15mg Mirtazapine...too low for depression?

[sandy40]

Hi ive been on 15mg of Mirtazapine for about 5 weeks,i feel no better infact worse,i was on 60mg of Duloxetine but my Psychiatrist changed me to Mirt,im crying all the time and feel very low,im not due to see her until 23rd March,is my dose to low to help me feel better?

[ElizabethJane]

Hi Sandy I'm sorry that you are feeling so low. It sounds to me that your dose is not high enough. 15mg is the starter dose and as you have said you have been taking it for five weeks without any noticeable improvement. Five weeks seems a reasonable length of time for the mirt to work. When you see the psychiatrist he will almost certainly increase the mirt to 30mg or 45mg which is the dose that I am on. Could you see your GP and ask them to increase the mirt or speak to the psychiatrists secretary and tell them how low you are feeling? They might be able to authorise the increase without seeing you? Either way you obviously need somed help and support. This website will go some way to help you. I have also been on duloxetine but I could not cope with the side effects from it. Take care. EJ.

[sandy40]

Hi EJ,thanks for your reply,ive been told to up to 30mg as from tonight..i called her secretary earlier and just had a call to say to up it..hope it helps,will i still be sleepy on 30mg?im also on pregabalin but i dont like it it seems to numb me after i take it then wears off then when i take the next one i feel numb around my mouth/nose..i was doing ok on duloxetine then it stopped working so she took my off it and switched to Mirt,its the nighttime taking i dont like with the mirt..oh i hope it works and i start to feel better..how did duloxetine affect you? x

[JT69]

Hi Sandy,

When I went up to 30mg from 15mg mirtazipine I hardly noticed any extra side effects other than feeling slightly sleepier the next day but I was still able to drive etc. I went up to 30mg after 4 weeks on 15mg, it really helped with depression. I also take pregabalin...sorry you dont like it...it has really helped me...could I ask what dose you take in it??

Glad you are upping the mirtazipine anyhow...should help!!!

Jo.xx

[sandy40]

Hi Jo,Is pregabalin a antidepressant? im on 150mg a day, 2x75mg tablets,i get a numb feeling with them,it seems to wear off as the day goes on then starts again when take the next dose,dont know if they will stop them. x

[ElizabethJane]

Hi EJ,thanks for your reply,ive been told to up to 30mg as from tonight..i called her secretary earlier and just had a call to say to up it..hope it helps,will i still be sleepy on 30mg?im also on pregabalin but i dont like it it seems to numb me after i take it then wears off then when i take the next one i feel numb around my mouth/nose..i was doing ok on duloxetine then it stopped working so she took my off it and switched to Mirt,its the nighttime taking i dont like with the mirt..oh i hope it works and i start to feel better..how did duloxetine affect you? x
Hi Sandy I'm glad that your psychiatrist upped the dose of mirtazapine. It will work it just needs time. I'm not on pregabalin but Jo is so she will answer any questions you have about that. There is a special forum for it on here too. It is not an anti depressant. My experiences of duloxetine were not good. I was on it for about six weeks. It caused extreme nausea and actual vomiting at night. I also had severe giddiness where I would stand up and then fall down again. It did not help that I was cross tapering from mirtazapine. I was also on lithium and dothiepin at the time so over medicated. All I can say is hang on in there. The mirt will work. It is the best anti d I have come across. I take in conjunction with lithium and I have been on it for two years. It has alleviated my depression and has stabilised my depressive disorder. I did not like the sexual side effects from the duloxetine which for me are not apparant with mirtazapine although I have read that pregabalin can have the same effects. EJ.

[JT69]

Hi Jo,Is pregabalin a antidepressant? im on 150mg a day, 2x75mg tablets,i get a numb feeling with them,it seems to wear off as the day goes on then starts again when take the next dose,dont know if they will stop them. x

Hi Sandy,

Pregabalin not an anti-depressant, it is used for alot of things including pain but can be used to treat general anxiety disorder. Have you spoken to your GP about the numb feeling?? They do make me feel a little spaced out at times but have helped me with anxiety.

Jo.xx

[sandy40]

Hi,no ive not mentioned the numb feeling as i wasnt sure if it was the pregabalin or not,but i took it this morning and soon after i got the numb feeling again it passed as the day went on.Mirt is the first med ive had to take at nighttime but i assume it continues to work during the day and not just filter out while asleep..EJ,you say about the sexual side effects of duloxetine not being the same as the Mirt but can be the same when on Pregabalin,can you tell me what you mean..pm me if you dont want to post it on the forum,also will Mirt not work alone will i need to take another med if i stop the pregabalin..wonder if i can take Duloxetine and Mirt.x

[ElizabethJane]

Hi Sandy duloxetine can delay orgasm in some people. It is the same for women as it is for men. It was extremely frustrating for me at the time and because I couldn't it made it worse for me. Mirtazapine does not have the same effect. I have read somewhere that pregabalin can also cause inorgasm ie the inability to have an orgasm or delayed orgasm/ejaculation. These things are important to women as well as men. It might not have that effect on you or not be important? It was important for me at the time as I felt something had been taken away from me. Seroxat had the same effect. Take care concentrate on getting well first. EJ.

[sandy40]

Hi EJ,yes when i first started Duloxetine i was either unable to orgasm or it took me ages and it was annoying for me but as the months went on it was easier..now im back to taken a long time i never put the connection together but it must be the pregabalin.x

[ElizabethJane]

Hi again Sandy. The pregabalin would cause the sexual problem that you describe. I discovered this last year as I was seriously considering pregabalin as my anxiety was very bad. I think that I would have accepted the inorgasm. With duloxetine I hoped that the problem would get easier but I wasn't on it long enough to find out. A friend of mine who is a doctor said this would be so but I did not believe him! At least there are no such problems with mirtazapine. At the time it was another thing to feel a failure at. I feel differently about it now. EJ.

[ash1807]

Hi All,
I have now been on Mirtz. 15mg for 8 weeks. Gone thought the startup effect, but still feel very tired all the time and dry eyes. At first it seem to up my mood levels, but now it's back to feeling lethergic, low and anxious.
Should I be upping my dose? I have been prescribed 30mg btw. I am still coming off Citalopram (now to 10mg)