!st day after taking 15mg of mirt.

[hanshan]

Hi Sledgehammer,

It seems clear that one 15 mg tablet by itself will not put you to sleep. That's compounding your anxiety - you actually seem to be more anxious in bed than out of it. Plus the mirtazapine is making you drowsy that lasts for twelve hours or more.

A couple of issues here. The daytime drowsiness is a start-up side-effect which usually disappears after a week or so if you persist.

Furthermore, increasing the dose can actually reduce drowsiness, but still help sleep. It's worth a try. You can go up to 45 mg a day.

Finally, mirtazapine doesn't always work well for anxiety, so it may useful to try / add something else, like pregabalin. I had really bad sleep problems - multiple awakenings per night with jolts of anxiety, but a combination of mirtazapine (45 mg) and pregabalin has me sleeping well. However, as Keggsy says, some people just sleep worse than others, and it's not a cure-all. Good luck.

[SmilingAlbert]

Yes keep with it. Mirt is not a sleeping pill per se. But it should help in the round. Keep with it for a bit - it is highly effective for many people: and if it works, you will rediscover your life, believe you me. Good luck and best wishes,

Albert

[sledgehammer]

Hi,

Just a check in. Sorry, I didn't follow the advice given, my problem being that I can suffer from relaxation induced anxiety, it's not that common, but it has been brought on before by sedating medications and meditation, (apparently a 1/2 % percent of people trying meditation can get these types of symptoms, and it definitely triggers it for me). So, I've been taking propranolol during the day, just 10 mg twice a day, and not taking it in the evenings as it can block certain sleep inducing receptors. I feel better during the day physically, but tend to worry about what I'm going to face in the evenings, double edged sword, I brought on a full scale anxiety attack last night, was one step away from going to my neighbours door to get them to call an ambulance, I thought I was going to pass out, my head was full and all around my head and mouth were numb, anxiety symptoms of course, but I thought I was having a stroke/heart attack, or had a brain tumor, it lasted a good 45 mins, and I couldn't even hold my phone properly to dial 999, I am of course glad I didn't. I started tidying the house, (was on my own), and did a lot of self talk, and went for a walk with the dog for 1/2 hour, (felt really wobbly on my feet with vertigo), even though it was pissing with rain, and finally settled down. I'm taking a positive from this though, I didn't pass out, I obviously didn't have a serious physical problem, and this all affirms that it is surely panic/anxiety driven, I can use this to let go next time it happens, surely I'm getting rid of something pent up, surely this is better than trying to suppress it, I can totally handle this, it's not my body, it's my mind/chemical reactions/hormones etc. interacting with my body and producing panic/anxiety. I'm not going to fight this anymore, I'm going to let them pass, and make my excuses in certain situations, better diet, more exercise, and something to focus on that is enjoyable, along with the CBT.
Thanks for the replies, I truly am grateful, and in no way was I being dismissive, I never give you guys the low down on my problem with relaxation induced anxiety and how some sedating medications can set it off, I've talked to my CBT counsellor about it, and he said he has helped a few people with it before, and we can tailor something that can help me get over this, my next appointment is tomorrow, I'm actually looking forward to it, then some exercise in the early evening. I have a second GP appointment too to discuss my medication, I'm going to get my wrist slapped I think!

Thanks.

[wnsos]

Whenever I hear the words looking forward used in conjunction here I get really happy. Hold on to that and you'll be on the mend, I reckon. xxx I did a bit of jumping around randomly yesterday to see if I could work off a few of my ailments and at the time, even a tiny bit of exercise was oddly addictive.

[secretsquirrel]

Hi everyone - thought I'd join in here as it's an active thread rather than starting a new one, hope that's OK - it'd be great to be able to chat and share mutual support.

I'm taking mirtazapine for depression and anxiety. I've been gradually increasing my dose - had a week on 15mg, then a few weeks on 30mg. But I was still having lots of very tired days and feeling depressed, so the doc put me up to 45mg last week.
I'm feeling kind of fed up that I've not really had much lift in my mood yet, and am still feeling very tired a lot of the time. I know it takes a while to work, but I had hoped something would have kicked in by now. I'm now a bit concerned that it might not work for me at all and I'll have to wean off and start all over again on something else. But perhaps I'm just being impatient.
I'm starting counselling next week, which I hope might help things move on a bit.
Anyway... hope everyone's having an OK day xx

[hanshan]

Hi Secretsquirrel,

It might be better to start a new thread for your own situation, if you are not directly responding to Sledgehammer, but please feel free to chat and share your thoughts.

You don't say how long you have been taking mirtazapine. It is actually one of the faster acting ADs, with some people responding within a week. If you need the full dose, you may be slower to respond, but if you've been more than four weeks at the full dose (45 mg per day - but some people take 60 mg or even 90 mg), it might be time to consider more options.

If you feel it's doing some good but is not fully successful by itself, it's possible to combine it another AD or a medication like pregabalin. That way, you don't have to come off it, but it's two meds you are taking. Some people are quite comfortable with this, others not (I take mirtazapine and pregabalin, which together work okay for me).

[spamvicious]

This is interesting because I took 15mg for the first time last night. I took it at 9pm and by 9:45pm my eyes were rolling back in my head and I was staggering. I went to bed at 10pm and was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Today has been pretty horrible, I woke up at 10am and tried to get up but I couldn't keep my eyes open, I reluctantly went back to sleep and was woken at 2pm. I had to splash cold water on my face to get up, i've been feeling like a zombie all day. Luckily I'm not working at the moment cos this is ridiculous.

[hanshan]

Hi spamvicious,

It seems you have been hit particularly badly by mirtazapine's sleep inducing qualities. It does get less in time, but can take a week or two to become completely manageable.

Good luck with it.