6 Weeks in on Mirtazapine, Not sure what to think.

[InThereSomewhere]

Hi, Hoping others have had something like the same experience i am facing now. (well i hope not) but anyway i will try to explain the best i can.

Been on Mirtazapine 30mg now for 6 weeks, mirt only, and about 4 weeks prior to that 15mg while tapering Escitalipram.

i have issues with panic attacks and anxiety, and have not really ventured far from home (more then a mile) in about 8 years. varying reasons, mostly the panic attacks and also having M.E, ibs and them aggravating each other, (vicious circle)

After having worsening side effects from taking Escitalipram 20mg sleep disturbance, clenching jaw, mood swings, and generally it only ever having kept me balanced enough not to be in a almost constant state of anxiety hence why it took me a while to bring things up with my doctor,

She decided we would try Mirt at 15mg to start an see how it goes, after a bearable withdrawal from Escitalipram and a brief episode of extreme agitation and mood swings, i was switched to Mirt 30mg.

i had a brief 2 weeks while on 30mg mirt that everything was turned around, i felt great, i was sleeping at the correct times but also getting good sleep something that i have not managed for a very long time. getting up in the morning, being bothered to have a wash, wanted and had breakfast for the first time in years finally had a appetite.

Then the stomach problems started, and i would constantly need to goto the toilet, and for want of a better description it was as close to diarrhea as you can get without actually having it with the very feel sensation of needing to go right now , every single day.

I am now still like that just not quite as bad,

However the last few days had that horrible foggy agitated feeling for no reason what so ever, said to my partner its like i cant relax again. sleeping troubles are back, the restless legs when i first took mirt seam to have appeared to turned into restless whole body, which seriously feels like my body wants to break dance just as im nearly asleep, and a incredibly itchy feeling also not long before falling asleep.

Then tonight while nipping to the bus stop just round the corner to meet my partner and daughter from the bus, it was all back, felt very anxious again, and has taken me a good hour from flipping between anxious and panicking to actually calm down. still do not feel quite right.

i could ring the doctors, but know she will immediately suggest upping to 45mg of mirtazapine as she already said this is a option should i feel i need it, but im cautious about upping something that seamed to work like a miracle at first and allowed me to start working through some of my issues. to suddenly having the complete opposite effect.

maybe i ran before i could walk, maybe its a blip, at a loss of what to do next and how long i should hang in there to see how it goes before making a decision.

Thanks for reading, maybe someone has had the same experience or similar

InThereSomewhere.

[nutty nic]

Hi
I started mirtazapine 6 weeks ago. I had terrible anxiety for in 2013/14 and after a lot of trial and error finally started to feel better on Venlafaxine. I stayed on the ven until tapering off completely in July 2016. Unfortunately a very stressful time resulted in the anxiety returning with a vengeance in October last year. My doctor put me back on the ven but for whatever reason (who really understands the workings of the human brain?) it didnt work for me this time around. So I was prescribed 15mg mirt and like you I started to feel better almost overnight - slept properly, appetite was back and generally felt like normal.
However, this weekend for no apparent reason I started to feel wobbly again - agitated, disturbed sleep and worrying that it's all going to go downhill again.
At the moment I'm telling myself it's just a setback as I had a similar experience about 2 months into the ven first time around. The doctor incresed the dose then but it made me feel worse so I cut back to my initial dose and after another couple of months things settled back down.
I have diazepam if I need it but I'm trying to resist taking it as I feel that if I "give in" and take it I'm effectively giving the anxiety feelings too much acknowledgement and it will probably then increase.
I've read extensively on all medications as i don't take them lightly (I would really prefer to recover without them but acceptance for me is difficult without a little help to balance the chemicals in my brain) and I think that setbacks are a normal part of recovery even on medication. I have a routine review appointment with my gp tomorrow so will be guided by her as she is very understanding, really takes time to listen to me and doesn't just have the attitude of "just up the dose". I'll let you know how it goes but in the meantime I think you should stick with it and hold off upping the dose if you can.
As we've both recently started mirt we could share our experiences and encourage each other!
Take care
Nicola x

[Shazamataz]

Hi there. I tried Mirtazapine after having issues with citalopram. I became very depressed because I'd had such bad anxiety for an extended period. Initially I also thought it helped but only with my mood. It barely touched the anxiety. I've ended up on venlafaxine and didn't get the nasty side effects as citalopram (I'd tried a couple of other SSRIs as well).

To be honest, my experience is that Mirt doesn't really do anything apart from make you eat and put on weight :(

[toothless]

Hi, I have been on mirtazapine for nearly 8 months, I found in the beginning the sedative effect and appetite stimulating made me feel so much better as my symptoms of anxiety included insomnia and nausea, I did experience a few set backs at first, one where I increased from 15mg to 30mg and I just rode the rest out and I have been fine for three months now.

I kept a diary in the beginning and noticed my set backs coincided with my menstrual cycle but this has got better too.

Blips are hard to cope with and at times I wondered at an increase or change of meds but things have settled for me so it maybe worth seeing how you go.

[Mindprison]

I second Shazamataz in that mirtazapine has done nothing for me except made me put on a ton of weight and get a slightly better sleep than I normally would. It's done absolutely nothing for my anxiety however.

[InThereSomewhere]

What a wild ride this turned out to be. I have been meaning to update this for a long time.

This stuff despite its early but short lived success, felt like it dam near killed me.

Stomach problems worsened dose was reduced and I was given citalipram to take alongside. ( which I quickly discontinued again due to same side effects as with escitalipram coming back )

stayed on reduced dose of mirt at 15mg for a while, Had extreme anger issues. I have never ever had rage like that its pretty scary looking back.

Stomach issues persisted but not as bad as when I was on 30mg so decided to lower the dose again to 7.5mg and stomach issues became just about bearable. I continued at 7.5mg for a long time. Was helping me sleep and stomach was almost normal, things were not great, I wasn't better, but it was bearable.

Then things started to get even worse. Stomach issues came back. I felt like I had the flu all the time, just completely and utterly drained honestly felt I was ready to drop dead, I don't mean a sedated feeling, I mean a body failing feeling. My whole stomach/gut was painful and swollen, I was getting liver pain, my heart was racing almost all the time. My vision kept going weird, almost like a white out I just could not see properly. My memory had become terrible and I felt like I was struggling to string sentences together. Lots of agitation and moments of feeling like I could not control my temperature feeling hot.



I am 2/3 weeks free and all these side effects are now easing off. I feel much better. Had some WD issues, couple days/nights of having waves of feeling rather sick, some itching but thankfully these did not last very long at all.

While all that was happening I was arguing with my doctor about needing more help and please do not re/refer me to CBT as the people they were referring me to could not accommodate someone who could not leave the house hardly.

I finally managed to get my self referred to the community mental health team after fighting the doctor once again that you cant self refer and the doctor insisting i can, i think in the end the CMHT rang the doctors and asked why they were giving the wrong information out. I have since seen a OT psychiatric nurse and psychiatrist at home and will have regular appointments with my OT.

Psychiatrist has recommended aripiprazole after a couple more weeks to see how I am longer term coming off the mirtazipine. I am really unsure, the side effects from mirt were really scary, and the listed side effects for aripiprazole sound so much worse sudden death in some and risk of phychosis in those that have not previously shown symptoms of phychosis.

He also suggested we could try pregabalin.

Not sure what to think.

Going to have a full check up, ecg etc to at home to check on things as I have been having heart pain, feeling like passing out etc.

Other then all that, im very glad to be off of mirtazipine