![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Nina on January 23, 2001, at 14:14:14
Hi all--I've been on Remeron (up to 45 mg)for a year and a half. Have also been on Klonopin (down to 1/4 of 1 mg at bedtime) and now down to less than 100 mg of Neurontin (for chronic nerve pain). No matter what dose of Remeron I'm on I have a terrible time getting out of bed in the morning. I tried going up to 60 mg at one point and still had the same trouble. I did not have this problem before starting Remeron. The pdoc says I should go off the Klonopin first. I've got that down to 1/4 of 1 mg, but I really want to get off the Remeron first so I can feel more energetic in the morning. Pdoc says taper, but the Remeron does make me feel even more doped up in a.m. at 30 mg. Has anyone been on it for this long (year and a half) and gone off without slow taper. Withdrawal effects? Anybody been on Remeron & Klonopin and tried to go off them both--which did you do first? I've been on Klonopin for 5 years (started for insomnia when taking Prozac). Thanks for any advice/help!
Posted by allisonm on January 23, 2001, at 15:44:38
In reply to How to go off Remeron (+ Klonopin and Neurontin), posted by Nina on January 23, 2001, at 14:14:14
I was on Remeron for more than two years, usually at 30 to 45 mg. I cut back in 15mg increments over months because we were trying other drugs to augment, and increasing the amounts of the augmenting ones as we tapered the Rem. Every time the dose was changed I just stopped taking the higher dose and took the lower dose.
I felt no side-effects from lowering from 45 to 30 except that I wasn't so woosy at night or as foggy in the morning, for which I was grateful. I lowered to 15mg last April when my Wellbutrin dose was upped to 400. When I was last on Rem (October)I was taking the 15mg, which for me was much less sedating than 30. I hardly noticed feeling sleepy. In October my doctor instructed me to just stop taking it (we switched to Neurontin as an augment to the Wellbutrin). I felt no side-effects from stopping the 15mg aside from a nasty sinus headache the next day. That was it.
I haven't tried getting off Neurontin (I'm at 1000mg), but because it spends so little time in the body wonder whether there would much effect. No idea. Maybe someone else has experience with that.
I've never taken Klonopin.
Good luck.
Posted by roo on January 23, 2001, at 16:17:17
In reply to Re: How to go off Remeron (+ Klonopin and Neurontin), posted by allisonm on January 23, 2001, at 15:44:38
Did either of you gain weight on Remeron? Or
have sexual side effects? I take prozac and
neurotin, and it's pretty good for the depression,
but I haven't had a sex drive for about 2 years.
I'm really missing it.
Posted by allisonm on January 23, 2001, at 16:33:55
In reply to Re: How to go off Remeron (+ Klonopin and Neurontin), posted by roo on January 23, 2001, at 16:17:17
Yes, I gained weight. I gained even more when lithium was added to augment, and could not stop it or take it off. When off the li the weight thing leveled off.
As for sex drive, as I recall, it was there. I had no significant other for most of my time on Remeron, so would not be the best person to report.
Posted by Jeff on January 24, 2001, at 13:03:13
In reply to How to go off Remeron (+ Klonopin and Neurontin), posted by Nina on January 23, 2001, at 14:14:14
> Hi all--I've been on Remeron (up to 45 mg)for a year and a half. Have also been on Klonopin (down to 1/4 of 1 mg at bedtime) and now down to less than 100 mg of Neurontin (for chronic nerve pain). No matter what dose of Remeron I'm on I have a terrible time getting out of bed in the morning. I tried going up to 60 mg at one point and still had the same trouble. I did not have this problem before starting Remeron. The pdoc says I should go off the Klonopin first. I've got that down to 1/4 of 1 mg, but I really want to get off the Remeron first so I can feel more energetic in the morning. Pdoc says taper, but the Remeron does make me feel even more doped up in a.m. at 30 mg. Has anyone been on it for this long (year and a half) and gone off without slow taper. Withdrawal effects? Anybody been on Remeron & Klonopin and tried to go off them both--which did you do first? I've been on Klonopin for 5 years (started for insomnia when taking Prozac). Thanks for any advice/help!
I wasn't on that long, but got a lot of anxiety going off. I just tapered evn more than I had been and didn't have any other problems.
Posted by Nina on January 24, 2001, at 20:08:24
In reply to Re: How to go off Remeron (+ Klonopin and Neurontin), posted by Jeff on January 24, 2001, at 13:03:13
Thanks for the responses.
Weight gain--yes, about 20 pounds, although initially I had lost a fair amount of weight due to depression and chronic pain, so it was not a problem for about 6 months (which apparently is atypical).
Sex drive: Pretty low but not sure if it's the medication.
I have gone down from 32.5 mg to 30 mg and notice that I wake up quite a bit more during the night than on the slightly higher dose (weird, hunh). However, I did feel less groggy this morning when I woke up, and am not feeling noticeably more depressed (I don't really have typical depression--it was more situational from having had nerve damage from a surgery).
Posted by allisonm on January 24, 2001, at 20:34:52
In reply to Re: How to go off Remeron (+ Klonopin and Neurontin), posted by Nina on January 24, 2001, at 20:08:24
I started seeing a psychiatrist because I could not sleep. That's how I got on the Remeron. I don't know a lot about sleep patterns, but I have had periods where I woke up several times every night (usually around 3 and then again at 5 but sometimes 2 and 4 or midnight, 3, 5 etc.). My psychiatrist isn't concerned about it unless I cannot fall asleep again. I get the impression that it's normal to wake up once or twice at night, as long as you can turn over and fall back asleep.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.