Weight gain whilst on anti depressents - mirtazapine

[crumpetsryummy]

I have put so much weight on very quickly literally got on scales and put nearly 3 stone on! Anyone else experienced this? Agree my appetite has increased so i am eating slughtly more but I am really co cerned at the rapid rate it is being piled on. Any advice?

I put on weight on mirtazapine to start with due to the increased appetite but then started watching what I eat and exercising and I haven’t put anything more on.

I'm a veterinary nurse, and we used to give mirtazipine to cats who weren't eating as it is an appetite stimulant.

As above, it’s an appetite stimulant. I put on a stone in the first month, i stopped it and tried something different

I was on 15 mg and hungry - 30 mg not so much. In fact I just have my usual sugar cravings (always been like this) and normal appetite.

DH gained a stone in a fortnight on this and promptly changed medication

What did you try instead @Thighdentitycrisis ?

@Catlady12345 Sertraline , I didn’t like that either

Yep gained loads on that one!

I ballooned on mirtazipine I wouldn't touch it now.
At first it was good for me because my anxiety stopped me eating and I was disappearing. At first I quite enjoyed having food enjoyment back -I'm a former anorexic too and struggle at the best of times. I became obsessed with sugar though I ate things I generally have no interest in like squashie sweets. I looked like I'd been inflated though it was awful. When I stopped dead taking them I started power walking and step counting. A calorie counter app helped a lot and I lost the weight. I would never take it again

Mirtazapine is notoriously associated with serious weight gain. I don’t understand why it’s prescribed unless all other options have been exhausted. I’d suggest going back to your doctor to discuss changing your meds.

That said it's the first thing that made me want to treat myself. With huge amounts of good obviously but it's the first time I felt I could be live to myself.

I was prescribed them for anxiety I think they did help to be fair.

I believe it may sometimes be possible to take metformin alongside mirtzapine to help counter the gains.

Did you find an anti depressant that worked for you in the end @Thighdentitycrisis ?

Sorry for late reply. Mirtazapine is the only AD I've tried that doesn't wreck my ability to orgasm! Which DH and I prefer not to lose. I have gained weight but have settled at a level I'm not (too) unhappy with. It's helping me though I still have bad anxiety at times.

My dh was pretty badly affected by it. Ate a dinner then loads of bread and ice cream and it was like he didn't notice he was doing it.

Yes, put on 3 st over about 6 month. Now using a calorie/steps/water counter and dropped a stone in 3 weeks. Soon be back to myself.

I put on loads on Mirtazapine after managing to lose 2.5 stone. It was a locum that prescribed it and when I spoke to my regular GP about the weight gain, straight away she said to come off Mirtazapine. I went onto Venlafaxine (sp?) instead. It was a few years ago now, but I got the impression that my GP didn't agree with the locum having put me on it, probably because she knew all the hard work I'd put into losing weight. The locum understandably didn't.

Since then I have really struggled to lose weight again, partly due to age, my thyroid, blah blah blah. I'm finally 9lbs away from my pre weightloss weight, so hopefully I'll get back to my pre Mirtazapine weight by the end of the year!!