Tapering off mirtazapine

Hello, I was on 45mg Mitrazapine for around 8 months, I went down to 30mg, held for 6 weeks, was fine, then down to 15mg, it’s been 6 weeks and still very anxious and groggy the next day. Could 15mg be causing grogginess and anxiety? My psych said to hold 15mg for 3 weeks then go to zero.

I’m also on 50mg sertraline, I was on 100mg but tapered down to 50mg before I started the mitrazapine taper. I’m also on 6mg of Diazepam, tapered very slowly from 10mg.

I’m curious if the 15mg mitrazapine is causing me to be more anxious than?

@sl2485
I am on 15 mgs. of Mirtazapine and 100 mgs. of Clomipramine for OCD, anxiety and depression. The Mirtazapine was added to help me sleep. The way Mirtazapine works is the higher the dose the more it stimulates Norepinephrine. At 7 mgs. and 15 mgs. it produces more sedation. Sometimes when you are on different medications it’s hard to tell what drug is causing the increase in anxiety. And the change doesn’t happen overnight. Changing medication demands a lot of time and patience. Hang in there and hopefully something clicks .

@mitch4444 so essentially at 15mg it’s pretty much just a sleep aid? I was at 30mg until 18th April and doing OK, I then dropped to 15mg and was good at first but last couple of weeks have been hell with anxiety and fatigue. I dropped to 50mg of sertraline back in February so I’m pretty sure it’s not that.

@sl2485
Yes, it is used for sleep and I’m not sure if it has a small antidepressant effect as well. Your anxiety may be from the change of the medication (s). Sometimes you need to give it more time to settle. Don’t forget all the receptors that are being affected. Mental health medication is never easy. I was on Clomipramine for 30 years and I thought I would try Cipralex. That was a nightmare. The SSRI worked at first then extreme anxiety crept in. I’m back on Clomipramine but is was not easy to get back on after 3 months. Be careful with changes

@sl2485
Also some medication takes longer to leave your system. Keep trying!