I've been prescribed Mirtrazapine, any experiences?

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Ive been on a Tricyclic for many years but after reducing to a tiny dose my anxiety and insomnia has become unmanagable. GP has prescribed Mirtrazipine I took the first dose last night and within half an hour was very woozy and wobbly although I took a while to fall to sleep.
Today I still feel very foggy, lucky I am off work for another week.
Now Ive read up on them I see weight gain is a side effect.
Has anyone else been taking these and have any advice on if weight gain can be avoided or if they make you permanently zoned out? I definitely couldnt go to work feeling like this. Thanks

Not me but my dp takes this. He has put on weight as he wants to snack more than he used to in the evening. He isn't zoned out all the time though he does take the tablet early evening and is ready for bed a couple of hours later. If he wakes up earlier than usual for whatever reason he does say he feels a bit hungover for a bit.

I was permanently zoned out.... looked and sounded like I was on drugs, spaced out etc. Hard to wake up. Even my husband was worried, I lasted 5 days on them and decided it was too dangerous!

Hi, I’ve been taking 30 mg Mirtazepine for 3 months for anxiety and depression- the first few nights I did zonk out (I take it at bedtime) and I felt a bit odd for a few days. But my advice is to stick with it because it has dramatically reduced my anxiety and panic attack’s - now my only side effect is weird dreams, but that’s a small price to pay for the best sleep I’ve ever had. Don’t stop taking it until you’ve seen your GP - you can always reduce the dose or split it, but definitely discuss with them. Good luck!

Thank you everyone,
I know Im only on day 1. I am a bit worried because I have had food control issues, (my GP doesn't know this as its low level) and it might actually make me worry more. Now I am still groggy but I am moving about and trying to do housework.

Hotpinkangel sorry to hear that, hope you feel better on something else - if you take anything

It zonked me out and I was like a zombie.i stopped taking it and now take sertreline. Mirtazipine makes u gain weight fast

I'm on 45mg having worked up through 15mg and 30mg. It is the only medication I've ever taken that I have been able to stick with because it really reduces the panic attacks and feelings of not being able to cope that were giving me huge issues at work and making me unable to handle criticism or unfamiliar situations.

It did make me really woozy at first and I was like a zombie, slurred speech, inability to focus, but once I got through that period I was so much more chilled and not so stressed.

PS I haven't gained weight on it...

Hi I've been on mirtazapine 45mg for nearly 2 years. The zoned out wears off. The eating was only a bit more- put on half a stone but was doing lots of sport so I gained muscle etc. The sugar cravings wore off after a couple of weeks. Just have lots of raw veg to munch.

Weight gain isn't inevitable though. I'm currently struggling to eat and am now a few kg lighter than when I started on it.

I think the side effects aren't as bad as SSRIs and I find I get far fewer panic attacks, and of less intensity. And knowing that I WILL go to sleep, even if only fora bit, is absolutely priceless. Stick with it!

I didn't sleep well last night. It took until about 2pm to fall into a proper sleep. I don't feel so groggy this morning though.

holly I'm interested how you did not gain weight, did you not experience any cravings or increased appetite? Ive been feeling like eating when Im not even hungry.

dangermouse thanks for the tips. I swam a mile yesterday evening but still not tired enough to sleep. I was eating bread and honey at 1am!

Im definitely going to stick it out for a month, if it is making an improvement, by then I will have seen it. I think I was prescribed it because of the insomnia aspect of my depression/anxiety.

I think it takes a short while to build up in your system OP. Not long though. Are you on a low starting dose? I was told that 45mg is essentially a 'sleeping tablet' dose. If you are on a low dose it doesn't take long to increase it.

Hi I been on mirtazapine since 2012 except for the period I was pregnant. Started on 7.5mg to slowly build up and have been on 45mg since. It’s the only medication that has ever helped me sleep. I remember feeling quite zombied the first few weeks of starting it and being quite angry and irritable but those symptoms wore off quickly. Regarding weight gain I think it’s down to the individual. I gained about half a stone when I first started taking it, but it was very much needed at the time and Iv not gained anything since. I have heard that the lower the dose the more sedating the mirtazapine is whether it’s true or not I can’t say for sure. However I don’t find the 45mg knocks me out it at all it just enables me to fall off to sleep which without it I am unable to do. I still wake during the night sometimes but again can fall off again easily.

Hi there, I did feel hungrier for a couple of weeks - someone who'd also been taking Mirtazepine said "have you started baking yet" and it was exactly that - a real sweet tooth. But it wore off very quickly and if anything my appetite slightly decreased in the long run, probably because I was more relaxed and felt more in control of myself. Don't let that be the thing that stops you persevering because if you are suffering panic attacks and anxiety - as I was- then it is a very effective drug. Hope you're ok and starting to feel a bit of benefit.

What dose are you on?

I was on the low dose for sleeping and on Prozac. Before the Prozac combo I was on a higher dose of mirtazapine and I couldn’t cope. I was walking through treacle.

Low dose brilliant for sleep but my god, I ate the fridge.

I’m on sertraline now as I refused mirtazapine (although beautiful sleeps) because I can’t stop bloody eating on it!!

I’m on 15 mg for the first week combined with the Imipramine I am coming off. Then the plan is to increase to 45mg over the next two weeks. I seem to be tolerating it well so far. I’m sleeping well and each day has been better than the last in terms of day time grogginess.

Had it for about a year 7 or 8 years ago. Craved sweet stuff for the first month or so and slept a lot. It was effective for the depression if a bit emotionally numbing, and brilliant for anxiety but I started to get very vague and a bit zombified after a while (perhaps 9/10 months or so - it was odd - it was ok for quite a long time but felt kind of like it built up - I’m not at all sure if that’s medically possible though).

Can I ask how have anyone found this with alcohol?

I thought it was ok with alcohol, not too much obviously!

I was on it for a while. Hated it. Put on 2.5 stone. Felt like a zombie in the morning.

It was literally a life saver for me some years ago. The side effects of dry mouth and feeling woozy subsided after about a week. It helped so much following a severe trauma and allowed me rest at night and to get through the anxiety and depression. Yes, it is numbing, that's what I needed at the time but an absolutely brilliant drug for me. However, I gained three stone in a year and found it so hard to lose as the drug is an appetite stimulant I believe. I felt permanently hungry even after eating a meal. After some years ( I was eventually on 45mgs) I stopped gradually.

I found it was very very bad with alcohol (I knew I shouldn’t have been drinking but - being a stupid student - utterly ignored that). Once resulted in a really bad blackout, projectile vomiting and horrific shakes and three entire days that I couldn’t remember at all after. I think that was an unusually extreme reaction though, and could never be 100% certain if that was definitely the mirtazapine or if one of my drinks had been spiked.