Meditation

[Jimmyspadge]

My doctor rang me. I am taking 15mg mirtazapine and have been doing since late last year. I asked him to ring me as I am getting worse. He asked if they were working and I said I honestly don’t know if they help or are causing more problems psychologically. He then asked if I wanted to taper off them but again as I explained I am afraid of getting worse. He then suggested going on sertraline which again I said I don’t know. So now I am undecided/fearful and it is going around my head. He said he will send a prescription for the sertraline. Feel so messed up mentally with this as I cannot make a decision and the frightening part is I may get worse coming off the old medication and then going on the new getting withdrawal symptoms I know I couldn’t cope with as I have so much other problems at the moment. Any thoughts/experiences greatly appreciated

[Pugglesworth]

First off, I'm not a doctor. The information I present is my own opinion and not medical advice. Your physician should be consulted on all matters relating to medicine.

I'm not familiar with mirtzapine, but I am familiar with Zoloft (Sertraline). Zoloft is a Selective Serotonin Retake Inhibitor (SSRI) that works by keeping serotonin in your system longer and, therefore, available for use a greater amount of time. For me it takes about a month for a SSRI to kick in and about three months for it to reach it's maximum effectiveness. During this time things can suck for me: anxiety, nausea, headaches, dizziness, insomnia. How do I cope? I exercise, eat right, practice breathing exercises and use other coping mechanisms I've been taught such as 'tapping'. I also meditate; however, I don't recommend anyone meditate without a qualified teacher and only if you're seeking some type of spiritual awakening. Meditation, done properly, actually deconstructs our experience which can be jarring and destabilizing. Meditation, done regularly, trains our mind to look closely (concentrate) on a single (or multiple) phenomena (such as our breath). Our mind, of course, is not used to this process and that, in and of itself, can cause issues ESPECIALLY for people with a history of mental illness.

That is some of my experience.

[Jimmyspadge in reply to Pugglesworth]

Thanks for your wise and truthful words

[Hidden]

My experience is taper off the mirtzipine before taking an SSRI. I’ve done the substituting one for another, not pleasant experience. These are two different types of antidepressants.

You should ALWAYS consult with your doctor, regarding medication tapers and medication switches as these are a fragile process in my experience. Keep in mind when taking meds for a long time (1 year is a long time) the body’s neurotransmitters and receptors have been altered and will go through a period of time to get back into balance, this is true with all meds we take long term.

You’ll have to decide if you are truly getting benefit from staying on it, for me if I have to question if I’m not improving or getting worse, in that regard it’s probably worth getting off it (mirtzipine can cause a lot health issues on top of the disorder it’s treating, so you have to weigh the risks vs reward sort of speaking), by taking something longer that may not be giving me full benefit, I have to keep in mind these all come with discontinuation syndrome, it may be worse the longer I stay on it.

[Jimmyspadge]

Thanks. He should of warned me about the transition as he said it will be pretty straight forward going from one to another

[chavez13]

sertraline really works for me, the others i tried did not.

[Jimmyspadge in reply to chavez13]

I really don’t know what to do. Feeling the lowest in my life and I fear the symptoms changing between the two.

[chavez13 in reply to Jimmyspadge]

Call you doctor and discuss your concerns with him/her. Praying for you.