hello_world!

Fatigue can idd be a symptom of depression. It is in my case anyway. Sometimes it feels like I've been tired all my life...
I try to keep exercising, in spite of it. Sort of trying to find a middle ground there. Keep doing things but not overdo it either 'cause it leads to exhaustion for me.

Glad to hear you're still able to perform your daily duties though!

Weight gain wasn't a problem for me but I had a dry mouth because of the AD's a was using. I tried to drink plenty of water and chew sugar free gum.

Autumn

This post has been edited by Autumn: Jul 5 2007, 07:18 AM

Blueskies01, a warm to you as well!
When I first started on AD's I was scared because of all the things I was reading. You read about dizziness, and next thing you know is you're feeling dizzy. See what I mean?
We're sharing individual experiences here. It doesn't mean everyone is going to have to deal with all these things. The effects of antidepressant meds are very individual. Some people will experience side-effects, others won't.
I've been med-free for a year now but personally I didn't experience a lot of side-effects while on Remeron.

Take care,
Autumn

ooh that reminds me, a very strange thing was that after almost a year of taking Remeron (well, I'm taking it with Lamictal too), I started sweating profusely...which was totally not normal at all. Sometimes, I'd soak through layers of clothing. Then, I started smelling like sweat. Yeah, not very pleasant. Nowadays, I still sweat and smell....it's pretty embarrassing. I really hope that it's the Remeron since I'm stopping it soon and then, I might not sweat at all! If it turns out not to be Remeron's fault, then I probably have hyperhidrosis...

But it's different for everyone! So it might not happen for you. I haven't heard of any others with the same situation.

None! After a week of 30mg, I can honestly say that I feel better then I've felt in years. After coming off of 20mg Lexapro, I can really feel this medication picking up where Lexapro left me sleep deprived and 'flat' (like the world is flat, ya know?).

All the side effects for me are beneficial. I weight 145 pounds at 5'11" so weight gain for me is a good thing. My appetite is where it should be I'd say. My quality of sleep is phenomenal as well. Adderall and Lexapro TOGETHER meant I went to bed late and slept very roughly which left me feeling exhausted all day. No dreams, feeling 'eaten up' so to say.

Plus the Remeron Soltabs taste like the best orange flavor I've ever encountered LoL!! I look forward to tasting it every evening, I even lick the package.

T minus ?? days until it wears off it seems, which always comes faster for me then others it seems...sigh...

Lawlercaust

Really good to hear you're doing okay!

I actually liked those orange flavored soltabs as well. Didn't lick the package though, LOL

Hopefully you continue to do well!

Take care,
Autumn

After 12 weeks on Remeron (30Mg) get this really bad...

I feel overwhelmed, on edge, irritable, bad temper etc. I feel like I just want to scream out loud with frustration. Just can't see to chill out and let things not bother me.

Also, if I think of something I've got to do it NOW almost obsessively. Same if I wonder where I put something I've got to find it NOW.

In fact, having just found this board, I'm really stressed because theres so much info to read and I feel overwhelmed by it. Weird or what?

I think I'll go back to my doc to discuss this but I was wondering if this was common at all?

Hi psycocandy ,
Take a few slow deep breaths .

You are right to go back to your Doctor , it maybe that the dosage needs to be adjusted . What you are describing is hyperactivity , which can happen . I would go to see your Doctor as soon as possible , it must be very uncomfortable to feel so stressed all the time.

Take care Hedge

Thanks. I think I will...

I'm beginning to wonder if this is as bad as the depression was...

i took remeron for 3 years, it was one of the only meds that ever helped my deppression however it caused me to gain weight and had sexual side effects.

I'm on day 5 and the side effects I have are feeling dizzy, a dull headache, irritability, and tired. The irritability is the worst of the side effects and I'm hoping it goes away because its really making me miserable because I'm feeling like snapping at everyone over nothing. I just feel like I want everyone to leave me alone and I want to isolate.

Hi Psychocandy,

I felt that initially up to 30 mg. but when I went up to 45 mg. it disappeared or I just got it back under control. It almost sounds like some OCD is sticking out after getting other symptoms under control. I know I went on a cleaning binge when I first started it, but it needed to be done and I just analyzed it as the depression lifting and allowing me to take care of business again.

So it is hard to tell. You haven't posted here for a bit, so I am wondering if you changed meds or are finding this one OK now.

