Mental Health extremely depressed, temporary remeron dose increase?

[hydroazuanacaine]

i’ve been waking up with so many stones on my chest. it takes me hours to get out of bed. i have to force it in stages. like making myself move to the couch. turning on heat. getting dressed. reading something. then finally to get outside and run any errand.

i’ve always been depressed, but sometimes it comes in really bad waves like this. it’s hurting me. ripping open or crushing me.

i’m prescribed remeron / mirtazapine as an antidepressant. i have no idea if it works. i’m scripted 30mgs but only take 15mgs. i used to take 22.5mgs but cut that back a few months ago because i don’t know if it’s actually doing anything helpful.

could upping my dose to 22.5mgs or even 30mgs potentially help at all right now? even if it helped me eat. the depression is starving me. or would it take weeks for the dose increase to have effects like it takes time to first start working?

i can’t ask my psychiatrist about this. he didn’t start me on remeron and doesn’t like it and if i killed myself he’d shake his head and fill the appointment slot. all he’s good for is writing scripts, which is useful and fortunate enough.

right now i don’t know what to do. i know it has to get better, but i can’t bare it any longer. and i’m afraid of it getting worse. the stones on my chest never went away today. even after a walk. i’m afraid when i wake up tomorrow they’ll be even heavier.

thanks

edit:
this isn’t unusual. it happens from time to time. i know it doesn’t last, though i’m not sure to what extent i make it go away or it just goes away. knowing it goes away only helps so much, especially when sometimes it gets even worse first. knowing it will end sometime is only so helpful when being ripped open.

 

[nuttynutskin]

I thought it was more of a mood stabilizer but I'm not sure. It started working pretty quickly for me, like within a few days and made me a bit drowsy. I think it helped my mood a bit but I don't really know how well it would've worked for crippling depression. I quit taking it relatively soon because it was causing sleep paralysis and catastrophic dreams. That's about all I can remember because this was quite a few years ago.

 

[mr peabody]

i’ve been waking up with so many stones on my chest. it takes me hours to get out of bed. i have to force it in stages. like making myself move to the couch. turning on heat. getting dressed. reading something. then finally to get outside and run any errand.

i’ve always been depressed, but sometimes it comes in really bad waves like this. it’s hurting me. ripping open or crushing me.

i’m prescribed remeron / mirtazapine as an antidepressant. i have no idea if it works. i’m scripted 30mgs but only take 15mgs. i used to take 22.5mgs but cut that back a few months ago because i don’t know if it’s actually doing anything helpful.

could upping my dose to 22.5mgs or even 30mgs potentially help at all right now? even if it helped me eat. the depression is starving me. or would it take weeks for the dose increase to have effects like it takes time to first start working?

i can’t ask my psychiatrist about this. he didn’t start me on remeron and doesn’t like it and if i killed myself he’d shake his head and fill the appointment slot. all he’s good for is writing scripts, which is useful and fortunate enough.

right now i don’t know what to do. i know it has to get better, but i can’t bare it any longer. and i’m afraid of it getting worse. the stones on my chest never went away today. even after a walk. i’m afraid when i wake up tomorrow they’ll be even heavier.

thanks

edit:
this isn’t unusual. it happens from time to time. i know it doesn’t last, though i’m not sure to what extent i make it go away or it just goes away. knowing it goes away only helps so much, especially when sometimes it gets even worse first. knowing it will end sometime is only so helpful when being ripped open.

Dearest H,
So sorry for your troubles. I don't know if it could help you, but kava sure looks interesting. Maybe have a look at the (3) articles about that here:

ANXIETY | +70 articles

Hemp Elixir: A natural product for reducing stress and anxiety* by Juno Sisoian | Entheonation Amma Elevate Hemp Elixir is a fantastic option for anyone who is looking for natural products for reducing stress and anxiety that can be added to any beverage! Alcohol has long been the household...

www.bluelight.org

Maybe it's worth a try.
Kindest regards,
pb

 

[EphemeralOutlet141]

I was on Remeron for a bit after I couldn't do Seroquel anymore. I personally never got anything but lethargy out of either. You mentioned this happens from time to time, maybe look into medication geared more towards bipolar? One of the only meds that ever helped with my depression was given to me ostensibly for bipolar disorder, Lamictal.

Just my own personal experience as we sound like we have some overlap in our treatments. If this kind of suggestion is against the rules (I don't remember the policy on suggestions like this I'm sorry) please let me know mods.

 

[Noodle473]

Kava has definitely helped me through some short term anxiety and depression. It rid my mind of certain foreboding inhibitions for at least a couple of hours, maybe more, and it does not hurt to take more after that. N Acetyl-Cysteine might help too. There's a new moon coming on February 24th. It's a good time to start thinking about a plan for self-care.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

Yes, please take what you're prescribed for what it's there for.

