Hi all,

   I've taken a good amount of psych meds over the years.  Personally, my experience with them has varied.  Currently I'm in the middle of an escitalopram taper and on a very low dose which I've been holding for a couple of weeks so far.  I had switched to escitalopram from venlafaxine around 5 months or so ago and though my current drug hasn't caused a problem, fallout from stopping venlafaxine after years of use has.  My symptoms have been sensory skin issues.  Luckily, I found out that 3.7 mg mirtazapine helps immensely with those.

  Good luck and smooth tapers to all.

Welcome to the forum!

 

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawl syndrome. We are not medical professionals and cannot offer medical advice. We simply offer support and opinions which you could use as talking points with a medical provider knowledgeable in withdrawing off psychiatric medications.

 

Please familiarise yourself with the forum rules and the disclaimer located here: Guidelines

 

Thank you for updating your signature.

These are some general health tips to consider whilst tapering these medications:

 

-Stay Hydrated 

 

-Eat a good clean whole food diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

 

-Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and antihistamines and any other psychoactive substances.

 

Supplements are to be avoided initially, as they often irritate our nervous systems. Try to get your nutrition through food.

 

Down the line, you may wish to introduce Fish Oil and Magnesium. Those who can tolerate them have found them calming to the nervous system. Be careful try one at a time and start low and see how you get on should you choose to try them.

 

A daily walk is very important as much as you can manage, if you can manage it. Gets you your fresh air and Vitamin D does wonders for your mind!

 

What has your tapering plan been so far?

 

You are very welcome here and I hope you find the site supportive.

Hello @Gaucho, welcome to the forum! You have found a good place with lots of peer support.

until the more experienced people show up, who can give you advice on your taper journey, it might be a good idea if you update your signature according to the guidelines. It should list the psych meds you have been taking and what you’re currently taking and so on.

 

generally, we do not recommend here to cure or cover the symptoms that one psychiatric medication produces with another psychiatric medication, but there are other people around, who know better than me.

 

I just saw your post and wanted to stop by to say welcome. 
 

I wish you peace and health!

Nemina

Hi @Gaucho

 

Welcome the forum!

 

Yes as Luke has said please update your drug history in your signature for us so we know where you are at with your taper and can see clearly your history at a glance. You can click this link to access it Edit my signature.

 

On 2/18/2026 at 2:07 PM, Gaucho said:

Currently I'm in the middle of an escitalopram taper and on a very low dose which I've been holding for a couple of weeks so far.  I had switched to escitalopram from venlafaxine around 5 months or so ago and though my current drug hasn't caused a problem, fallout from stopping venlafaxine after years of use has.

Im sorry to hear you are having issues at the moment. 'Switching' is actually a cold turkey of one drug and then starting another. The abrupt cessation from venlafaxine is likley causing, as you say, the problems here. Dont underestimate the effect of the escitalopram too. We dont take anything in a vacuum and once your nervous system is sensitive additional drugs only add fuel to the fire and can't treat the WD symptoms from the CT.

 

As you are having a hard time a hold at your current dose is advisable as you are doing to give your system time to stabilise. Tapering whilst unstable can cause issues.

 

How long does it take to stabilize after reinstating or updosing?

 

Hypersensitivity and kindling

 

On 2/18/2026 at 2:07 PM, Gaucho said:

My symptoms have been sensory skin issues.  Luckily, I found out that 3.7 mg mirtazapine helps immensely with those.

 

As @Nemina has said it is not recommend to add more drugs to treat symptoms. This will likley cause you more problems in the long run. How long have you been taking the Mirtazapine? Please put this in your signature also.

 

Its great to have you here, you are so very welcome.

 

Chippy

6 hours ago, Chippy said:

Hi @Gaucho

 

Welcome the forum!

 

Yes as Luke has said please update your drug history in your signature for us so we know where you are at with your taper and can see clearly your history at a glance. You can click this link to access it Edit my signature.

 

Im sorry to hear you are having issues at the moment. 'Switching' is actually a cold turkey of one drug and then starting another. The abrupt cessation from venlafaxine is likley causing, as you say, the problems here. Dont underestimate the effect of the escitalopram too. We dont take anything in a vacuum and once your nervous system is sensitive additional drugs only add fuel to the fire and can't treat the WD symptoms from the CT.

 

As you are having a hard time a hold at your current dose is advisable as you are doing to give your system time to stabilise. Tapering whilst unstable can cause issues.

 

 

How long does it take to stabilize after reinstating or updosing?

 

Hypersensitivity and kindling

 

As @Nemina has said it is not recommend to add more drugs to treat symptoms. This will likley cause you more problems in the long run. How long have you been taking the Mirtazapine? Please put this in your signature also.

 

Its great to have you here, you are do very welcome.

 

Chippy

I appreciate your warm welcome.  I will begin working on my signature soon.  As for the Mirtazapine, I've been taking 3.7 mg for 4 weeks and other than sometimes having a dry mouth, I've had no other issues with it.  So you know, I took 7.5 mg of this med a few years ago and it helped my sleep and emotions then with no side effects and no withdrawal symptoms following 2 years of use.  I know that it doesn't work for everyone and am sorry for that.

