reassurance needed:(

[ems43]

I upped my dose to 30mg last night and was quite scared about doing so. went to bed and found it harder to get to sleep and found i had these flashing lights in my eyes and all these odd thoughts and images flashing through my mind. it may well have been due to my anxiety about increasing it.. not sure. have to add that my main anxious symptoms relate to derealisation/ depersonalisation and fear that i will become psychotic. i was lying there and reallly thought i could hear voices talking to me and became very scared but tried to tel myself was just anxiety. anyway woke up this morn, def feeling less motivated and feeling heavy all over. also had a bit of a dodgy stomach. i just wondered if anyone found that there anxiey increased when increasing dose? I had a really awful experience of increasing my dose of escitalopram about a month ago, hence my anxiety about increasing. any advice appreciated and know i need to keep self distracted today to avoid thinking about the symptoms or producing them by my own anxiety. thanks xx

[Vixxy]

Hi there. Ive increased my mirtazapine from 15>30>45. You will notice a little extra anxiety, but it will pass. Just try to keep your chin up :)

[ElizabethJane]

Hi Ems I am now taking 45mg of mirtazapine. I have heard of anxiety increasing when upping the dose of the mirt. I found my anxiety increased when I was coming off them. As far as the hearing voices and derealisation/depersonalisation is concerned these are symptoms of anxiety. These symptoms are distressing but they will pass. If you are worried I suggest that you see your GP again. In my opnion you were scared when you went to bed and were far more suggestible to anxieties of your own making. It would not be the increase in the mirt as you had only just taken it.. I hope that you begin to feel better soon.EJ.

[MadJam]

Hi there! I too suffer from depersonalisation and the other. Your symtoms sound very similar to mine - I too fear physcosis. I am on 15mg and have been for about ten months. I know I need to either increase my dose or come off them as depersonalisation is getting worse and am having mood swings. I do hope you settle on your increased dose, and remember sometimes it takes a while to settle. Let me know how you are getting on.....and remember - your not on your own...TC.:winks:

[ems43]

thank you for your responses- i just got myseld a bit worked up. madjam- are you seeing a pdoc? from the research i have done 15mg is not a therpeutic dose, should be minimum 30 is think, may be wrong :)

[MadJam]

No not seeing a pdoc although I know I need to but it will mean paying private and costs a fortune!!! How are you feeling today?

[ems43]

woke up about 5 this morn but managed to go back to sleep which is a plus point. i'm feeling a little dodgy today which i am pretty sure is psychosomatic as when i increased my meds last time ( a different med) it took me to a really horrible place so think i am just scaring myself that it may happen again, but also could be some initial anxiety from increasing meds. not sure- trying to keep busy and not think about it ! Madjam- are you in the UK? Why would you need to pay to see a pdoc? If you are in the UK you can def request that your GP makes a referral to a specialist if you are not getting the help you need. I work in the health service and know that they have a duty to do so if things aren;t improving. xx

[MadJam]

Yeah I'm in the uk! I know it would take ages to see a physciatrist on the nhs and my doc will probably want me to see the cpn again which i really don't want to do - she was of no support what-so-ever! Had a really bad day today, sat crying for a good hour! I don't know what the hell to do - in quite a dark place at the mo. I hope you start to pick up soon x

[ems43]

sorry to hear that madjam- i have just come back from a swim and actually feel much better ( getting rid of that excess adrenalin that otherwise gets stuck in my head!). Are you doing any exercise- know sounds a bit redunt when you probably feel very low but i really have found it helps me out of being in a dark place. I don't know what part of the county you;re in, but have you heard of the increasign access to psychological therapies iniative. If not, basically the goverment put a lot more money into commisioning talking therapy services. Most parts of the country now have one, and there you should be able to access evidence based psychological therapies, like CBT, quite rapidly. Have you had any therapy before? I had CBT a couple of years ago to really good affect- am actually waiting to see the same therapist again now. It really helped with my generalised anxiety/ depression and feeligns of unreality ( depersonalisation / derealisation) I get. If have not already tried it might be worth a try, def very different from seeing a CPN as would structured to work on your current problems. Sorry if I;m telling you things you already know :) I hope you feel better soon xx

[MadJam]

Hi - thank you for the info. I had one session of CBT a few months ago (on the nhs) but he didn't seem to think I needed it! The private p.doc I saw prior to this seemed to think I would benefit hugely from CBT and knows of a really good therapist so think I will have to give him a call and get a number. I know I need to excersise - I used to be a fitness freak, but I don't seem to have the motivation to do it!! It's took me all day to get my head around doing the bloody ironing!!
Bet you feel tons better now you've done that swim - good on you!!:yesyes:

[JB63]

Hi ems43

I had my dose of mirt increased from 15mg to 30mg yesterday and woke up not so long ago. Last night was my first dose of 30mg and I had a disturbed sleep from strange dreams . Apart from feeling quite sleepy and forgetful this morning I haven't noticed anything too drastic. Hopefully this is as bad as it gets on 30mgs. I do have alot of pins and needles and muscle aches since I started taking mirt, not sure if that if that is a side effect too but it is uncomfortable. I will mention it when I see my GP next time.
Hope you are getting on with your increase.:)

[ems43]

Hi, yes i have also had a lot of tingling! I thought may be due to anxiety but could also be a side effect. x