Mirtazapine - how long until side effects settle down?

[allthesharks]

I've been prescribed Mirtazapine to take in addition to Citalopram which I've been taking for years. It does seem to help my mood but it completely knocks me out and the next day I feel almost hungover. I took it for a few days and then had to stop because the kids went back to school and I had to be able to drive them (we don't live walking distance). The following weekend I tried a half dose of 7.5mg to see if that was any better but I still felt the same. Now my mood has declined even further (I have PND for the third time on top of mixed depressive and anxiety disorder). I can make arrangements for family to help with the school drop off to allow the side effects of the medication to settle down, but I don't know how long that's likely to take and I can't rely on other people indefinitely.

Has anyone taken Mirtazapine and experienced the same side effects? And if so, how long did it last?

I’ve been on Mirtazapine for three years.

They definitely knocked me out in the beginning. After my first dose, I slept for 16 hours! But I had been experiencing horrendous insomnia, so the “knocked out” feeling was very welcome at the time. I also wasn’t working, so I had time to sleep and get used to it without worrying about needing to be anywhere.

I was a zombie for about a week, and then everything settled and I felt fantastic. My sleep settled down to a restful 8 hours a night, and my mental health improved no end. I’ve been on other antidepressants before (fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram and trazodone) and they hadn’t really made any difference (some had actually made me worse) - but Mirtazapine was like a miracle for me - I felt so much better so quickly. Everyone is different, and what worked for me might not work for you, but if you are able to get some help while you are getting used to the medication, I would encourage you to stick with it. It’s absolutely done wonders for me - I was a mess before I started it, and it has given me my life back

They settled down after about 2 weeks for me and had 3 months of wonderful sleep. They didn't seem to work aswell after that even when I upped my dose to 30mg, sleep isn't as great anymore but I still think they help me.

I've been on Citalopram for 15+ years, since having post-natal depression. I started to notice that my anxiety was getting worse, so my GP suggested the same and prescribed me Mirtazapine while slowly coming off Citalopram. OMG the dreams I have been getting are crazy and unreal and have at least 2/3 a night - its been taking me about half hour to tell my partner all about them in the morning.

Being sleepy is a huge problem, which my GP didn't mention, only about putting on weight. I slept in until midday on the 3rd day of taking them - luckily it was my day off!! I've slept through my alarm a few times and been late for work on one occasion. My children are both at secondary school, so they get up and get ready without needing me anymore... THANKFULLY!!!

My GP is going to call me next week (3 weeks after being prescribed) to follow up and see how I am. I am hoping that in another week or two I will feel more 'normal', that's if I can ever feel normal