Peace and Love..... wayne

my partner started on mirtazapine on tuesday, first night very sleepy.
next day very sleepy.
wednesday night very sleepy and the next day.
thursday very down and tired.
thursday night had very bad shivers and felt cold.
today hes still sleepy and has jelly legs.
anyone else get this with it?

Yes! I can definitely relate to that!


When I was beginning this drug, I was on a double dose and after about 4 weeks I felt so energetic that I would LITERALLY jump out of bed in the morning, absolutely buzzing with adrenaline (usually because I was having nightmares) and felt a desperate urge to DO SOMETHING, anything. It was like a realisation that I've wasted so much of my time being depressed in the past that I had to compensate now.


In fact, I found this to be the hardest part of being on the drug because I literally had no control over this feeling, very scary. Out of all the drugs I've taken (I'm still on a small dose) this one was surely the most interesting because these urges just came straight out of me and I felt like I could not help but be energetic.

Hey Wayne,

Still on 30Mg but not so bad with this at the mo...

However, as we discussed in the other thread, I'm going to speak to my doc about increasing in any case...

Hi PC,

Always the best idea to discuss any and everything with our Dox, but this is a great place to get ideas of course. Be sure to write everything down, nothing is so frustrating that to walk out of their office and end up slapping your forehead... LOL I blame my high forehead on this phenomena.

Peace and Love.... wayne

Since I've been taking Remeron, I've had vivid dreams. The thing that's remarkable is, I've been having dreams that I've had before. I'd say something like the Top 10 most memorable dreams I've had in my life, I've re-dreamed in the last four months (that's how long I've been taking Remeron). It's quite strange to know (or I imagine) they're all stored somewhere in my brain. Who knew?

Other than that, I'm coming to terms with the munchies and dry mouth. I'm still in the wait-and-see stage with the weight gain.

***
And Yes, sarah, I was Out For The Count when I first started it. I'd had about three months of insomnia before I started taking it, though, so being zonked was quite welcome.

This post has been edited by blanket: Oct 26 2007, 01:32 AM

I've experienced intense sugar cravings and have gained about 10 lbs because of it. I've been on Remeron for more than two months and I desperately want to come off them. I can't afford a new wardrobe and the depression has come back with a vengence. It's awful. I'm cutting donwn from 15 to 7.5mg and I feel more depressed than ever. I can't stand the drowsiness but i'm very determined to stop them. I'm also on 25 mg Celexa and this combo worked great at first but my doc said i should go down to 25mg for some reason. Bad idea. I have an appointment tomorrow and will tell him that it's not working.

I'm not new to the site but am new to Remeron. The worst side effect for me is an intense HUNGER! The second issue is groggyness in the morning. I can hardly keep my eyes open to drive (not too safe).

Does the hunger thing ever go away? What about the grogginess?

I meet with my pdoc at the end of Jan and am planning on looking for a new drug. The unfortunate aspect is that Remeron IS WORKING!

I think I'm a lucky one. My worst side effect is dry mouth. I contantly have to have a diet soda, or water with me. I can't even go to the grocery store for long because I get so thirsty, and I'm afraid if I take it in with me they'll think I stole it. My other vote was headaches. I wake up every morning with one, but drink my coffee and take my meds and it ususally goes away. I have a pretty bad cold right now, so the headaches could be from that. Jury's out on that one.

Best of luck to all of you!

Lost in the past

****

I had to add to this post, as I've just realized that my sex drive is gone. If one were to rank my sex drive on a scale from 1 to 10, I'd have to say it is a 1 (lowest). In the past, I'd say it was a 9 or 10.

The good thing is that it is more in line with my wife. However, it does suck not having any drive.

I wish there were such a thing as an antidepressant with NO undesirable side effects.

At last!

There is someone else out their that has experienced sever anxiety with Effexor and Mirtazapine!!! Back in November I felt a little low - I had been taking effexor at 37.5 mgs as a maintenance doe for 12 months following a great deal of stress - house move, cycling injury, work stuff. My GP upped the Effexor to 75mgs and I felt more anxious, two weeks later it was upped again to 150 mgs for 2 weeks and I was climbing the walls. I ended up at hospital where they realised that I was expereincing a severe reaction to the drug - They immediately droppped the dose to 75mgs and introduced Mirtazapine at 15mgs. 10 days later they dropped the Effexor to 37.5 mgs and upped the Mirtazapine to 30mgs. Because of the quick taper I suffered horrific withdrawal off the Effexor which was made worse because I was also experiencing the side effects of the Mirtazapine. The side effects of the Effexor withdrawal have gone but I am struggling with the awful numbness, nightmares and ringing in the ears. AND I FEEL SOOOOOOOOOORESTLESSS!!!!!

