Mirtazapine (aka Remeron)

Neon Lights · #1 21st June 2017, 20:02

Hi folks!

So, I have been troubled by Social/Performance Anxiety and Depression most if my life, but for the last 6 months I have also been bothered with General Anxiety...due to a number of additional work and personal stresses. At times, it has been quite crippling...and the episodes of depression have been longer and deeper. Social Anxiety has been much the same as it always was - moderate.

I have taken SSRI's 3 times in the past - Citalipram and Fluoxetine - with limited success. I found the initial weeks and months very bumpy and didn't do myself any favours by continuing to consume large quantities of alcohol at weekends, which really screwed my head up.

I have been trying to avoid going back on anti depressants, having been off them for 5 years, but now feel any side effects would be the lesser of 2 evils.

Due to my reluctance over SSRI's and difficulty sleeping because of stress (unless I have a few drinks, Nytol or sleeping tablets...), my doctor has recommended a 'NASSA' anti depressant called Mirtazapine (aka Remeron). It apparently works differently to SSRI's, but to achieve the same ends - to improve/ stabilise the chemical balance in your brain.

I just wondered if anybody had taken Mirtazapine before...what their experience was like and how it compares to the usual SSRI's. Due to my concerns over side effects, they wanted the start me on the lowest dose, which I think is 15mg, then going up to 30mg if all is well.

I'm really worried about being visibly spaced out while at work, as happened (or so I felt) when I took SSRI's.

Any feedback most welcome.

Thanks.

David K · #2 21st June 2017, 20:03

I found it made me sleep too much. I didn't feel spaced out when I was awake though.

I hope they help you.

Neon Lights · #3 21st June 2017, 20:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by David K

I found it made me sleep too much. I didn't feel spaced out when I was awake though.

I hope they help you.

I think the sedative effects were part of the reason the doctor suggested them, as I had been prescribed sleeping tablets a few times. Also, taking them in the evening, rather than morning, should reduce side effect 'jitters' during work (hopefully)....

humphrey · #4 21st June 2017, 21:23

I have been on it for a few years now, and it really does help me sleep. If I forget to take it, my sleeping pattern goes to pot that night and I feel really groggy the following morning. Without it, I would be like a zombie. I take it with Citalopram they both help with my depression, I wouldn't be able to function without them.

If it wasn't for these medications I would probably have had another breakdown.

misska · #5 22nd June 2017, 00:39

Had a bad experience with them, gained lots of weight and craved sugary foods. Made me sleep well at first then I became a zombie constantly tired. I also became really angry on them. You may as well try and see if they work as no loss and everyone reacts differently.

Neon Lights · #6 23rd June 2017, 17:48

Mixed experiences, which I suppose is the same for any anti depressant...

Have had a few days off work and did some long walks , which seems to have helped. Might try and up my exercise and see if that helps over a few weeks, before taking the plunge with the pills....

Neon Lights · #7 24th June 2017, 11:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinny

it's hard to get it right isn't it?

I took citalopram for ages which really helped my SA & also my general mood, but then they affected my heart & I started getting an abnormal heart flutter, so the dr has prescribed beta blockers, but I've only taken them twice and hated them both times.

I take beta blockers every day and while they don't prevent anxiety or make you feel relaxed, as such, they seem put a 'cap' on how high the anxiety can go...like there is glass ceiling. For me, having a 50-60% anxiety level is better than 90-100%, particularly in situations like meetings at work.

Occultus · #8 24th June 2017, 11:19

I've been taking Mirtazapine at various dosages for 7 years now. I changed my meds after intially being prescribed sertraline. The side-effects of sertraline where the reason for the change, alongside experiencing difficulty with sleeping (primarily, getting to sleep, and then light-sleeping/restlessness).

I take the Mirtazapine before bedtime, and it definitely helps me to get off to sleep, and largely from restless sleeping. It does quite often seem to give me weird dreams though, but nothing horrendous. No other problems with it as such other than that - some weight gain over the years, but this has been fairly moderate, and offset with doing my best to eat well and exercise often, and probably isn't solely down to any side-effects of the medication, to be fair. I also sometimes feel groggy for a short while when I wake in the morning, but it soon wears off, but I think this is often due to lack of sleep/quality of sleep as much as it is the sedative effects of the medication.

For me, definitely a better choice than the sertraline. Best of luck with it..!

Kitsune · #9 26th November 2017, 13:51

I've been on mirtazapine since 2009 with a break for about half a year i think. I couldn't tolerate ssri's.
It really helped me when i was having problems with insomnia and not eating as well as overwhelming anxiety, it definitely pulled me out of suicidal depression and anxiety enough to stabilise me so that i could then go out and do the things i needed to do to have a better life and feel better about things.
It has however made it so that i put on a load of weight really quickly (coupled with a bad diet) and i very occasionally get restless legs around bedtime which is irritating.
I think perhaps it has blunted my emotions slightly as well, but i suppose it's better than being a total mess!
All in all I think I needed it, it's just unfortunate about the weight gain, but i'd rather be overweight, alive and functional than injured/dead.
The one thing i'd say is just watch out as it made me so comfortable initially that it's easy to neglect doing the therapy/ work etc that needs to be done to learn to handle anxiety for if/when you may want to come off them.
Also 15mg is more sedating than 30mg apparently!

Jason90 · #10 26th November 2017, 17:57

I had experience on Citalopram which I found didn't really help that much, fluoxetine which scared me because initially things were spinning and the first few days I had an erection that wouldn't go no matter what then went away and stopped me getting erections and killed my sex drive. This scared me that I would be permanently left with e.d so I stopped taking drugs all together and replaced it with weights and long walks which was the main way I cured my depression, personally I believe exercise to be far superior to any drugs but getting the drive to keep at it in the start can be hard.

It's not my place to judge but personally I wouldn't drink often if your taking any depression medication, I believe they say you shouldn't too on the leaflet but that's your choice.

As for Mirtazapine, the first time I took it I woke up so exhausted I couldn't even speak, it was like when I had rohypnol and I literally became a zombie. After a few days this was no longer a problem, as Kitsune mentioned the lower the dosage the worse the sleep effect, can't remember why. Also as Kitune said it made me gain quite a bit of weight, it was like having someone chant "eat, eat, eat" in my head and I did. In terms of benefiting my depression, it probably worked the best and would be my first call if I ever were to be depressed as I was (touch wood). I found it definitely made me sleep but I didn't feel rested, I believe I had propanolol at the same time for anxiety, maybe you could ask about it?