I stopped almost 4 weeks ago. I did essentially 10% cuts every 2 weeks all the way down to a super low 0.1 mg (using a water taper). My anxiety is through the roof, it started to get worse about 4 days ago.
I also came off benzos but that was 16 months ago so I am not sure it’s benzo withdrawals that far off.
Hello everyone, I recently finished my taper. I was one of those that had to do it super slow because of terrible withdrawals probably due to kindling with a previous stint with Mirtazapine. The last month of my taper a pretty severe case of anhedonia and mental fatigue has set in. Reading and AI’ing the subject, the general consensus is that for people that have a hard time with a Mirtazapine taper, the lower doses is when it gets really difficult due to the non linearity and accelerated receptor de-occupancy at lower doses.
Did anyone here experience severe anhedonia and mental fatigue as they finished the taper and after? Thanks 🙏
Hello everyone, I am in a terrible wave the likes of which I haven’t seen in the 15 months post jump. The wave is mostly anxiety. My baseline anxiety level has drastically gone up. It is now so bad that doing almost anything brings the anxiety from a simmer to a boil. I used to be able to work 2-4 hours on the computer (I work from home) on most days. Now even putting 30-45 minutes brings the anxiety level to a crescendo and I am no longer able to continue. Watching TV for more than 30 minutes also now skyrockets my anxiety, even working on a puzzle (a real one, not on the phone). It feels like anything that involves a level of cognition, seems to stress my nervous system and I end up with huge anxiety. My vision has also deteriorated significantly to boot.
I am wondering at this point if my nervous system is fried for good now and will have quit my job and pursue disability.
I feel like I need to be in bed staring at the ceilings or somehow get me into a medically-induced comma for a few days to recover from this. Essentially, living is giving me an anxiety that is hard to imagine.
I am at this point wondering if I need to take leave of absence at work, or quit my job and pursue disability which is extremely unsettling as it’s a non profit that I founded along with two others. So this is not a case of selling my part; I’m just an employee with a decent salary… or will this blow over In few days and all I need to do is take a coupe of weeks off?
Is there anyone here who has gone through this where anxiety would skyrocket to the point that you were essentially unable to do anything? I desperately need to hear from you! I am so scared of this and also of destroying my life financially if I can no longer work.
Thank you so much for reading this 🙏
Hello friends, just struggling mightily with an extremely lack of interest in anything. I used to love learning and just absorbing knowledge. Even just watching videos on YouTube is getting to be challenge. Is this potentially Mirtazapine withdrawal? Anybody else here dealt or is dealing with this extreme anhedonia? Thanks!!
Hello friends. As the title says, I’m struggling mightily with a lack on interest in anything. I don’t know what to do to pass time. I used to watch a lot of YouTube cause it was generally short videos and easy on my brain. I definitely haven’t felt like watching more involved shows on Amazon for example; I just don’t have the interest, or the brain to follow or keep up with the plot. Reading is also not something that I’m interested in as it also taxes my brain and it becomes a constant reminder that I am having cognitive difficulties and that just ends up making me very anxious.
I used to love learning and just absorbing knowledge but now I’m just tired of doing that. It seems obvious to me that the issue is fundamentally a huge imbalance between consuming information and actually doing stuff. I just don’t know how to solve that when my level of physical and mental energy are so low. I’ve been at it, for along time, learning about benzos and withdrawal. Now it’s like my brain is saying enough! Also, listening to or reading inspirational stuff is also just something that my brain is saying enough! I am kind of at a loss here.
Has anybody been or is in this same situation? Will this eventually improve? Many thanks for any input or thoughts.
Hello everyone, so I’m dealing with still a myriad of symptoms, lethargy, cognitive impairment, bad sleep, anhedonia, anxiety, reduced mental and physical stamina, etc. I am just realizing, my sense of smell and taste have also greatly diminished. Anyone else also having this symptom? I don’t have not had any recent infections with covid. Thanks!
