View Full Version : Mirtazapine Diary For Anyone Who'd Like To Join In
Hi All
I was diagnosed with GAD and depression a few months ago. Although I think I've been suffering mildly from the GAD for several years, it really hit me hard this time and I ended up having lots of panic attacks and being almost house bound for a couple of months.
I've been going to CBT and therapy since October, which has helped a bit and I was initially prescribed Fluoxetine/Prozac about 7 weeks ago. Unfortunately it only seemed to increase my anxiety as well as having quite a few side effects?
So I saw my GP and Psychiatrist today and both want me to stop fluoxetine as they don't think it's working for me. They didn't even fancy trying upping the dose, both said stop taking it as of now and switch to 15mg of Mirtazapine? So I just collected my prescription and I'll be taking one just before bed tonight, as supposedly they can knock you out a bit, which might not be a bad thing?
I had a diary for Fluoxetine on here which I found really useful for keeping track on how I was doing as well as getting support from you the lovely NMP experts. So if anyone would like to join me on this journey and record their progress here or post any information on their experiences etc it would be much appreciated. I'll try and update every day :noangel:
SmilingAlbert
24-02-17, 00:00
Good idea Panicer. Lots of people on here with experience of this. Look forward to hearing how you get on - as you probably know Mirt is often prescribed when Prozac etc. hasn't worked.
Best of luck,
Albert
Hi all
Albert thanks for stopping by and being my first poster :welcome:
Well I took my first doze of 15mg of Mirt last night at 22:00 and went to bed, felt sleepy withing 30 mins and was out for the count by 23:00. Slept through until 09:30 which is completely unheard of for me and only feel a bit woozy this morning. Anxiety doesn't feel any different today but a good nights sleep always makes me feel better the next day so fingers crossed :yahoo:
Day 2 15mg Mirtazapine
Hi
I started yesterday also.
Took 15mg Mirt around 5pm yesterday, struggled to stay awake until about 8.15pm and then slept for 10 hours!
A little jittery today, but no other side effects. At least nothing in comparison to the side effects experienced with sertraline and fluoxetine.
Hi Domo-Kun
Hopefully we can keep each other updated on how we get on. Yes I'd agree with the lack of other side effects so far and that's great that you slept so well, I always feel much better the day following a decent sleep. Are you taking them for anxiety, depression, both or something else? The doctor told me to take them just before bedtime so here's hoping they'll work again tonight.
Hi Panicer
I guess it's mainly for anxiety but for me they go hand-in-hand. I have aspergers also, so difficult to know which is a symptom of what.
I was on sertraline for a couple of weeks but the side effects were too much so GP just switched me to this.
HI Domo-kun
Yes I've been surprised since I've started down this mental health journey of discovery how closely linked everything appears to be?
I hope it works for us both? As today has gone on my anxiety seems better already, placebo effect plus a decent nights sleep maybe?
SmilingAlbert
25-02-17, 11:14
Glad to hear some positive impact. One of the nice aspects of Mirt is that it is well documented that it can help more quickly than SSRIs. For me when I first took it it made me feel better after the first dose, which was remarkable, and most welcomed.
And yes, managing Anx or Dep when your sleep is messed up is 100 x harder - I have been there. if AM drowsiness is a problem, try a cup of coffee or two (but not after lunchtime) to get you going. But good sleep can help your mind and body rebuild after a tough period.
Best wishes,
Albert
Day 3 on 15mg and definitely feeling the benefit of the longer sleeps. Took a little longer to knock me out last night. Tablet at 5pm and then slept from 9.30pm to 8am.
Felt a bit jittery and short tempered at times today, but also some brief periods of a relaxed/happy state. I've not had anything like the detatchment/depersonalisation that I had with early doses of fluoxetine or sertraline so I don't think going back to work will be as horrifying as with those.
On the whole - not feeling great, but it's very early days.
How are you getting on Panicer?
Hi Albert, Domu-kun and anyone else popping bye.
I took my second pill at 22:30 last night and was asleep by 23:30 and up at 08:00. Going to try taking it a bit earlier tonight and see if I can get some serious sleep like Domu-kun :)
Today I felt a bit short tempered at times as well, but the anxiety was pretty good and snap no depersonalisation etc so far? I apologised to my wife if I was being snappy and an idiot, she said she hadn't noticed the difference :roflmao:
Have a great Saturday night everyone.
Day 3 15mg Mirtazapine
Hi all
Well the best laid plans and all that. I meant to take my pill earlier last night but got distracted and didn't take it until bed at 22:30, was asleep again at about 23:30 and apart from waking a few times, I managed to sleep through until about 09:00 which was fantastic for me. :yahoo:
My suspected correlation between sleep and anxiety/depression was either proved right again today, or these pills work faster than I thought? Because with the exception of a few moments I've really felt good all day!
Going to really try and take my pill then get to bed early tonight as up at the crack of dawn tomorrow with a long commute to do. I'm normally climbing the walls during this so looking forward to seeing if I'm better this week.
Onwards and Upwards folks, hope you have a great week ahead :hugs:
Day 4 15mg Mirtazapine
Day 4 on 15mg and had another mixed day. More bad than good, with a very low mood for most of the time. Anxiety still better than when I started though, so not all bad.
Day 5 and still feeling pretty low, so keeping myself busy with work. My vision was a bit blurred for around an hour this morning which was a bit scary. I put it down to succumbing to having a few ciders last night and not sleeping as well as I might. The instructions do say to avoid alcohol, but I never had an issue on fluoxetine.
Anyhow, lesson learned :doh:
Hi all
Good to hear your anxiety was better than it was Domu-kun but sorry to hear your mood was down, I hope it improved as the day went on? I've not had the blurred vision yet thankfully but I've felt quite dizzy at times, what about you? I'm glad it was you that test drove the trying alcohol bit, I'd thought about having a beer this weekend but after your experience I'll think I'll stick to the alcohol free rubbish for now :weep:
I got to bed early last night and dropped off within an hour of taking my Mirt. I didn't have the best sleep as I kept waking up but managed to drop off each time again which is new, so quite pleased overall. I had a very anxious drive this morning but managed to hold it together, then a full day of therapy, which was difficult but useful. Depression seems to have lifted a bit but the anxiety seems similar?
Onwards and Upwards :smile:
Day 5 15mg Mirtazapine
Hi
Thanks Panicer. Hope you're doing well. I definitely recommend avoiding the alcohol.
Not a great day for me anxiety wise. For comparison though, fluoxetine and sertraline were at least twice as difficult to 'function' with at this early stage. With those, functioning is like trying to act sober in front of your parents. With Mirt, it's more like the resulting hangover - but you're capable of getting on with life if you push yourself.
Sleep wasn't great for me last night either. Suspect that's just a part of adjusting to the effects. I saw somewhere else that when you go up to 30mg, it has the opposite effect on sleep :unsure:
Hi All
Well today was a bit of a rubbish one for me. Being stuck in traffic jams first thing this morning for a couple of hours didn't help my fragile stress levels then I managed to have a panic attack during therapy. Mind you if you're going to have a panic attack I guess that's the place to do it :wacko: I've also been quite dizzy again and have a real headache (which I rarely get) this afternoon?
Domo-kun I read the same thing about Mirt at 30mg being more likely to keep you awake? I didn't have a great sleep again last night so really hoping it wasn't just a three day thing as I was enjoying getting some shut eye. I'm having some very vivid dreams though! What about you?
Oh and I love the analogy of life on fluoxetine being like trying to act sober in front of your parents :roflmao:
Day 6 15mg Mirtazapine
Hi all
Today was a toughie again. Don't know if it's my body getting used to the Mirtazapine, coming off Fluoxetine, a cold or a combination of all three but I felt decidedly rough today. Headache, cotton wool filled head and dizziness. Didn't sleep very well either so that may well have contributed? On the plus side (I always try to find one now) my anxiety wasn't too bad, oh and today is one week in to my Mirt journey :D Onwards and Upwards
Day 7 15mg Mirtazapine
Hi
Day 7 - 15mg.
Kept myself busy today, which really helped to keep the side effects under control. Didn't really notice much anxiety and didn't stop long enough to have many negative thoughts. Maybe I'm just getting used to feeling this way rather than getting used to the Mirt. Who knows?
