To ask for experiences of mirtazapine?

[struggling26]

Hello. Long story very short: I am having a very tough time at the moment due to an experience last year which left me with PTSD. I’m awaiting trauma therapy and I’ve had a few short term prescriptions of diazepam from the GP in recent months to help manage acute distress and panic. I get really good short term relief from Diazepam, but it doesn’t seem to be agreeing with me anymore due to heavy sedation and a very unsettled feeling the next day. As a result my GP wants me to try mirtazapine instead as a more longer term solution (rather than using diazepam in the shorter term to manage acute crisis periods). I have IBS too and cannot tolerate SSRIs such as sertraline - GP said this is less likely to cause anything like that as a side effect.

anyway, does anyone have any anecdotes about mirtazapine? Either good or bad? Especially in terms of reducing anxiety/panic and improving sleep / mood etc, but also in terms of GI side effects? Is it a good alternative to diazepam? Thanks 🤞🏻

I used it on and off and found it helpful to an extent.

Side effect: really vivid dreams.

Thanks @YourZippyHare. Can I ask if you don’t mind what was helpful about it? Did it reduce anxiety etc?

They put my husband on it. It made him sleep for 14 hours straight. Gave up after a week because he was hardly awake. Maybe we should have persevered, but he felt too out of it. He's also autistic so couldn't deal with feeling that out of control of his normal patterns.

@IveLostMyUsernamethat doesn’t sound great 😔 I want to be able to sleep better and feel more relaxed but don’t want to feel out of it. I can’t, I have a young child to look after and a demanding job etc. suppose I can give it a try and see how I get on

My late mother was prescribed it following the sudden death of my dad, her husband for over sixty years. She was always a very highly strung woman, and battled with an eating disorder all her adult life. After he died, she refused to eat, and her anxiety soared. It helped calm her and she seemed to make progress. The GP who prescribed it said a side effect would be increased appetite, and as she was severely underweight, it would be beneficial. Because of her deep rooted food issues, she refused to keep taking it when she started to increase to a healthy weight. It was awful. So from my experience it’s effective for anxiety, but does increase appetite.

I took lowest dose for about a year during divorce, it was great, got rid of my anxiety and didn’t leave me feeling numb. Was easy to come off, I just halved then quartered tablets no bad affects.

I had really extreme depression that wasn't responding to treatment. It started when I was 5. I had several treatments with temporary benefits. It was the only drug (taken with venlafaxine) that worked for me long term. The downside is weight gain.

Makes you really hungry.

I’ve been on it quite a long time. I was on fluoxetine which was OK but last time I had a really bad anxiety episode I hadn’t slept for a week and the gp would not prescribe me even a short does of diazepam He suggested I switch to mirtazapine and it did help me sleep but it doesn’t now - I assume I am now used to it. In terms of anxiety it seems OK I mean I always live with anxiety symptoms and flare ups still happen but it is pretty good at keeping me fairly stable.

Somewhat similar. It is sedating which is very helpful if you need it! I was on it shortish term - maybe about a year? I’m not sure. Now just on venlafaxine. It helped me a lot but yes my appetite was large. I gained about twice as much weight as I needed to. Had no issues coming off it and appetite settled again.

I was on it for 6 months.

Slept through the night regularly for the first time in years.
Appetite was healthy and out some weight on.
Helped mood and anxiety.
Had no sexual side effects unlike most ssri. I've tried.
Unfortunately Did cause athralgia which got worse and worse so had to come off it.

You adjust to the sleep, eventually.
The weight gain however...

Been on it for several years now, it’s the only thing that has helped. It’s ti manage severe depression and anxiety - and has got me to the point that I can work part time again.

it has taken time and dosage adjustments , but it’s also helped with my sleep.

The weight gain at the start was awful and it’s taking me time to shift that but it’s finally coming off.

I prefer it to any of the other drugs I’ve tried; I’ve had fewer suicidal episodes since being on it and not one psychotic episode (thank god; Sertraline caused a few of these and I have never been more scared).

Thanks everyone. Not liking the weight gain thing at all. I’m a healthy weight at the moment, size 10-12 ish, but I’m early 40s and pretty sure I’m perimenopausal too, so could do without risking weight gain 😭 I am fairly active though and do the gym 2-3 times a week on average, wonder if that would be enough to keep it at bay ….

mine isn’t good although it did help with mood.

I think knowing that weight gain might be a risk might have helped me. Rubbish psychiatrist put me on it without warning me. It did work for mood. He didn’t listen after 2 weeks when I said I had put on weight. Came off a shell of myself emotionally after a month having put on 10kg /1st 8lb. I’ve never been a stable weight since

I took it after the birth of my daughter, I’d had a nervous breakdown while pregnant and was in a bad way. I was on it for around 6/8 weeks and was honestly suicidal. We were away on holiday about 4 weeks in and subsequently my husband has told me he fully expected to have to have me repatriated because I’d killed myself. He is a generally undramatic man who has never said anything like that up until then or since-18 years together so I believe his panic was genuine. I was unrecognisable and although it was nearly 8 years ago I still have the most awful flashbacks to that time. I am glad this seems to be rare and most people here haven’t dealt with such severe side effects. I’m so sorry that this looks like I’m trying to scare you but this is my lived experience of this drug. I have tried others over the years (citalopram/sertraline/venlafaxine etc) with little to no side effects from many of them. I really hope you find one that works for you x

I've been on mirtazipine for a while. Its been great for sleep, without it I don't function and want to sleep til lunchtime, with it I go to sleep, sleep well and can get up at a more normal time. I predominantly use it for that reason, I need another antidepressant to help bring my anxiety to manageable levels, but everyone responds differently so please don't let that put you off. Negative of mirtazipine is that it makes you hungry leading to (if you eat more) weight gain. But you're aware of this and already go to the gym. If you're having a tough time you have to balance the potential good against any side effects.

I was prescribed it for PND, which was so severe I was in a secure mother and baby unit. It made me constantly sleepy and the only time I was awake I would eat with a voracious appetite. I had to come off it, I put on so much weight and couldn’t stay awake. Switched to Venlafaxine and that worked a treat.

It just makes you hungry. Weight gain isn't a given if you're aware that hunger is the meds. You can plan for it and be disciplined.

If you gym already, you'll be more mindful.

The positive effects will outweigh it if it works for you.

I was going to say this. Mine slept for 16-18 hours a day.

I suffer with insomnia. I take 7.5mg every night and have done for years. When I first started I’d feel like a zombie the following day. I persevered though and now I get a really good nights sleep and wake up feeling refreshed. Thinking about it I’m also far less anxious than I used to be! They’ve been life changing for me x

It didn’t make me gain weight, it did make me sleep very deeply.

I did wake up with brain fog which was frustrating.

It's not so much weight gain as an increase in appetite. You seem self aware and knowing that it is the cause should help . Found it to be an all rounder as it reduced anxiety and aided restful sleep . Yes to graphic dreams but not unpleasant . Woke up feeling happy sometimes .

It made me sleep like the dead. But also had the side effect of making me utterly starving. I put a stone on in a few weeks (I’m slim normally) and the constant food thoughts made me miserable. Being able to sleep was amazing though.