Posted by 49er on September 7, 2008, at 8:12:18
In reply to Advice!! Can I just stop taking my Remeron?, posted by BRC on September 3, 2008, at 11:44:28
> Hi,
>
> First of all I know that you are not suppose to change and/or stop any medication without the knowledge and/or supervision of your physician.
>
> That being said. I trust the men and women (those who happen to be part of psycho babble) for their opinions and comments b/c like me they actually have to take this stuff.
>
> I posted earlier how over the years Remeron has caused me to put on quite a bit of weight. I am a very active 32 year old male and over the course of treatment with Remeron I have went from about 165lbs. to about 205lbs with no change in activity just appetite. I do not however contribute all the weight gain solely to the Remeron. I basically take the Remeron for sleep purposes
>
> My question is the following: I take 60mg of Cymbalta, 200mg Luvox, 600mg Lyrica, 4mg Klonopin, 30mg Remeron for OCD and GAD. If I were to just stop the Remeron cold turkey, would the other meds help block the withdrawal side effects from the Remeron? Or would I feel withdrawal side effects anyway?
>
> I want to stop the Remeron to see if my appetite slows down. I know at night after I take my Remeron I get extremely hungry. I know that it is in part due to the histamine effects the Remeron has on the brain. I do not want to stop the Remeron suddenly if it is going to cause adverse effects. But if my appetite does slow down then I want my doc to take me off the med.
>
> Hope to hear your advice and comments.
>
> brcBRC,
As one who is tapering Remeron, DO NOT CT IT.
Personally, I would taper 10% of the current dose every 4 to 8 weeks. Doing it the way most psychiatrists would taper might be too fast and would be the equivelant of a cold turkey taper.
Your brain needs time to adapt the neurochemical changes of having less of the drug in your body. A cold turkey withdrawal or too fast of a taper can cause withdrawal symptoms that look like a return of the illness.
By the way, my last cut was 5% and it took 3 weeks to feel "normal". But I am at around 3mg so I think it gets really harder at the lower doses.
If you're interested, I can tell you how to do the taper at the rate I am suggesting. I am not selling anything as I just don't want people to suffer.
49er
PS - I don't always remember to check for follow up responses. So if I don't respond right away, please don't take it personally
poster:49er
thread:850073
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080903/msgs/850760.html