I did have a pretty bad headache this afternoon - and I don't usually get headaches, so almost certainly a side effect.
Keep calm and carry on taking Mirt. - as no-one ever says
Hi all
Well today was interesting again. Can only describe the first few hours as seeing the world through someone elses eyes? Very bizarre and a bit scary to be honest. But I stuck with Domu-kun's "keep calm and keep taking the Mirt" theory and it finally cleared up after about four hours and I feel pretty good this afternoon with fairly low levels of anxiety. :D
Also had a very dry mouth again all day, so can't wait to see what side effect joys await me tomorrow. if I wake up thinking I am someone else not just borrowing their eyes for a bit I'm giving up :doh:
Day 8 15mg Mirtazapine
Day 8 on 15mg
I know the 'world through someone else's eyes' feeling very well! For me it's like what I see and what I feel are slightly disconnected and I can only pay attention to one at a time. Luckily I've not had that since being on Mirt.
Really mixed day for me. Slept ok, felt like all the side effects had gone, and I actually felt calm but energised as I made my way to work. Even as I arrived at work, I felt surprisingly ok and made a mental plan for what I needed to get done.
I got to my desk, had a casual conversation with a colleague and started cracking on with work.
A few minutes later and I'm having a conversation with another colleague. Just a general work related chat, but then a switch flipped in my brain and the anxiety took hold. The whole 'am i making sense?' filter kicked in and I'm doubting every word I think or that comes out of my mouth. I manage to get through the conversation without appearing odd and decide to go and get a drink. I get up and my walk has gone to manual, like I'm having to perform every step with ultimate precision or I'll go down like a sack of you know what.
From then on, it's been pretty much anxiety all the way, with a few breaks where I've managed to focus on something long enough to push the anxiety to the back of my mind.
I think a night on the couch with some rubbish tv ought to get me through until bed time.
Having been through this before, I know this is all just part of the process. It's just sometimes difficult to convince yourself of that whilst mid-panic.
Hi Domu-Kun
Bloody well done on getting through all that while at work, I really don't think I would have managed it! You should be really proud of yourself! :yahoo:
I'd say you deserve a beer tonight to accompany your rubbish TV but based on what happened the last time maybe just an alcohol free one. :winks:
Thanks Panicer. Don't forget it's now day 9, so more than half way through (what should hopefully be) the worst of it! I am a little anxious about the possibility of going up to 30mg next week - but I didn't suffer nearly as much when they doubled the fluoxetine dose to 40mg, so fingers crossed.
I actually did have a beer (three if I'm honest) last night. Didn't actually feel any worse for it this morning but, before you get any ideas ;), i didn't feel any calmer, just got sleepy more quickly.
Hi all
Domo-kun I was thinking the same thing about being prescribed a possible dose increase shortly? I'm really enjoying getting some sleep and as it seems to be the lower doses that are more sedative I'm loathe to go higher?
Well done on the beers, I might try a cheeky one over the weekend and see what happens :shades:
Struggled to get out of bed this morning, very woolly head. Anxiety was really bad from about 10:00-13:00 then it eased off and I'm feeling ok this evening.
Roll on day 10 :biggrin:
Day 9 15mg Mirtazapine
Hi All
Slept better last night and a bit brighter this morning when I woke up. Anxiety pretty good all day and depression seems to have lifted completely today. So all in all a good day.
Still feel tired quite a lot of the time and a bit dizzy but things seem to be improving :D
Day 10 15mg Mirtazapine
Hi All
Took a while to drop off last night but slept well. Still getting very vivid dreams and struggling to get up in the morning. Depression was pretty non existent today and anxiety was pretty good so I think the Mirtazapine is doing something. Still dizzy and getting a bit of depersonalisation on and off but getting better each day :D
Day 11 15mg Mirtazapine
Hi
Good to hear you're improving.
Days 10-11 weren't great for me. Mood was very low but the anxiety wasn't so bad.
Had some vivid dreams last night. First time they've been that strong since being on the pills.
Feeling 'almost' back to how I was just before I started taking them. Still early days, but maybe I'm starting to tolerate them? Got a review with the doc tomorrow so will see if it's time to double down :unsure:
Day 12 - 15mg
Hi Domo-kun
Great to hear you're feeling almost back to your pre-meds mood. Hopefully the next step is feeling almost back to normal :) The vivid dreams are a bit of a pain but if it stops the depression and anxiety I'll put up with them. Will be interesting to see what you doc says about your dose tomorrow, gamble, double down, hold? I'm due to speak to my GP as well later in the week, so I'll let you know her thoughts.
Not too bad a day today, depression has definitely lifted and had therapy and managed to drive there and back without much anxiety. So feeling positive.
Day 12, 15mg Mirtazapine
So today started off pretty rubbish. Felt depressed first thing and quite anxious. All day therapy again, which went well and I felt brighter and a bit more my old self by lunchtime.
Domo-kun how did the review with the GP go?
Day 13, 15mg Mirtazapine
2 weeks on Mirtazapine 15mg today. Still having very vivid dreams and disturbed sleep. I seem to sleep well for about 4 hours then wake on and off for the next 2 or 3? Very woolly head again this morning, which hung around until lunchtime. Better afternoon tough. Anxiety quite manageable today and although the depression wasn't great it wasn't too bad.
Let's see what next week brings, speaking to the GP tomorrow. Expecting an increase in dose and hopefully a decrease in side effects :D
Day 14, 15mg Mirtazapine
Well just as I thought might happen the GP put me up to 30mg today. Not had it yet as I take it just before bed so will be interested to see what happens. The usual very vivid dreams followed by a woolly head this morning but anxiety and depression were pretty good today, so hopefully they'll be even better with the dose increase?
Domo-kun did you get put up to 30mg too?
Day 15 on Mirtazapine Day 1 @ 30mg
Hi, been really busy, so catching up now...
Day 13-14 - 15mg - The anxiety and depression wasn't so bad but I felt quite on-edge, really sensitive to any, even minor, annoyance.
I spoke to the GP on Tues who told me to go up to 30mg, so took 2 x 15mg last night. Whilst I had a lot to do on Weds, I decided to wait until Weds night.
Day 15 - 30mg...
At the beginning, the 15mg was a knock-out drop, but I gradually became quite tolerant over the following week. I took my first dose of 30mg on Weds night and, within an hour, I felt very sleepy. I stayed up for a couple of hours and the sedative effect started to wane.
I felt okay when I woke up. Not depressed, not anxious, just a bit tired and sort of numb. I had some good spells today, but I'd guess it's more as a result of being a lot sunnier and managing to get out in it.
Seems we're still in perfect sync on days and dose Panicer! I'm actually quite surprised that our experiences are fairly similar, considering the wide spectrum of experiences I read about. Also interesting that you're having therapy whilst on these. I was always told therapy + meds = gold standard, but I never found therapy (CBT, etc.) that useful when I was on fluoxetine/prozac. If I'm honest, I don't think I ever dropped the pretence I put up to everyone else around me, so they were giving therapy to a fictional character and not me. Maybe I hoped they'd see through that and impress me with their analytical skills, like Hannibal in the TV series. Anyways, this is turning into an essay, so I'll leave it there.
Hi Domo-kun
Great to hear you're staying the course, it makes it much easier for me having a Mirtazapine buddy :sign20:
Also good to hear you haven't noticed much difference between doses, I'm a bit anxious (when ain't I) about taking the larger dose.
The therapy has been good and luckily I've had medical cover through work so I thought why not try it? I know what you mean about the fictional character bit as well. I'm not sure I've ever properly dropped my guard, I'm still very embarrassed about the whole thing which is stupid I know but hey that's me.
Hello Panicer and Domo-Kun,
I've been reading your diary. Today I'm staring Mirtazapine 15mg, replacing Seroquel 25mg that I take at night as a sleep aid. Also my current med, Cymbalta 60mg, hasn't helped much if at all. My psychiatrist thinks that Mirt will work as a booster and finally lift me out of this GAD/Depression relapse. Anyways I'll keep you guys posted.
Thanks for starting this thread.
