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Guidance Please....??

Posted , 10 users are following.

8484fran
8484fran

Okay here goes. I've been reading the threads on this site for many months and have found everyone to be encouraging and knowledgeable but I'm unable to find an answer about long term mirtazapine use and how it helps, rather than it's hundreds of side effects! Please enlighten me... 

So quick background (as quick as I can anyway!) 

I have been depressed about a year but only addressed it just after Xmas when I found I couldn't cope anymore. 

After being stubborn about meds for a couple of months I was prescribed citalopram in March and at first it was amazing. I couldn't believe how happy I was I'd forgotten what that felt like nothing seemed to bother me or get me down it was fab (I've since thought this might have been a 'mania high' side effect I have just hoped not ha!) 

Anyway this sustained for a couple months then I crashed and slowly went back downhill to a point where I didn't see the point in taking the pills anymore. I assumed I'd just have my dosage upped (I was on 20mg which I think is low) but the doctor switched me to sertraline 50mg. This was about a month ago. 

I was on them for about 2 weeks with no sleep at all, I've never had insomnia like it felt like a zombie all day but too alert to sleep at night. My depressive symptoms didn't seem to subside either but I figured it was early days for that. 

I went back to doc on Monday didn't see my regular doc as on leave and I thought maybe I'd get something to help me sleep but she switched me to 15mg mirtazapine instead.

My sleep has improved I'm sleeping through the night which is great and yesterday I was up and about and I went out for a swim and felt good but today I woke from 10 hours sleep still feeling tired, on edge, irritable, slept two more hours then still felt the same had another hour and I've woken up still feeling miserable, groggy, horrible. 

I am trying to find an account of someone who's been on mirtazapine a while but can only find people either withdrawing or only on it a few days like me? 

Please tell me if it gets better, how it gets better please? All I can find are side effects no good accounts?! 

I'm so sick of feeling like this (I'm sure you all relate) I used to be so bubbly and happy and now I'm just boring and miserable. I feel like everyone else is having a life and I'm just sitting in bed day after day. I'm supposed to be going to the races tomorrow and v festival next weekend both things I was looking forward to so much and had do much fun at last year but now they just fill me with dread and fear. I can't keep cancelling on my friends. Most know my situation but I fear people are starting to lose interest and feel like I'm not helping myself and I could just snap out of it but I can't! 

Please tell me some good things about mirtazapine .... !! Thank you 

0 likes, 33 replies

33 Replies

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  • colleen65022
    colleen65022 8484fran

    Posted

    Hi I am on mirtazapine about a year 15mg i find it helps me sleep but not much else, i understand about going places as i am always filled with dread and fear so just avoid it to be honest, as a lot of people have said everyone different and hopefully you will feel bit better with time xx
    • 8484fran
      8484fran colleen65022

      Posted

      Thank you colleen. This is my confusion - I can't see that mirtazapine has helped many people other than in the area of sleep. I'm concerned about weight gain as I'm a comfort eater anyway and have slowly gained two stone since feeling like this as it is. I think I will talk to my usual doctor when he's back from leave. Let's hope we both feel better soon, I hate this lack of interest in everything. It's like I'm numb. I don't want to do anything or see anybody, when they try to help it just irritates me because it's always 'try and get out you'll feel better' and I just want to scream that they don't understand but it's not their fault. 
    • june26145
      june26145 8484fran

      Posted

      Hi Fran

      The lack of interest in everything is part of the illness. I have been bombarded with people saying you've got to help yourself but this illness is so crippling. Even though you want to do something, you can't.  The best advice I'm being given at the moment is to do exactly what you want.  Whatever you can live with until the anxiety/depression lifts as I am assured it will. Hoping for a good outcome for both of us. Mornings are the worst, another day to face......... I am told it will end but going through it is unbearable and at times, I could scream with frustration and fear.

