Long-term sexual dysfunction after fast Mirtazapine taper – looking for feedback from people who recovered
Male, 44 years old.
I’m looking for feedback from people who have experienced sexual dysfunction during or after tapering Mirtazapine (Remeron).
Brief history:
Took Sertraline 50 mg for about 5 months in 2020.
Stopped Sertraline cold turkey in June 2020.
Lost libido and erections but still enjoyed sex and orgasms.
Recovered fully after about 15 months and by September 2021 had normal libido, erections and sexual pleasure.
Mirtazapine history:
Took low-dose Mirtazapine from late 2021 to early 2023.
Increased to 30 mg around February 2023.
Stayed on 30 mg until around September 2023.
Fast tapered from 30 mg to about 4.5 mg in roughly 10 weeks.
Since that taper I have struggled with:
Loss of libido
Loss of attraction
Loss of mental arousal
Feeling asexual during bad waves
Occasional shrunken penis feeling
Intermittent sore/burning urethra
However, there are some things that make me question whether this is permanent:
January 2024 I had a major window and felt almost normal.
I had additional windows during 2024.
January to March 2026 I felt around 60–70% recovered.
During good periods I could get erections from sexual thoughts alone.
I still get strong morning erections.
I can still have pleasurable orgasms.
Recently I became aroused during a video call with my wife, had a strong erection and orgasm.
Porn currently gives me around 30–40% arousal, whereas a month ago it did almost nothing.
Current status:
Tapered from 1.1 mg → 1.0 mg → 0.9 mg → 0.8 mg and now 0.7 mg.
Libido is inconsistent and comes in waves.
Some days I feel almost asexual.
Other days I get flickers of desire and attraction.
Questions:
Has anyone experienced severe libido/arousal fluctuations while tapering below 1 mg?
Did anyone continue to get windows and waves for months or years before stabilising?
Did your libido, attraction and sexual enjoyment improve only after reaching zero?
If you recovered, how long after full discontinuation did you notice consistent improvement?
I’m especially interested in hearing from people who had long-lasting symptoms but still experienced windows of recovery.
Thanks.
Posted Jun 23, 2026, 10:24 AM UTC