Mirtazapine withdrawal.

[TMotown]

Hi everyone, I’ve had Tinnitus and Hyperacusis for about 18 months, I’ve been on Mirtazapine for 12 months, during this time my Tinnitus became more manageable and I was feeling much more positive. After chatting to the Dr we decided to start to reduce the Mirtazapine, it’s been two weeks since I reduced the dose and the impact of withdrawal has been awful, my Tinnitus has spiked to a new level, I’m struggling to sleep etc which is obviously not helping. I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this and if their Tinnitus spike eventually settled down? It’s really worrying me that it’s so intrusive again after getting to a stable position, but I don’t want to be on anti depressants forever.

[rabbits65]

Persevere if you can , try and stay off the anti depressant , the tinnitus should calm down a bit in the end . We are told that there are no medications for the tinnitus itself, but the anti depressant became your prop, now you’ve stopped the prop , your feeling low and tense, thus the tinnitus has become prominent again. Persevere , there are some good books about tinnitus and how to cope . 😊

[TMotown in reply to rabbits65]

Thank you, yes I definitely want to get off the antidepressants, they helped enormously in the early days when I was suffering with panic attacks and depression plus lack of sleep. I’m just hoping the Tinnitus spike settles down

[rabbits65 in reply to TMotown]

Yes it will settle down , just keep calm , keep your mind occupied , chat with friends , go for walks , tinnitus can be awful in the first 4 months or so , then the brain learns to adapt/accept , it’s called habituation. There have been some very good supportive posts on here from various people . I survived on this tinnitus forum and found the help really supportive. Of course I’m still suffering with tinnitus but I’ve learnt to adjust and live with it. I’m sure your be ok . 😊

[Happyrosie]

TMotown, as rabbits says there are other ways to cope with tinnitus other than sleeping tablets. One of our forum members surreyccfan has posted a few times about how s/he has coped, her/his ideas are, in my view, hugely helpful. See if you can find them on this forum but if you can’t post here again and I will have a delve to see if I can find it.

[TMotown in reply to Happyrosie]

Thank you, I’ll have a look 👍

[surreycccfan in reply to TMotown]

Thanks Happyrosie.

Tmotown if you can't find my posts message me. In addition to this, I also came off anti-depressants (SSRIs) as my T caused me depression. Its tough coming off SSRIs, as others have posted I think its important to give yourself time and be gentle with yourself as coming off SSRIs is a difficult and sometimes a stressful process which can cause anxiety and subsequent spikes in T.

What I did when I came off them was to use CBT tools to reframe any 'negative' thoughts I may be having to try and reduce any feelings of anxiety, stress and/or worry. The main grounding technique I used was to say to myself when I was feeling rotten from coming off the SSRIs was 'I know my mood has improved and I know I am feeling resilient enough to come off the SSRIs so although this process is making me feeling rotten this is only temporary and once they are out of my system these effects will pass and I can live well without SSRIs'

Hope this helps in some small way. Stay safe

[doglover1973]

Hi TMotown I'm sorry you're having withdrawals and hope you feel better very soon xxx

[Billo1]

Hi TMotown, I am in similar situation to yours . T for 10 months and on Mirtazapine for about 7. I was on a low dose (15mg) and started tapering down very slowly (over 2 months) and will eventually come off completely this week. It has been hard since Mirtazapine has helped with the sleep and T may have spiked a little but it is for the best and I am glad I do no longer rely on it. May look for herbal remedies such as flowers of Bach when needed .. all the very best to you .

[TMotown in reply to Billo1]

Thank you so much for your reply, much appreciated. I think I've reduced my dose too much in one go, going from 30mg to 15mg. This was with the Dr recommendation, however looking at reviews the recommendation is to have a more tapered withdrawal, I shall definitely be more aware when I reduced the final 15mg.

[TinnitusUKPat Partner]

I have to agree with the forum members on this one - any withdrawal from medication can have a physical effect on us. But that physical impact should begin to lessen once the medication has been left our system.

