gaining weight the goal of taking 30 mg. of mirtazapine(remeron)

[sumati]

hi,
Is anyone here trying to gain weight like me? That's why I was given this drug because I'm 15 lbs. underweightas in malnourisheddue to multi-gastro problems that limited my fat to 15 gr. a day and fiber to 10 gr.
I do not see how increasing appetite and craving carbs can help me w the diet my gastro guy put me on.
I'm freaking out! This drug can cause serotonin syndrome which is fatal and I also take dilaudid in high doses, and immetrex injections that can also cause serotonin syndrome.
Then, they tell you not to take w valium or narcotics or alcohol-potential death. I've been on this comp. for 5 hours researching stuff and I consummed 4 beers in the last 8 hrs. I use oxygen at night for sleep apenea and copd(chronic pulmonary disease) so I won't die of respiratory failure when I go to bedbut I'm afraid of the interactionscan anyone help?
Please write if you are using this to gain wt. or if you have experience taking this drug w benzos or narcotics. Truly, I may be very sick but I'm not ready to die.
HELP!
Hope to hear from you!
sumati

This med will make you crave sweet things. It is notorious for weight gain & have heard people putting on 3 stone. It is very sedating. Not sure about serotonin syndrome medication interactions.

The thing is about mirtazapine is that it doesn't always make you crave carbs/sweet things or even increase appetite - I've been on the max dose for depression for the past 18 months and haven't craved anything nor had any increase in appetite. I have put on 1.5 stone in that time and I can't afford the extra weight. This drug can slow down your metabolic rate (and that's why some of us put on weight without any change in diet) I have tried dieting, but nothing has any effect. There are very many people on the internet saying similar things. I intend to come off it because I don't think it has been beneficial for depression anyway.

As far as I understand serotonin syndrome - this can happen when someone is taking too many ADs at any one time. I have been changing over from one AD to another this summer and the psychiatrist said I had to decrease the old one significantly while at the same time slowly introducing the new one, so as to prevent serotonin syndrome - explained as an "overload of increased serotonin in the brain" - why do you think this AD when taken without other ADs can cause serotonin syndrome? Presumably the doctor who prescribed it knows about the other things you are taking and wouldn't have prescribed it if there had been any dangerous interaction with your other meds.

Sorry I don't know about the other things you mention. I take small doses of diazepam for anxiety and the GP is happy to prescribe those along with mirtazapine. You sound a bit panicky - have you been googling - if so, it's not a good idea as we can put 2 and 2 together and make 5!! If you are worried why don't you go back to the GP and see if he/she can put your mind at rest.

hi Kitty Kat & Nana Nina,

Can you guys tell me how stones convert to pounds? When you say you put on stones, I have no idea of how much weight that is. I'm not thrilled that weight gain comes from slowing metabolic rate--can't that be harmful to body?

Yeah, I've been googling & was panicky after 5 hrs. of it. And you are right! Because we are not docs, it is easy to get 5!

I have read that this causes serious carb craving and you tell me craving sweets--not a healthy way to put on wt. And Nana Nina, you didn't have large wt gain.

I was put on it to gain 15 lbs--not as AD drug. I haveGAD, not Depression.

Started Chantix(quit smoking), Mirtazapine, & lyrica the same day. Last week I started Excalgo( 32 mg for chronic pain 2x a day64 Mg. of dilaudid) which my body has not yet had time to get used to yetso my body doesn't know what hit it. I was manic from the chantrix the night I wrote, agitated/restless from the lyrica,and not yet hungry on day 3 of mir.

Kitty Kat, I too got a sedating effect which heightened that effect which I also get w lyrica and excalgo. I'm sleeping 12-15 hrs a night!!! Nana Nina, do you get sedating effect too? How much are you guys sleeping?

re: serotonin syndrome: Yes, it does happen w Dep. meds--when I was dep, my shrink checked my med list for any other dep. meds. I looked up serotonin syndrome and found out many drugs cause it! Immitrex(I use in shot form almost every day for chronic mgraines), dilaudid (which I take in extremely high doses(very severe chronic pain syndrome over 30 yrs caused by 6 car wrecks), and other meds are on the list which I do not remember cause I don't take them. If interested, google ser. syn.
Since ser.syn. is fatal, I am concerned about getting it with yet another drug that works by increasing serotonin in the brain.

Hope to hear more from you guys. Have a great weekend!!

PS: Because of being in manic episode the night I wrote, I stupidly called my gastro guy at 11:30 pm (& he was VERY angry) about ser.syn. Obviously he has a copy of my med list but apparently did not know much about mir. other than you gain wt--don't think he knew how it works and the side effects. He said if I was concerned, stop taking it. Lucily, I see my shrink on the 1st and can ask him what he thinks.

If I knew how to put a smilely face on I would. Hope to hear back.
sumati

A stone = 14 pounds so 3 stone is 42 pounds

hi Kitty Kat,

wow, a stone is a lot of weight!
Guess what? Today is day 3 on mir. and I am NOT hungry or craving anything!! Force feeding as usual.

Thanks for your answer. Have a nice evening.
sumati