I'm sure that there are people whom care a lot for your well-being!

Otherwise, there is a lot of hope because there are a ton of antidepressants of several classes that could help. They can take several weeks to work, depending.

Past that, maybe you could see if you qualify for ketamine treatment.

Do you know of anything that might make things worse? Like maybe the season? A bad breakup? Sometimes this sort of thing can be triggered by a negative life event.

Bottom line is you being functional. Tending to yourself wholly and entirely. So, if you're not eating much, something is off. And I'd like your doctor know about all of this, hard as it may be, because that's how they might know what best to give you, and at the proper dose!

Please keep us updated.

 

[JTemperance]

What's that other drug that is combined with mirtazapine for the "California Rocket Fuel" (lol) cocktail? I want to say venlafaxine. Any chance your psychiatrist would think Effexor may be indicated too, by your doctor's analysis?

I think getting energy to face life is a big part of what constitutes an "antidepressant" effect. Personally, I found higher dose venlafaxine decent, though it gave me bad hypnagogic jerks through the night above like 300mg. I think the whole idea of "California Rocket Fuel" is that the synergy between venlafaxine and mirtazapine is more stimulating than most antidepressant regimen.

Even better, in terms of quick effect, was buproprion in my experience. Could you try adding that? I enjoyed the "get-up-and-go" it gave me at 450mg, even if it did make me a little edgy and worsen anxiety (though my heavy benzo prescriptions at the time kept it under control). It also made me cut down on cigarettes quite a lot.

 

[Quickfixgrrl]

I tried Mirtazapine on 2 separate occasions.. gave 30mg each time 3 months a chance to work and it did absolutely nothing. Like Nutty said, the intense/ crazy and long winded dreams were terrible.
I have since switched to Seroquel in combination with Effexor and for the first time in years I am feeling positive results (previously tried Lexapro and then Zoloft to no avail).
*Edit - please don't play doctor* I know we all respond differently, but I can't praise Effexor enough.
I hear you regarding the stones on your chest.. although I refer to it as the anvil

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

^They were mostly in compliance, but I changed things a bit.

Yeah, California Rocket Fuel is Effexor and Remeron.

Remeron is an atypical, sometimes called tetracyclic. Wikipedia lists a chart for it, which may be off or not. Quite a scattershot, it seems. Unique profile.

I'd say it can work for both sleep and depression without lowering libido as much as SSRIs/SNRIs can. Apparently some find it useful for the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, probably by virtue of it's widespread effects on certain serotonin receptors, likely 5-HT2a. Lowering activity.

And, perhaps, to lower drug cravings, even meth. That's big, because there isn't official indicated SRT like there is ORT (methadone and sub). Cool stuff.

 

[tukabirdy]

I tried Mirtazapine on 2 separate occasions.. gave 30mg each time 3 months a chance to work and it did absolutely nothing. Like Nutty said, the intense/ crazy and long winded dreams were terrible.
I have since switched to Seroquel in combination with Effexor and for the first time in years I am feeling positive results (previously tried Lexapro and then Zoloft to no avail).
*Edit - please don't play doctor* I know we all respond differently, but I can't praise Effexor enough.
I hear you regarding the stones on your chest.. although I refer to it as the anvil

Hey there, can you talk about your experience with seroquel? I'm just seeking info, would like to hear about it.

 

[tukabirdy]

Hydro, I'm sorry you are hurting. On days like these...do you have anyone you can go hang with? I spend a lot of time by myself at home. Even going to the store is a stretch. But I asked a friend to watch movies tomorrow. I might even change my clothes!
Do you have any furry friends? Mine keep me alive.
As far as the mirth, why doesn't the shrink like the Med? How long have you been on it? I have heard that 30 is the sweet spot for those who respond. What else do you take?
Just know that i feel your weight and I hope you can turn a corner soon.

 

[Quickfixgrrl]

Hey there, can you talk about your experience with seroquel? I'm just seeking info, would like to hear about it.

I had been suffering from extreme/ debilitating anxiety and depression; I ended up losing my job last year as I was unable to work or function normally. I was living each moment in despair. I found a doctor who took me off of the anti depressant I'd been on for 3 years and she (having 30 years psychiatric background) swapped me over to an SNRI, Effexor (had no results with SSRIs) and changed me over from Mirtazapine to Seroquel as a mood stabilizer and sleep aide.
I started on a very low dose at first, just 27.5mg per night. After a week that was upped to 100mg per night. After another 2-3 weeks I felt a definite improvement but was still far from better.. so I added another 100mg for the mornings, too.
Overall I find my current combination has pulled me out of the dark pit I was in. The only side effect I've experienced from Seroquel is weight gain (which sucks, but I'll take it rather than risk falling back into the depths again).
The mornings can be hard as it makes me extremely drowsy and I often find it hard to stay awake for the day. I'm still not quite ready to start work again, but the difference from where I was 5 months to now is enormous. I still have days where I struggle, but I can at least get out of bed, my all day panic has ceased and I feel somewhat happy again.

