Mirtazapine and insatiable appetite

Wow yes I couldn't lose weight at all I lirtazapineand as I was already obese unfortunately it's had an awful effect for me.

I lost a stone coming off but really need to lose at least the other 4 too to just get back where I started.

I'm really really struggling with insomnia now (been awake since 2). I miss the magic sleep. I'm taking magnesium but where life is stressful at the moembt in not sleeping and I'm exhausted and it's a vicious cycle.

That must take incredible willpower especially if you have extreme hunger due to the medication.

I've put on over 5 stone since I started on mirtazapine. I had pneumonia that started this time last year & I lost 2 stone due to not being able to eat, I've since lost another 3 stone by cutting all the crap from my diet, no sweets or snacks, just eating 2 meals a day that add up to around 800 calories. I do 2 fast days where I keep under 600 calories, instead of snacking, I drink no sugar cordial & soda water.

Same for me. I've been on it for years. The weight gain stopped and I've lost most of the extra - my 'set point' is 6kg (10%) higher than before, but it's okay. I take venlafaxine as well, which is also said to promote weight gain (less than mirtazapine, though).

I've got more of a taste for sugar than before - I hardly used to eat anything with sugar in! Now I get quite irritable if I can't have - well, fruit and biscuits, but I try to do more of the fruit.

It was my magic bullet, though. I can live with a larger clothes size, 'cause I'm so much less worried about shit 🤗

That effects wears off fairly quickly. Just try not to eat too much until it does (if you can!). My GP weighed me before going on them and a few months later as I was worried about gaining weight. I was conscious to try not to eat too much and I put on about half a stone I think, which then came off again.

Please ignore the posts saying what an awful medication is. All ADs can be "awful" for the wrong person (or wrong medication!). SSRIs made me suicidal, and I had almost every side effect on the leaflet including losing my ability to orgasm. I also tried a tricyclic and it made me sleep about 18 hours a day. Mirtazapine, worked really well, and I had minimal side effects. Others will find the opposite. You need to find the medication that works for you which is trial and error unfortunately. Good luck 💐

It’s terrible - I gained 3 stone in a month before coming off it! It wasn’t just being hungry, it was feeling like I’d collapse and die if I didn’t eat. I know it’s not the thing to say, but really do consider are any benefits you’re seeing outweighing the problems?

Yes, it's known for this. It's really disappointing that your GP didn't tell you and let you make an informed choice. Or maybe they just looked at you, saw that you were slim, and made the choice for you. 🙄

OP I had the exact same experience with Mirtazepine. It's a horrible medication and if I were you I would ask to be changed to an SSRI like citalopram or similar which treats anxiety and/or depression.

I put a stone on in 2-3 week. I literally was eating sugar out of the sugar bowl, have never experienced sugar & carb craving in my life like that. It also made me feel sleep during the day. I gave it up after about 6 weeks and the cravings and weight gain stopped immediately.

I went from a size 10 to 16/18 in a couple of months, was eating 4000-5000kcals a day, mostly in buttered baguettes, whole cakes and large bags of pork crunch in addition to my normal meals. If I couldn't eat I cried because I felt like I was starving.

I was also like a zombie, half asleep 100% of the time. I started on it due to insomnia and ended up sleeping about 15 hours per day so they worked in that respect I suppose but I felt worse than ever so came off them and lost all the weight as quickly as I had gained it.

My husband's been on it a couple of years and definitely binged the first few months. He put on a lot of weight. However, these symptoms stabilised and he got his eating back under control.

@Mirthunger I'm sorry I don't know much about antidepressants so don't know what to recommend.

But if your anxiety and depression is a relatively recent thing, I think it's worth looking into the possibility they're peri symptoms. In which case HRT might be better.

Hi, I seitched to trazodone years ago, and that has worked for me.

I was prescribed mirtazapine for depression/anxiety and trouble sleeping, of all the side effects she told me about, weight gain and increased appetite was never mentioned or I would never have agreed to take it (I was trying to lose weight at the time and my size/appearance was a source of my low self esteem so why this was the first thing they thought to prescribe me is anyone's guess 🙄). I gained back the stone and a half Id worked hard to lose and ended back at square one, I contacted a different doctor and they advised me to wean off them which I did, unfortunately meant I ended up with bouts of insomnia though. It's a horrible drug and I'm not sure why it's used, especially reading that it's used in animals by vets!

I was put on mirtazapine for 11 days and I put on half a stone. I told the doc that there is no way I can take any more of them and he switched me to something else.

Is your depression and anxiety a recent thing?

Just wondering, as you say you're in your mid 40s, if it's symptoms of peri menopause. In which case it's worth looking into HRT instead of antidepressants.

Trazodone x

I put on 1/2 stone on them - I did feel I was just eating crap and stopped . It has now stabilised . I have been on it 18 months now.

At the moment I have low appetite

What dose are you on? The side effects appear to wear off as you increase the dose.

A good GP tells you that this is a side effect and that you must exercise and eat well.

Mitazipine saved my life.

What medication are you on now?

It’s used in both dogs and cats who have stopped eating (especially in old age) as an appetite stimulant. It works quite well for that as a last ditch way to get an animal to eat who might otherwise starve themselves.

I’ve taken it myself and it definitely helped with sleep, but didn’t dare take it for any length of time because I had seen the dramatic effect on dogs and can’t afford to put on any (more) weight.

My cat was prescribed it as an appetite stimulant. I'm not sure I could cope with it, is there an alternative?

I was on mirtazipine for about a year, I gain a lot of weight and it was exponential. Extreme munchies I could not control at all, legit full 6 pack crisps and biscuits and whatever I honestly felt starved.

I went from a size 6 (with the clothes baggy) to a 12 within a few months. I have an unusally good metabolism normally (I eat the same as my 6ft3 fiance) and don't due the whole gym thing.

It did help and putting on weight isn't the be all and end all but those munchies did not go away for me and I hate feeling hungry. I ended up researching medications that work in a similar way and transferred to that instead - the weight dropped. I am now an 8 ish depending on the shop. Obvs everyones sizes are different its just to show my journey of what it did to my body comparatively.

It did help with my sleep and mental health. I was in a bad situation and it helped me, once it was really starting to help me feel more me and want to wear clothes like me then I started to think hey lets look at other opens. Couldn't be assed finding a whole new wardrobe

Just to add - (edited) - my new medication does the same for sleep. Ive actually just lowered it and for about a week I was less sleep then back to the 8 hours routine.

I've been on it for about a year now- at first the hunger was awful and I did put a bit of weight on- but after a few months it settled down. I now still occasionally have 'hungry days' but also many days where i'm not hungry at all so it might be worth seeing it through? Ive lost some of the weight now while still taking them, though it is harder to lose than it was.
Also as a bit of an insomniac, the sleep I get now is great!