Anybody here tried any vagus nerve stimulators? Just wondering but it’s worth try one as they are pricey. Brands I’ve been coming across is Truvaga, Pulsetto, Neurosym. Thanks!
Hello gang, 14 months off Clonazepam and 4 weeks away from finishing Mirtazapine taper. The last two weeks I had been feeling stable and dare I say perhaps slightly improved from baseline (except for brain). Then Friday I went out for dinner and indulged in deserts. By Saturday morning it was clear I had gone back to bad. Sunday, Monday and today so far, my anxiety has been through the roof, particularly about my situation with my brain and feeling like it’s not going to get better and even thinking it’s going to get worse. I don’t think it’s gotten better in two years. I sit at my computer to work and it’s a constant reminder of how limited my brain is. Something that’s gotten worse is my typing. I cannot for the life of me, type one single word correctly any more. It’s like my brain has disconnected from my hands and fingers. Not the case with typing on phone. The letters seem to be all there but all out of order. Anyway, just feeling very pessimistic, anxious and afraid. Thanks for reading.
Anybody here who successfully tapered off Mirtazapine also experienced this terrible anxiety very low on taper? I take Mirtazapine at bedtime and the anxiety begins maybe around 5 AM that is what eventually wakes me up. Then it remains with me most of the morning till around 10 AM. I have kept my cuts to 10% every 2-3 weeks. At this point I’m thinking I seem to be so sensitive that it could be a paradoxical effect? Thanks for reading.
Anybody here who successfully tapered off Mirtazapine also experienced this terrible anxiety? I take Mirtazapine at bedtime and the anxiety begins maybe around 5 AM that is what eventually wakes me up. Then it remains with me most of the morning till around 10 AM. I have kept my cuts to 10% every 2-3 weeks. At this point I’m thinking that it could be a paradoxical effect? Thanks for reading.
If not, can it be bought from Europe and would I need a prescription? This already feels icky, I feel like I’m inquiring about illegal drugs. 🫤
Is there anyone here who saw definite improvements in cognitive function and memory upon taking on a workout routine? Just wondering, it’d be a huge incentive for me to say the least.
Hello everyone. Anyone here has experienced significantly worsened cognitive fog after taking Trazedone (a low dose)? This is on top of my cognitive baseline which is poor already. I was looking at computer code this morning and I’m finding I am just staring at it not able to figure out what it does. Pretty concerning.
Hey everyone, I’m two weeks away from finishing my Mirtazapine taper. Starting maybe 2 months ago I noticed a lack of appetite started to set in. Now it’s pretty extreme. Zero appetite. My body does get hungry so that signal seems to be okay, however, eating is very difficult. It can be a juicy steak which I’ve always loved and now it’s like blah, just eating because I have to. I had never in my 57 years had appetite problems. Anyone else here who’s had the same issue? Thanks.
Hey everyone, I’m two weeks away from finishing my Mirtazapine taper. Starting maybe 2 months ago I noticed a lack of appetite started to set in. Now it’s pretty extreme. Zero appetite. My body does get hungry so that signal seems to be okay, however, eating is very difficult. It can be a juicy steak which I’ve always loved and now it’s like blah, just eating because I have to. Anyone else here who’s had the same issue? Thanks.
Hello good people. Im sorry but im just venting. I am utterly exhausted and at the end of my wits. I’m at almost 14 months post Clonazepam jump. I’m also 2-3 weeks away from completing a Mirtazapine taper. Dealing with cognitive impairment for two straight years, neuropathy/fibromyalgia-like pain, anxiety, no ability to chill, lots of lethargy and lack of motivation and energy, and crappy sleep. Instead of windows and waves, I only deal with baseline and waves. Never a window; just back to a sucky baseline. Is it BIND, is it Mirtazapjne withdrawals? I’m tired of constantly looking at what I did or ate or possible supplemented with that might be a possible reason for worsened memory or cognition or anxiety. Is it the bit of sugar I had yesterday? The half a capsule of magnesium glycinate, the omega 3? Eating too little, too much? Afraid to try CBD, or theanine, or whatever else. Everything looks suspect. Just frozen in this constant retrospective analysis and poor executive function. Just last night I was reviewing if had anything like an advanced directive for my family as I often feel “this close” to entirely loosing it.