Hi Howdyhow and :welcome: It's great to have another Mirt member on board.
If you've not taken Mirt before and you're anything like me, get ready for some serious sleep tonight. I was shattered the next day too but as I hadn't slept properly for months I wasn't complaining. Please do let us know how you're getting on, Domu-kun and I seem to have had a really similar journey so far, so it would be interesting to get another point of view. I try to post every day so I can keep a record and look back on it if I have a wobble.
Last night I took my first doze of 30mg and didn't really notice any difference. Still fell asleep within about an hour and had some very vivid dreams. The dry mouth seems to be easing off but I'm still permanently famished like many others seem to report. I've been out today to meet up with friends for coffee in a busy town centre, something that a few weeks ago really caused me problems. I wasn't perfect but loads better than before, so I really think the pills and therapy are starting to work. :yahoo:
Day 16 on Mirtazapine Day 2 on 30mg
Hi
Hope you don't mind me joining in this thread too. I've been suffering with GAD and mild depression for about 6 months now. Had a bad spell 3 years ago and after trial and error with various meds finally got better with the help of venlafaxine. Came off that in July last year but various stressful events led to anxiety coming back with a vengeance in October. For whatever reason ven did nothing this time (maybe my body had grown tolerant) so I was prescribed mirt just before Christmas. Did fine on 15mg for 6 weeks or so (and I mean anxiety disappeared) but then started going downhill again late January. My dose was upped to 22.5mg as I'm very sensitive to side effects of meds when increasing in the past. 6 weeks on and anxiety still bad so a week ago the GP upped the dose again to 30mg. First 2 days I felt wobbly but better then the third day was horrendous - anxiety through the roof and how I got through the day at work I don't know. However, the last few days have been pretty good although the anxiety is still quite intense on waking. I do know that the stress hormone cortisol is at its highest levels first thing though so I understand why the anxiety is worse then. The mirt isn't making me nearly as sleepy at 30mg which is a shame as I'm still not in a proper sleep pattern so I've been taking over the counter phenergan to help with this. I'm having cbt too with a really good therapist who is really making me understand why I'm trapped in the anxiety cycle and is showing me ways to break it.
I hope the mirt works for all of us! The site is great for support from people who actually understand what you're going through. I'll try to keep posting my experience of mirt too. Who knows, I may have to go up to 45mg but the transition to 30 has been fine with minimal bad effects so I'm not worried if this happens (alleluljah something I'm not worried about!)
Take care everyone!
Ok guys just took my first 15mg dose before dinner combined with Cymbalta 60mg. I'll probably wont be able to watch the movie I had planned for tonight, let's see... Apart from that, starting to feel a bit funny, like a little high maybe; like the same effect you have when you take a Xanax and it first hits you. Anyways, tomorrow I want to wake up and go hiking, lets see how well that goes :huh: After that we (my wife and I) have a dinner party at home with some friends, and theres going to be drinking, I'll just stick to beer and be careful.
Keep you posted and best wishes to everyone.
SmilingAlbert
11-03-17, 12:14
Hey all,
Pixipie: Mirt tends to be more enervating at higher doses (above around 15mg), hence possible sleep impact. I know when I took 45mg at night I found sleep impossible - I got myself a pill cutter (£2 at Boots), cut it into quarters (NB this is much easier with the orodispersible pill, as it is flatter and much easier to cut (ask your doc to prescribe this version)) and took in effect 11.25mg at night, the rest in the AM. This can be an option with 30mg (i.e. 7.5mg at night, rest in the AM) as well.
(most people on this board seem to find it most helpful for sleep at the 7.5-15mg range)
This route might be good - discuss with your doctor, although sadly they may not be familiar with this as it's so counter-intuitive (i.e. most sedating meds are more sedating at higher doses - but this is an exception). But this might be worth considering if sleep is an issue.
Albert
Hi all especially PixieP it's great to have as many Mirt Members as possible :welcome:
You sound like you're a little further down the Mirt road than us so it would be great to hear your experiences.
Like the cutting medication up idea Albert. I'm still managing to sleep on the 30mg but it's only day three so I'll keep it in mind. I've only had the orodispersible pill so far in 15 and 30mg so hopefully that will continue?
Not felt the best today. Woke up with anxiety unlike yesterday and have had a fairly upset stomach today, (don't know if this is Mirt related?) Hopefully I'll feel better as the day progresses.
Have a good Saturday everyone
Day 17 on Mirtazapine Day 3 on 30mg
Hi all
I'm not feeling quite so good today either - possibly because there's not much going on to occupy me so I'm constantly checking in with myself as to how I'm feeling. I keep reminding myself however that I'm a lot better than I was before I started mirt and it's only been 8 days of the increased dose so the anxiety is not going to disappear overnight or even in a week!
Planning to go out for a walk with hubby and dog in a bit so hopefully this will help. My main problem is that I'm anxious about being anxious so it's fear of fear and a vicious cycle. The more I don't want to feel like this, the worse it is.
However, on a positive, I was offered a new job yesterday which will be far less stressful than my current one (particularly as I won't have to manage anyone) so I'm trying to remind myself that whilst I might not feel great, I have achieved something even with anxiety.
I currently have 30mg tablets which can be snapped in half and also a pill cutter so I might try Albert's idea tonight and take 7.5mg then 22.5mg in the morning as I went to bed around midnight last night and was awake at 5.30 this morning even after taking phenergan. Before anxiety hit me again I used to sleep a good 8 hours every night so this lack of it doesn't help.
Anyway, have a good weekend all! :)
Hi all
Hope you're feeling a bit brighter today PixieP? I think constantly checking how you're feeling is an easy trap to get into and as you say it can become a viscous cycle. I find myself doing exactly the same thing, so no advice on how to stop it I'm afraid but plenty of empathy. That's brilliant news about the new job offer though, so well done you :yahoo: I hope you're very proud of yourself.
My stomach finally settled down yesterday after imodium and loads of fluids and although my anxiety remained quite high for the rest of the day, it didn't get any worse. I slept well, very vivid dreams as usual but was waking less during the night, so I'm taking that as progress. Unfortunately I woke up feeling very anxious again which does seem to happen to me every week or so but that's two days running which I'm not keen on. I've found if I'm anxious first thing combined with the woolly Mirt head it can quickly lead to depression and feelings of what's the point etc. So I forced myself to get up straight away and get moving. I cooked a hearty full English breakfast to try and distract from the anxiety and depression and yes I felt a bit brighter after I ate it. :D
Off out to look for new garden furniture with my dear wife, so if my anxiety doesn't improve I can just blame it on the garden centre madness :wacko:
Day 18 on Mirtazapine Day 4 on 30mg
Hi there
So it's been a pretty tough weekend anxiety wise as the physical symptoms have been so intense after Tuesday to Friday last week were almost anxiety free and I felt like my normal self pre-anxiety.
I'm trying to take the view that this is just a setback and doesn't mean that I'm not going to get better or that the mirt isn't working. I took 30mg again last night and phenergan but only managed 5 hours sleep and then woke with high anxiety so I'm definitely going to cut the tablet and take 7.5mg tonight and the rest in the morning as Albert suggested.
How's your day been Panicer? I hope getting out and about distracted you from the anxiety and you felt calmer.
I came across a website today called It's Just A Feeling by a previous anxiety sufferer and there's loads of helpful information on there which I'm going to try to take forward with me.
Here's to a good week for all of us :)
DAY 10 OF 30MG MIRT
Hi PixieP
I'd be really interested to see how you get on with splitting the Mirt dose? I've got to be up early tomorrow and got a long drive ahead of me, so don't want to risk it but will give it a go later in the week when I can sleep in a bit later. Sorry to hear you're also feeling as if you've taken a step backwards. I was the same with the fluoxetine, so hoping tomorrow improves for both of us.
As for my anxiety for the rest of today, it went through the roof on our drive/battle round the M25 earlier (but maybe that was to be expected) It settled down a bit after a couple of hours and hasn't been too bad this evening. So trying to look on the positive side of things. :D
Going to try and get an early night, as sleep really seems to help reduce my anxiety.
