Trazodone to Mirtazapine

[Thistle54]

Hi Guys, I have been taking trazodone for over 10 year (currently on 75mg). It is no longer working for me as I have had chronic insomnia for months now and I am very anxious due to not sleeping, I can’t increase the trazodone as it makes me feel really ill and I still can’t sleep.

My GP switched me from trazodone to Mirtazapine 15mg however I am sleeping all day on this and feel like a zombie! I have tried taking a quarter of the Mirtazapine (3.75mg) last night and this is enough to get me the sleep I need. I’m now worrying that I am going to suffer from withdrawal from the trazodone.

I would appreciate any advise.

[kaliska0]

You will have withdrawal from trazodone. That's just part of taking psychiatric meds. Any med you take will result in withdrawal. Don't start a med if you don't want to some day face withdrawal because practically nothing works forever. Make sure to taper it or life will be rather miserable for awhile. It generally only lasts a few days each time you drop the dose so depending how slowly you have to taper it may be a week or 2 to stop having withdrawal symptoms. Really long term use like that makes it even more likely withdrawal will take awhile. Your brain has to figure out how to function without something it's had altering it for a good portion of your life now.

Mirtazapine often loses much of it's sedation after a few weeks to a few months. Never base decisions off what it does immediately. Some even find it becomes more stimulating and they have to take it in the morning eventually. If you have a strong reaction to the sedating properties though this is unlikely and it will probably just become a milder sedative over time. It also means better odds it will work for longer since mirtazapine often doesn't work on sleep problems for long. It can be good for taking a break from other meds for a few months to get rid of the resistance you've built to them and then meds you've taken for years may work again. Although they tend to never work as well or for as long as they did originally.