 

After crosstapering to escitalopram (was not a "cold turkey switch") over a 2-month period, I started having parasthesia over my body, often severe enough to keep me awake at night and at times in tears.  It made sense for me to cautiously trial mirtazapine to address it, and thank God it has reduced it by a good 90%.

 

So I read that you don't recommend adding another psych med during withdrawal.  It's good to be cautious.  It makes me wonder, though, if I should slowly come off the mirtazapine even though I'm feeling better and sleeping better now?

1 hour ago, Gaucho said:

appreciate your warm welcome.  I will begin working on my signature soon.  As for the Mirtazapine, I've been taking 3.7 mg for 4 weeks and other than sometimes having a dry mouth, I've had no other issues with it.  So you know, I took 7.5 mg of this med a few years ago and it helped my sleep and emotions then with no side effects and no withdrawal symptoms following 2 years of use.  I know that it doesn't work for everyone and am sorry for that.

It’s a pleasure @Gaucho 😀

Many take these meds and find they can stop them no problems. What we see is eventually this can catch up with you and stops being the case. 
 

1 hour ago, Gaucho said:

After crosstapering to escitalopram (was not a "cold turkey switch") over a 2-month period, I started having parasthesia over my body, often severe enough to keep me awake at night and at times in tears.  It made sense for me to cautiously trial mirtazapine to address it, and thank God it has reduced it by a good 90%.

A cross taper or a ct switch would likely be pretty much the same out come. Either way your brain had become dependent on venlafaxine and it was removed from your system very quickly. This will have put you into wd and is likely what you are suffering with now. 

1 hour ago, Gaucho said:

So I read that you don't recommend adding another psych med during withdrawal.  It's good to be cautious.  It makes me wonder, though, if I should slowly come off the mirtazapine even though I'm feeling better and sleeping better now?

This is a tough one. We don’t suggest tapering when you are not feeling stable. Mirtazapine is helping with your sleep you say did you have sleep issues before taking it? How long have you been on it?

56 minutes ago, Chippy said:

It’s a pleasure @Gaucho 😀

Many take these meds and are fine and stop them fine. What we find is eventually this can catch up with you and stops being the case. 
 

A cross taper or a ct switch would likely be pretty much the same out come. Either way your brain had become dependent on escitalopram and it was removed from your system very quickly. This will have put you into wd and is likely what you are suffering with now. 
 

This is a tough one. We don’t suggest tapering when you are not feeling stable. Mirtazapine is helping with your sleep you say did you have sleep issues before taking it? How long have you been on it?

The prickly skin issues from the Venlafaxine cessation caused my sleep disruption where it was difficult to get to sleep when having them.  Nothing else had been  affecting my sleep prior to that.  I've been taking mirtazapine for 4 weeks.

6 minutes ago, Gaucho said:

The prickly skin issues from the Venlafaxine cessation caused my sleep disruption where it was difficult to get to sleep when having them.  Nothing else had been  affecting my sleep prior to that.  I've been taking mirtazapine for 4 weeks.

Ok. Are the only symptoms you’ve had from the Venlafaxine cessation been the prickly skin?

6 hours ago, Chippy said:

Ok. Are the only symptoms you’ve had from the Venlafaxine cessation been the prickly skin?

The first week I came off it I had a few nights of fragmented sleep, but other than that, just the prickly skin.

4 hours ago, Gaucho said:

The first week I came off it I had a few nights of fragmented sleep, but other than that, just the prickly skin.

Thats good @Gaucho

 

You have not been on Mirtazapine for very long, but long enough to gain some dependence on it.

 

Id try to come off quickly if I was you to avoid further dependency setting in.

You could do a linear taper 25% every 2 weeks to get you off it in 6 weeks. As with all these things listen to your body and don't push through. If you get WD symptoms hold there and reassess.

 

Don't taper the Escitalopram during this period just stay where you are.

 

You want your dosing to be accurate have a look at this for help with that:

Preparing Doses for Tapering - Weighing & DIY Liquids

Hey @Gaucho

 

Just stopping by to see how you’ve been?

 

Chippy

Hello @Gaucho how are you doing? 
I have seen your post on other peoples threads and was wondering how it is going for yourself.

 

@Chippy  @Nemina

 

Hey there,

    I appreciate your checking up on me.  I've been doing fine.  Still working on the Lexapro taper which has been uneventful (knock on wood).  Reduced to 1.7 mg.  I figure ~ 8 more months at this.

 

Wishing you two well and smooth sailing if you're tapering or recovering.

8 hours ago, Gaucho said:

@Chippy  @Nemina

 

Hey there,

    I appreciate your checking up on me.  I've been doing fine.  Still working on the Lexapro taper which has been uneventful (knock on wood).  Reduced to 1.7 mg.  I figure ~ 8 more months at this.

 

Wishing you two well and smooth sailing if you're tapering or recovering.

This is great news 😀 good hear. 
 

Did you stop the Mirtazapine in the end?