Page 1 of 2 [ 18 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

SteelMaiden
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Aug 2006
Age: 34
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,722
Location: London

28 Feb 2015, 3:38 am

I've been put on mirtazapine for severe OCD, periods of depression and in a hope to help my meltdowns (I'm on olanzapine but I've been on that for 6 years - psych considered changing it to quetiapine but I've built up a massive tolerance to the side effects of olanzapine so we decided I stay on it as quetiapine would mean spending two years building up tolerance again).

I took my first dose (15mg) last night. I didn't notice any extra sedation on top of my other meds (I take multiple meds) but this morning I woke up feeling rather dizzy.

I am a pharmacology student so I know the pharmacology behind it, I just want personal experiences as you don't get many of those in textbooks.

Additional: I've tried sertraline, citalopram, fluoxetine and clomipramine before but it seems that inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin for me is a bad idea (makes me go manic) so mirtazapine was chosen as it acts much more on noradreanline than serotonin.


_________________
I am a partially verbal classic autistic. I am a pharmacology student with full time support.


pama
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

User avatar

Joined: 1 Jun 2012
Age: 41
Gender: Female
Posts: 7

28 Feb 2015, 6:08 pm

I took Mirtazapine a few years ago. It made me feel very agitated. I had to stop taking it for that reason.



helloarchy
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

User avatar

Joined: 27 Feb 2015
Posts: 236
Location: Britannia

28 Feb 2015, 6:57 pm

Why did you make your post blue?

But anyway, I've been on a fair few drugs now. Tried one for a while, upping the does as I went, then tried another, etc. In the end, I realized they weren't working. I got the affects, like feeling numb, sick, emotionally cold, etc. But none of them stopped me feeling depressed etc. So I haven't been on any drugs for over a year now, and tbh, I'm better for it. I don't like being on drugs.

My mother is on Mirtazapine and loves it for the sedative affect. She highly recommends it to me to help with my insomnia. But I've been an insomniac since day 1, it's part of ASD apparently. She takes it an hour before bed and it pretty much knocks her out for the night, or so she tells me. I have little to do with her and hardly see her.



SteelMaiden
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Aug 2006
Age: 34
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,722
Location: London

01 Mar 2015, 5:48 am

My posts are blue because I have visual problems which make it hard for me to read regular text. I have accessibility features on my computer.


_________________
I am a partially verbal classic autistic. I am a pharmacology student with full time support.


Sweetleaf
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 Jan 2011
Age: 34
Gender: Female
Posts: 34,439
Location: Somewhere in Colorado

01 Mar 2015, 2:07 pm

I am currently taking it...to help depression and take it in evening for its sedative effects, or at least I take it before bed. Kinds helps me sleep...have not noticed a huge effect on the depression, though it seems to somewhat mellow my general edginess which is helpful. Though I would like to try and learn more about how exactly it works, what it does to the brain...and how it interacts with various things, since on occasions I've been known to take other substances, wouldn't want to risk a deadly interaction. Interested in how it effects psychedelics though since those are a class I do enjoy indulging in here and there....mixed info on the internet some people say it makes them stronger, some people say it makes them less effective so idk no substantial research based, I personally feel like if I smoke cannabis while taking it I get a little more stoned. I did actually try DMT since starting it, but i had forgotten to take it the couple days before that...so hard to gauge if it effected that or not.

Also regardless of reason changing text color is cool, changes things up a bit from the plain old black text.


_________________
We won't go back.


RhodyStruggle
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 7 Nov 2014
Age: 39
Gender: Male
Posts: 508

01 Mar 2015, 9:18 pm

I've been taking it for the past 2 weeks. Asked for it specifically as I found research indicating it might be useful in alleviating akathisia in addition to depression and anxiety. It actually has helped some with that, although it seems like I need to be more careful about caffeine intake than I used to before starting mirtazapine.

Sweetleaf wrote:
Interested in how it effects psychedelics though since those are a class I do enjoy indulging in here and there


I'm curious as well. The drug does act as an inverse agonist on the 5-HT2B receptors, which are the sweet spots in one's brain that psychedelics tickle just right.

I'm a regular user of marijuana. Since starting mirtazapine my highs have been significantly less cerebral, more couch-lock.


_________________
From start to finish I've made you feel this
Uncomfort in turn with the world you've learned
To love through this hate to live with its weight
A burden discerned in the blood you taste


JakeASD
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 8 Jul 2015
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,297
Location: Kent, UK

24 Sep 2015, 6:30 am

To combat my alarmingly frequent "mind blanks", which have been attributed to exorbitantly high levels of anxiety, my GP prescribed 15mg of Mirtazapine today. I am, however, somewhat apprehensive because, according to both he and online reviewers, weight gain is a common side effect for those whom take this medication.

After being disparaged by my peers in high school for my heavyset physique, I lost a lot of weight in an attempt to increase my pitifully low self-esteem. For over four years now I have never allowed my body mass to exceed eleven stone. One could argue it has become obsessional.

Has anyone's appetite not increased whilst taking mirtazapine?


_________________
"Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. " - Special Agent Dale Cooper, Twin Peaks


nick007
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 4 May 2010
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 27,059
Location: was Louisiana but now Vermont in the police state called USA

25 Sep 2015, 9:26 pm

I tried it & it made me very tired & hungry. I'd wake up & eat, go back to sleep after a couple hours, wake up after a couple hours & the cycle would repeat.


