Upping Mirtazapine

[Bonnibelle]

My gp wants me to up my medication. I've only been taking 7.5mg as u was scared initially to start it. I've had nasty reactions to meds in the past. The 7.5 worked fine so my gp wanted me to stay at that dose but this week I'm having panic attacks and bad intrusive thoughts. I'm an anxious state. He said I have to be brave and up to the 15mg. I'm worried about side effects and how I will feel.

Can anyone reassure me?

[hanshan]

You won't know till you try, but 15 mg is the minimum dose for most people. If you did okay on 7.5 mg, you should be fine on 15 mg. Mirtazapine's side effect profile is a lot gentler than other ADs - usually sleepiness, but that passes.

Give it a try, and best of luck.

[Bonnibelle]

Thank you for replying. I'm just wondering if people notice much when increasing. I felt terrible at 7.5mg for the first week :(

I've even considered cutting my half in half to do it slowly. I snap the 15 in half and throw away the other half usually but could I cut that half up to increase slowly?


QUOTE=hanshan;1243022]You won't know till you try, but 15 mg is the minimum dose for most people. If you did okay on 7.5 mg, you should be fine on 15 mg. Mirtazapine's side effect profile is a lot gentler than other ADs - usually sleepiness, but that passes.

Give it a try, and best of luck.[/QUOTE]

[ElizabethJane]

Hi I am taking 45mg and have done on and off for five years. I did not have any problems going up withdrawal was far more difficult. I am experiencing low mood at the moment and maybe it is time for a change. Mirtazapine has served me very well for the past five years.EJ

[Bonnibelle]

Thank you EJ.

In hoping by increasing I will feel better, things have got worse for me recently.

I hope you feel better soon x

[Kim51]

Like EJ I take 45mgs and have done since May before I was on 15mg I had no problems upping dose and have been fine since taking it. Good luck with your increase :)

[Bonnibelle]

Thank you Kim. Did you just jump up or gradually build it up?

[Dubai]

Bonni,

I hate meds all together, 6 months ago I crashed and was in a very bad shape and I thought I will never recover and that's the end of me. I had to make a choice live or let go and I decided to live and took mirtazapine 15mg for a week then the rest of the journey been on 30mg, I was hit with all sort of side effects but I kept at it until the depression lifted and felt great. you are already taking the 7.5mg so if there was going to be any allergic reaction to mirt, you would have felt it now. I encourage you to up the dose to 15mg and give it a week or two and see how you feel. we are around and I'm sure many will try to guide you through this.

[Bonnibelle]

Thank you Dubai

I know I need to, I'm so low and anxious since a bad panic on Monday but it's been creeping in for weeks.

I've been on 7.5 mg since May. I just can't seem to swallow a full one. I'm scared stiff of taking the full 15mg :(


Bonni,

I hate meds all together, 6 months ago I crashed and was in a very bad shape and I thought I will never recover and that's the end of me. I had to make a choice live or let go and I decided to live and took mirtazapine 15mg for a week then the rest of the journey been on 30mg, I was hit with all sort of side effects but I kept at it until the depression lifted and felt great. you are already taking the 7.5mg so if there was going to be any allergic reaction to mirt, you would have felt it now. I encourage you to up the dose to 15mg and give it a week or two and see how you feel. we are around and I'm sure many will try to guide you through this.

[Kim51]

Thank you Kim. Did you just jump up or gradually build it up?

I went from 15 to 30 to 45 from January to May

[Bonnibelle]

Thanks Kim. I wish I wasn't so scared to jump up to 15mg from 7.5mg. I just know I felt horrible starting them for a good week, I was in bed the room was moving and I felt so weak and anxious. I hope that I wouldn't get that at 15mg, but I also worry about the side effects on the leaflet being more likely to happen such as hallucinations, panic attacks etc..

[acmillo]

I have just upped my dose from 15mg (which I started in May) to 30mg. The transitions so far has been really smooth. I was prescribed this drug to help me cope with a bout of depression which was brought on by worry caused by a constant unpleasant taste in mouth, which I have had ever since a routine dental extraction in September 11. I was given the drug by a dental health expert who believes that the taste may be a psychological issue. My gp started me on 15mg and the improvement in my mood was almost immediate. It hasn't treated the taste but has really helped me find a way of coping with it. I had an appointment with the dental expert this week who was encouraged by my progress but was surprised to find I was on 15mg as they recommended 45mg to my gp. He seems to believe that upping may well lead to me being symptom free. So I have upped to 30mg for now.
I really believe this drug has been really positive for me but like all drugs what suits for me may not be best for others.

---------- Post added at 19:13 ---------- Previous post was at 19:06 ----------

Sorry should have added that for this drug. I didn't get any adverse side effects at all. I seemed to settle on it right away. I had tried ssri's in the past and found them to give some side effects such as increased anxiety and headaches.

[Bonnibelle]

I am so glad it has worked for you.

I have been on 7.5mg for 6 months. I felt bad the first week, just very fatigued and weakness, but that soon settled. All I have noticed since is the weight gain, which was a welcome side effect.

I hope upping them i will be ok, I am just scared to take that first whole one.


I have just upped my dose from 15mg (which I started in May) to 30mg. The transitions so far has been really smooth. I was prescribed this drug to help me cope with a bout of depression which was brought on by worry caused by a constant unpleasant taste in mouth, which I have had ever since a routine dental extraction in September 11. I was given the drug by a dental health expert who believes that the taste may be a psychological issue. My gp started me on 15mg and the improvement in my mood was almost immediate. It hasn't treated the taste but has really helped me find a way of coping with it. I had an appointment with the dental expert this week who was encouraged by my progress but was surprised to find I was on 15mg as they recommended 45mg to my gp. He seems to believe that upping may well lead to me being symptom free. So I have upped to 30mg for now.
I really believe this drug has been really positive for me but like all drugs what suits for me may not be best for others.

