Mirtazapine Chemistry Question

[nyboy]

I have studied chemistry only in the 11th grade, I am otherwise fairly well educated. With that said, I have no idea how to interpret the following:

Mirtazapine is a potent antagonist at the following receptors: H1 (~0.75 nM) > 5-HT2A (~10 nM) = 5-HT2C (~10 nM) = 5-HT3 (~10 nM) > α2-adrenergic (~100 nM).[72][73][74][75][76] It also has weak but clinically negligible affinity as an antagonist for the following sites: 5-HT2B receptor (~350 nM) > α1-adrenergic receptor (~500 nM) > muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) (~1000 nM) > norepinephrine transporter (NET) (~1250 nM).

I suffer from severe obstructive sleep apnea and have been diagnosed for 22 months. I use CPAP reluctantly. I recently read with great interest the following two articles.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200306/pill-sleep-apnea
http://www.journalsleep.org/Articles/300105.pdf

Up until recently I have been thinking my sleep apnea a function of weight gain - in 8 years I've gone from 198 lbs to 255. For your information I am 6'3. My hypothesis has been reinforced by my primary care physician - a sports medicine doctor - who said that I may be able to completely eliminate my apnea by loosing 60 lbs.

I also recently read with great interest the following two articles:

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorder...202/ecstasy-linked-sleep-apnea?src=RSS_PUBLIC

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/50266/title/The_apnea_and_the_ecstasy

I have grown concerned that my ecstasy use may have lead to sleep apnea and I am terribly curious to know whether Mirtazapine might help. In the reading I've done about Mirtazapine I've learned that weight gain is common and significant. I DO NOT want to gain weight.

My question for those who may understand the chemistry of Mirtazapine: Are there other drugs which you hypothesize might affect sleep apnea and that might also lead to weight loss?

Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

[seep]

I have studied chemistry only in the 11th grade, I am otherwise fairly well educated. With that said, I have no idea how to interpret the following:

Mirtazapine is a potent antagonist at the following receptors: H1 (~0.75 nM) > 5-HT2A (~10 nM) = 5-HT2C (~10 nM) = 5-HT3 (~10 nM) > α2-adrenergic (~100 nM).[72][73][74][75][76] It also has weak but clinically negligible affinity as an antagonist for the following sites: 5-HT2B receptor (~350 nM) > α1-adrenergic receptor (~500 nM) > muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) (~1000 nM) > norepinephrine transporter (NET) (~1250 nM).

This is a coded message. It means THIS WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE HAS MORE REFERENCES THAN JUPITER.

They're IC50s. The lower the number, the more potent the drug's antagonist effect at that receptor. nM means nanomoles.

My dad has the same diagnosis and uses the same device.

Mirtazapine will give you the munchies, bad. Try trazodone.

 

[seep]

also, in a few years you may be able to obtain %)%)%)%) almorexant %)%)%)%)

 

[seep]

lol, yeah, it's a pet obsession of mine.

On paper it sounds like the optimal hypnotic, if not the ultimate overall supplement. Intended specifically to increase the quality of sleep, instead of the quantity. Precipitation and lengthening of REM sleep. Memory consolidation and (healthy) reinforcement. Metabolic tweaking so that you do not crave excessive food during the day and are energized and cheerful. Makes mice decrease or discontinue ethanol and cocaine self-administration. Dreams several degrees of magnitude more extravagant than anything mirtazapine can stitch together.

(dreams confirmed in humans, not in mice)

Did you read the review in NATURE that I uploaded? It's linked to in the O'Shaugnessy couplet in the melatonin thread.

Edit: I'm not talking to myself here. The post I'm responding to disappeared.

 

[nyboy]

Thank you rocknroll714. Thank you seep. I appreciate both your responses. If only I could walk over to Walgreens and get some Trazodone I would be ready for my experiment! I wonder how my Primary Care Physician will respond when I ask him to prescribe. I have never before asked for a prescription by name. Is it appropriate? I'm also wondering if I should inform him of my ecstasy use. I suppose he's required to keep it confidential. hmm...

 

[seep]

Thank you rocknroll714. Thank you seep. I appreciate both your responses. If only I could walk over to Walgreens and get some Trazodone I would be ready for my experiment! I wonder how my Primary Care Physician will respond when I ask him to prescribe. I have never before asked for a prescription by name. Is it appropriate? I'm also wondering if I should inform him of my ecstasy use. I suppose he's required to keep it confidential. hmm...

Trazodone is unscheduled and non-addictive. Its off-label scripting for sleep disorders is very common. R&R makes a good point for weight reduction via phentermine or sibutramine, but a PCP is less likely to prescribe those.

Here's a full text version of the article R&R linked to.

Here's another that is critical of trazodone as a treatment for OSA but suggests other biological treatments.

I honestly love wikipedia's didgeridoo idea. I'm gonna get one for my dad.

 

[panic_the_digital]

^not to mention that insurance will likely not cover either of the above-mentioned weight-loss drugs.

 

[seep]

^not to mention that insurance will likely not cover either of the above-mentioned weight-loss drugs.

Protriptyline is probably cheap. It has a good history w/r/t sleep apnea and since it has stimulant qualities, it'll possibly help you lose weight.

How does this thing not knock you the fuck out does anybody know: