Prolonged drowsiness

[steamdriven]

I've been proscribed 15mg mirtazapine partly for anxiety and partly for terrifying chronic insomnia. The first time I took it (last Thursday night) was in conjunction with a dose of zopiclone, which I was also proscribed "for emergencies". The next day I felt like I'd pulled two nights without sleep, but ok, this is just mixing medication, not a good idea.

The night after I took just Mirtazapine and felt almost equally awful the next day. I know with anti-depressants you're supposed to take them regularly, but this was unbearable. This weekend I visited my mother's house, a four hour commute but the only place I can get un-medicated sleep, so I didn't keep taking mirtazapine. Which may have been stupid.

The long term zombie-ness might have been a combination of backed up sleep debt and the cold that is apparently going around the office, but I'm back at work now and not sleeping and I've got no choice but to try the drug again.

Has anyone else had the experience with the drug which causes long term extreme drowsiness over days?

[BobbyDog]

You need to take it as prescribed for it to help long term with your anxiety. The daytime drowsiness is a starting side effect, but this does wear off...........perhaps 2 - 4 weeks, but everyone is different. Try taking it a little earlier in the evening, I take mine at 8pm.

[steamdriven]

Thanks for the advice. I'm really not forward to waiting that out, but I guess it's going to be no worse than the last three months.

[hanshan]

Some people sleep well the first night they take mirtazapine. Others take a week or so. It's not classed as a fast-acting drug like zopiclone, so you should take a regular amount each day (although increased drowsiness comes an hour or so after taking it).

The zombie feeling is common, but it usually starts to clear after a week or two and be gone in a month.

If nothing's been working up to now, I'd persist with the 15 mg a day until you can be sure it's working/not working. Oddly, for some people, increasing the dose can make them feel more alert.

Read the posts about weight gain, if that's a potential problem, and check that it doesn't affect your eating patterns.

[Mark13]

I certainly put a few days aside (no commitments) when I decide to start a new drug, just in case the side effects are severe.

I did that in 2007 when I started Mirtazapine, and I'm glad I did as it "zombied" me for several days, but I slept like a log.

The drowsiness wore off after that. Now it just makes me drowsy 1-2 hours after taking it - but it doesn't work if I'm not reasonably relaxed. If I'm agitated or stressed it doesn't help, but purely as an aid to sleep it a marvelous drug for me.