedy. Cyproheptadine is a old antihistamine; it makes me even sleepier than diphenhydramine (Benadryl), which is what most off-the-shelf sleeping piills are nowadays. It also seems to give a more natural sleep, and (by reputation) doesn't poop out as quickly. It's OTC (behind the counter) where I live, in BC.
*** Caution *** it can reduce Serotonin levels, so if you're on an SSRI, consult your pdoc; you might have to up your SSRI dose. I'm on Cymbalta, which is an SNRI with emphasis on the "N", and I haven't noticed anything but an improvement in my mood.
I found 1 - 4 mg tab made me moderately sleepy, 2 tabs made me very sleepy with a slight hangover, while 3 tabs gave me heck of a hangover and all the signs of anticholinergic overload, i.e. flushed face, wide staring eyes, etc. So it's a med to be used with caution.
Tony P
> Hi all
> So I have one week left on the Remeron. I hav to say the insomnia is actually getting MUCH worse and is really starting to affect me. Does anyone have any suggestions? I take Lunesta but have been trying to take as little as possible. I can't even nap during the day to make up for lost sleep!
> Does this eventually subside? IF so how long does it last?
> Thx
>
poster:Tony P
thread:613132
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20081229/msgs/895469.html