1. < Sleep Health

Ambien and mirtazapine

Posted by imomtojdkt @imomtojdkt, Jun 5 3:08pm

I have gone through a lot of trauma and medical issues this last year and it’s gotten to the point the Ambien I’ve taken for 15 years isn’t working well anymore. My doc started me on Mirtazapine for that and other issues and I thought I could just cold turkey the Ambien. That does not work. Does anyone have suggestions, I’m thinking of cutting Ambien down 25% a week while taking Mirtazapine so I can eventually only reply on that. Any thoughts?TIA

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almondman2015 | @almondman2015 | Jun 9 6:43pm

After years of different medications I've settled on 15 minutes of sunlight in the morning, 1 to 2 miles of brisk walking per day, 1 capsule each of 500 Mg GABA aminobutyric and Vallarian with a cup of tart cherry juice (TCJ). Hot shower before bed and tongue on pallet meditation. If wake up after about 3 hours, another GABA and Vallarian, swallowed with 1/4 cup TCJ. The TCJ has some melatonin in it.

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cindisue | @cindisue | Jun 9 8:43pm
In reply to @con123 "I have a prescription for 2mg plus an extra 1/2 tablet (1mg) if needed in the..." + (show)
@con123

I have a prescription for 2mg plus an extra 1/2 tablet (1mg) if needed in the middle of the night. It is working very well, and being able to sleep helps with anxiety. I particularly enjoy dreaming again as during the 9 months of insomnia, even if I did sleep, I stopped dreaming.

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When I tried Lunesta...my doctor only prescribed 1mg so I guess thats why it didn't work. Yes....getting good sleep helps anxiety alot.

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kawanhee | @kawanhee | Jun 10 4:39pm
In reply to @ripley "What dose of mirtazapine do you take? I tried 7.5 mg one night and it helped..." + (show)
@ripley

What dose of mirtazapine do you take? I tried 7.5 mg one night and it helped but I was extremely sleepy for 3 days afterwards so stopped taking it.

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7.5 mg. My body has adjusted well and I’m sleeping!

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elke1211 | @elke1211 | Jun 13 8:14am

Ambien is effective, but I couldn’t take daily because it’s less effective if used often. I didn’t experience the same with mirtazapine. The mirtazapine was pretty effective alone, but made me hungry and I never used more than 3 days in a row. My PA just rotated. As long as you don’t take Ambien er, I think you can cut it, I just don’t think taking 1/4 if you take it a lot will do much. I don’t know though, not an MD. I have gone off Ambien and onto mirtazapine with no taper. Quvivig is a new sleep med , less powerful I think. It has helped me more with the startle reflex I have. It takes time to do that.

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2 replies
elke1211 | @elke1211 | Jun 13 8:17am

Have you tried prozosin with anything. Prozosin is given often to people with nightmares PTSD

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imomtojdkt | @imomtojdkt | Jun 13 8:24am
In reply to @elke1211 "Ambien is effective, but I couldn’t take daily because it’s less effective if used often. I..." + (show)
@elke1211

Ambien is effective, but I couldn’t take daily because it’s less effective if used often. I didn’t experience the same with mirtazapine. The mirtazapine was pretty effective alone, but made me hungry and I never used more than 3 days in a row. My PA just rotated. As long as you don’t take Ambien er, I think you can cut it, I just don’t think taking 1/4 if you take it a lot will do much. I don’t know though, not an MD. I have gone off Ambien and onto mirtazapine with no taper. Quvivig is a new sleep med , less powerful I think. It has helped me more with the startle reflex I have. It takes time to do that.

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How long were you on Ambien when you did a direct switch to mirtizapine? And how long did it take for you not to be exhausted during the day taking it? TIA

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elke1211 | @elke1211 | Jun 13 8:33am

I had taken Ambien for 2.5 or 3 years. It took a couple of weeks before the mirtazapine stopped making me feel so tired. It was worth it because it wasn’t addictive and I stopped sending weird emails I didn’t remember. 😊

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1 reply
imomtojdkt | @imomtojdkt | Jun 13 8:56am

Thanks for the info. Just one more thing. Did you have any withdrawal symptoms from stopping Ambien cold turkey? I heard they could be the same as benzodiazepines.

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imomtojdkt | @imomtojdkt | Jun 14 10:35am
In reply to @elke1211 "I had taken Ambien for 2.5 or 3 years. It took a couple of weeks before..." + (show)
@elke1211

I had taken Ambien for 2.5 or 3 years. It took a couple of weeks before the mirtazapine stopped making me feel so tired. It was worth it because it wasn’t addictive and I stopped sending weird emails I didn’t remember. 😊

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How long have you taken the mirtazipine? I took it 15 mg for 10 days then went down to 7.5 to see how that would do, horrible withdrawal and bad sleep. I’m going back to 15.

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ripley | @ripley | Jun 14 12:40pm
In reply to @elke1211 "Ambien is effective, but I couldn’t take daily because it’s less effective if used often. I..." + (show)
@elke1211

Ambien is effective, but I couldn’t take daily because it’s less effective if used often. I didn’t experience the same with mirtazapine. The mirtazapine was pretty effective alone, but made me hungry and I never used more than 3 days in a row. My PA just rotated. As long as you don’t take Ambien er, I think you can cut it, I just don’t think taking 1/4 if you take it a lot will do much. I don’t know though, not an MD. I have gone off Ambien and onto mirtazapine with no taper. Quvivig is a new sleep med , less powerful I think. It has helped me more with the startle reflex I have. It takes time to do that.

Jump to this post

What strength of mirtazapine do you take? I tried 7.5mg one night and slept okay, but was so tired for the next 3 days that I never took it again. Now I'm thinking of trying again at half that dose.

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