Posted by 49er on March 14, 2009, at 13:30:17
In reply to Remeron vs. Seroquel, posted by neme8274 on March 13, 2009, at 12:47:44
> I have been taking Remeron(Mirtazapine) for 5 1/2 years for insomnia and anxiety.
> It has many side effects; non-stop appetite, weight gain, lethargy, depersonalization,
> derealization (removed from reality), nightmares, memory problems(foggy head)
> . I have tried to quit a dozen times or more. I've tapered slowly, quit cold turkey,
> and substituted other medicines such as elavil. Elavil caused me bone marrow
> depression,unknown to me, white blood cells did not produce and I did not know why I was getting so sick. Had pneumonia, major sinus infections almost had to have nasal surgery.
> But after extreme research discovered that though rare, this bone marrow depression can
> Occur. Quit Elavil and got well after mega doses of levaquin, augmentin, cefzil etc
> Last Friday 3-6-09 I decided to quit remeron cold turkey with my doctors help. My withdrawal From Remeron includes many hellish side effects such as; nausea, brain shocks, insomnia, flu like symptoms, Insomnia being the worst by far. I take meclizine for the nausea, valium for the brain shocks, and now Seroquel for insomnia. Valium I can quit cold turkey(long half-life). Its seroquel that has me concerned because it antagonizes many parts of the brain that Remeron does creating a sedative effect possibly making it addictive. Am I robbing Peter To pay Paul???? Has anyone had experiences with Remeron(mirtazapine) or Seroquel (quetiapine). Particularly withdrawal Experiences. Has anyone successfully quit Remeron After five years??? Had any experience with seroquel addiction or withdrawal?? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for listening.Meme,
I don't mean to sound harsh but cold turkeying is the worst thing you can regarding coming off a psych med. The exception is when you have been on a med for less than 4 weeks.
If you haven't been on seroquel for too long (meaning less than 2 weeks) I would go off of it immediately as taking it for insomnia is simply asking for trouble with all the side effects associated with antipsychotics. You are aware of the Seroquel suits, right?
I would then reinstate the Remeron dose that you cold turkeyed off of since it sounds like you did it around 3/6. Once you stabilize, I would taper Remeron at 10% of the current dose every 3 to 6 weeks. I can tell you how when you get to that point.
I might even go more slowly at 5%.
I was on Remeron for 10 years total, including tapering time, and successfully finished tapering in January of this year. I did have severe insomnia but I think some of that might have been related to the supplements I was taking.
But in spite of my having insomnia, it would have been alot worse if I had tapered too quickly.
Steady and slow wins the race. Tapering fast or cold turkeying doesn't usually work.
49er
poster:49er
thread:885169
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20081229/msgs/885297.html