Day 18 on Mirtazapine Day 4 on 30mg
Hello guys,
Good to see that all of you are still toughing it out and taking your Mirt. As for me, I took my first dose on Friday, slept fine although very crazy and vivid dreams like hallucinations :wacko: On Saturday I wope feeling high and no quite connected. I managed to get on with my day, went hiking and the had our dinner party with friends. Thing is I felt out of it, like not present, really strange feeling. Sometimes for like less than a second during the day I felt desperonalization, but like flash moments. Anyways this scared, so on saturday I decided to skio Mirt and took my normal meds. As for today I had high anxiety, drank too much yesterday, not passed out drunk but my friends stayed until really late hours. Even though I skipped my 15mg dosage I still felt a bit strange, better that saturday but heavy headed, like a pile of books on top of my head, sounds crazy I know.
Anyways, I'll talk to my psychiastrist tomorrow and see what I can do. Hopefully I can find Lexapro soon and take out Cymbalta, thing is where I live things are really bad (Venezuela).
Take care and keep the thread going.
Hi all
Howdyhow I hope you can manage to find the med that is right for you. I know with all AD's there's a having to stick with it period to start with. Mirt is meant to be one of the faster acting AD's so it might be worth giving it a try for a couple of weeks?
All day therapy for me again today. The day didn't start off the best with a panic attack first thing but slowly the day improved and therapy seemed to help a bit. Depression has been a bit worse today too so I'm really hoping tomorrow brings better things.
Hope you're all having a better day :shrug:
Day 19 on Mirtazapine Day 5 on 30mg
Hi all
Sorry to hear your day wasn't so great Panicer. Like you say though, all meds take time and finding the right one can be tough with trial and error. Mirt is the 5th medication I've tried.
So last night I cut my tablet and took 7.5mg and 1 Nytol instead of phenergan. I actually slept much better and woke feeling much calmer. Took the remaining 22.5mg on waking and was a bit worried that this would have an adverse effect during the day but didn't have any issues at all. My anxiety calmed to being almost non-existent apart from a brief flare up at lunch time and right now I feel quite relaxed.
I think maybe the mirt might be starting to work, although bearing in mind I had 4 calm days last week followed by 2 pretty horrendous ones, I'm loathe to start celebrating just yet. However, looking back over the last 10 days since I upped my dose to 30mg, I've had more good days than bad so I'm definitely going to keep taking the mirt at 7.5mg night and 22.5mg morning and see how that pans out. I would say I'm cautiously optimistic at the moment.
Of course, medication will not cure me so I'm still carrying on with CBT as I'm finding this very useful too.
Hope tomorrow is a good day for all of us.
DAY 11 OF MIRT 30MG
Hi all
Great to hear that splitting the pill worked for you PixieP and that the Mirt might be starting to work :D
I've had a fairly bad day again. Anxiety was quite high this morning and I had a prolonged period (for me) of deperonalisation for about 30 mins. Following that I had what I can only describe as an incredible head pressure? Not a headache just felt like the pressure was building and building inside my head and it was about to go pop? Anyone else had anything like this before?
Luckily enough I was at therapy at the hospital at the time, so a nurse gave me a quick check over and said physically I seemed ok but to speak to my GP on the phone about the Mirt. My GP is on holiday so the locum has told me to drop back down to 15mg for now and I'm seeing my GP in 10 days to review things. Oh well, 2 steps forward one step back.
Hope you're all having a good day?
Day 20 on Mirtazapine 5 Days on 30mg back to 1 day on 15mg
Hi all
Like you say Panicer, 2 steps forward and 1 step back. A good day yesterday, totally chilled on going to bed and then I wake up this morning and the anxiety monster is back again. There's no rhyme or reason to it and this is what I'm finding so frustrating! The feelings have been quite intense again all day and I'm still feeling edgy at 9.30pm.
I'm slowly learning that a couple of bad days doesn't mean sliding back into the hole I was in a few months ago but equally a couple of good days doesn't mean the anxiety is gone. When I took venlafaxine I started feeling better after the first tablet and things improved steadily each day after that and the anxiety was gone after about 6 weeks. I'm really not sure what to think at the moment - is the mirt helping or is it just me? It definitely helped at 15mg for 6 weeks or so but this dose is taking longer to take full effect.
I'm going to stick with the 30mg split dose for now as I'm seeing my GP again next Weds and that will be nearly 3 weeks on this dose so I will have given it a fair crack. Just not sure right now whether I'd want to go to 45mg if she suggests this. Oh well, one day at a time and live in the moment rather than worrying about what might happen next week!
Keep going with the therapy though - this combined with meds is supposed to be the best route. How long have you been going and is it NHS funded or private? I'm seeing a CBT therapist privately at the moment for 1 hour a week. I had group therapy on the NHS but as everyone in the group had different anxiety issues - social, OCD, panic attacks etc and me with GAD - I didn't get much out of it as it didn't address my specific problem.
Hopefully your reduced dose will help. You weren't initially on the 15mg dose for long so maybe the increase to 30mg was too soon?
We will get there in the end even if it doesn't seem like it right now!
Have a good night's sleep all and catch up again tomorrow!
DAY 12 of MIRT 30MG
Hi all
Thanks for the words of encouragement PixieP, it's much appreciated. I was thinking the same thing about the increase being fairly quick? I'll speak to my GP when she's back. The therapy is private. Luckily I had BUPA and I've been going for two full days a week for a couple of months. It's all group work and although everyone has different issues, what we're being taught seems to suggest that anxiety is anxiety and we can all benefit from the techniques they teach. Mind you they would say that wouldn't they at the prices they're charging :roflmao: I had about 10 private one to one CBT sessions before this and although they did help I felt we'd done as much as we could. One of the therapists I see in group however is amazing, so I'm going to see if there's any way I could get a couple of one on ones with them?
I felt a bit better today and kept myself busy painting the house. If I can distract myself my anxiety always seems better, it can be a bit tiring though. Sometimes you just want to sit down and relax and that's when as PixieP so eloquently put it, the anxiety monster appears :shrug:
Hope you're all enjoying the sunshine today. :shades:
Day 21 on Mirtazapine 5 Days on 30mg back to day 2 on 15mg
Hi there
It's not been a great day again today. High anxiety on waking at 5,45am and throughout the day. I'm not even anxious about anything but the physical feelings just won't go. I am starting to question whether the mirt is going to help at all but will keep taking the 30mg until I see my GP next week. I have been to my zumba class tonight so burnt off a bit of energy and feel ok ish now but I dread going to bed as I just know I'll feel bad again in the morning.
The doctor says I'm doing everything right - going to work, therapy, socialising etc and I have accepted the anxiety to a certain degree (it's been there for nearly 6 months so not much choice!) but it's just so draining to feel like this nearly all the time.
I know it will improve with time as it did before but some days I feel quite despairing.
Sorry for the miserable post tonight - hopefully tomorrow may be at least a bit better and I'm also hoping that when I start my new job, which will be far less stressful, things will improve more.
Glad to hear your day was better than yesterday though Panicer. Maybe the 15mg will suit you better. I know when I was on venlafaxine before I only ever needed the lowest dose. It's such a shame it didn't work for me this time.
Better days are coming for us all I'm sure, we just have to patient with and kind to ourselves.
Night all :)
Hi all
Sorry to hear your anxiety kicked of yesterday PixieP. I get exactly the same thing, anxiety symptoms through the roof and I'm not bloody anxious about anything. I get tired of trying to explain it to therapists, GP, psychiatrist, family etc. Everyone seems to say, what are you worried about and most of the time it's nothing, although I do have a couple of triggers? One of the psychologists I see in group therapy said something along the following lines to me recently, when I explained how I was feeling.
That sounds like a physiological issue. Something, probably a chemical imbalance , is causing your body to trigger your fight or flight responses. CBT can help you to stop worrying about the feelings in your body, which are a completely normal response to danger, albeit you're not actually in danger, which should allow you to be able to stop them worsening and escalating into a panic attack but CBT can only do so much, you need to try and find out what's causing them in the first place and that's probably chemical so you're going to need medication.
