setraline/mirtazapine

[rachelsk]

hi,i currently take 45mg mirtazapine on a night and starting tomorrow i have to start taking 50mg sertraline in the morning then the mirtazapine still at night,does anyone else take this combination? and are they ok to take together? my anxiety has been shocking which n turn has started made depression rear its ugly head,i have never felt so ill and scared in my life:ohmy:

[Tufty]

:welcome: Rachel,

You don't say how long you've been on Mirtazapine 45mg, if that's a new thing it could be that that's making you feel so ill. Presumably someone with lots of knowledge has prescribed the Sertraline, I know Mirtazapine can be used alongside other antidepressants but very carefully. If you are not happy or worried about this combination I would return to the prescriber and ask for some reassurance that they are OK together
Sam

[Mark13]

There is always a risk of serotonin syndrome when taking 2 ADs together, but SSRIs are often prescribed with mirtazapine as an augmentation strategy rather than combination therapy.

I'm sure your Doctor knows what they're doing and considered that the risks would be outweighed by the benefits in your case.

By the way - augmentation is where you have a therapeutic dose of one AD, couple with a non-therapeutic dose of another which does little on it's own but enhances the effect of the therapeutic drug.

Combination therapy is where you take therapetic doses of more than one drug to treat the same condition.

Thats my understanding anyway.

Also, mirtazapine can, as in my case, be added onto an SSRI or SNRI in order to combat the insomnia caused by the main drug.

[rachelsk]

I am taking diazapam now and have taken 36 tablets over 9wks,does this seem excessive?i was told to take 3x5mg a day yet I have never had more than one 5mg in a day! I usually break the tablet into quarters and take a quarter at a time.i am terrified of becoming addicted to them ,I was sweating a hell of a lot regardless of the weather every morning I was soaked through and the bed sheets,although the sweating is improving I still do feel anxious and I was wondering if its still the anxiety or is my body wanting more diazapam?i also take 15mg mirtazapine on a night and 40mg fluoxetine daily which gave me awful side effects which have more or less passed I also take 3x40mg propranolol daily:scared15: