Mirtazapine - Weakness?
Discussion
My wife was prescribed Mirtazipine and her weight ballooned by over 3 stone in under three months. It also turned her into a zombie
She came off it, weight plummeted. 3 months and back to normal
I took it once when I was suffering a bout of insomnia. 1/3rd of a tablet. It knocked me out for 12 hours, and then most of the next day was spent crawling around feeling weak and feeble before having to go back to bed in the afternoon. Awful.
She came off it, weight plummeted. 3 months and back to normal
I took it once when I was suffering a bout of insomnia. 1/3rd of a tablet. It knocked me out for 12 hours, and then most of the next day was spent crawling around feeling weak and feeble before having to go back to bed in the afternoon. Awful.
Not really at 15, lol!
She's not thin to start with but is just borderline ok but I'm concerned the school nurse has already labelled her fat which upset her immensely so don't want her to gain weight really.
So far the tablets have had no effect on her moods but we are only really a week in so it's very early days. She's back at CAMHS today so see her therapist and I asked her to check in with the Dr re meds if she could whilst there.
She's not thin to start with but is just borderline ok but I'm concerned the school nurse has already labelled her fat which upset her immensely so don't want her to gain weight really.
So far the tablets have had no effect on her moods but we are only really a week in so it's very early days. She's back at CAMHS today so see her therapist and I asked her to check in with the Dr re meds if she could whilst there.
I moved off it in the end to venlafaxine which was a lot better. McVities werent that happy about it, think I put the boss's kids through college with the amount of them I was buying, but venlafaxine helped me more than mirtazapine did, it's a question of finding the right ones really.
Even though there's a lot of challenging stuff going on for me right now, I've been asking some questions about Mirtazapine, which I've been on since March.
I had been on Venlafaxine to help with depression brought on by battling with divorce but that was sedating me too much. The doc put me on 15mg Mirtazapine daily - he said it'd be less sedating. I went though a period of significant dizziness and even though it went away, the doc and I decided to keep the dose as first prescribed.
Through taking this drug, I'm still having spectacular dreams; not all are nightmares but most seem to involve being unable to fulfill things required of me. I could also sleep for Britain - ten hours per night is common. However, I don't feel well rested and am dopey most days and must concentrate hard to avoid losing or forgetting things, or doing things inefficiently.
Talking to other Mirtazapine users online, I've found that there seems to be a paradox. A low dose can cause excessive sleeping and dopiness but apparently, increasing the dosage can improve these effects. One man pointed out that on 15mg, he was sleeping 12hrs but on 45mg, he rarely sleeps for more than 7 hours.
For my part, I went to see a doctor (not my usual one) about another matter but asked about halving my dose. She seemed unwilling to approve this and suggested the addition of another, SSRI anti-depressant. This must wait for now. I have surgery on Monday (trapeziectomy) and await blood test results on the other matter (dizziness again which is unrelated and looks like BPPV).
I have to keep a watching brief but it'll be interesting to see what is considered to be the best course of action.
I had been on Venlafaxine to help with depression brought on by battling with divorce but that was sedating me too much. The doc put me on 15mg Mirtazapine daily - he said it'd be less sedating. I went though a period of significant dizziness and even though it went away, the doc and I decided to keep the dose as first prescribed.
Through taking this drug, I'm still having spectacular dreams; not all are nightmares but most seem to involve being unable to fulfill things required of me. I could also sleep for Britain - ten hours per night is common. However, I don't feel well rested and am dopey most days and must concentrate hard to avoid losing or forgetting things, or doing things inefficiently.
Talking to other Mirtazapine users online, I've found that there seems to be a paradox. A low dose can cause excessive sleeping and dopiness but apparently, increasing the dosage can improve these effects. One man pointed out that on 15mg, he was sleeping 12hrs but on 45mg, he rarely sleeps for more than 7 hours.
For my part, I went to see a doctor (not my usual one) about another matter but asked about halving my dose. She seemed unwilling to approve this and suggested the addition of another, SSRI anti-depressant. This must wait for now. I have surgery on Monday (trapeziectomy) and await blood test results on the other matter (dizziness again which is unrelated and looks like BPPV).
I have to keep a watching brief but it'll be interesting to see what is considered to be the best course of action.
davhill said:
I had been on Venlafaxine to help with depression brought on by battling with divorce but that was sedating me too much. The doc put me on 15mg Mirtazapine daily - he said it'd be less sedating. I went though a period of significant dizziness and even though it went away, the doc and I decided to keep the dose as first prescribed.
Can't see why they would switch you from venlafaxine (which is generally quite stimulating) to mirtazapine if you were already suffering too much sedation...... mirtazapine is known for sedation and weight gain, plus IMO it isn't even a good antidepressant. VolvoT5 said:
Can't see why they would switch you from venlafaxine (which is generally quite stimulating) to mirtazapine if you were already suffering too much sedation...... mirtazapine is known for sedation and weight gain, plus IMO it isn't even a good antidepressant.