It was a real AHA moment for me, wow finally someone gets what I'm saying. For example, I can be perfectly content, sitting at home in front of a warm fire, having just had a good meal, watching my favourite TV show, without a care in the world then wham, suddenly for no reason I can fathom, anxiety symptoms appear out of nowhere.
I had trouble getting off to sleep last night and had a pretty restless night. Today my anxiety symptoms have been fairly high all day but my depression has been fairly good. So trying to look on the bright side :D
Hope you've all had a good day
Day 22 on Mirtazapine 5 Days on 30mg back to day 3 on 15mg
Hi all,
I'm guessing it's 22 days on Mirt, 14 on 15mg and 8 on 30mg.
Checking back in after quite a few days. Sorry I've not been around for updates/encouragement Panicer and welcome aboard the Mirt train PixieP and Howdyhow.
I've stuck to the 30mg since 9th March. All I can say is my experience has been unexceptional ever since. I'm really struggling to find a difference between pre-Mirt and 30mg Mirt.
Starting to think it's not a chemical imbalance but maybe just something to do with the ASD/Aspergers leaving me without any 'desire for life'. I'd honestly much rather I still had side-effects now. At least then I'd be able to tell myself I'm getting used to something that'll improve my mental state in any, even minor, way. Maybe 45mg is the sweet spot, or maybe it just doesn't work for me :shrug:
Hope you all sleep well and tomorrow's a better day.
Well I don't know what to think about the mirt to be honest. 14 days on 30mg and I've had some good days but the last 3 days have been pretty rubbish. I think you're right Panicer and there is some sort of chemical imbalance as I can't understand why I can't seem to feel calm when there is no reason for me to feel anxious. I may ask my GP to refer me to a psychiatrist as I know that sometimes prescribe combinations of drugs which the GPS cannot.
I really would like to overcome this without any medication but just don't think that's going to happen. I have had a few laughs today and odd moments of calm so slightly better than yesterday so maybe I'm just being impatient!
Hi all
Sorry to hear you're feeling down Domo-kun. If the 30mg is doing so little and you're not having any side effects going up to 45mg sounds like a good idea to me?
I'm going to speak to the GP and psychiatrist next week about whether I can go back to taking fluoxetine at the same time as the Mirt, as I think when I was feeling best was coming off the Fluoxetine and starting the Mirt. I didn't know that it was normally a psychiatrist that prescribed combinations of drugs, thank for that PixieP, I'm seeing the GP before the psychiatrist next week so hopefully they'll have an answer. I really hope you can get to see a psychiatrist PixieP, if only as it's nice to get a second opinion :)
Slept better last night but have had rubbish anxiety symptoms again for most of the day. Not anxious about anything but anxiety :doh:
Oh well hopefully it'll be a good weekend for us all.
Day 23 on Mirtazapine 5 Days on 30mg back to day 4 on 15mg
Hi all
Struggled again today, anxiety was quite high most of the day but I did some work on the house and that kept it manageable. However it has really started to peak this evening when I've got less to do and I am just trying to relax in front of the TV :mad: Don't know whether I should just try going back to the 30mg now or wait until I see the docs later this week?
Hope you're all having a good day.
Day 24 on Mirtazapine 5 Days on 30mg back to day 5 on 15mg
Hi
I had a really rough day yesterday - struggled to stay at work and ended up crying the whole way home and then parking up at the bottom of my road and cried for another 15 mins before I came into the house so my family didn't have to witness it. Some days it all gets too much! On the outside to most people I look and sound fine but inside there's this raging volcano of feeling with nowhere to go! I decided that 14 days on 30mg should have helped at least a bit but it just seems to be getting worse so I dropped myself back to 22.5mg last night. Woke up this morning and still felt pretty horrendous and ended up having an online GP consultation with PushDoctor. The doctor I spoke to has given me some propranolol to tide me over and help alleviate the physical symptoms until I see my own GP next week. They helped diminish the intense physical sensations quite a bit but my mind is still racing with negative thoughts such as I'm never going to get better.
Went out with hubby this afternoon for kitchen paint and tiles (living the dream lol) and have been at a quiz night tonight which was fun but haven't felt properly calm at all today.
I don't think a dose increase of mirt is going to help so am going to ask the GP if I can augment it with something like Pregabalin as this combo seems to work for a fair few people. Just have to get through another 3 days first though and there's no guarantee she'll agree.
Sorry to hear you've not had a great few days either Panicer. This whole mental health thing is definitely no party but at least there is support on here from people who really understand what we're all going through.
Hope Sunday is a better day for all of us. Dinner at my parents' to look forward to tomorrow (just to add to my stress I currently have no kitchen) so hopefully another change of scene will do me good.
Take care all!
Hi all
Sorry to hear you're struggling so much PixieP but well done for achieving so much whilst you're clearly feeling terrible. I'd never even heard of PushDoctor (obviously I've googled the hell out of it now) :roflmao:but well done on coming up with that as a quick fix solution until you see your own GP, I've not had Propranolol for anxiety yet (only Fluoxetine and Mirt) but have read about lots of people taking it. Does it really help? I know it doesn't address the underlying causes but something that quickly reduced anxiety symptoms sounds like an absolute winner to me?
I've had a fairly bad day again with almost constant anxiety symptoms. Went to a couple of garden centres with my very understanding wife today and had to force myself not too turn tail and run for home on more than one occasion. Really fed up and feeling down at the moment but back to all day therapy again tomorrow so hopefully I'll have a good day and learn loads.
Hope you all have a nice end to the weekend.
Day 25 on Mirtazapine 5 Days on 30mg back to day 6 on 15mg
Hi all
Sorry you've not had a great weekend Panicer. I really hope that this week is better for you and that the therapy helps. I can totally relate to the feeling of wanting to get away. It's so frustrating as rationally you know there is nothing threatening in any of these places we've all been quite happily so many times in the past but somehow your mind has decided they're unsafe and you just can't reason with yourself.
Today I struggled for the first couple of hours. The propranolol has helped quite a bit as it has damped down the physical feelings of anxiety (it's a beta blocker so in theory stops the release of adrenaline but it's by no means eradicated the feelings, just made them less intense). However, my mind was still very active with negative thoughts (it won't help for long, I'll be worse again tomorrow, this is me for the rest of my life......).I have been calm since about 5 this afternoon though which is better than the last 5 days so something to be grateful for! I have to be careful with the propranolol as it also lowers heart rate and blood pressure and I already have a low resting heart rate (when not anxious) so I have to monitor it to make sure it doesn't dip below 40bpm. The doctor I spoke to just said bearing in mind my level of distress yesterday he felt the benefits outweighed the risks.
I'm sticking to 22.5mg of the mirt until I see my GP as I don't want to reduce too quickly. Hopefully the propranolol will get me through the next few days.
Hope everyone has a good week and the anxiety monster is less apparent x
Hi all
Good to hear the propranolol has helped a bit PixieP and thank you for the excellent explanation of effect and side effects. You made it far easier to understand than any medical website :) Hopefully your GP and you will work out the best way forwards with your medication.
Well today the GP and I decided that I should go back on Fluoxetine/Prozac but this time combined with Mirtazapine. The Fluoxetine seems to pep me up and the Mirtazapine seems to calm me down, so hopefully a combination of the two will get me to somewhere near normal :doh:
I had all day therapy today and it was pretty good and I felt calmer than of late, so I'm going to take that as positive progress. I'm going to start the fluoxetine tomorrow and see how I get on.
Day 26 on Mirtazapine 5 Days on 30mg back to day 7 on 15mg
Hi all
Well it has been a slightly better day today. I felt calmer when I woke this morning as the physical feelings were less intense and this continued through the day with 3 x 40mg propranolol evenly spaced. However, my mind is still racing all over the place, predicting a disastrous future, asking myself endless "what if?" questions, telling myself Im a failure for being weak and anxious etc. I know none of the thoughts are true as I've managed to work for 6 months with anxiety and get offered a new job but just can't switch my negative thinking off. I have more CBT booked for later in the week though so hopefully this will help.
I'm seeing my gp on Weds so am definitely going to ask for something else to augment the mirt as although it hasn't done much for the anxiety, it has lifted my mood slightly and I feel less depressed than I did before I started taking it. Pregabalin seems to work well with mirtazapine but it's quite expensive I think so my gp may not want to prescribe it.
