Hello all,

Thought I’d introduce myself.

Have been on these meds since 2007 after a difficult time in my personal life but was on Paroxetine for 12 months in 1995-1996.

Last 3 years have been hell. I’ve never felt stable since Mirtazapine was added in Jan-24 because of insomnia side effects from fluoxetine.

Tried to CT (Paroxetine and Venlafaxine) in 2017 and 2022 because of sexual side effects. Was disastrous both times.

Got very dizzy after starting Mirtazapine but it helped me sleep.

Tried to halve dose in Mar-24, was suicidal within 10 days. Reinstated at 13.5mg and got down to 10mg by Aug 24.

Reduced fluoxetine from 20mg to 5mg in Aug-24. Was hit with protracted severe withdrawals in Nov-24, spent 6 months suicidal every day. Developed monophobia and needed to reinstate at 10mg.

Ultimately had to take a 12 month work sabbatical in Sept-25 as too much for my nervous system.

Diagnosed with protracted antidepressant withdrawal in Sept-25.

At 8mg fluoxetine and holding since Feb-26.

Did start to see some improvement after holding Mirtazapine at 5.7mgs for 3 months (Mar-Jun) but then dropped to 5mg and thrown back into suicidal ideation and terrible morning anxiety and depression. Been holding since then.

Started keto diet in May-26, is helping a little.

Take magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin D and multi vitamin. Have tried many others over past 3 years but had lots of adverse reactions.

Still very poorly (especially in the morning) and lots of physical symptoms too - fatigue, chest tightness, dizziness, bad OCD, anhedonia). Am able to walk, do yoga and light Pilates. Running is too activating. See some relief in the evenings.

Just hoping for stability, unlikely to be able to return to work which makes me very unhappy.

Terrified of tapering further - given my sensitivity, will need to be 1-2% reductions.

Thanks for reading.

Steve

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

 

Please make sure your signature is kept up to date with your drug history. This will allow members to see some basic information about your drug history and situation so that they may help you best. Information on how to do this is located in the FAQs section above, but here is a direct link: Update Signature

Once this is done, future posts made by you will have this signature turned on by default. For this reason please keep it clear but condensed as possible.

Please use the format outline here Preferred signature/drug history format

I'm so sorry to read about the tough time you've had recently you will find plenty of support here for sure.

1 hour ago, Steve said:

Thought I’d introduce myself.

Nice to meet you Steve :)

1 hour ago, Steve said:

Have been on these meds since 2007 after a difficult time in my personal life but was on Paroxetine for 12 months in 1995-1996.

Sounds like you have been on a few drugs over the years, as you likley realise, switching and abruptly stopping these drugs can cause great harm.

1 hour ago, Steve said:

Last 3 years have been hell. I’ve never felt stable since Mirtazapine was added in Jan-24 because of insomnia side effects from fluoxetine.

Mirtazapine is a really dirty drug, there are lots of us on here with personal experience of it. Adding it in to treat WD insomnia isn't a great move, it can be sedative but once the nervous system is upset, additional drugs is like fuel on a fire. Sleep in WD

1 hour ago, Steve said:

Tried to halve dose in Mar-24, was suicidal within 10 days. Reinstated at 13.5mg and got down to 10mg by Aug 24.

I've seen this quite a bit where someone takes a drug like Mirtazapine for not very long, being on it isn't working for them, yet they can't reduce the dose either.

1 hour ago, Steve said:

Reduced fluoxetine from 20mg to 5mg in Aug-24. Was hit with protracted severe withdrawals in Nov-24, spent 6 months suicidal every day. Developed monophobia and needed to reinstate at 10mg.

As I suspect you now realise, this is too fast a taper. Ill post this here for you just for your information. Tapering Information

 

1 hour ago, Steve said:

Ultimately had to take a 12 month work sabbatical in Sept-25 as too much for my nervous system.

Sorry to hear, this is common, working whilst in the throws of WD is often just not possible.

1 hour ago, Steve said:

Diagnosed with protracted antidepressant withdrawal in Sept-25.

This is interesting, who in the UK diagnosed you?

1 hour ago, Steve said:

At 8mg fluoxetine and holding since Feb-26.

Did start to see some improvement after holding Mirtazapine at 5.7mgs for 3 months (Mar-Jun) but then dropped to 5mg and thrown back into suicidal ideation and terrible morning anxiety and depression. Been holding since then.

Tapering any of these drugs needs to be done from a position of stablity, we suggest tapering one at a time normally and from a state of 'WD normal', we would say this is being able to rate your symptoms 1-3/10 on a consistent basis. A Baseline to work your taper from.

1 hour ago, Steve said:

Did start to see some improvement after holding Mirtazapine at 5.7mgs for 3 months (Mar-Jun) but then dropped to 5mg and thrown back into suicidal ideation and terrible morning anxiety and depression. Been holding since then.

That was a 12.7% drop, just too much too soon.