 

[tukabirdy]

Well I damn sure hope it lasts. Thank you for the input.

 

[hydroazuanacaine]

all these replies meant a lot to me. i read them all. the moral support and empathy was very helpful. that's all i really have to say. now that i'm not in the throughs of deep depression, it's to difficult to look back on it. i know it will come again. i don't wanna torture myself during this period of respite by mulling over the darkness.

to the people who mentioned bipolar. yes, i've been diagnosed with that. along with just about every other mental illness in the books. these psychs just throw out diagnoses and scripts until something sticks. i hate that game. i know i'm mentally ill. i don't necessarily believe there is a true line between bipolar and unipolar depression, nor ocd and gad. i have them both. i'm mentally ill. these ultra specific labels are false constructs, in my opinion. it doesn't matter if i have ocd or gad because they are the same thing. same with bipolar and unipolar. what's the difference between bipolar and unipolar that comes in waves? nothing. you could say mania, but everyone who is severely mentally ill gets a little manic from time to time.

i'm not manic at the moment, but i am self medicating with illicitly purchased drugs in addition to my psych scripts. i know that's bad news. at least i haven't gone back to crack and heroin (sometimes i do). i'm gonna try to figure it out. long as i don't hurt myself or anyone else, i get to keep on fighting. i'm not gonna kill myself and i'm not gonna hurt my fellow human being. so i'll fight this until i win, lose, or get hit by a bus, cancer, lightening, or whatever.

 

[nuttynutskin]

A mental health diagnosis is definitely not full proof I don't think, but there's definitely differences between the disorders you listed. I hear what you're saying tho. I was diagnosed with like 4 or 5 different things, but I definitely took it with a grain of salt. What matters is how you're currently feeling.

 

[tukabirdy]

all these replies meant a lot to me. i read them all. the moral support and empathy was very helpful. that's all i really have to say. now that i'm not in the throughs of deep depression, it's to difficult to look back on it. i know it will come again. i don't wanna torture myself during this period of respite by mulling over the darkness.

to the people who mentioned bipolar. yes, i've been diagnosed with that. along with just about every other mental illness in the books. these psychs just throw out diagnoses and scripts until something sticks. i hate that game. i know i'm mentally ill. i don't necessarily believe there is a true line between bipolar and unipolar depression, nor ocd and gad. i have them both. i'm mentally ill. these ultra specific labels are false constructs, in my opinion. it doesn't matter if i have ocd or gad because they are the same thing. same with bipolar and unipolar. what's the difference between bipolar and unipolar that comes in waves? nothing. you could say mania, but everyone who is severely mentally ill gets a little manic from time to time.

i'm not manic at the moment, but i am self medicating with illicitly purchased drugs in addition to my psych scripts. i know that's bad news. at least i haven't gone back to crack and heroin (sometimes i do). i'm gonna try to figure it out. long as i don't hurt myself or anyone else, i get to keep on fighting. i'm not gonna kill myself and i'm not gonna hurt my fellow human being. so i'll fight this until i win, lose, or get hit by a bus, cancer, lightening, or whatever.

I really like your state of mind here in this post. I remind myself every time I get in a Fucking funk is to tell myself over and OVER.....these are hormones, brain chemicals, etc, that are not doing the job right....that it's NOT the real me.
Reading that post actually made me feel bunches better. Thank you!

 

[jose ribas da silva]

bear in mind that there is no medicine that works without true attitudes in terms of identifying and changing the roots of the problems. I know, easier said than done, that's why is so difficult to beat depression.. sometimes the roots are hard to surpass such as grounded bad emotions, financial problems, living in a small and boring city, so on, unfortunately, based on my experience, I have never seen a totally effective medicine/drug, a miraculously one, the happiness pill, cannabis is the one that works better for me. SSRI and similars as well as benzos are effective to solve panic, in the long term, the effects are not so pronounced as they were in the beginning, which may be a frustration. Ask your doctor about quetiapine, it may be an option, when nothing was working, it worked well for me (I would stick to very low doses 12,5 or 25 mg)

 

[jose ribas da silva]

So have you ever tried other medications?

mirtazapine is an old school antidepressant, tetracyclic antidepressant, this class has more collateral effects than the modern ones, I don't know, perhaps you can try to take a modern medicament.. but.. I am not a doctor, you can talk about this to the doctor, why are you taking an old-school medicament, stuff like that. Effexor and desvenlafexine are theoretically modern, pharmacologically speaking... sadly, in psychiatry, medicaments seems to be a trial and error approach nonetheless