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How To Wean Off Remeron And Ativan?

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Posted on Mon, 21 Apr 2014
Question: I have been weaning off Remeron and am down to 1.75 mg for the past 10 days. I have not stabilized on that dose and just found out that the .5 ativan that I have been taking three time a day could also be causing withdrawal effects - neither my gp or the psych mentionned anything about the interactions or how I should be dealing with the ativan. I am looking for direction since I have had so many side affects and thought they were all from remeron withdrawal.
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Answered by Dr. Srikanth Reddy (9 hours later)
Brief Answer: 1.75 mg Remeron is too low Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for choosing health care magic for posting your query. I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through. Remeron 1.75 mg is too low a dose to bother about. Even if you discontinue it abruptly at 1.75 mg, there would be no withdrawal effects. I agree with you that ativan can cause withdrawal symptoms if stopped abruptly from 0.5mg three times a day. You need to reduce your ativan tablets that you are taking in the morning. You may reduce one tablet per week and gradually reduce the three that you are taking in three weeks time. If you are still having anxiety or depressive symptoms, then it is possible that they arenot the withdrawal symptoms, but symptoms of the primary illness that you were suffering from initially (Depression/anxiety) for which you were started on rameron. I understand that both rameron and wellbutrin has not helped you. You may try other options like paroxetine, escitalopram or citalopram etc. Also there is an option of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). This therapy is taken by either a psychologist or a psychiatrist in which the therapist identifies impaired cognitions (Thoughts) and try to correct them. They are 15-20 min weekly session and there should be around 8-10 sessions to help you with your illness. Hope I am able to answer your concerns. If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you. If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for me, so that I get a good feedback. In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link: bit.ly/dr-srikanth-reddy Wish you good health, Kind regards Dr. Srikanth Reddy M.D.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Srikanth Reddy

Psychiatrist

Practicing since :2007

Answered : 2770 Questions

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How To Wean Off Remeron And Ativan?

Brief Answer: 1.75 mg Remeron is too low Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for choosing health care magic for posting your query. I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through. Remeron 1.75 mg is too low a dose to bother about. Even if you discontinue it abruptly at 1.75 mg, there would be no withdrawal effects. I agree with you that ativan can cause withdrawal symptoms if stopped abruptly from 0.5mg three times a day. You need to reduce your ativan tablets that you are taking in the morning. You may reduce one tablet per week and gradually reduce the three that you are taking in three weeks time. If you are still having anxiety or depressive symptoms, then it is possible that they arenot the withdrawal symptoms, but symptoms of the primary illness that you were suffering from initially (Depression/anxiety) for which you were started on rameron. I understand that both rameron and wellbutrin has not helped you. You may try other options like paroxetine, escitalopram or citalopram etc. Also there is an option of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). This therapy is taken by either a psychologist or a psychiatrist in which the therapist identifies impaired cognitions (Thoughts) and try to correct them. They are 15-20 min weekly session and there should be around 8-10 sessions to help you with your illness. Hope I am able to answer your concerns. If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you. If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for me, so that I get a good feedback. In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link: bit.ly/dr-srikanth-reddy Wish you good health, Kind regards Dr. Srikanth Reddy M.D.