1 hour ago, Steve said:

Started keto diet in May-26, is helping a little.

Glad to hear, careful, Keto works for some, however imo it needs to be done very carefully with much research and honestly help from a coach.

1 hour ago, Steve said:

Take magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin D and multi vitamin. Have tried many others over past 3 years but had lots of adverse reactions.

We suggest not taking supplements, as you have found out they can worsen you. Medications, Supplements and Other Substances in Withdrawal

1 hour ago, Steve said:

Still very poorly (especially in the morning) and lots of physical symptoms too - fatigue, chest tightness, dizziness, bad OCD, anhedonia). Am able to walk, do yoga and light Pilates. Running is too activating. See some relief in the evenings.

Sorry to read things are so tough still. Many can't exercise in this, a gentle walk if you can is good. Evenings are often better for folk on here, you are not alone. I think this is a really positive sign tbh.

1 hour ago, Steve said:

Just hoping for stability, unlikely to be able to return to work which makes me very unhappy.

Can you update your signature with some dates of your drops rather than ballparks? You might consider updosing the Mirtazapine to help settle this for you as it sounds like your drop was fairly recent. We can talk about that if you want to try, otherwise holding till you are good and stable is a very good idea.

1 hour ago, Steve said:

Terrified of tapering further - given my sensitivity, will need to be 1-2% reductions.

One day at a time Steve, your gonna want to wait a good while before you consider tapering. Mindset is everything in WD, do everything you can to keep fear and stress to a min.

Symptoms-Coping-Strategies

Acceptance is key - Why does acceptance feel impossible?

1 hour ago, Steve said:

Thanks for reading.

Pleasure my friend.

In the mean time this is what I would do if I were you:

 

-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!

 

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

Hi Steve,

Looks like you're new to this site, as am I. Look at my intro when you can. Also looks like we're dealing with similar symptoms. The SI is very bad for me right now. Anyway, saw your post and wanted to reach out an acknowledge you. ☺️

Mandy

Thanks Chippy,

I was diagnosed by Mark Horowitz. I’ve had a couple of consultations with him.

I’m also likely ADHD/Autistic but never been diagnosed.

I have a very strong fixer part that wants to try lots of different things to feel better. This has made things so much worse for me as it leads to further destabilisation.

The only thing that has really helped has been magnesium and the propranolol to help with the adrenaline surges

How do I update my auto signature?

I’ve updated my auto signature.

Any idea how long it takes to stabilise after my last Mirtazapine drop 11 weeks ago?

🙏

6 minutes ago, Steve said:

Any idea how long it takes to stabilise after my last Mirtazapine drop 11 weeks ago?

no one can really truly know, it depends on your body, you have to be patient with yourself and hold untill you stabilize, doing it the right way is more important than just reaching 0 as fast as possible without truly being healthy and stabilized.

Thanks lightly. I see you are on Mirtazapine too. Hope you are doing okay?

3 hours ago, Steve said:

I was diagnosed by Mark Horowitz. I’ve had a couple of consultations with him.

Good to see you have spoken with Mark. Not all heroes wear capes....

3 hours ago, Steve said:

I’m also likely ADHD/Autistic but never been diagnosed.

I have a very strong fixer part that wants to try lots of different things to feel better. This has made things so much worse for me as it leads to further destabilisation.

This won't be a popular opinon with some, but Im not a fan of these labels, we are all just humans, there is a set narrative of what a 'normal' human should look like, if we don't fit into that bracket diagnosis is used, then comes the drugs......

Fixing is a normal human thing to want to do and not something exclusive to you my friend. Unfortunately in WD this leads to things worsening normally.

3 hours ago, Steve said:

The only thing that has really helped has been magnesium and the propranolol to help with the adrenaline surges

Thats good that Magnesium has helped it is one of the few things we suggest you may like to try on here. We don't advise adding in any other drugs including beta blockers, they can make things worse as they cross the blood brain barrier.

2 hours ago, Steve said:

I’ve updated my auto signature.

Ok thanks, could you have a second look at it, it needs to be more condensed ideally, it's a lot to scroll past..... :)

Take a look at the guide we linked you too, also see others for inspiration.

2 hours ago, Steve said:

Any idea how long it takes to stabilise after my last Mirtazapine drop 11 weeks ago?

Unfortunately we just don't know, it can take some time and people often have to do a long hold of many months.

Okay I’ll condense it.

I’ve just got to put my faith in hoping that I will stabilise. It’s been 3 years now but I’ve never allowed my nervous system to settle over that time.

2 hours ago, Steve said:

Thanks lightly. I see you are on Mirtazapine too. Hope you are doing okay?

in some ways im more stabilized since i been holding for a while but i also developed dyskinesia so it is what it is, we will all make it regardless ❣️

Edited September 7Sep 7 by Lighty

Good to hear you are stabilised. Sorry to hear about the dyskinesia. You seem so accepting of it though - how?