Starting Mirtazapine handhold

[rubyslipperss]

Hi I've had a pretty bad year and this last month has been particularly bad - I developed tinnitus and this triggered insomnia which sent me into a spiral . My GP has given me mirtazapine 15 mg and zopiclone and told me take them together but wouldn't that knock me out too much ?

Also aside of the weight gain ( I'll chose sleep over weight gain atm ) though this does worry me, did people find it difficult to come off ?
Could do with some positive stories if possible as I hate taking new things .

@hidinginthegarden yes actually that's how I feel kind of, I've been on it nearly 4 weeks and I definitely feel a bit calmer . I'm normally the sort of person who rushes around getting really anxious about things. I'm not at work atm though and I am worried about how things will be when I go back to work - I'm quite brain foggy and tired during the day . Sleep has improved though some nights broken . Finding it difficult to get my timings right . I take it at 10 pm and go to sleep by 11.30 but struggling to wake up by 9 am even ! Not sure how I managed with a 7.30 start!

My son, 18, is on Mirtazipine. Started on 15mg and is now on 30mg. They helped with sleep almost instantly for him and he finds taking it about an hour and a half before bed is the best time. He did initially gain weight (1.5st in 3 months!), but we've now rejigged his diet a bit and cut a couple of things out, and he's not gained anything in the last couple of months. His sleep is hugely improved and his mood is noticeably better, so all good so far.

He did get a lot of wooziness with them for the first week or so (plus hiccups randomly!) and felt hungover every morning, but that's subsided now and he wakes up quite refreshed, which is a novelty after 10 years of him being a dreadful sleeper and pure evil first thing in the morning!

Alarms more alarms and even more alarms!

I'm not longer on mirtazapine but another medication that's sedating. For me I have a very low threshold for going from slightly awake to fully asleep again. With lots of alarms I get up between 7.15 and 7.45 on most week day and 7.00 on my office day. My partner has to wake me with a coffee at the weekend between 9 and 10.30. This is with a 4 year old that doesn't sleep through so I have disturbed sleep because of that

I have a lumie light up alarm and this has been a life saver the brighter room really makes a difference especially at this time of year. I will too easily turn off an alarm so I rather than having a snoozable alarm I set alarms to go off at 5-10 minute intervals. I also use apps where you have to solve puzzles in order to turn the alarm off which helps get me into a more awake state. I need at least half hour of alarms to get me awake enough to face the world, longer if my mood is low and I don't want to face the world!

I'm in bed at 10 on a weekday and 10.30-11 on Friday and Saturday

I was exactly the same - I'm so relieved someone else had the same experience. I took one and for 3 days I couldn't function properly - I felt drunk and so drowsy I didn't dare drive. GP changed me to Venlafaxine and I feel so much better. I know some people can tolerate Mirtazipine well - but I'll never go back on it I had such a severe reaction.

I really wish it would make my husband sleep - he's not had a proper nights rest for weeks!

@Superscientist good idea about the alarms. Sounds stupid but can you use a lumie lamp with an eye mask ??

I've seen lots of people say it's more sedating in lower doses. Would the GP keep him on 15 mg ? It's a viscous circle isn't it with sleep and anxiety. That's why I went on mirtazapine in the first place . Also does he take anything like nytol on top? Or might be worth asking gp for short course sleeping tablets to get sleep back . I used zopliclone and was worried about getting hooked but it really helped for a short time .

I was given mirtazapine years ago because I was having panic attacks, and I couldn't sleep properly which meant I was always exhausted. I ballooned to a size 22. It made me feel hungry all the time.

I came off it eventually and now I'm back in a normal weight bracket. I wish I had something positive to tell you because while it did help me sleep, the dreams I had when I was asleep were so vivid and disturbing that I thought I was awake.

@rubyslipperss thanks for the reply. He's had zopiclone but his levels of anxiety are so high his body burned through it and he only slept for about 3-4 hours per night. The lower dose of mirtazipine didn't help with sleep - he has a prescribed antihistamine to help with sleep but at the moment nothing is giving him a decent rest.
I think he's just very resistant to medication or hasn't found the right one yet.