Westieworld

Hi WW,

It is hard to tell exactly who might be the culprit when two drugs are taken so close together, I would suspect that as much as an 8 week difference would be in order to truly separate them in terms of side effects. One thing that I do know, and that is that the combination of Remeron and Effexor is known as "California Rocket Fuel" for its energizing effects. Both drugs increase the amount of nor-epinepherine that is available at the synaptic level. And nor-epinepherine is closely related to epinepherine, also known as adrenalin. So, it is not a stretch to suspect that the two of them together or closely associated would cause restlessness. I was on mirtazapine (Remeron) for a while with little SEs to speak of after the initial loading dose period. Then Effexor was added to the mix, it took me two day to call my pDoc and cry "UNCLE!!!" and he discontinued it immediately. It had reverse every positive effect that I had gained from mirtazapine.

So it sounds like there was some crossover as you tapered off one med and started up another. Of course, this further clouds the picture as to what was causing what. And even after you last dose of Effexor, you can expect as somewhat delayed reaction to its withdrawal. If it takes 8 weeks for a med to essentially work, it probably takes as long for all the effects of it to cease.

Anyhow, I hope you situation has resolved itself, as so often is the case and I hope that your pDoc and yourself can find a suitable alternative to control your symptoms fully.

Peace and Love... wayne

Just saw your post and wanted to find out about your hair loss experience. I too have been experiencing major hair loss all of the sudden and no one seems to think Remeron can do that.
I'm desperate for it to stop but unsure what's going on. Would really love to hear what happened with you.
Thanks so much

Hi Hopeful,

I wouldn't expect an answer here soon, 'giggio' joined DF in July, '06 but didn't bother to post until March '07, and that post you quoted was their only post ever, before or since. So I suspect that they are not a regular visitor here. Have you tried googling 'mirtazapine side effects hair loss' and seeing how many hits you get? That might be your quickest way to get an answer, in fact I think I will try that myself. Maybe there is an explanation and/or a solution to this problem.

Peace and Love... wayne

Hi Wayne,
Yes, I have tried googling for the side effect and did see a few that said it was a rare side effect and found a couple of forums where people thought their hair loss was due to Remeron. I had been on Lexapro before and didn't lose any hair. The last 5 months have been traumatic starting being misdiagnosed by a med happy doc. Was very ill from trying 6(heavy) meds in 3 weeks...starting and stopping because of side effects. Only started with anxiety, saw a new doc to start back on lexapro, and whammo! Next thing you know I'm physically sick and clinically depressed. All the trauma and drugs sent me spiraling. Don't know if stress may be the culprit or the drug. Now I don't know what to do because I'm not good with these drugs but my gut tells me it's the Remeron.
Thanks for your imput!

I have been on 15mg Remeron for 8 weeks now and so far the drug has been great.
To start with i was completely wiped out....couldn't get out of bed and even considered stopping it. I felt bloated and after a few weeks noticed my clothes feeling tighter on me. I assumed this was the weight gain everyone seems to write about. I read some postings about the drug and began to feel really unhappy with my medicine choice. I wanted to stop. I didnt want to be sleepy and fat but thought i should persevere just to be completely sure it was not right for me!
After about 3 weeks it seemed to 'kick in'. I noticed that the bloating diminished and seemed to be an initial retention of water?? I still feel slightly tired in the mornings..but only for an hour or so, and i take the pill at night so i have an amazingly refreshing sleep! Apparently there is evidence that says the drug extends the time you spend in stage 2 and stage 3 sleep...which is the time your body repairs and recharges itself. Friends have commented on how relaxed and fresh i look.
I have had no change in my eating habits. I dont crave sugar and i dont eat more than before. My weight is the same it always was.
Mentally i feel centred and well. I feel much more confident and less sense of a 'shyness' than before. For me the drug has been fantastic.
The reason i have decided to post this is because when i was having a bad time with it initially, i was on the internet reading and searching other peoples experiences...and they pretty much all seemed to be negative. I was sure i had made a mistake in my medication choice. However, now i suspect that the better emotonally and mentally you feel, you tend to spend less time 'researching' on the internet. When you feel happy and well you are out living life and connecting with other people. I could easily have just moved on and not posted my experience today but i had made a mental note to myself that i shoud post something to give some comfort and hope to those just starting out on this med. I can only talk for myself but my experience is very positive so far. I am very confident that there are thousands of others like me for every negative posting out there...its just we dont tend to post or analyse these sites when we feel better. So dont be dishartened and persevere. Its a great drug!

thank you for your post london. im starting mirtazapine today. i know what you mean about posting..........when im feeling well i dont go on the forums and thats really when i should so i can help others...........like your post has helped me
thank you x

I had incredible drowsiness for the first week. It would literally take me until the afternoon to be able to think straight. That wore off after that first week, though.