    • 8484fran
      8484fran june26145

      Posted

      Thanks June if only we could wave a magic wand hey? I'm going to force myself to go to the races with my friends tomorrow, mainly because I think it's more hassle to get out of it than to go, hopefully I have a big win to lift my spirits! Hope you feel better soon, message me if you ever need to talk to someone who won't say 'just try and snap out of it' smile take care
    • NickOliver
      NickOliver 8484fran

      Posted

      I am on mirt and I am trying to lose weight seriously - I am keepoing a chart of my calory intake. When my GP wieghed me last he read me out the riot act. I think that I have lost some weight. After a few days I tried on a t-shirt that I was going to give to my nephews. I was able to get it on again.

      One thing that my GP was to take my main meal before 5pm. Fortunately or otherwise I am not working but I have tried eating earlier - amd reducing portion size. And instead of having a midday meal I eat carrot sticks and dried apricots. One thing that mirt does is that makes me sleep up to 10.5 hours. Well, obviously I can't be eating if I am sleeping.

      PS It seems to me that there are lots of new threads started up. There is nothing wrong in that but if might help sometimes if one can find another current dialogue which relates to our problem. After all, we all suffer from depression or bipolar or whatever.

    • NickOliver
      NickOliver june26145

      Posted

      Yes, June but CBT which I have not been on properly teaches you that you have got to force yourself to do things eg that you used to enjoy - inessence you have to learn to enjoy them again - but just to do what you feel like doing is not the answer. And when you are very unwell you cannot go on talking therapies because you are not well enough to benefit from them.

      They were talking about Mindfulness on the TV News earlier on -  I thnk that is to teach the mind to behave differently. So you can probably reach yourself to enjoy things again.

      I watch football on TV and I have found that I have enjoyed it much more - I have less bring "forcing" ,yself to watch it. Chris Hoy, the cyclist, was talking on TV about how he taught himslelf not to be distracted by negative thoughts when in cycling races.

    • zaphod
      zaphod 8484fran

      Posted

      Mirtazipine helped me by letting me think about things, without the 24/7 drag of depression. It isn`t magic, and you feeling better may be gradual, but give it time, and you will find that life is worth living. (Even with the shedload of problems you may still have to face), at least you will be able to think about things that aren`t depression related (if that makes sense to you).

      All the best

      Paddy

    • NickOliver
      NickOliver zaphod

      Posted

      I have been on rozac (affected my libido - which really depressed me!) and quetiapine (which made me a zombie. I have now come off both because of the reasons specified. I have now come off Lithum which I had been on for years because  it was affecting my kidney functio - it turnet out that it was probably making me shake so that my handwriting was very difficult toread. Other than the kidney effect of the Lthium my psych denied.He is supposed to be a specialist on the pharmacological aspects of psychiatry. Maybe he thinks if I know about the effects I am going to campaign for being taken off the med. But there is not doubt I am much better. I was seeing a counsellor for over 2 years but I haven't been on any other talking therapies. I am on other drugs - Pregabylin and Lamotrigine so it is difficult to identify which has been the most beneficial. My psych also thinks now that my main problem is depression. So I totally agree with Zaphod - it is a difficult call that the psych has to make in conjunction with the user. What more is there to say.
    • june26145
      june26145 8484fran

      Posted

      Hi Fran

      Had a lousy day, climbing the walls whatever I tried to do.  And so frustrated.  Nurse at day therapy clinic says nearly 5 weeks is still early days for Mirt to kick in.  Keep taking the diazepam and ride it out.  Easier said than done.  I did have a response from another person on this thread and was advised that I should make myself do the things I used to enjoy and not do anything.  I can agree that activity is a distraction and will make me physically tired but sometimes, in fact most times, I run away from it all.  So maybe I am getting it all wrong.  Tomorrow is another day, maybe it might be better for us both.

    • nicki16559
      nicki16559 june26145

      Posted

      When I use to get stuck in that cycle and didn't want to go out I would try and distract myself with a fav film or bit of telly even a bit of housework use to take my mind of things for while...like u say u have to ride it out that's what it was like for me x
    • colleen65022
      colleen65022 8484fran

      Posted

      Hi Fran sorry i am only back on this now, i totally understand how you are feeling, and when people say try i also want to scream it not that easy!! i feel on a different planet most of time and cant be bothered with anything! If you find a medication that helps please let me know! xx
  • MarkRob
    MarkRob 8484fran

    Posted

    I was put on it when I was hospitalized because I was so worried (I had heart trouble) and the doctor thought it would make me relax and not worry.   Well, it did help, and yes, clarkio is right, it took 2-3 weeks before it really helped.