Perhaps it's an individual response thing, I don't know. I do know that I was having to pull up and have a snooze on car trips - not good. This doesn't happen with Mirtazapine but the background tiredness is worse. Two months in and the dosage has been increased to two tablets a night. With the increase came the munchies for her again, and she started eating a lot again. It's tailed off again but she has put on about a stone which she is not please about but I do not think she has worked out why, her last comment was she needs to move more and stop watching so much TV.
We have a CAMHS appointment soon for a follow up. Last time she said she felt the tablets hadn't helped her mood so this is why they were increased. She's had a few bad days since but generally seems to show little to no improvement to me.
She put an end to CBT at CAMHS as she felt it made her too depressed for a few days afterwards. I did try to explain you go down in mood with these things before you get an improvement but as a typical teenager she didn't listen to me or the professionals.
We have a CAMHS appointment soon for a follow up. Last time she said she felt the tablets hadn't helped her mood so this is why they were increased. She's had a few bad days since but generally seems to show little to no improvement to me.
She put an end to CBT at CAMHS as she felt it made her too depressed for a few days afterwards. I did try to explain you go down in mood with these things before you get an improvement but as a typical teenager she didn't listen to me or the professionals.
I think CBT is the problem if I'm honest, it's not based on anything other than experience, but it's too 'you're wrong, this is s
t' in it's approach. I preferred ACT as it's more accepting and there's a lot of just noticing and then the observing of thoughts rather than 'your not thinking about it right'
A lot would be in the delivery though.
You've also got to bear in mind that sometimes people can be completely down for no reason at all, and there doesn't need to be a reason either
As an aside, you sound like you're getting frustrated at the situation, it might help for you to take some steps back nd/or look at a course yourself. Don't be a martyr about it 100% of the time
t' in it's approach. I preferred ACT as it's more accepting and there's a lot of just noticing and then the observing of thoughts rather than 'your not thinking about it right' A lot would be in the delivery though.
You've also got to bear in mind that sometimes people can be completely down for no reason at all, and there doesn't need to be a reason either
As an aside, you sound like you're getting frustrated at the situation, it might help for you to take some steps back nd/or look at a course yourself. Don't be a martyr about it 100% of the time
Hi Andy, thank you for your reply
andy-xr said:
I think CBT is the problem if I'm honest, it's not based on anything other than experience, but it's too 'you're wrong, this is st' in it's approach. I preferred ACT as it's more accepting and there's a lot of just noticing and then the observing of thoughts rather than 'your not thinking about it right'
Not heard of ACT, would that be accessible for a child, CAMHS only seem focused on CBT?t' in it's approach. I preferred ACT as it's more accepting and there's a lot of just noticing and then the observing of thoughts rather than 'your not thinking about it right' andy-xr said:
A lot would be in the delivery though.
This is hitting the nail on the head. She didn't appear to warm to the lady and to be honest neither did I due to her telling my daughter about being able to overdose on tablets she already had in her possession. I now have a locked medicine cabinet and I hand out the meds daily because of this much to her annoyance but she is too enlightened on stuff now. That also brought about a hospital admission when I found said stash and flushed it away, and her finding out 24 hours later. She attacked me and I had no other option. I know I did the right thing but you can't help feeling a failure when your actions then bring about a hospital admission even if I know deep down I did the right thing. andy-xr said:
You've also got to bear in mind that sometimes people can be completely down for no reason at all, and there doesn't need to be a reason either
I think for her it is partly that/teenage stuff and partly lack of communication from her father. He drifts in and out along with the half siblings of hers he now has and she just wants to know when she is next seeing them even if it is not as often as she'd like. I can't figure out how a parent could do this to their children knowing full well the effects its having on her and show absolutely no remorse for it.andy-xr said:
As an aside, you sound like you're getting frustrated at the situation, it might help for you to take some steps back and/or look at a course yourself. Don't be a martyr about it 100% of the time
There is an element of frustration but it's not aimed at her but at the Social Worker, or rather our previous one. They were just about to apply to the Courts to remove my kids from my care citing the fact that I put myself or rather work before them. My current social worker understands that without a job and a steady income I can't provide a roof over their heads so I have to juggle everything. Kids & work are both important to me. It's not work comes first but an income has to be sought somehow. Plus some of the information in our file is incorrect which made what looked like a bad situation/bad parent in their eyes even worse. It's all being sorted out and they are finally behind me working and my social worker understands that my kids have one parent whose has walked out on them and this one sure as hell isn't! I'm pretty sure you can tell I am angry about that but I nearly lost my kids due to some power crazy tw@t!And two months further along the change in her is dramatic.
Weight gain is a huge problem but mood is so up. I've not seen her look and sound so happy and relaxed in a very long time.
