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Mirtazapine (Remeron) and weight gain

psychedelicious

psychedelicious

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Joined
Nov 19, 2005
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I was just prescribed mirtazapine for anxiety recently and learned of its weight-gain side effect. As a 130 lbs male (18 yrs old), what should I expect? I am a vegetarian and a pretty slim dude. I'm thinking about going on a bulk/shed cycle soon, so gaining some weight isn't necessarily something I am opposed to, but if mirtazapine usually causes fat (vs muscle) gain, well, bleh.


Is the weight gain cause by a simple increased appetite or slowed metabolism or what?


Thanks in advance.
 
when i used it i gained about 10% body weight. I started looking slightly chubby, which I never had. Yep, huge appetite, and I think also sloaed metabolism cos I was pretty chilled-out while on it - slowed me right down. Stopped it for a number of other unwanted side-effects though.
 
it gives you the munchies, not unlike marijuana. i gained weight on it, and had mad cravings for sugar
 
I gained 10 lb but noticed no increase in appetite or volume of food intake.
I hope it doesn't get any worse. :)

ebola
 
the question is does it work for your anxiety? if u start gaining weight start exercising more :)
 
Hmm, I gained quite a lot of weight during mirtazepine treatment and then beyond. The one thing that stopped the weight gain was the anorexia caused by starting a cycle of fluoxetine. That side-effect has sort of worn off, though I must force myself to eat sometimes, or smoke copious amounts of pot.

As to whether mirtazepine stops or redues anxiety, the anwer, for me, was not really. I felt quite devoid of life and sedaqted a lot of the time, but I still went through some intense panic. At times, I still could not eat though
 
When I was on Remeron I slept 16 hours a day and ate all 8 I was awake. I gained 30 pounds in a month. All fat.

Fuck. That. Shit.

I've experienced Effexor withdrawal, and I preferred that to what Remeron did to me... :p They actually use it to treat anorexia because of what it does.
 
>>if u start gaining weight start exercising more>>

Kinda hard for me (began doing 7 hours of intensive aerobics per week).

ebola
 
^ It also doesn't necessarily slow the weight gain - it didn't for me, anyway. I went from not exercising at all to running 5km 4-5 times a week and I still got fat. I watched what I ate as well.

10kg later I got fed up and stopped taking it.
 
I gained 16 lbs in less than 6 weeks. I was eating less and running 40 miles a week. So, it was definitely due to metabolism in my case.
 
I was on it for about 3 months and gained alot of weight, like 30 pounds, but at the time I was working out and trying to increase my size, it was some muscle and alot of fat too.

Im not sure if it directly affects metabolism, but it did increase my appetite immensely, I had the munchies most of the time I was awake.

But I got other nasty side effects, like really vivid dreams, and I could never fall asleep properly, I was always tired, gave me suicidal thoughts constantly.
 
some people like it.
some don't.
I think the 10 lb I gained aren't very problematic, given my prior size.
It depends on what works for you.

ebola
 
I'm on it right now and I've noticed some of those appetite increasing effects, intense cravings for sugars and carbohydrates, as well as the slowed metabolism.

I think the first week was the worst due to the sugar cravings (I remember drinking 8 cups of hot chocolate on the second day of the treatment), but then after the first week it slowly started to get better. Now the sugar and carbohydrate cravings are going away and my appetite is returning back to normal. I've definitely gained some weight (about 3lbs so far) but that's due to the fact that I pigged out on the food consumption in the first three weeks of the treatment.

The other problem is sleeping - I sleep at least 12 hours a day and I feel like TOTAL SHIT if I don't sleep AT LEAST 11 hours. I hate that. I have to go to bed at 6pm the previous night if I want to wake up at 6am the next morning for work. Just totally blows. But I'm benefiting from Remeron, so I'll put up with the side effects for a bit more and see it they don't get any better...
 
I love its effects on my sleep.
I can now get 7 hours of sleep consecutively, and they feel just as restful. I also get more vivid dreams.

ebola
 
I may echo many things already said in this thread, but. . .

Remeron was great for my sleep. It also seemed to help with anxiety. However, I had very strong craving for sweets and carbs while on it and gained about 20 pounds. I don't think it has this effect on everyone though. You'll probably realize fairly soon if you are feeling food cravings, and if you are you can always return to your doctor to try a different medication before it gets out of hand. . .
 
I haven't slept this well in at least four years. Still not sleeping more than 4 hours without waking up, but this is still better than not sleeping at all. I've got quite an appetite, but it's not really that big of a deal - I can deal with it. I am less anxious and feeling more at peace with things around me. I had a glass of wine and then some gin the other day - was that a mistake or what. I drank enough to put me in a warm place, but I know now how much mirtazapine potentiates alcohol.

Thanks for the comments.
 
ive been on this for 2 months now and ive put on 1 stone !!! it works tho i aint half a anxieous as i was plus i needed to put on weight so....
 
I also gained weight on it, like 50 pounds but it came right off after I stopped taking it. My appetite dropped to like 800 calories a day after I quit. I just didn't feel like eating. The appetite gain is like 100x more powerful than it is from smoking pot.

Another benefit is that I can wake up to alarm clocks now. I never could when I was taking it.

One negative about quitting remeron is the sleep disorder it has given me. It's called delayed sleep phase syndrome and it's destroying my life.
 
^ Has your doctor confirmed that it was caused by remeron? Delayed sleep phase disorder involves a disruption of circadian rhythms and I've never heard of it being caused by an antidepressant medication.
 
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