Mirtazapine pros/cons

[PretendingToBeAMuggle]

Hey, I've been in mirtazapine before when I was at my lowest mood and it acted like a wonder drug, I was low weight, poor appetite, insomnia, anxiety and depression.
I feel like I'm heading all these directions again, and mirtazapine I feel would help, also I use alcohol as an anxiety coping strategy so would really like to knock that on the head/break the habit.
The only real con is weight gain, I gained 3 stone in 3 months!!!! Food was just AMAZING!! I couldn't get enough and really really enjoyed it, but I'm now at a normal BMI and would prefer not to gain weight.
I've self referred to IApT and and am seeing my GP on Tuesday.
Just wondered if anyone had any pearls of wisdom, pebbles of insight or just any experiences they'd like to share.

Many thanks (fighting the urge to put a kiss)

Watching this thread.
I've just started taking these - mainly for sleep issues. I'm trying to lose 10lb at the moment so I'm concerened about weight gain

I was on them 2015 as I had a nervous break down due to death of mum (unexpected) followed by my nana....you are correct they work absolute wonders!....but the weight gain was rapid like yourself.
With my break down I felt exactly like your self with low mood anxiety etc etc.
Counciling helped me massively!
Mitrizapapine comes in 3 different doses 15mg 30mg 45mg it was when I was on 45mg I serverly gained weight.
Go to doctors they will start you on 15mg and also get your doctors to refer you to councilng too.
As hopefully you have caught the depression early so taking low dose and couciling will help you get back to yourself.
Good luck chick...hope this was helpful

I put on a stone in a month/6 weeks. Yes, they really helped with sleep and I was quite sedated but functioning.
However my gp wasn't happy with the weight gain either and I stopped them.

If you haven't got so low you might need medication again yet, can you discuss lifestyle changes with gp? exercise, yoga, diet changes? reduce hours (dream)
sorry you are feeling low

I was on it for a while. I slept amazingly, fell asleep the moment my head touched the pillow. However I couldn’t take it long enough to find out if it improved my mood because the weight gain started almost instantly, I was starving hungry from the moment I woke up. Also it made me very achy in the morning so I found it hard to exercise. I think it is probably one to avoid if you don’t want to gain weight. Maybe your GP could suggest something similar? I hope you are feeling better soon

I've been on it for c. seven weeks now.

Pros for me:

• Falling asleep is easier. Still broken nights, but less time to fall back to sleep. I'm not groggy or sleepy during the day.
• Definitely taken the worst edge off my depression.

Cons:

• The hunger and food cravings. I haven't actually gained any weight, though, so I guess I've managed to resist them enough.
• Very vivid and unpleasant dreams every night.
• No effect on my anxiety.

My GP increased my dose from 15mg to 30mg last week. I tried it for a few days, but the hunger and sleep both got worse, so I've given up on that experiment already.

I've been taking it for 5 days now - hasn't seemed to have improved my sleep - I maybe fall back to sleep a bit quicker and feel groggy when I get up at 3ish for a wee.

Haven't noticed a particular increase in appetite but am generally hungry as I do a fair amount of exercise. I log my food in mfp so will keep an eye on it.

Gp wants me to increase to 30mg after a week if my sleep hasn't improved.

I've been taking Mirtazapine for 2 years, currently on 30mg

Pros
I sleep wonderfully
I don't feel drugged, like I did on Sertraline
I feel normal, but more positive

Cons
Change in fat distribution (bigger belly)
It takes me a little while to wake up in the morning
it makes me a bit more sedentary than I would like

I haven't suffered the huge weight gain that so many people seem to, in fact I've lost a stone this year. I like this drug, on the whole.