@rubyslipperss I'm sorry I don't know. I'm one of those people who close their eyes and everything is black.
If you turn on your main light and have you eye mask on can you see the light? It will probably be eye mask dependant.

@zerogrey I definitely had that in the beginning! I had lost a lot of weight very quickly because of anxiety before the mirtazapine and I didn't mind that but now I do have to watch what I eat but luckily appetite normal not gone crazy .

Spoke to MH nurse at surgery today wants me to go onto 30 mg but then after chatting to me about anxiety which has eased a little , said I could stay on 30 if I want to . Not sure what to do - I think I'll stay at 15 mg for another week or so and see how I feel. It's definitely helped my anxiety but I guess I still have some worries that crop up . She said my sleep might be worse on 30 mg but that it might ease the grogginess and that I might get anxious for few days when I up it. Difficult to know what to do..

I think as you are having an improvement at 15 mg giving it another week isn't a bad idea, I wouldn't leave it too much longer than this though.
Remember if you go up and it's not right you can go back down. Especially if you start straight on the 30mg tablets rather than 2 x 15 mg so you still have some 15mg tablets at home to make the switch quickly

I wouldn't take the Zopliclone, just the Mirtazapine. I've been on it (45mg) for about 8 years. I started on 15mg, and it didn't cause any weight gain or increase in appetite. It made me drowsy enough to allow me to sleep better at night.

Hi @rubyslipperss how are you getting on now? I’ve just been prescribed 15mg but am struggling with the side effects and feeling really groggy / hungover on a morning. I have a young baby to look after so it is really difficult to wake up on a morning.

Hi @Rosiebun- I’m still in it . For the first 3 months I was really groggy in the morning and I still am a bit but I take it about 9 in the evening and I can get up for work ok . It really helped with my anxiety and my sleeping so it’s been positive.

Hello I know this is an old thread but I’ve been started on mirtazepine after having a terrible reaction to citalopram which left me in a constant fight or flight state. I have been taking 7.5mg and the doctor wants me to go up to 15mg to try and address the anxiety. I am sleeping better but very tired all day. I am nervous to increase the dose incase I get bad increase in anxiety and sedation. When I took citalopram I got panic attacks all night. Has anyone increased from 7.5 to 15 and can reassure me I won’t head back into a state of constant agitation !?

Mirtazipine helps me sleep, though I had to titrate up to a higher dose to get significant benefit. I would sleep 4-5 hours but didn't always find it easy to go back to sleep. 4-5 was a huge improvement, though. A magnesium supplement along with mirtazapine has helped me sleep longer - I now sleep 6-7.5 hours in one go and can go back to sleep if I wake during the night.
I did gain some weight but managed to lose it.

I was on mirtazapine briefly a couple of years ago. I experienced absolute rage in it. I had to avoid people until I came off it. I did a lot of research and though officially it can cause agitation in young people, on forums lots of adults said they were so angry they were in danger of losing their families,

I'm pretty sure that, weirdly, the side effect of tiredness is stronger at the lower doses and reduces as the dose increases.

@sunshinebeaI still take 15 mg for sleep and anxiety and it works like a charm. I am still tired during the first part of the morning, but it wears off . I think the longer you’re on it the easier it gets .

@rubyslipperss did you try going up to 30mg? I’m not sure what to do, my GP says I should but I’m worried it will make my anxiety worse.

My GP did suggest I go up to 30mg and mentioned that the side effects might worsen for a week or two . I decided not to as o felt my anxiety was getting much lesson the 15mg .

@rubyslipperss thank you, do you remember how long it took for the 15mg to lift your anxiety or mood?

@SunshinebeaI remember I noticed a difference after a month and then much more settled by say 3 months cos that’s when I went back to work ( I had 2 months off) . I’m not an expert but I would say 7.5 mg wouldn’t do much for anxiety . I understand how you feel though , I felt knocked out by it when I first started taking it , tired throughout the day but I don’t get that much anymore . I’m actually thinking of reducing down to 7.5 mg maybe in the new year .