Downside is they want to start to wean her off the tablets in the next month or so and I am rather nervous at that thought. I don't want to go back to where we were and also she's due to sit her GCSE's soon and I don't think this is a good time to do it.
We've been doing Family therapy instead of CBT and its been great. So far it's just been the two of us with my son being kept out of it, he'll be brought into it soon as the real tension is between them both rather than her and I
Weight gain is a huge problem but mood is so up. I've not seen her look and sound so happy and relaxed in a very long time.
Downside is they want to start to wean her off the tablets in the next month or so and I am rather nervous at that thought. I don't want to go back to where we were and also she's due to sit her GCSE's soon and I don't think this is a good time to do it.
We've been doing Family therapy instead of CBT and its been great. So far it's just been the two of us with my son being kept out of it, he'll be brought into it soon as the real tension is between them both rather than her and I
Good news. It might be worth trying for going further up the dose as it's really helping but not quite there yet, and then settling for roughly what she's on. Those docs love a good negotiation 
I moved off it for a number of reasons, but I found it easy to make a transition to others while finishing up doses of Mirtazapine, I didnt get the start up side effects from zero. If she does come off, it'll be a case of again, finding something that works.
Hope you're still having time for you in all this, it's hard to get any headspace for thinking and doing what you want to do as well
I moved off it for a number of reasons, but I found it easy to make a transition to others while finishing up doses of Mirtazapine, I didnt get the start up side effects from zero. If she does come off, it'll be a case of again, finding something that works.
Hope you're still having time for you in all this, it's hard to get any headspace for thinking and doing what you want to do as well
And another 4 months or so since my last post. GCSE's now sat and she said she felt she did well, and seemed to cope reasonable well bar one small hiccup where the professionals totally and utterly let her down. But at least when that happened she contacted me and said she was going low and I was able to get the help all be it 24 hours late thanks to the professionals messing up but that's another story!
We did go back and see the Dr last week about her coming off them and following the hiccup I was a bit reticent but let her have her say first. She also said she didn't want to come off them just yet as they are definitely helping her at present so I was relieved I didn't need to say my bit and she is carrying on with them until the next review appointment in 3 months time.
Finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel and my happy child coming back.
We did go back and see the Dr last week about her coming off them and following the hiccup I was a bit reticent but let her have her say first. She also said she didn't want to come off them just yet as they are definitely helping her at present so I was relieved I didn't need to say my bit and she is carrying on with them until the next review appointment in 3 months time.
Finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel and my happy child coming back.
Thread resurrection! Anyone able to share their story of coming off Mirtazapine?
I was prescribed it for insomnia (stemming from severe anxiety). Boy did it help with the sleep, can't fault it on that front. But the weight gain and lethargy/tiredness the next day were real. I was on 15mg for about 6 months, then tapered to 7.5mg for about 6 weeks, then 3.75mg for about 4 weeks and then stopped. Felt ok for the first few days but about 1 week after cold turkey started to feel ropey, with depression / low mood setting in hard.
Just looking to hear of other people's experiences
I was prescribed it for insomnia (stemming from severe anxiety). Boy did it help with the sleep, can't fault it on that front. But the weight gain and lethargy/tiredness the next day were real. I was on 15mg for about 6 months, then tapered to 7.5mg for about 6 weeks, then 3.75mg for about 4 weeks and then stopped. Felt ok for the first few days but about 1 week after cold turkey started to feel ropey, with depression / low mood setting in hard.
Just looking to hear of other people's experiences
How strange this thread has popped up.. I’ve been on mirtazapine for 13 years now but I’m going to see my doc on Friday to discuss trying something else. Overall it’s been a useful drug but I’ve been struggling with certain things for a while now and my general anxiety levels are going up.
I’m very hesitant to change, before this I was on venlafaxine for a long time and that seemed to fizzle out after about the same amount of time.
I’m tempted to try venlafaxine again as that worked well (until it didn’t) but coming off it was hell.
I’m very hesitant to change, before this I was on venlafaxine for a long time and that seemed to fizzle out after about the same amount of time.
I’m tempted to try venlafaxine again as that worked well (until it didn’t) but coming off it was hell.
I was put on this earlier this year due to recurring insomnia, when I lived in France (returned 2019) I was given Zolpidem to take when insomnia struck, which was a couple of times a year and would take it for a few days and all would be OK. My GP surgery here flatly refuse to let me have Zolpidem and have issued Mirtazepine instead. I am not happy about this as I can't treat it the way I did before with Zolpidem i.e. take it for a few days then stop, I have tried this by cutting down to half a tablet for a few days, then half a tablet every other day for a week then stop but then I seem to get rebound insomnia on the third day after stopping (in the leaflet it says that insomnia can occur after stopping the medication WTF - does that mean I can NEVER get off this stuff. I've tried discussing this with the GP (never get the same one every time as all seem to be locums or temps) but get nowhere and just get told to start and stop as necessary!
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