The worst part for me is the hunger pangs. They never stop. I've gained about seven pounds in just under three weeks, which doesn't bode well. Weight's always been an issue for me, and this is just making me feel really bad about myself.

I'm also feeling bouts of intense anger. I don't even know what about.

I'm thinking that this isn't the one for me, which is a bummer, as I've read that it's fantastic for some people.

Hi dtm,

The hunger/weight gain seems to subside at higher doses, 45-60 mg, apparently, the norepinepherine effects overcome the antihistamine effects (often cited as the reason for the hunger and sedation).

I, too, experienced some bouts of anger at first, but it seemed to me that it was as much a product of not being so focused on my anxiety and my own moods that I was noticing things that angered me. But after a while that went away, with a little effort on my part to be a bit more tolerant of others. And that pretty much did the trick for me. I have been on mirt. for the better part of the year, started taking it last March, and now I don't know what I would do without it. My weight has stabilized with some exercise (actually a good idea anyway) and a better diet (also not a bad thing).

So give it a chance, take the steps necessary to keep your weight down and hopefully it will work as well for you as I has for me.

Peace and Love.... wayne
Sabbat Shalom

I´ve been on and off Remeron for 2 and half years now. This and Bupropion were the best ADs for me, but Bupropion makes me sleep 4 hours a night so I only took it for a while.
I am currently on 40mg Fluoxetine and on and off (as soon as I get better I try to stay off) Remeron 30mg at bedtime. I was on holidays so I could quit the Remeron and started losing some weight - along with craving for food.
All doses of Remeron I took (15, 30 and 45mg) made me very sleepy for some good 10 hours and in the first week, foggy-headed. I also had that effect of seeming to be watching everything from outside, while also in the first week. Later on the foggy-headedness, drowsiness and trouble reading (blurred vision) always go away after a week or so. The sedating effect however is more potent in 15 and 30mg than in 45mg.
As of now, I have my depression 'under control' with this combination of 40mg Fluoxetine and 30mg Remeron, but I have been having lots of restlessness, restless legs and stuff related to Norepinephrine, so I think I would better go down to 15mg Remeron.
Almost everyday I feel incredible restlessness and this sometimes turns into a bad temper.
It seems to me Remeron is very potent on Norepinephrine, compared to Bupropion and Effexor. This should be the cause for the restlessness and anxiety. Talking to your doc about associating some calming meds may help, such as Klonopin.
I have to say, Remeron is great but the weight gain is terrible. I am on it but plan to be only on the Fluoxetine ASAP. I have Remeron as a 'last resource' AD because it seems to work when nothing else is working.

I'm just coming to the end of my first month on 30mg dose.
For the depression side of things it works better than the Sertraline I was on. But I have 3 main side effects.

Irritablility - Even the smallest thing can make my mood go from a very good one to evil in a second. When something does this I do try to count to 10 to stop me snapping and shouting.

Tiredness - I'm always tired, I take my meds just before I go to sleep. But I have an extrememly difficult time getting out of bed in the mornings> I'll generally go to bed at 9pm and have to get up at 6am.

Arthralgia - Particularly in my knees, lower back and fingers. Sometimes I have difficulty in standing up the pain can be so great. In the mornings when I wake up my hands are really stiff.


I have a few more weeks until I come to the end of the usual adjustment peroid, I'm hoping the side effects will calm down a fair bit as they do seem to work better than the SSRIs and other tri-cyclics I've been on.

i know exactly what you mean about the irritability!!! im finding this the hardest of the side effects. been on 30mgs for two weeks.
the tiredness is ok. i take mine about 8pm......fall asleep by ten and can wake up ok about 7ish.
i have back pain but not sure if thats the remeron or not......think i strain my back alot when im doing the work up the stables!
i want the irritability to go away!!!