I'd rather not take propranolol for too long because of the blood pressure and heart rate effects.
Glad you are feeling more positive today Panicer. Hopefully the combination of meds will be a turning point for you and you'll soon see improvements :yesyes:
Hi all
Good to hear that the propranolol is doing something for you PixieP. I totally get the "what if" spiraling thoughts. Hopefully the CBT will help, I've got a few CBT tricks I've learnt if they're of any interest let me know and I'll PM you them.
I had a good day today. I was in therapy all day again and felt pretty good for most of the day apart from a fairly big blip when my anxiety skyrocketed. I shared it with my therapy group and managed to use CBT to keep it at bay rather than leg it in the opposite direction and it eventually subsided so I'm feeling fairly proud of myself this evening :D
Day 27 on Mirtazapine 5 Days on 30mg back to day 8 on 15mg
Hope you're all having a good day?
Glad to hear you had a pretty good day Panicer. Hopefully this will be the shape of things to come.
I haven't had a great day again. Although the physical symptoms are better with the propranolol my mind is just whizzing from one negative thought to another (mostly along the lines of I'm going to feel like this forever, I'll never feel normal again etc). I'd be very grateful for any CBT tips. I want to be able to accept the anxiety and just let it be there but I just can't seem to switch off from the way I feel at all!
Oh well, back to the GP in the morning so by tomorrow evening I may have yet another medication as I really don't think the mirt is doing much except helping a but with sleep.
Hope everyone has a good Wednesday :)
Mindprison
22-03-17, 00:26
Thought I'd chime in since both panicker and pixies diaries have been an interesting read! Interesting to see all the others starting and struggling with this med!
I'm also on mirtazapine and have been since June last year. My dose has gone up and down a few times since then. I was on citalopram 40mg for about 7 years and in hindsight I do wonder if they were actually doing me good after all since I never had a panic attack again while I was on them but since changing to mirtazapine I've had 4 major ones.
I think the main reason is that mirtazapine really doesn't do a thing for anxiety in my own experience, it's helpful as a sleep aid in the lower doses but it's just not doing much for me. My psychiatrist wants me to try mirtazapine 30mg and pregabalin 150mg and see how that works but I'm hesitant and have never liked taking more than one thing at a time.
Back when I first got diagnosed and was panicking hours at a time every day, I got put on citalopram and propranolol but stopped propranolol after just a few months.
I do wonder if I might be better off going back to the SSRIs and seeing how I go before I start messing with something like pregabalin. I've had CBT for depression but never specifically for HA/GAD so maybe I'll give that a go too. Willing to try every therapy available at this point since medication isn't getting to the root of the problem.
Sorry if I hijacked the thread, just thought I'd weigh in on my experiences with mirtazapine!
Hoping you all start seeing an improvement soon!
Hi All
& hello Mindprison thanks for taking the time to read our posts, the more Mirtazapine experts who can give us advice the better :D Regarding your CBT point, I'm having sessions for Anxiety and Depression at the moment and both are pretty similar. The CBT for anxiety focuses a bit more on using breathing techniques to calm anxiety but the general principals across the two have been fairly similar. Working on thought processes and trying to stop getting into negative spirals.
How did the GP visit go PixieP? Hopefully between you both, you came up with a way forwards? I saw mine today and it's stick with Mirtazapine and get back on the Fluoxetine and see what happens?
For the first time I didn't update yesterday, I must be getting forgetful in my old age :doh: My anxiety wasn't too bad yesterday at home and I managed to keep the agoraphobia in check when I went into the town to meet up with a friend. I did have to have a bit of an argument with myself out loud over negative thoughts whilst driving there though. What must other drivers have thought? :blush:
Today wasn't too bad, anxiety wasn't very high and depression was almost non existent, hope your days went as well.
Day 29 on Mirtazapine 5 Days on 30mg back to day 10 on 15mg
Hi all and good to hear your perspective too Mindprison
I'm afraid I'm all doom and gloom at the moment. Broke down with the GP yesterday. She doesn't know what else to prescribe and has referred me to the community mental health team. She thinks possibly a combination of meds might be needed but in our local NHS trust only psychiatrists can sanction this. She wanted to sign me off work but I think that will just make the anxiety worse as I'll just sit at home all day on my own stewing over everything.
So the last couple of days I've really struggled but made it through although it's now 10.30pm and I still don't feel calm tonight.This might be withdrawal from the mirt though as I'm back down to 15mg and I've heard mirt is hard to get off.
Glad you have had better days though Panicer. Maybe the combination of the 2 meds plus the therapy will be just what you need :yesyes:
Hopefully I'll be less maudlin tomorrow! :unsure:
Hi all
Sorry to hear you're having such a bad time PixieP and that your GP won't prescribe a combination of meds? Mine has no problem with this and I thought we were meant to have a National Health Service? Have you heard anything from the community mental health team yet? I think it's amazing that you're managing to keep going to work considering how bad you're feeling. Well done you, you should be very proud of yourself :)
I had a bad night last night, with very high anxiety and was up cleaning the kitchen until 03:30 (it seems to help me distract) I eventually fell asleep at 04:00 and was up again at 07:30.
I saw the psychiatrist today and he thinks going back to Fluoxetine as the GP suggested isn't the way forwards and has prescribed Pregabalin in conjunction with the Mirtazapine? He explained that although it's an anticonvulsant for epilepsy :WTF: it's actually very good for anxiety, although no one seems exactly sure why? Honestly the more I learn about this condition the more I think the professionals make it up as they go along :roflmao: I'm really glad I bought that NHS Prepayment Prescription Card as my medicine cupboard is starting to look like boots the chemist!
Oh well I'm going to start it tomorrow and I'll let you know what happens.
Day 30 on Mirtazapine 5 Days on 30mg back to day 11 on 15mg
Mindprison
24-03-17, 21:11
Just checking back to see how you're both doing! I see you've both been having some rough spots, me too, but we're still here plodding along!
Pixie, I think it's quite inspiring that you're still out working despite being wracked with bad anxiety. I recently started seeing the CMHT as well and while i'm still not anywhere near right, a lot of pressure was taken off just telling them how I felt and how sick of it I was. I'd rather not be on the mirtazapine at all, but I don't think the psychiatrist thought it would be a good idea to start dealing with withdrawals on top of the anxiety i've had. I think it's a good idea to go see the CMHT, maybe a combination might just be what gets you back on the road again!
Panicer, i've found myself in the same situation as you! I saw my psych 3 weeks ago and she has suggested I start taking pregabalin as well on top of my mirtazapine :roflmao: It is an anti-convulsant for epilepsy but is also labeled for GAD as well! I've not started them yet, i'm extremely nervous about taking them because i'm worried about side effects before they've even begun! :doh:
Keep us posted! I'd be interested to hear how you get on! If I start taking them, i'll try and post a status now and then too!
Best of luck to both of you! I'm rooting for you!
Hi Pixie,
Sorry to hear of your ongoing anxiety. I hope you have better luck with the mental health team. If you can only have one med at a time and mirtazapine by itself isn't working, pregabalin alone might be worth a try. Good luck.
SmilingAlbert
25-03-17, 14:24
Good luck guys. Yes Panicer I think you're correct when you say that they're not entirely sure why Preg works for anxiety. It is certainly an interesting med, in that it has been approved (in the EU at least) for 3 distinct things: anxiety, epilepsy, and neuropathic pain, and is proven in trials to be effective for most people in all 3 areas.
What all issues have in common is that 'calming the system' is helpful in alleviating the conditions. In addition, it has much more benign start-up side-effects for most people than, for example, SSRIs, as used often for anxiety. I don't think it's a first-line item for epilepsy, and I don't know how it compares to other meds for that on that front. Painkillers I assume are all fairly benign, by their nature, at least in theory.
It also works quite quickly for many, which is an enormous advantage IMHO for people in a state of high anxiety, and an advantage often ignored by GPs who in the most part have never had to put up with the type of problems their patients face.
Good luck with it - you should hopefully find it beneficial.
