Mirtazapine nightmare! WEIGHT GAIN. Please read...

[aprilmoon]

What a beautiful haunting sound,it makes me feel like I'm in a forest!
Let's know how you get on with it.

[hanshan]

Hi Aprilmoon,

Your description is spot on. My guidebook to the flute arrived this week and it says "Hon Kyoku (Zen meditation style) is a loosely metered form of music similar to sounds in nature like rustling leaves or gurgling water."

The flute hasn't arrived yet, but don't expect musical wonders. As I said, I'm hoping to go from medication to meditation (at some point in the future).

[aprilmoon]

Are the dividing walls of your house thick? Lol
Only joking,wish I could try it too,it sounds great fun.

[hanshan]

Hi Aprilmoon,

I live in a row of apartments. I don't think the dividing walls are particularly thick, but they seem to be well-insulated for sound. I can honestly say in a bit over three years, I have never heard a sound from my neighbours - no tv or conversations - apart from the odd thump, like heavy furniture being moved.

I think the technology has probably developed from soundproofing karaoke rooms, so you don't hear the awful singing from the room next door.

[aprilmoon]

Hi Hanshan
I'm excited for you!
Looking forward to hearing about how you get on with it.
I'd love to take up another instrument,I used to play classical guitar and violin,but very rusty now.
Playing an instrument is amazing for soothing yourself.
I've always wanted to learn the piano,but don't have room for one in the house.
If I did,I wouldn't hesitate.
On a completely different track,have you ever had that jolting of limbs that you can get from mirt after you've woken up in the morning?
I also had the worst nightmare of my life last night,
I dreamt that I had murdered someone,and went and gave myself up!!!
I was then thinking that my life was over,and then mercifully, I woke up.
The relief!!
Hope that was a one off lol!!
Take care

[hanshan]

Hello Aprilmoon,

I haven't had jolting after waking up - always half an hour or so after taking a day's dose at night.

As for pianos, my guess is that proper pianos will soon become the preserve of concert performers, piano teachers, and the very keen. Pianos are large, heavy, and costly to maintain.

On the other hand, electronic keyboards are relatively small, light, and never go out of tune. My guess is that most kids learning piano in future years will do so on an electronic keyboard.

Thankfully, there's no electronic zen flute. Breathy, variable pitch and tone - try to fit that into a computer..

[aprilmoon]

Hi Hanshan
Any sign of the flute?
I think you're right in what you say about pianos,they're far too large for most houses now.
It sounds intriguing where you live,I try to imagine what it must be like.
Will you continue to live there when you retire?:
I enjoyed reading about Hanshan,please continue to include any more stories like that.
Take care

[hanshan]

No sign of the flute yet - maybe next week. Believe it or not, it's a Japanese flute made by an American and sold by a UK company. Although I'm living here in Japan, I didn't feel confident enough to negotiate buying one locally. Each bamboo flute is different, but hopefully I will get one that suits me.

As for Han Shan (the original one), I think only that story in the link exists, and it's probably fictitious. Apart from that, there are the three hundred or so poems - a number of people have made translations into English, and you are sure to find examples if you do a web search.

Will I continue to live here after retirement? That's difficult to say. Generally speaking, people are expected to go back to their home countries once employment here ceases. But wherever I am, I think I will have some kind of contact with Japan.

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________

Actually, here is a link to the story of the "Peach Blossom Spring", which is a recurrent theme in Chinese poetry. The best-known version is attributed to Tao Chien (various spellings), who lived around five hundred years before Han Shan, and was also a recluse poet.

http://www.xys.org/forum/db/190/133.html

[troika_ness]

I've been on Mirtazapine for over 2 months now and I've gone up a dress size. That said, I definitely feel a lot better and it's helped my insomnia so much - and as long as I don't get any bigger than my current size 10 the lack of depression out weighs the weight gain. Prior to this I tried prozac, sertraline and citalopram which all made me feel dreadful, in fact I blame citalopram for causing general anxiety, and Prozac turned me in to an anxious bag of bones.

I definitely think part of it is to do with an increase in appetite (which I think is starting to level off), but I really do think it lowers your metabolic rate. I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted without worrying but have to be careful of what I eat. I've even been exercising most days but still been putting weight on.

I upped my dose to 30 mg 10 days ago and find myself feeling really tired almost de personalised for most of the morning... does this usually wear off the longer you're on them?

xx

[hanshan]

If you used to be able to eat what you wanted without worrying about your weight, it means that your hunger and appetite were in sync with your food requirements. You could rely on your appetite stopping you from over-eating.

What mirtazapine does is to disrupt that mechanism. You can't rely on your appetite any more, so you have to more consciously watch what you are eating. You will find that after a time this becomes more of an autonomic part of your routine.