Hi I'm on mirtz now for over a year.....

Hi Maizie, may I just ask if your depression is still present as it was when you were prescribed the Mirt?

Also don't worry you are among many others regarding side effects preventing a long term plan with this drug. It affects Mitochondrial uptake and also lipolysis which is about as serious as it gets for your metabolism to work efficiently.

I do not have any personal experience with Welbutrin but I know that it is activating and also leaning towards hypothyroidism in the sense it will speed up your thermogenic output (speed up metabolism).

Are you hoping to find a suitable antidepressant or just an augmentation to the Mirt?

Stu.

My doctor prescribed 15 mg. mirtazapine for mild depression - mostly sadness. It made me very sleepy

during the day. I just wanted to go to bed and sleep for hours. I stopped it and felt unwell and had trouble sleeping. The doctor said I should not have stopped it suddenly.. She then prescribed Wellbutrin

I tried it for three days, and stopped because it caused insomnia. The sadness returned so the doctor put me t back to mirtazapine but at a lower dose. She said to cut the 15 mg. tablet in half and take it only at bedtime. This seems to have helped in that I don't feel as sleepy during the day and feel less sad. I

just hope it continues this way. Like most of us, I would prefer not taking any antidepressants.

I have a dear friend who had been on many psychotropic medications for years but has now been on

mirzapine for a couple of years."It saved my life", she said, It brought her back from extreme

depression to a happy life. I hope that you will find the right medication to bring you the same posiitive

effect on you. My friend is a slender woman and I, too, have not gained weight but I do like milk and

cookies at bedtime like a little kid. I would love to have chocolate too, but I am afraid that it would

interfere with sleeping. Good luck Maizie from Long Island, New York

Personally, Im not a fan of these types of drugs, - Antidepressents and anti-psychotics being used for things like sleep aid, but I have noticed it is a growing trend here in the UK. My Psych tried to get me to take Quietapine to help with sleep, I found it hard to keep my eyes open during the day, yet still could not "drop off" at night.

I think that they are just getting paranoid about prescribing Benzos and the Z drugs, for fear of addiction. Which when balanced against Insomnia I find to be of little worry.

Hi Stu, No my depression is a lot better due to mirtz, just going bit low lately an weight from mirtz not helping. So told psych wanted to come off it completely,.

Find after while you get bit immune to drug, so need to change ( that's me personally)

Maizie

Hi guys, if it is working for you then great plus as I mentioned in an earlier post, the more you have to try the longer the odds of any working effectively. Mirtazapine is very unique but in saying that there are some with similar receptor antagonist/agonist properties e.g Venlafaxine which is an snri not a nassa.

I agree with in the fact that benzo's are effective and have some sort of stigma between gp's and psych doctors alike. Where the alternative is continued insomnia and long term anxiety it is best to find a treatment plan that is less habit forming but some people need relief only they can provide. I suppose it is a toss up between risk and reward.

Good luck and keep talking things through with your prescriber as there are always options.

I put on weight to start with and had terrible cravings. I don't actually think the drug itself makes you gain weight, it is just that you eat more. I have a very active job and so this means I can eat plenty and my weight stays stable, even on mirt. After 2 years on the drug, I am half a stone heavier than when I started. If I do less physical exercise, my weight shoots up. So really, I think that after the initial mad cravings, the drug just gives you a generally good appetite which needs to be counteracted by exercise.

Mirtazapine is proven to have an effect on metabolism and lipolysis.

I work as a personal trainer and train 6 days a week and was gaining all the time I was on it.

If you have it under control and it is doing its job then stuck with it.

Stu.

Hi all..... I stopped all cravings, n eat very little but still couldn't shift the weight ....... Anyway thanks for responses .......

Vickycam glad it's working out for you now, think u need to increase meds very slowly so u don't get the sleepiness during the day.

Don't think 3 days on any drug will show anything, usually takes week or two for effects to show.

Hoping Wellbutrin does the trick ?? Getting worried now maybe should stayed on mirtz

You will only know when you have tried other drugs how they compare.

I thought you were here in England Maizie no?

I requested Bupropion (Wellbutrin) here and there was no chance as an antidepressant, only as a smoking cessation age.

I am going to discontinue my Mirt on repeat as I don't use it and try Venlafaxine. This I think will be great for me as I respond amazingly to Tramadol which is almost the same molecular structure.

Don't shoot me down for saying this guys but it is a great med to have in your arsenal for bad days. Wipes the floor with benzo's as it is an opioid and also an almost instantaneous short acting snri.

Hi Stu

No I'm in Ireland .....

The psych did mention it helped to give up smoking alright, but like this was just discovered as one affect ?

Bit confused Stu .... Your coming off mirt why ?an trying Venlafaxine ... is this the same as tramadol an if not why not go on tramadol if it suits you ?

Which is the great med t have for bad days an is opioid ??

Sorry for my ignorance have been on lot of meds don't really know details of them.......

Thanks Stu. Really interesting reading your messages. Maizie

Ah right not sure how your health service works but the NHS only promote it for smoking cessation short term.

It's approved everywhere else mostly so it will just be a usual scaremongering tactic.

Mirt is hellish for me metabolism wise. I am just about to get back into bodybuilding competitively and it is a no no while dieting for a show. That is the only side effect I got though but as I said I am in Ami aswell so no gauge really.

I am not sure they will prescribe me off label with the Tramadol you see. Venlafaxine is an Snri too but usual bureaucratic nonsense. Let's take a seriously depressed and anxious individual who is at the point of suicidal ideation etc, Tramadol would start to pull you out of that instantaneously but no they say ruled are rules please wait patiently for the Venlafaxine to take effect.

That is the world we live in and it needs to change in the patients favour.

Sorry rant over, hope you are well.

Stu.

Mmmm Very interesting stuff....., So how long have you had depression ??

You have a lot of knowledge in this area.

We pay gp and psych..... Special monthly rate to pharmacy ( if ur script is pricy) of €140 per month regardless of what it actually costs.

So any extra med or antibiotics etc within the month are free ( well covered by ur 140€

Gonna go an look up few the meds you've mentioned,

Thought I'd be in hosp an half way there by now ...... App. could be another week or so.

I have private medical ins t.g. Otherwise I couldn't go in there !! ( terrible huh)

Thanks Stu

You thought you would be in hospital by now?

I have suffered not majorly as a teenager but was very socially anxious and still am to some degree. My Dad and bro are the same. My Colitis being hard to manage for me to the point of depression but mainly anxiety had been the problem. I think if I can be on a few less meds and still be managing well that is my aim.

Current Meds: Amitriptyline, Pregabalin, Buspirone and Propanolol as needed.

What I was saying about Tramadol is that it has all the benefits of a benzo but with motivating properties and a feeling of well being like no other drug I have tried.

Stu.