We know that tinnitus responds to changes in our body, mind or emotional state, so it's possible for tinnitus to spike during such a change - particularly if the change that's happening is related to issues like medication for anxiety.

If you're coping differently with anxiety - using a CBT-derived thought process to manage the problems that you have, for example - there's good evidence that using CBT tools can help you to manage your stress, lessen the chance of panic attacks affecting you and that this may in turn help you to control your tinnitus in a positive way, too.

This is a stage - it will pass - and your T will be manageable probably sooner than you think.

[TMotown in reply to TinnitusUKPat]

Thank you, yes I've done two courses on CBT which I did find very helpful. I also use relaxation exercises. I think I just need to hang on in there until it passes.

[1966366]

Hiya TMotown, your situation is pretty much the same as mine was although I decided to go "cold turkey" when I stopped the benzos for t to pursue another course of treatment. My t came back x10! In fact it's called "Rebound Symptoms" and I went through a long period of chronic insomnia. On a positive note, my t settled down after approx a month, although to say it is very much a quicker than to endure it! No sleep and horrendous t - not a lot of things worse! I was eventually prescribed 5 Zopiclone and that's about it. Keep on keeping on, you will get there! All da best

[TMotown in reply to 1966366]

Thank you, good to hear it settled down again, I was really getting worried that I'll be stuck at this level of T..

[Rickardo]

Dear TMotown. I would suggest you persevere as I'm also on Temazapine 45mg and I will NOT drop my dose as this is needed for severe depression and I do feel there is also some benefit with my severe T. I have been on Temazapine for over 15 years to date so there will be no benefit for me to reduce.I have found recently that Cinnarazine 30mg x3 per day - please note ie: morning 30mg, lunch 30mg and evening night time 30mg. This is the highest recommend dose and it does seem to help me with the severe episodes of T i have.

The severe episodes are greatly reduced in any given week so I feel this as a bonus and I will put up with the rest of my suffering with T accordingly.

I'm happy to continue with this treatment for the time being as this is relatively early days since I was prescribed Cinnarazine. This was a change of meds from Betahystine which I didn't feel were helping in any way whatsoever. I hope to keep you updated as I progress but for now I'm happy with the medication so far as It's a best of a bad case I presume. There will never be a cure so I just soldier on.

Best regards, Richard.

[TMotown in reply to Rickardo]

Thank you, I look forward to hearing how you progress, I really hope you get some relief

[Hidden in reply to TMotown]

Hi! Just wanted to see how things progressed for you? I’ve been withdrawing from mirtazapine now for 6 weeks and Tinnitus still with me which is causing a lot of panic attacks! It’s hell. Would love to hear back

[DR650SE]

Hello TMotownSorry to hear about your withdrawal symptoms .

This is what will be ahead of me no doubt :-((

I don't want to be on antidepressants either as I am not depressed but suffer anxiety and sleep issues because of tinnitus

.I have been on mirtazapine for three weeks primarily for chronic insomnia .The tinnitus is far louder and more intrusive than it has ever been. You said that your T was more manageable while on mirtazapine .Did you have a T spike for the first few months after taking mirtazapine before the T settled down and became more manageable or did the T become more manageable from day 1 please?

Thanks

Peter

[TMotown in reply to DR650SE]

Hi, thank you for your reply. I also took Mirtazapine for insomnia and also panic attacks and anxiety caused by Tinnitus. I found that once I could sleep again and the panic attacks stopped the Tinnitus became more manageable.

However alongside Mirtazapine I had a course of CBT and also attended workshops and support groups with the BTA. I also did regular relaxation, I found that this holistic approach helped me to start to get back in control. Distraction and relaxation is key for me.

With hindsight I would have reduced the Mirtazapine more gradually but I followed the GP,s instructions, I don’t think he realised what a rebound might happen with the sleep and Tinnitus spiking.

Thankfully things are improving now, I hope your starts to settle soon.

[DR650SE in reply to TMotown]

Hello TMotownThanks for replying so promptly .Certainly " one size doesn't fit all "

Trying to find an antidepressant to assist sleep which doesn't aggravate tinnitus seems challenging to say the least for many people

Peter