    As to SLEEP, it was the best sleeping pill ever!   Almost too good, even after four months, I was sleepy during the day at times - manageable but certainly an issue.

    After two months on the drug, and after treatment of my heart, I was allowed back at work.   Gotta tell you, NOTHING bothered me - stress?   No issue at all - so it DID help me. 

    But after four months, my cholesterol was up 30 points and I didn't want to take anything for it, so I am off if now.   Stress is a threat now, but I am determined to NOT let it get to me.  Sleep does not come as easily, but I am sleeping enough.

    I hate to go negative on you - but I now realize something about Mirtazapine.  I had a HORRIBLE car accident a month ago and now I know why - it was Mirtazapine. Taking it made me feel "disconnected", and I guess I was disconnected from stress - but I was also not thinking clearly, my attention span was zero.  After 33 years of safe driving, I turned in front of a cement mixer truck and was nearly killed.  ONLY the skill of the truck driver saved me - cause he saw what I was doing and tried to steer around me.   He still hit me, but not broadside - had he not reacted as well as he did, I would have been killed in the impact. 

    I'd rather have a little hard time getting to sleep and maybe being bothered a bit by stress than take that pill any more.    It got me thru the two months when my heart was screwed up (I wasn't driving then), but I now wish I'd stopped taking it two months ago.

  • sunset17
    sunset17 8484fran

    Posted

    Hi Fran, I haven't read all the other posts, so apologies if I am repeating something similar to somebody else! I've been taking mirtazapine since January, so around 8 months now. I am feeling very much improved now, back at the beginning of the year I was just like you have described, ignoring phone calls, turning down invitations from friends and would just spend day after day in doors miserable, irritable, tired and depressed. Before starting mirtazapine I had tried citalopram for a couple of months, but I wasn't getting any beinefits from it and it was worsening my insomnia. This was when I was changed to mirtazapine as it was suggested it should help with my sleep. I am feeling so much better now, I feel happy about going out for lunch with friends and had a holiday abroad in July, (something I wouldn't have even considered) a few months ago.

    Do not think that your friends are starting to lose interest, sometimes other people don't know what is the best thing to do. If there have been times when you have cancelled on them, they might be unsure about whether you want them to call you or just be left alone. I know I have done exactly the same thing with one of my friends, her father sadly passed away and she wasn't up to doing things for a while, I didn't know whether to keep calling or texting her or whether I should leave her, so I let her know I was there if she needed me. Just give them a call instead and explain how you aren't always feeling that great but you would still like to see them. Some days you probably don't feel like going out anywhere, but you could still invite your friends over to your house, try to keep in contact with your friends.

    I hope you get some benefit from mirtazapine, best wishes!

    • 8484fran
      8484fran sunset17

      Posted

      Thank you sunset that's really good to know. I appreciate your kind words smile I'm feeling a lot brighter than when I wrote that post now even going back to work tomorrow. I forced myself to the races on Friday and had some drinks and although I didn't feel that hungover I was so irritable and teary all day on Saturday and at one point thought 'God I wish someone could just inject me and put me out of my misery' so I have learnt that Mirtazapine and alcohol do not mix for me! Probably a good thing anyway, I won't be doing that again! 

      Good luck to you in your continued journey and thanks for your post smile x 

    • sunset17
      sunset17 8484fran

      Posted

      Hi Fran, yeah I discovered the same thing after an evening drinking wine. I've found that one drink doesn't usually turn out too bad, except for wine which I don't drink now. It's all good though, I've just got used to the fact that I don't have drinks in order to feel well, and it's not going to be forever!

      Thankyou, good luck to you too smile you sound like you've got things in hand smile

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