_________________
"I don't have an anger problem, I have an idiot problem!"
~King Of The Hill


"Hear all, trust nothing"
~Ferengi Rule Of Acquisition #190
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Ru ... cquisition


soldersplash
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

User avatar

Joined: 31 Jan 2015
Age: 47
Gender: Male
Posts: 25
Location: Lincolnshire, UK

03 Oct 2015, 3:03 pm

I went on it a couple of months back after being on citalopram then escitalopram for many years. I had a 1 week break between stopping escitalopram and starting mirtazipine. Within a day or 2 of starting mirtazipine I was bouncing off the walls agitated hyperactive couldn't stay still or settle on anything. I went from struggling to ride a few miles cycling to going on 30mile rides and was buzzing from the exertion. Absolute change from the fatigue I so frequently suffered prior.
Thing is I was verging on Hypo Mania so Dr took me off after 1 week.
Things settled down and for a few weeks I was doing OK with no antidepressants.
Then a short sharp spiral back into the depths ...
Went back to Dr for help and saw a different Dr who has put me back on Mirtazipine. This time no energy increase. If anything the first 2 weeks back on it were even more devoid of energy than ever. It's 3 weeks in now and I'm only marginally improving on the depression side of it.
So not only can this drug do different things to different people it can do a different thing to the same person! (Arguably we aren't the same person from one week to the next I know, also I have a suspicion that 1 week break from escitalopram hadn't been long enough for it and it's effects to leave me completely)

kind regards,
Soldersplash



JakeASD
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 8 Jul 2015
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,297
Location: Kent, UK

03 Oct 2015, 4:11 pm

Brief review after a week on mirtazapine:

Although I have probably gained some weight (can't say for certain because I decided to dispose of my scales) contrary to what many have experienced on the drug, my appetite, if anything, has decreased. The most apparent side effects have been a depletion in my energy levels, vivid dreams and improved sleep. A usually effortless walk downtown currently feels like a marathon, and my walking pace is even slower than usual. It's almost as if I am stoned. I can't say it's elevated my mood but I do seem to be somewhat more stable - but that's bordering on complete emotional numbness. It's been better than I expected but apathy does still afflict my disturbed mind. I should be seeing my doctor in a fortnight's time and if he proposes an increase in my dosage then I would be tempted to accept.


_________________
"Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. " - Special Agent Dale Cooper, Twin Peaks


EyeDash
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 14 Nov 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 328
Location: Colorado

03 Oct 2015, 11:03 pm

I was on mirtazapine for a couple of years. It's antidepressant effect was mild enough for me to use. I didn't gain weight on it, but I'm unusual in easily losing weight. Most SSRIs give me really bad reactions so I continued mirtazapine for awhile. Its sedative effect is dose-dependent: low doses produce sedative effects which go away at higher doses (25 mg I think). I'm glad this topic was brought up as I recently started lorazepam and seroquel again after years of no meds. My anxiety is helped - barely. But to say I lack motivation would be a profound understatement. Even eating is too much work to be worth it. So maybe mirtazapine would be a good thing. And anything that helps me sleep is a plus. I'm in the States - the drug was prescribed to me under the name "Remeron" originally.



cathylynn
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 24 Aug 2011
Gender: Female
Posts: 13,045
Location: northeast US

04 Oct 2015, 1:47 am

my mom is on remeron. she hasn't gained weight over a few years and has no daytime effects.



Noca
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 9 May 2015
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,932
Location: Canada

06 Oct 2015, 9:42 pm

One of the many sleep drugs I rotate in and out of taking. I build tolerance to every sedating medication I've ever taken, and I've taken a lot. Eventually the drug becomes a sugar pill to me and I have to swap it out and let the cooldown for the tolerance reset before swapping it back in again.



soldersplash
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

User avatar

Joined: 31 Jan 2015
Age: 47
Gender: Male
Posts: 25
Location: Lincolnshire, UK

03 Feb 2016, 11:15 am

(at risk of necromancing ...)

Update: I'm still on Mirtazapine. Dose was upped each month until on highest dose GP will prescribe - 45mg.
Been at this dose about 3 months now. Not convinced it is helping much re:Depression. It still helps knock me out to sleep at night. Sleep is unrestful though and I wake early, usually in a pool of sweat and feeling anxious (before I even have a thought). Daytime side effects still include anxiety, fatigue, stoned feeling, falling asleep, and dry mouth (which has likely accelerated tooth decay and lead to an abscess - really f'ing painful). :cry:
Very fed up of waiting to see Psychiatrist so I can finally get this medication changed. Another 2 weeks to wait though. :roll:



shinkansen
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

User avatar

Joined: 14 Sep 2015
Age: 57
Gender: Male
Posts: 29
Location: London, UK

03 Feb 2016, 12:23 pm

Sweetleaf wrote:
[color=purple]I am currently taking it...to help depression and take it in evening for its sedative effects, or at least I take it before bed.


This is why I take Mirtzapine (30mg), too.


_________________
On the autism spectrum and have ADHD.


gda_1985
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

User avatar

Joined: 27 Feb 2011
Gender: Female
Posts: 6

06 Feb 2016, 5:35 pm

I've been on Mirtazipine since October 2014.

The bad- it's given me a hell of an appetite, and my weight has gone up hugely.

The good- it's the first drug (out of something like a dozen) that's actually touched my depression. I have feelings of being an OK person sometimes. It also helps my sleep, although that's diminished in the last few months.