Mirtazapine, anyone take it? Side effects?

[Nevergoingtolearn]

Started taking this yesterday, I have had it in the past but for anxiety, this time for depression and anxiety.

Took one tablet last night before bed and have been completely wiped out all day, keep falling asleep, very little energy and struggling to look after the dc's. I'm tempted not to take it tonight as I am going out tomorrow and I gave lots to get done, at the moment I don't feel safe to drive ( I need to drive tomorrow ), I can't remember being like this when I took them before.

Does this sound normal?

I only took it for a couple of weeks max but yeah I was like this too. It really wiped me out and made me eat loads :(

I think I'm going to stop taking it, I have been stuffing my face all day too, have lost weight over the past few weeks and don't want to put it back on.

Maybe I should fight this without med's? I hate taking them

Don't just stop the meds as you may get more unwell. You might find it levels out a bit after a few weeks. What does your psych say?

I have only taken one ( last night ).

They were prescribed by my GP after a 2 minute appointment. I am going through separation with dh so feeling very low but I'm not a person who usually suffers from depression, I went to my GP for a bit of a pick me up, something to slow my brain down a little but didn't want to end up like a zombie. I have 2 children with ASD to care for and no support from family so I can't spend half the day asleep, I need to be awake and able to look after them. The fact it's golf term makes it even more important, today I was unable to do much at all .

they made me horrifically sleepy, i had to nap twice a day or I'd just fall asleep, i was sleeping through my son waking at night (luckily I don't live alone) they were awful for me

Hateful, hateful drug in my experience. It hit me hard with the chemical cosh so I was like a zombie for the first week, gave me awful carb cravings which resulted in binges and massive weight gain (I have an eating disorder so this was hell) and also made me really angry. I had two settings - asleep or raging. Hideous.

I'm on agomelatin now, which is much nicer.

Mirtazapine causes weight gain - that's for sure and not always because of increased appetite. It slows down metabolic rate so fat is stored more easily, and unless you can do a massive amount of exercise most people will put on weight. I'm on it but apart from the weight gain it's ok - just means I get a good night's sleep.

But OP I don't think meds are going to do much good for you because you are feeling very low because of your situation. Can you ask to be referred for counselling or can you afford to pay for it privately?

It is incredibly strong and made me eat stupid amounts of food. I don't normally binge

Awful things!

Doctor gave me a leaflet for group counselling but no referral. I don't really want to be on antidepressants, I know that I'm going through a stressful time but things will get better. I don't want to gain weight and I can't afford to be sleepy when I have 2 dc's to care for 24/7. I'm going to try and fight this without meds.

Maybe try a different antidepressant or even a combination? Never just stop

I'd ask to be put on an SSRI. Is there any reason why you're on mirtazapine specifically? I was like a zombie the first few days but that changed very quickly - in fact, I had terrible insomnia for about a month but that may be because I was coming off sertraline at the same time. They'd make me incredibly drowsy but I just could not get to sleep for hours. It was hideous. I also had a few nightmares on them to begin with but that's not uncommon. That said, once they'd been in my system for a while I never felt drugged up or drowsy the next day.

As for weight gain, I did put on about 10lbs - however, I managed to lose it all whilst still on mirtazapine because of stress. I think if you're the kind of person who puts on weight easily or struggles to lose weight then it may not be for you. It did help for a short while but I changed after 5 months as I was getting no benefit from it. If you don't want to be on ADs though, you don't have to be. I have reactive depression/anxiety and I felt so crap I practically begged my GP to give me whatever drugs he could - some of them have worked brilliantly and some haven't so much. Unfortunately, with most of them it can take 6-8 weeks before you feel the full effect of them so it's tempting to give up. If you think you can cope without them though then I'd try and see how you get on.