Albert
Hi Albert
Thank you very much for all that info. I'm as usual :doh: a bit anxious about starting taking a new medication. I didn't know the start up effects were normally less than SSRI's which is great news as I struggled with the only one I've tried Fluoxetine. I did read it works quickly though! A couple of posts I've seen have had people saying it worked the first time they took it? That would be amazing if true? I'm going to take it this evening for the first time and will keep you all updated :)
Hi all
Good to hear that you've been prescribed Pregabalin Panicer and Mindprison. It will be interesting to see how you both get in with it as I'm hoping to get it myself when I finally get to see or speak to a psychiatrist seeing as 6 ADs haven't helped. I really hope you both find it beneficial.
After a really rough couple of days - only a few hours sleep and completely lost my appetite as the physical feelings of anxiety are so bad - I had a complete meltdown this afternoon and ended up at the local mental health walk in support centre. I spoke to a mental health nurse who, whilst he couldn't help in terms of medication, really took the time to listen to me which made me feel a little better. He has said as I've been in there today he will file a report and my case should be escalated so that I'm seen by a psychiatrist within a week. Fingers crossed as the sleep deprivation is really getting to me (only managed 3 hours last night).
Still, Mothers Day tomorrow so theoretically I don't have to do anything although from past experience I will still end up ironing and cleaning! However, mother in law is cooking me dinner so nothing to stress about there.
Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend and that next week brings positive news for all of us!
Hi all
Sorry to hear you're so down PixieP but that was a great idea about going to the walk in centre and that's good news about hopefully seeing the psychiatrist quicker.:)
I know you dropped the Mirt down recently, I've read that the lower the dose the more it helps you sleep? is it worth taking 7.5mg tonight ( I've read this is the sleep aid dose) and the rest of your dose in the morning and see if the lower dose helps you sleep tonight?
I've not been feeling too bad today and still not taken my new medication yet, as I'm anxious (when ain't I) about taking it, so waiting for my wife to get home first.
Hope you have a good weekend all.
Day 31 on Mirtazapine 5 Days on 30mg back to day 12 on 15mg
Hi all
Hope you've all had a lovely Sunday? Sunshine a plenty here today and thankfully even though I barely got 2 hours sleep last night today hasn't been too bad for me. The mental health nurse I saw yesterday advised upping the mirt again to 30mg which might have something to do with the improved mood, although it didn't do much if anything a couple of weeks ago. However the 30mg definitely kept me awake so I'm going to split it again tonight.
So have you started the Pregabalin Panicer and Mindprison? If so any initial effects good or bad?
Could anyone also give me an idea of what to expect when I see the psychiatrist? I must admit this is also causing me some anxiety (although what doesn't at the moment?)! I'm sure it's not just a case of prescribing more drugs!
Off out now for dinner with the family so hopefully my mood will continue to be good. I just dread going to bed though as my anxious self is already telling me I won't feel so good tomorrow :doh:
Benjammin69
26-03-17, 18:35
Psychiatrist ain't to bad, they sit there with their notebook and listen to you babble on, but what they are really doing is watching your movements, your speech, your eyes and your mood. They also check on how you present yourself and basically they are checking for more serious mental illnesses such as psychotic and schizophrenia when he is sure you have anxiety and depression he will probably talk to you about medication but they are much better than doctors and more careful about what they hand out
Hi all
Well done for going out for dinner with the family PixieP, not letting the anxiety win is really important :)
I think Benjamin's explanation of a psychiatrist is pretty spot on in my experience. All I'd add is you'll hopefully get more time than a usual 10 min GP's appointment, so I take some notes with me. I keep another more detailed diary on a word doc of how I'm doing on medication, any side effects, when I slept, any panic attacks, depersonalisation etc, then I strip it down to something like..
Mirt 30mg, Fluoxetine 15mg
26/03/17 Disturbed sleep, vivid dreams, Woke 06:30, Medium anxiety, Low Depression AM, High Anxiety from 14:00, Medium Depression, 10 min depersonalisation in supermarket, panic attack 18:00-18:30 no trigger, good appetite, slept at 23:30
27/03/17 ......
It means I don't have to remember everything and I and the psychiatrist can see patterns etc. I try to keep each entry brief as there will quite a few pages by the time I see them again and I just hand them a copy, so maybe you could do similar? I'd also say tell them everything, if you feel you're finally at your wits end, suicidal, whatever, then tell them honestly. Believe me they'll have heard much worse every day and it doesn't mean you'll get sectioned etc but Psychiatrists are the people that have access to the NHS's mental health system and therapies so you have to ensure they know how bad you are because those NHS resources are limited.
I've had a good day today but bottled out of taking the pregabalin. I've used the excuse to myself that I had to drive today and will have to do long journeys on Mon and Tues and I don't want to risk it on new meds. I don't have to drive again this week after Tues so I'm going to try and pluck up courage for Tues night.
Hope you all enjoyed the sunshine and have a good week :shades:
Day 32 on Mirtazapine 5 Days on 30mg back to day 13 on 15mg
Hi Panicer,
It's very sensible not starting pregabalin if you have to do any driving as some people feel sleepy or a little spaced out at first. That said, the start-up is not usually unpleasant, and some people get a transient mood boost (the "mild euphoria" effect) for a day or so. Good luck with the start-up.
Hi all
hanshan thank you very much for that, it makes me feels less weak about not taking the meds the other day and waiting :D
Good day today, was in all day therapy, my anxiety was manageable all day and the sun was out :shades:
Hope you're all having a good day too?
Day 33 on Mirtazapine 5 Days on 30mg back to day 14 on 15mg
Hi all
Not a bad day for me either. Anxiety was there most of the day but at a manageable level and for the first time in about 3 weeks I feel calm this evening. Historically this means nothing going forward for tomorrow but I am just grateful to have some respite to be honest.
Glad to hear you've had a good day too Panicer. Hopefully the sunshine will continue and our good mood with it!
Hanshan thank you for your helpful advice. I'm hoping for Pregabalin when I see the psychiatrist so your tips re this med are invaluable.
Thank you also Panicer and Benjamin for the insight into the psychiatric appointment. I don't feel quite so apprehensive now
Mindprison
27-03-17, 22:59
Hello all, good to see you all had a reasonably good day. Just back from a trip and took pregabalin over said trip with mixed effects although it's hard to say whether it's negative effects from the meds or if it's just the anxiety of taking new meds. Plan to post about the experience and the ongoing effects tomorrow when i've hopefully managed to get a better sleep!
Also Pixie don't worry about the psychiatrist appointment, I was quite apprehensive about it too but when I got there she sat me down and just asked me how i've been feeling and to be honest. I'd say i've got moderate to severe anxiety and she was very nice about it and was quite happy to try me with pregabalin. Not much more I can add that hasn't already been said, but she was very up to date with all the treatments, even my doctor said that he's never experienced a mirtazapine/pregabalin combination and said he was quite curious to see how I got on, so they're absolutely the right people to help!
Hi all
Well done Mindprison on starting the pregabalin, you're ahead of me now. I'm definitely taking mine tonight as no need to drive tomorrow. Very interested to hear how you are getting on with them? I was speaking to a fellow patient at my therapy group who raved about them and said their anxiety has pretty much gone and it only took about a week.
Great to hear you finally got a break from your anxiety PixieP :D Sometimes you can just feel exhausted from it all. Have you got a date to see the psychiatrist yet?
Bit of a blip for me today, really struggled this morning and felt very anxious until about 11:00am but it has lifted since and I'm feeling a lot better this afternoon.
Day 34 on Mirtazapine 5 Days on 30mg back to day 15 on 15mg
Mindprison
28-03-17, 19:46
Started a diary on the pregabalin sub-thread for those interested. Side effects were a bit more suppressed today so hopefully they continue to die down! :yesyes:
Also, would be interested to see how you get on with your first day of pregabalin, panicer! It's been highs and lows so far for me but I don't deal well with side effects so I imagine once they're in the system i'll feel better about it!
Hi Mindprison
Just read and subscribed to your diary and to be honest it scared me a bit, although lets face it with my anxiety my shadow can frighten me at present. :doh: I also get really worried about taking new meds and keep checking for symptoms/side effects. I'm trying to focus (not very well) on how it could help rather than the possible side effects. Good luck for tonight and I'll let you know how I'm getting on tomorrow.
