Mirtazepine - positive and helpful stories please

[Sunshinebea]

Hello, I was prescribed Mirtazepine for severe anxiety GAD and panic recently. I took citalopram before and lasted six days before being admitted to A&E with horrific anxiety attacks. I’ve since been on Mirtazepine for a week at 7.5mg and almost three weeks at 15mg. I wake in the morning with awful anxiety in my stomach and butterflies throughout the day. My mood is low and I feel very on edge. The doctor wants me to increase to 22.5mg then 30mg but I have read that it can increase your anxiety so I am too afraid to do so. Has anyone had any similar experiences? I just don’t know how I would cope if it heightened my anxiety - the awful stomach drops are persistent as it is. I had a week on this dose where I actually didn’t feel anxious much but now it’s back and I just don’t know what to do.

Has your doctor ever mentioned propranolol to you? I take it along side the mirtazipine and honestly it helps so much x

@Trashracoon I have a low dose prescription in a drawer but was worried about it dropping my blood pressure too low or slowing my heart too much - my anxiety is very health orientated so changes in my body freak me out. It makes no sense I know. How does it make you feel when you take it?

No I understand that fully, my anxiety is heavily focused on my health too, I think I spent two weeks sobbing before trying them because I was sure they’d harm me 😭 but turns out they were absolutely fine! Physically they didn’t alter me at all! But they did take away the anxiety feelings off heavy chest, palpitations etc, they ease the physical anxiety symptoms so much for me, and now I just take them as and when I need them x

@Trashracoon so you didn’t feel your heart slow down? Or feel faint? Can I ask what dose you take and how long it lasts or takes to kick in? Thank you so much.

I didn’t physically feel my heart slow or turn faint no 😊 the only physical thing I felt was my palpitations stopped which is positive! I only have a 10mg dose as ideally they shouldn’t be given to people with asthma, but even with my asthma on a low dose I’ve been absolutely fine, I tend to take one around half hour before I know I’m going out as it helps, or if I’ll take one at home if my anxiety symptoms are particularly bad, they tend to kick in within about 20/30 mins for me and a single dose can get me through a good few hours, there’s no “bad” side effects for me and I’ve been on them about a year now, l think I said in a previous reply I was terrified about starting them but now I’m so glad I did x

@blunderwood well my doctor wants me to try a higher dose because she said the 15mg won’t be doing anything much for my anxiety. It’s really hard since I have read so many people saying they stuck at 15mg for anxiety as higher made them worse and she is literally saying 15mg isn’t doing much at all. It’s hard to discount all the reviews online and trust someone who hasn’t lived it.

@blunderwood how are you doing on the increase?

@blunderwood i hope you are ok?

Has anyone had experience going from 15 to 22.5 when they already feel anxious? I’m nervous that it will push me into more anxiety as I’ve heard the higher doses can be activating. But I’m also worried it might make me more foggy as currently the 15 is helping but I feel tired in the day and still have anxiety. Although it is much better than it was.

@blunderwood is everything ok? Did you manage ok on the increase?

@blunderwood hey how did the dose increase go? I’ve just upped mine to 22.5 four days ago and wanted to check in.