Mirtrazapine - I feel like a Zombie does this subside?

[Crysalis70]

I've recently completed detox but still taking Suboxone which I've reduced down to 4mg/day and I will be a month dry on the 25th. My situation is that after roughly a week (when my librium stopped) I started suffering with stress/anxiety. I went to my doctor complaining of a persistent throbbing headache which was so bad it would wake me up during the night. My doctor noted that my resting pulse was high 110 so prescribed me beta blockers, after two weeks the headaches were still the same so returned to the doctor who has now prescribed me Mirtazapine 15mg. I took my first tablet last night, slept for 13 hours, and even then I struggled to get out of bed! I've been walking around in a daze all day, have no motivation or energy. It feels like someone has taken my soul if that makes sense?

I would love to hear from anyone that has any experience with this drug. Oh yes, is it true that when taking Mirtazapine you will put on an excessive amount of weight and won't be able to shift it no matter what you do? This concerns me as I've already put on 21lbs since I've stopped drinking and using heroin/crack.

Look forward to hearing your experiences and/or advice.

 

[pally pete]

I've recently completed detox but still taking Suboxone which I've reduced down to 4mg/day and I will be a month dry on the 25th. My situation is that after roughly a week (when my librium stopped) I started suffering with stress/anxiety. I went to my doctor complaining of a persistent throbbing headache which was so bad it would wake me up during the night. My doctor noted that my resting pulse was high 110 so prescribed me beta blockers, after two weeks the headaches were still the same so returned to the doctor who has now prescribed me Mirtazapine 15mg. I took my first tablet last night, slept for 13 hours, and even then I struggled to get out of bed! I've been walking around in a daze all day, have no motivation or energy. It feels like someone has taken my soul if that makes sense?

I would love to hear from anyone that has any experience with this drug. Oh yes, is it true that when taking Mirtazapine you will put on an excessive amount of weight and won't be able to shift it no matter what you do? This concerns me as I've already put on 21lbs since I've stopped drinking and using heroin/crack.

Look forward to hearing your experiences and/or advice.

Mirtazapine is notorious for it sedative properties and it's ability to make you eat a lot and put on weight. I do believe for a lot of people the drowsiness your experiencing will lessen over time, but the big appetite will remain for as long as you are taking it.

Welcome to the board.

 

[Tromps]

I have been taking Mirtazapine for a couple years now, I take 60mg nightly (high dose I know!), and experienced all the side effects you describe at first. I can relate to the 'zombie' feeling and feeling drowsy all day, those side effects go away after a good month or two. Just because your doctor prescribed 15mg doesn't mean you can't split the dose in half and take 7.5mg if you think the side effects are overwhelming you. The lethargic and zombie feelings will go away, in my experience they did, and I believe it has helped with depression over the long term.

As for the appetite side effects, the above poster is correct and those won't go away (I only have the mirtazapine munchies for the few hours after I take my dose, but it should make you sleepy also so if you can go to sleep instead of being tempted to eat out your whole fridge it will make a big difference). Also that doesn't mean there aren't things you can do to combat that, exercise and a healthy diet (what kinds of foods are you eating) makes a huge impact. Don't reach for the cookies and soda, eat healthy foods (fruits and vegetables yada yada) as hard as it may be. Eating habits play an important role in your overall health anyways so I wouldn't be too worried about the appetite side effects unless you really can't eat anything besides junk food, and don't plan on excersie. I was skinny when I started taking mirtazapine, and with proper daily workouts, eating healthy, I haven't gained that much weight, except for muscle weight which is good for me anyways.

Hang in there, things will get better! And congratz on staying clean and deciding to live without the hard drugs, it sounds like you're already making good decisions and on a path to a happier and healthier life

 

[Toz]

I use these pills to sleep from time to time as I am a chronic insomniac. I find they lose their sedative effects as quickly as after a week or even a few days only. Then I have to switch to something else. Don't worry, these effects will subside quickly.

 

[pasha]

Mirtazapine has quite a vast pharcological profile. It's also quite a potent anti-histamine. Some people consider it a revelation for depression (which is considered a trigger in migraine attacks), others don't. Give it some time in order to adjust to the effects of the drugs as these kind of medications take time to provide benefit, and during that phase many people tend to experience paradoxical effects. If you're still unhappy, there's an array of drugs in the same class which you could discuss with your doctor.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

Tolerance to the sedation should happen pretty quickly, maybe within around a week or so it shouldn't make you feel so sedated and out of it any more.

As for weight gain, the primary way it is believed to cause weight gain is by making people feel hungrier/like they want to eat more, so if you keep that it mind, try not to eat more than usual and eat really healthy, have only healthy snacks on hand, etc that should decrease the likelihood of weight gain.

 

[thesameoldfears]

I've never taken that particular drug but I have been on a LOT of various antidepressants etc. I've found that if a drug is still making me sleepy the morning after taking it, I can't stay on it long enough to get past those side effects. I've had to quit several different drugs because I just couldn't wake up. But, even with the ones I tried to stay on and get used to the side effects, the sedation never went away. I've wasted weeks of my life unable to keep my eyes open.

One thing I wanted to add...when I got clean I had a very high resting pulse rate for a couple months afterwards. I was prescribed beta blockers, until I finally went to my GP who told me they could cause depression. Obviously that was the last thing I needed so I stopped taking them unless I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. I got a lot of tests done and ultimately it was determined the high pulse wasn't a big deal.

As for the weigh gain...this is absolutely an intolerable effect to me, and there are drugs out there that won't cause it. Though you have to expect to gain some weight as you get clean. But I read that mirtrazapine is used to treat feline anorexia so I'd say it will make you want to eat.