Mindprison
28-03-17, 20:14
Take my experience with a pinch of salt Panicer, I was already feeling bad before taking them and i'm hoping once I readjust and stop worrying so much about taking them i'll feel much better!
A lot of the effects I get from the start up I was already getting from anxiety and other problems so it's kind of like a stacking effect.
Staying positive! It won't hurt me being on them a while and the side effects seem to be quite short lived so onwards and upwards! :yesyes:
Best of luck! I'm sure you'll be fine! Looking forward to seeing how you get on!
Hi All
It's been a while so just thought I'd stop by and say Hi and wondered how you're all getting on. I'm still waiting for my psych appointment on 24th April and currently back on 30mg mirt with lorazepam to help when I find the anxiety too much to deal with. I've been using them quite sparingly though and the last couple of weeks haven't been as bad as last month was.
Panicer and Mindprison how have you been finding the Pregabalin?
Well the weather is lovely today and there's lots to look forward to this week in my life so just hope the anxiety monster isn't too troublesome.
Have a good weekend all!
Hi everyone !
Had about 6 or 7 episodes of anxiety/depression since 1992.
Been on most types of meds available and very hit and miss as to what works at the time or not.
Currently on mirt 45mg at night and preg 150mg morning and again 75mg at night.
I wish I could say this combo is working but I am not feeling any better after about 10 weeks, and so far off my normal happy go lucky self.
What frightens me is my psych said the next step if this combo is not working would be lithium , which just puts the shivers up me.
Just over 3 years since my last episode of anxiety depression and that was a miracle cure as far as I was concerned.
Had been on 3 different meds over a period of about 9 months and the last one, venlafaxine, was just making me feel worse after about 4 months on it.
Venlafaxine had worked twice for me in the past, but not this time.
Waking up with the night sweats and feeling really bad was making me feel suicidal.
My GP said come off it for 5 days and then start on 15 mg mirt.
I started to feel better after the 5 days and no withdrawal symptons.
Started on the 15 mg mirt and didn't even notice I was taking a med.
Within a few more days I was back to my normal self and enjoying life as I used to.
If only it would happen again, but I did try to come off the meds I have been on in the last 10 months and felt worse.
I am trying my best with positive thinking and trying to get motivated for things I enjoy doing,like socialising, travelling,watching live music etc. but I still feel really bad most of the time.
I can honestly say I have not had a good day for about 9 months now and I want so much to be back to normal.
That's my story, and I will try to join in on this forum when I feel up to it.
Felt awful this morning but a bit better this afternoon, and this has been the first post I have done for a long time.
Good luck and Best Wishes to you all who are going through a bad time,like me.
panic_down_under
08-04-17, 23:07
Been on most types of meds available and very hit and miss as to what works at the time or not.
What have you been on in the past and which ones worked?
BTW - something to be aware of is the growing evidence that antidepressants become progressively less effective every time they are stopped and restarted, often requiring higher doses to achieve the previous level of control. They may also produce more severe, and/or different, initial side-effects. According to one study (http://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/226611) the odds of antidepressants working after each restart drops by nearly 20% (see also: Amsterdam JD (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25610752), 2016, Amsterdam JD (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18694599), 2009; Leykin Y (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17469884), 2007). This applies whether returning to a previously taken antidepressant or a different one.
So given anxiety/depression is an ongoing issue for you, if you find an effective antidepressant I suggest you seriously consider staying on it permanently.
up a ladder
09-04-17, 21:04
Hi all
I have just come off of Citalopram and more recently Sertraline. Neither seemed to have any effect on my anxiety and related depression. I was put on Mirtazapine (15mg) on Thursday.
I do not think I have ever taken anything that knocks me for 6 quite as heavily as this. I woke up at 09:30 (late for work) on Friday and Saturday and nearly as early on Sunday. That is the latest I have been in bed for 25 years. It then takes a few hours to feel normal and not fuzzy. I have taken tonight at 20:00 (two hours earlier than the last 3 nights) hoping to be able to leave home for work at 06:30
Anyone experienced who could tell me how long the side effect of the tiredness in the morning last.
So far for the anxiety, they seem to be marvelous.
panic_down_under
09-04-17, 22:53
I have just come off of Citalopram and more recently Sertraline. Neither seemed to have any effect on my anxiety and related depression.
What was the maximum dose you took of each, and for how long were you on that dose?
I do not think I have ever taken anything that knocks me for 6 quite as heavily as this.
Anyone experienced who could tell me how long the side effect of the tiredness in the morning last.
Mirtazapine if one of the most powerful antihistamines made, more potent than most of the drugs prescribed as antihistamines, hence the sedation. Tolerance tends to build slowly.
Mindprison
12-04-17, 17:47
Hey all
Been off the site for a bit to try and get my head straight as I felt that being here was causing me more anxiety just from reading other threads but thought i'd update and then crawl back into the hermit cave! :yesyes:
Pregabalin has been going fine, a bit too dizzy for my liking but my psychiatrist has been kind enough to move my appointment to later this month instead of May to discuss my ongoing anxiety issues.
Health Anxiety is still in full swing but the panic attacks have lessened somewhat. Just need to see the psychiatrist and get on top of it so I don't end up in a similar state that I did before.
Hope everyone is doing better and wishing you the best of luck with any ongoing struggles! :)
Hi all
Like Mindprison I have not posted in a while as I was spending more time on here most evenings than doing things with my family and I felt that constantly reading about anxiety, meds etc was one of the things that was keeping me in the anxiety loop.
Anyhow, I've now been on 30mg mirt for 4 weeks and feel quite a lot better, although I'm having difficulty sleeping on this dose. My GP prescribed me lorazepam to take as needed when the anxiety became too intense but I've been using these to help me sleep too.
Had my psych appointment today and have been prescribed Pregabalin to augment the mirt and hopefully give me the extra boost I need to stop the anxious and negative thoughts and the intense physical symptoms. Having said that I am still having CBT and now that my mind is slightly calmer I can see more clearly the reasons why I'm stuck in this fear of fear cycle and I'm working on my negative thinking issues.
Hope everyone is doing ok. I'm going to stick at the 30mg mirt for now and start the Pregabalin at the weekend as I have to be very alert for the next few days at work.
Have a good week all
Maggie-may
03-05-17, 12:24
Hi everyone, haven't been on the site in ages and I found this and thought I'd join in. I have been on mirt for more than five years and I found that most of the time I do well with it, just sometimes I have bad days but I can usually cope. Hope everyone is doing well
Hi everyone,
A little late jumping on here, started Mirt 5 days ago, initially 15mg and was sleeping great and feeling good, but had a terrible day yesterday (felt low and disconnected) so I took 30mg last night (my doctor had prescribed 30mg a night initially but I was very anxious about taking 30mg so I took 15mg to start with) but it took very long for me to fall asleep and I have had a terrible day today, sweaty palms and am extremely jittery. Any advice or insight? Go back to 15mg tonight?
I started 3 weeks ago on 15mg and slept great also but still had bad days with anxiety on and off. Three day ago I went upto 30mg as agreed with DR and am sleeping even better which was a surprise as I was expecting to not sleep so well on 30mg. I still get bad days and think this is the way it will be so don't expect too much and your only 5 days in so the drug wont start to kick in yet it's far to early. Be patient and expect bad days and good they are going to happen no matter what drug your on. Keep a diary so you can look back then you can see when things start to get better.
3 weeks Remeron 45 mg, some mood improvements and I sleep well
Hi, just being weaned off Sertraline and starting on Mirtazapine for the first time. Had terrible non stop side effects with 50mg of Sertraline so had to give in and agree to try something else. Being treated for long term, 'drug resistant' depression linked to Aspergers syndrome. Feeling frustrated by the problems with Sertraline but hopeful/terrified by the possibility of Mirtazapine working.
Mirtazapine s basically just a really strong antihistamine at lower doses. If you're taking it for anxiety, just be aware that in the higher dose range the sedative effect is reduced and norepinephrine neurotransmission is increased, which can increase anxiety. I have to stay below 15mg for that reason.
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