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Remeron vs. Seroquel

I have been taking Remeron(Mirtazapine) for 5 1/2 years for insomnia and anxiety.
It has many side effects; non-stop appetite, weight gain, lethargy, depersonalization,
derealization (removed from reality), nightmares, memory problems(foggy head)
. I have tried to quit a dozen times or more. I've tapered slowly, quit cold turkey,
and substituted other medicines such as elavil. Elavil caused me bone marrow
depression,unknown to me, white blood cells did not produce and I did not know why I was getting so sick. Had pneumonia, major sinus infections almost had to have nasal surgery.
But after extreme research discovered that though rare, this bone marrow depression can
Occur. Quit Elavil and got well after mega doses of levaquin, augmentin, cefzil etc…
Last Friday 3-6-09 I decided to quit remeron cold turkey with my doctors help. My withdrawal From Remeron includes many hellish side effects such as; nausea, brain shocks, insomnia, flu like symptoms, Insomnia being the worst by far. I take meclizine for the nausea, valium for the brain shocks, and now Seroquel for insomnia. Valium I can quit cold turkey(long half-life). Its seroquel that has me concerned because it antagonizes many parts of the brain that Remeron does creating a sedative effect possibly making it addictive. Am I robbing Peter To pay Paul???? Has anyone had experiences with Remeron(mirtazapine) or Seroquel (quetiapine). Particularly withdrawal Experiences. Has anyone successfully quit Remeron After five years??? Had any experience with seroquel addiction or withdrawal?? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for listening.
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242532 tn?1269550379
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
You have a tough problem to solve, but I assure you it is solvable.  I applaud your research efforts but encourage you to work closely with a doctor you trust. If you start trying to figure out what is going on in your brain chemistry, you will get lost in a morass of information...the brain has millions of chemical transactions going on at any moment in time..what you read in the literature re the action of these drugs only covers a tiny amount of the total...you can't figure it out that way...you need a doctor to work with you to find your unique solution.
Helpful - 2
Avatar universal
Thank you for answering my post Dr. I agree and understand that the info I receive from wikipedia is very abstract. I am not a neurologist. I have psychiatrists and doctors that I have seen. Psychiatrists always want to supplement one drug for another. Family Doctors usually prescribe a 3 month script for ambien or some type of benzo or refer me to a psychiatrist. I have tried to taper down from 45 to 15. I really have not had much of a problem doing this. Its when I go below 15mg that I have problems. I have used syringes and pill cutters to taper down 1 mg every 10 days. After I have reached 12mg I feel as
if I have quit cold turkey. Nausea, anxiety, insomnia etc... So I figured why not go
cold turkey and use valium to aid me with anxiety and insomnia, meclizine works
on  the nausea. I have been off remeron for 10 days and my nausea and brain zaps
are almost gone. Now I must fight the insomnia and anxiety and quit valium. Something I have not done yet. My primary question is do you know of anyone that
quit remeron the way I have and stayed off without supplementing another drug??
TO know that it can be done would give me great hope and hope goes a long way in
a battle of this nature. I just want natural sleep and not have anxiety.
Helpful - 0

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