Mirtazapine

[kylesmybaby]

Can anyone give me their views of being on Mirtazapine please.
Thank you

I hated it. I only took it for three days. I was like a zombie and I ate so much I was sick because my hunger just wouldn't switch off. Really weird drug, needs more severe warnings on the pack in my opinion. I wasn't fit to cross a road.

Totally agree about the eating. I just can't stop. It's making me feel much better though apart from that.

The increased appetite took months to improve so I wasn't painfully hungry a lot of the time. But the medication has definitely helped a great deal.

Yes I agree ifs only been a few days for me but my sleep has improved massively. Need to be careful with constantly eating though.

How long have you been on it? What mg. thanks

I was on 15mg then 30mg then 15mg again for a few months, no increased appetite, great sleep.

Was a wonder drug for me, had a no real side effects other than increased appetite and sleepiness (which was actually okay because I wasn’t sleeping before I took this medicine) for just under a year, I gained a small amount of weight because I exercised a lot and tried to eat as healthily as I could. My weight is back to normal now, I sleep a bit more than most people (9 hours if I don’t set an alarm), but it’s not really an issue.

Yes I have been on that many years ago. The dissolvable ones as I have trouble swallowing tablets. It did cause weight gain but so do the majority of anti depressants and anti psychotic.

Made me feel suicidal after being on it a month. Felt like a zombie, couldn’t stay awake and was constantly painfully hungry. It seems to work for some but it took a good ten months of coming off before I even got to the level of depression I was BEFORE I even started taking them! Still dealing with the weight gain

I hated it. I felt as if I had all-day morning sickness, in that I had to eat and eat in order not to feel sick. As a former anorexic, this wasn't a great thing for me, as in addition to being depressed, I became depressed about the thought of putting on weight. I binned it.

I was god-sent for me for insomnia, and for the first year I was on it, it helped my depression to the point that I managed to counteract the increased appetite, and mostly didn't gain. Never really had other side effects, apart from very vivid and bizarre dreams in the first few months.

After a couple of years it seems to have stopped helping the depression, although I still slept well on it. Lower mood meant I no longer felt able to control my appetite, either. (There are other factors for me, too, though, which have meant my eating has not been going well.) I've now stopped taking it, and the sleep is much worse, and I kind of hate being without it, too.

I really wish there was a drug that gave you the same effects without the appetite!

Amazing for sleep. I put on half a stone in a month so stopped.

It's been great for me. Although I slept better at a lower dose (on 45mg now)
I haven't noticed weight gain or increased appetite,but I have a bad relationship with food anyway. Eg I just ate a bread roll because it was there

It is the only antidepressant I would consider taking again.
It got me out of my worst depression when nothing else helped. I tolerated it for 4-5 months before it sent my mood high (I'm bipolar and most other antidepressants sent me high in hours).
I was on it with a second medication that was notorious for increasing appetite and even with both my appetite and weight didn't really increase.

It made me so fat I've secretly dropped it from my pill mountain but daren't tell my Psychiatrist or Doctor.

My mum has just started taking this (5wks ago) and can't sleep or eat, sounds the complete opposite of most people!

Consistently gets me to sleep through the night. On 45mg, combined with Venlafaxine and Gabapentin for severe recurrent depression ansd anxiety. Venlafaxine and Mirtazapine cancel our some of each other's side effects, apparently, so no real issues with it except I am definitely a lot fatter. However, lifestyle changes to reduce anxiety (no longer running around like a headless chicken) an a lot less walking, plus no longer so depressed I don;t care about food, also play a massive part, I expect.

I should say I get on with most antidepressants - going on them, anyway (coming off less fun) - save Prozac, so may not be the best test case.

It didn't suit me either to be honest.
On Fluoxetine now and it suits me much better.

It totally knocked me out and I couldn't stop eating. Really wasn't great for me. Escitalopram is so much better for me.

It also turned me into a zombie, I was spaced out, definately not fit to look after my children! So glad I tried it when my husband was at home with me.

I wonder why it's having such the opposite effect on her then. She's not eating, hasn't slept in ages etc

As pp have said, made me zombie like, which made me feel suicidal, also ate a lot and piled weight on which didn't help with my feelings of depression. I stopped taking it stupidly and almost had a breakdown, one of the worst times of my life.

My DH had been taking it for 4 months. For the first few days he was like a zombie then he was fine. For the first month to 6 weeks I noticed small improvements in his mood. He was definitely improving but would still have low days. After 6 weeks and a slight increase in the dose he's been much better. He's like his old self now. There's no stopping him! He's full of energy and loving life to the full. The drug also helped his sleeping a lot! He was crippled by insomnia but now gets good sleep most nights. He is eating more and has put on weight (a couple of kgs). That seems a small price to pay given that he was on his knees with anxiety and depression. He couldn't cope any more and now he's happy.

I've used it for a few months. The first week I was very groggy. It's been brilliant for sleep, gave me an appetite, and the moment I started to control my diet and eat healthily, the weight started dropping off again.

I am a bit worried about coming off it though and am hoping to start in a few weeks.