Advice on getting going earlier in the morning, Plz

[Rainbowlady]

I have been taking 45mgs Mirtazepine for 6mths now & am much better. As an antidepressant it has worked for me & my symptoms. I was suicidal & on Venlafaxine & Diazepam prior to this, suffering brain zaps, withdrawals from Diazepam, in bed 24/7, a total wreck with anxiety, insomnia & no appetite. I have been medically withdrawn from diazepam & am off all benzo's completely since end of August 2012. I only put this history to explain how much better I am now & so grateful to even be in this position, looking for advice.
I have been reading a lot about the side effects of Mirt since being prescribed it & have generally just been glad to feel like I have been. My appetite increased a lot initially & I did gain weight. I didn't feel initially drowsy on it but it did get me to sleep, even straight away. It was only after my head cleared from the mess it was in I noticed that instead of being totally wired all the time, regardless, I felt calmer & tired @ times.
I started sleeping later in the mornings & having a good nights sleep. I was glad.
I live with my husband & 3 children aged 6, 4 & 3.I had post natal depression initially which never got totally better after my 1st child. Now is the 1st time in years where I feel really ok most of the time! My 76yr old mother lives with us & also helps a lot, which I am grateful for. Now I feel better I know I need to do more, which brings about my problem.
My husband has started a new job which takes him out of the house @ 6.30am. He had been getting the kids to school before & I fetched them & did everything else around the house while he was @ work. this suited my sleep pattern as I am terrible in the mornings due to the Mirtazepine.
Now, starting tomorrow I have to get them to school with my mother's help. ( She is a star, but I feel guilty). I usually take the Mirt around 7pm so I don't forget it & go to sleep by around 9/10. We have slow evenings putting the kids to bed by 7pm, on school nights. 8/9pm sometimes in hols. I'm afraid to take it too much earlier as it does make me a bit drowsy & must go to sleep when I need to after taking it, so I prefer the kids to be near bedtime.
So taking it @ 7pm, I sleep from 9pm until 8/8.30 am & I'm not much good until 10/11 am. I never drive until lunch time. This means I'm going to be awful @ getting them to school & I'm really worried. My husband just sees me as better & is not really seeing the problem. My mum is more understanding but is also the one mostly supporting me & will be driving my 3 yr old to nursery cos I'm not safe in the car. I just have to get the other 2 on the bus in time.
Has anybody found a successful way to be up & about early on Mirt or is maybe stopping it the way to go, which I am afraid about after being ill for so long.
Sorry this is so long winded. Any help or advice will be gratefully received. Thanks in advance :)

[hanshan]

Hello, and congratulations to you, you sound like a real soldier to have been through what you have and come out better and more positive.

From your post, it seems that you take the daily dose once at 7.00 pm. If so, you could try breaking the dose into three or four smaller doses per day.

I know it sounds boring, but you could also move your bedtime earlier, if it means getting up earlier.

The last-ditch alternative is strong coffee. It's possible to make it the night before, ready to drink as soon as you get up.

Good luck with it all.

[Rainbowlady]

Thank you for the reply, Hanshan. I appreciate you taking the time to read my rambling! A strong coffee is a good idea, which is totally doable. I'm not much of a coffee drinker so I didn't think of that, but I do like it so that's a good start. Also, I definitely think I have to try & get to sleep earlier as that makes the most sense at the moment. We are quite boring anyway of an evening during schooltime & I do try to get the kids to bed by 7pm. Sometimes this is nearer 8pm after stories etc but this does seem the most obvious thing to try. I'm going to have to try to get into a different sleep pattern. I will take the Mirt earlier too, depending on what is happening that evening, maybe 5ish. Then my bedtime can be the same as the kids. My husband is here if they don't go to sleep straight away or need something.
This routine only started today & the kids caught the bus ok, even tho I slept later than I wanted & it was a rush. Here's to improving :)
Thanks again for the reply & good wishes.

[Tufty]

Thanks for sharing your story, it's so good to hear successes like yours. You have done really well getting to where you are now.
I've not taken Mirtazepine but have friends who have and the morning school run has been a bit of a problem with them too. One had to reduce her dose to 30mg to be able to get going in the morning, another found that she had to take it earlier in the evening to be able to get up in time. Whatever you do, I do believe once you have a routine in your waking time you will find it easier, so hopefully todays success will continue and become easier.
Kind regards
Sam