Mirtazapine and sleepiness

[NotAnEMERGENCY]

I've been taking sertraline 200mg with no negative side-effects and have now been prescribed mirtazepine 15mg in addition.

I took my first mirtazepine tablet yesterday at 8pm and within an hour I was feeling incredibly drowsy. I pretty much couldn't keep my eyelids open so I went to bed. This morning I still feel a bit sleepy. At first I thought it was OK but now I'm beginning to feel like I need a nap. (I don't usually have naps.)

Will this pass after a week or so? I am self-employed and work from home but currently feel too sleepy to concentrate on work. If this continues, it would mean that taking mirtazapine is not feasible for me.

Hi OP. In my experience this lasted a couple of weeks. I still sleep really well on Mirtazapine but only feel a bit groggy for the first few minutes of the day. I find that if I want to have a lie in I can sleep and sleep, which is new. But waking up isn't a problem.

My DH takes it 30-60 mins before going to bed but still struggles to wake up some mornings. It has improved as time's gone on though. I think the good sleeps have really helped him start to recover 😊

It lasts about 2 weeks and then gets better

That's really good to hear. Hope I can stick with it until it dissipates! Tonight I'll try taking it half an hour later than I did yesterday.

I was originally prescribed quetiapine to take as and when required (i.e. whenever I needed a boost, which could happen in the middle of the day). This then completely knocked me out. As I was only supposed to take it occasionally, my body would never have become accustomed to that. Hence, this new prescription for a low but daily dose of mirtazepine...