---------- Post added at 19:13 ---------- Previous post was at 19:06 ----------

Sorry should have added that for this drug. I didn't get any adverse side effects at all. I seemed to settle on it right away. I had tried ssri's in the past and found them to give some side effects such as increased anxiety and headaches.

[Bonnibelle]

I decided to bite the bullet and try to help myself. I'm too scared to take the full 15mg so I took the tablet and cut it 3/4 of the way up. So I guess I took around 11mg. I've been snapping it in half taking 7.5 for 6 months. Has anyone else done this? I'm hoping to get it up to 15 pretty soon.

I was awake until 3.30:( feeling so restless and anxious, I hoped I'd feel knocked out:(

[Bonnibelle]

Has anyone ever taken half a tablet in the morning and half at night? I'm seeing my gp today to see if I can increase to 15 that way as all in one dose was horrible.

[hanshan]

Hi Bonnibelle,

My case probably won't relate to you, as I take 45 mg per day - but I take my mirtazapine during the evening and night, as mornings are my usual low point.

So - my current regime is that I take 15 mg around 6 pm, then another 15 mg at bedtime. I keep the last 15 mg beside my bed because I usually wake up sometime during the night and take it then.

I am not recommending this to anyone, but it seems to work best for me.

[Bonnibelle]

Thanks Hanshan,

I saw my Gp today, he said he would prefer I did it all in one hit but he is happy for me to do 7.5mg around teatime and the other 7.5mg before bed so tonight i am going to try it.

[hanshan]

I hope it works.

It will mean most of the dose will be while you are asleep, so hopefully minimising side effects.

[Bonnibelle]

I took 7.5mg at 2pm today and my normal 7.5mg will be taken as normal at at 9.30 ish tonight.

I've felt very tired since taking the 7.5ng after lunch today, also feeling a little sickly and bubbly wind in my stomach. I'm dreading taking the 7.5 tonight, even though it's my usual time to take it, I'm worried about how I will feel having had the half tablet this afternoon :(


I hope it works.

It will mean most of the dose will be while you are asleep, so hopefully minimising side effects.

[Bonnibelle]

Update. 5 days in and I am doing ok, so far I haven't really noticed anything other than maybe feeling more hungry and tired.

If I was going to get increased anxiety or the anger side affects would they have kicked in by now?

How soon does the increase take to notice you feel better? My husband and Mum have said I seem so much calmer already.

[MrAndy]

My husband and Mum have said I seem so much calmer already.
Bonnii the only thing that matters is your last comment,you have made progress stop thinking about the side effects :)

[Bonnibelle]

Haha!! Thanks Andy ;-)

[hanshan]

Hi Bonnie,

Mirtazapine can be faster acting than other ADs, so a positive result within a week or so is not uncommon.

Hope it works for you.

[ElizabethJane]

I was told four to six weeks for the medication to kick in properly. EJ

[Bonnibelle]

Thank you Hanshan. My family are saying I appear calmer already but inside the intrusive thoughts are still terrifying me.


Hi Bonnie,

Mirtazapine can be faster acting than other ADs, so a positive result within a week or so is not uncommon.

Hope it works for you.

---------- Post added at 16:33 ---------- Previous post was at 16:31 ----------

Thank you EJ :-)


I was told four to six weeks for the medication to kick in properly. EJ

[hanshan]

Hi Bonni,

With any new medication or change in dosage of a medication, you should stick with it for at least a couple of weeks, unless side-effects are unbearable (and that's happened to me on at least two occasions).

All these drugs move the furniture around with our neurotransmitters. Maybe the body reacts, maybe there are other, natural, changes occurring in our mood. It all means that prescribing these drugs is trial and error, but we should allow some time, where possible, for adjustments to take place.

Take care.

[Bonnibelle]

Thank you. Good way to think about it.

I am 6 days into increasing it and so far so good. I'm hoping
15mg will be a good enough dose to help lift my mood and reduce my anxiety. I can't take SSRI drugs or Trycyclics so my options are limited and the 7.5mg of Mirtazapine helped very much when I started it in May.


Hi Bonni,

With any new medication or change in dosage of a medication, you should stick with it for at least a couple of weeks, unless side-effects are unbearable (and that's happened to me on at least two occasions).

All these drugs move the furniture around with our neurotransmitters. Maybe the body reacts, maybe there are other, natural, changes occurring in our mood. It all means that prescribing these drugs is trial and error, but we should allow some time, where possible, for adjustments to take place.

Take care.

[Bonnibelle]

Update and a couple of questions. I didn't want to start a new thread.

I'm 12 days into increasing. I now take half a tablet (7.5) at 9pm and the other at 9.30pm. I know I should just pop it in one go now, which I will tonight.

The last 4/5 days I've had very bad fatigue, drowsy, woozy heavy head, weak legs and high anxiety. Is this normal? I do remember when I started at 7.5mg I felt very very weak and drowsy which for some reason triggered anxiety. I'm hoping this all eases soon and the anxiety lessens.

I feel calmer in myself a little and the intrusive thoughts are less frequent now I'm a bit calmer but the anxiety kicks in whenever I try to walk around and so things. I feel so weak and drained so my husband thinks that's why the anxiety hits. I hope he's right.

I've my mums wedding on Christmas Eve. I'm scared I'm going to feel this bad still and I will panic there:/