I just wish so much I could talk to somebody who’s been here and who could tell me everything is going to be okay. Someone I can hang on to. Someone to hold my hand. I’ve always been extremely strong until now. I don’t know what giving up looks like to me but I’m close. Will this keep getting worse until I can no longer care for myself and have this hell become even worse? I pray to God but even my faith seems to have been wiped out along with my higher order thinking.
I’m sorry I’m writing this, I feel embarrassed for doing it but I’m desperate. I wish so much I could cry, I would cry for a long time.
Thank you for reading. God bless you all.
Hello people, I’m not ecstatic necessarily but just wanted to report I have been able to travel from Arizona to DC for a work conference. I’m a vendor so I don’t attend actual conference sessions (which would tax my brain). Just presence in a vendor booth and chatting with people and current customers, plus dinners (I do miss my glass of wine); all heavy social situations. In any case, I have done okay. I still suffer from what feels like neuropathic pain so all the walking around has really spiked pain from my lower back down but have managed to still show up and be present. I’ve been distracted enough to not be thinking how my impaired higher order thinking is still there.
Currently 13 months off Clonazepam and 2 weeks away from finishing Mirtazapine taper.
I have a flight back to Arizona later today and I feel fine about it.
So I guess this qualifies as progress even though I don’t feel ecstatic as I said. Hopefully this helps others who are having a really rough time right now. It will abate. Just keep taking care of your nutrition, sleep routine (screen time), regular physical activity as tolerated but -regular. That’s all we can do while we wait things out. Best to all.
I’m finding myself being afraid of being by myself with downtime because that’s when my thinking turns inwards and I start thinking about thinking and realize how it is still impaired. It makes me feel very anxious and afraid this is a permanent or even that it could be a worsening issue. It’s like I need to be constantly distracted to avoid this issue. Falling asleep has become harder because of this inward thinking while waiting to fall asleep. Just feeling afraid.
Anybody else here in this same boat?
Just needing some support. I’m currently dealing increased levels of anxiety. I’m almost done with tapering and am at very low levels. Frustratingly though, my anxiety has been getting worse the last few days.
One issue I am experiencing is that when I finally get to the point that I think I can begin to fall asleep, and I’m staring to go into this in-between space (falling asleep but still awake), I am having these non-sensical thoughts or even visual imagery? The thoughts are usually disturbing in some way at the time they happen and jolt me awake and usually cannot recall what it was once awake.
Is this something that some or you have also experienced? Is this part of the withdrawal anxiety? This is becoming very hard.
Thank you for reading.
Hi everyone, for those who are tapering or finished a taper and are very sensitive to dose changes. Did you ever up-dose as a way to stabilize a bit? I am seriously considering this and was hoping to hear from you.
I have no idea why but for the last week I’ve been having more and more anxiety. It’s to the point now that I’m afraid I won’t be able to function if it continues increasing like this. To make matters worse, I have a work trip flight later today (it’s 1:30 AM) and coming back Wednesday, which is making my anxiety even worse.
Just as a background, I finished a Clonazepam taper 13 months ago. I am also at a super low dose of mirtzapine as I’ve been micro tapering at about 10% every two weeks. My last dose reduction was on July 5th, so almost 2 weeks ago. I am still far from feeling well with anxiety as one of my main symptoms. I wish I had never used benzos cause it would help me now for sure but I don’t think that’s an option anymore (I wish it was cause it rough right now). This leaves me with maybe increasing Mirtazapine. I also have Trazedone but I think that only helps with sleep. But I’m rambling now. Thoughts or experiences anyone? Thanks.