I have been taking paroxetine for about 5 years 10mg daily. I have weaned myself off this medicine slowly but I still get these “brain zaps” on a daily basis. I need to take antidepressants my doctor prescribed mirtazapine. Am I likely to go through the same things?
How do I stop taking mirtazapine. Gradually or abruptly?
Question posted by Stieny on 18 May 2021
Last updated on 18 May 2021
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Answers
WildcatVet
18 May 2021
Hi, Stieny!
After five years you'd need to titer down very gradually to eliminate or at least minimize discontinuation symptoms. How long did you wean down and did you do it yourself? If I may ask, why did you want to stop it?
I'm not sure what your question is about mirtazapine... do you mean will you have side effects? Or will you trouble trying to discontinue it in the future?
Sorry for all the questions but if you could give us some more details it would be helpful.
Stieny
18 May 2021
Hi Wildcat, Thank you for your answer. The reason I wanted to stop paroxetine 15mg was because of the increasing side effects. I was getting these dizzy spells, stomach problems, sleep disorder, after reading a lot of comments none of them was good, I wanted to get off this medicine so I took 6 weeks to taper off and stop. Now I am not doing so well by not taking anything, I am a mess and my doctor prescribed Mirtazapine and I thought before going on this medicine I would try finding out if Mirtazapine is as bad.
WildcatVet
18 May 2021
It would be unusual for side effects to appear so long into your usage. Did your doctor confirm that it was due to the paroxetine? But you are having symptoms now of withdrawal and that could last for weeks or even months depending on many factors like how long you took it, what dosage, and most importantly your own metabolism. Your brain was dependent on the drug and it will take time to "reboot". You could try googling "paroxetine withdrawal" for some articles that may help you with a timeline.
As far as mirtazapine it just depends on your response to the medication and everybody responds differently. A good place to start is to thoroughly acquaint yourself about the medication:
https://www.drugs.com/mirtazapine.html
A word about side effects... most people don't get them or if they do they are mild and transient subsiding within days to a week or so. You certainly won't get all the ones you'll read about. One thing you might experience is drowsiness or even mild sedation which is why it's often prescribed for sleep disorders.
Reviews are primarily written by people who have had problems with side effects and not by the tens of thousands of people using the medication very effectively.
I hope this helps you some and I wish you the best of luck with mirtazapine. Always feel free to post with questions or concerns along the way.
Related topics
mirtazapine, paroxetine, brain zap
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