Hi, I think this might be quite long so I apologise! I have suffered from depression and anxiety for many years, and this has been well controlled with a range of different anti-depressants. I came off mirtazapine 15mg very gradually over the course of a year, as I wanted to see if I could cope without anything - however this did not work as I became incredibly anxious and had to go back on. Since then I have found that the 15 mg dose does not seem to be enough and I am still really struggling with anxiety (over the years this has come to the fore rather than the depression). I went up to 22.5 mg but don't really feel any better. Saw a psychiatrist last week and he suggested either going up to 30 mg or coming off the ADs altogether and going onto pregabalin - which was a new one on me. The main thing I wanted to ask him - and which he could not really answer - was why am I not coping now, having been OK on 15 mg mirtazapine in the past? I'm wondering whether it's my age - I am 44 and, although I still have regular periods, am aware that I will be menopausal in the not too distant future - but he was non-committal on this.
So just wondering if anyone has any advice on the following questions:
a) has anyone had the same experience of having been previously well controlled and then struggling around this age?
b) does anyone have experience of pregabalin for anxiety? How well does it work and what are the side effects? Does it affect libido (this was my main reason for wanting to come off ADs in the first place)?
Any advice very much appreciated!