This is day six of Remeron 15 mg, and, although the sedation is beginning to let up very slightly, I am still sleeping 16+ hours per day. I also take Wellbutrin (7+ years) and long-acting morphine sulfate for chronic pain from a degenerative condition in my knees. I normally wake up in excruciating pain because I've missed at least one dose of morphine. I have started to experience pain in other joints, particularly one of my wrists that has never suffered a serious injury, and I have a very mild but persistent frontal headache. I'm almost afraid to think how long I would sleep if not awakened by knee pain.

The food cravings are also still very intense. I try to counteract their effects by keeping healthy munchies on hand, but I've never had the feeling that I was literally going to starve if I didn't eat immediately.

Hi Jeff,

You may find that the sedative effects of mirtazapine will subside as you take higher doses. It was that way for me. I know that doesn't sound logical but here is the reason. Mirt. also effect the nor-epinepherine receptor. At the lower doses, this effect isn't that strong, especially in light of the histaminic effect. This is also true concerning the phenominal case of the munchies that most people experience when they start mirt. But back to nor-epinepherine, this brain amine (neurotransmitter) has an excitatory function which is not unlike epinepherine, more commonly known as adrenaline. So usually the sedation and appetite are usually reversed with higher doses. I currently take 60 mg. per day, split into equal doses.

The other issue that I wanted to share with you is taking mirt. with an opiate. I started having to take an opiate after I had already acclimatized to mirt. And, wow, I started sleeping 18 hours a day, sometimes more. So, I started setting my alarm, forcing myself to get up and started drinking coffee to counteract the sedation. If that doesn't work for you, at least you could set your alarm to take your meds so you don't have to wake up in pain.

Here's hoping that you do find a solution, I feel for you.

Peace and Love.... wayne

Hi all,I have been prescribed these from the doctor.My first med I was ever on was Seroxat for about 4 years I think.But they got banned.Even though they were good for me,not for others because of..... Then Prozac for a month,they helped depression but made anxiety worse.Then Cipralex,that drove me nuts,as if I was being remotely controlled by someone,then Sertraline,which I loved,only I had this burning feeling which I hated as I said on the other forum topic.So after all that I decided to go without meds for awhile,was like my own we experiment,just wanted to see what it would be like not being on any tablet.Well lets just say,it wasn't nice.Never ended up in hospital or anything,but I think I was heading that way,was always on the edge.So,I gave up and went back to get help,I know it's stupid reading personal side effects and that on here before starting these tablets,but everyone seems to have the same experiences.Weight gain is what I need,as I have lost about 2 stone in this year,maybe more.

Well they seem fine to me,don't mind feeling tired,hungry or spaced out lol.I did though have that anger when on seroxat,but nothing as close to the rage I have now being on nothing.

So I'll keep you's posted on my progress.

I have been on this drug along side my Venlafaxine for almost two weeks and have put on a dress size - when I AM awake, all I want is doughnuts!! I bought me tons of fruits and eat them to try and stop the mad rubbish food cravings, but not helping yet. Does anyone get anything off the doctors to help suppress the insane appetite? For real .. I normally have two chocolates and feel sick, but atm I can eat a kilo and feel fine >.< I actually feel like threatening people who come to see me who DON'T bring doughnuts. That's the thing that's bothering me most atm. My doctor claims that with a good nights sleep, I'll feel energised and do excersise, but all my waking hours are dedicated to getting hold of fat/sugar rich foods!

The drowsiness is a good thing really, less nightmares from the Venla so far :) but I am sleeping such long and strange hours it's still impossible for me to live a "normal" life (I want a part time job! It's not fair, I'm bored in here going out of my mind!). I will update as my doses change (increasing Mirt and decreasing Venla).

So pleased I found this forum. My GP is very forward thinking where mental health problems are concerned, I see now how lucky I am to have her and her wacky ideas.

I too would also have to say the drowiness with this anti-d was quite annoying but I found that by the time it got past lunchtime that I didnt feel the effects of the drowiness, I actually had a lot of energy.

Isabeau

Very tired starting up 15mg.So tired it was flu like.30mg feel better,have no cravings for food at all.But I have been off tablets for quite some time,so maybe taking awhile for these to actually work.No real weird side effects,except,feel very rushy/nervous/anxious,that's all.

Most of my side effects went away at a higher dose My doc was saying for some the higher doeses of it will give less drowisness less fagtigue the appetite is better at the higher dose that's only for some and he did also say sometimes the lower the doses is better..

For me the 45 at night is doing the trick.