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Increased Anxiety on Dose Increase??

Posted , 3 users are following.

Guest
Guest

Hi Everyone,

I have been taking Mirtazapine since October 18. Started on 15mg, increased to 30mg a week later and last week my psychiatrist increased it again to 45mg.

I am now a week into 45mg, first couple of days were fine, no horrible side effects, just blissful sleep however over the past 3 days my anxiety has been off the charts, I have OCD so my intrusive thoughts have been truly awful.

Can anyone shed any positive light on this increased anxiety, is it a common side effect that will pass??

Many thanks

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • SerotoninSurfer
    SerotoninSurfer Guest

    Posted

    Hello Biddy, only been on Mirtazipane for 3 months. I went up to 45mg but found it too activating with mixed effects of increased anxiety and some high/too much euphoric feelings. I gave it 2 weeks before aggreeing with GP to move back down to 30mg. Again, i am 1 week in and is starting to settle but still get mixed effects but to a much lesser alarming extent I find it always takes at least 2 weeks for your body/mind to get used to a dosage change. Don't make any knee jerk decisions on how you are feeling in the short term. Recovery does take a while. My issue is that i'm on Mirt and Sert combined so dosage changes take even longer to settle 😦 Good luck!!!

    • Guest
      Guest SerotoninSurfer

      Posted

      Hi Jon,

      Thank you so much for your reply.

      I am going to brave it out and give myself 2 weeks on them before I make any decisions. I didn't notice any real difference on the 30mg so owe the 45mg a chance.

      My Psychiatrist wants to add Prozac 10mg from next week however unless the 'start up effects' that I'm experiencing at the moment have subsided by then I'm hesitant to add any more fuel to the fire!

      Best wishes to you! 😃

    • SerotoninSurfer
      SerotoninSurfer Guest

      Posted

      Good idea. Stick it out and dont rush to throw in another med into the mix or it really clouds what's actually working and not working. I use a spreadsheet to track how im feeling each day. I can then track impact of dose changes. Also, if you use a colour code, e.g. green for feeling good, it helps you realise that you have more good days than you realise when youre feeling bad. That helps keep me going and positive even on bad days. You will get better X

    • Guest
      Guest SerotoninSurfer

      Posted

      Ahh that is absolutely wonderful advice, I love the idea of a spreadsheet! (Even though they are the absolute bane of my life at work haha!) Thank you so so much for taking the time out to reply to my post, you have really helped me and I really do appreciate your kindness!

      Sending you lots of love and best wishes x

    • SerotoninSurfer
      SerotoninSurfer Guest

      Posted

      How are you feeling now Biddy. Hope you're feeling better? I'm 2 weeks into dose change but still having good and bad days. Praying i will return to normal but at least i can sleep and function at work. It's quite exhausting putting on a brave face everyday especially at work. Best wishes for you X

    • Guest
      Guest SerotoninSurfer

      Posted

      Hi Jon,

      Like you, having good & days. Yesterday wasn't great. Very anxious 😦 I don't think the 3 glasses of red wine on saturday helped, spent most of the day beating myself up about having a drink but like my friend said 'dont stop living' & shes right, I haven't really drank since I got sick back in October so really shouldn't be giving myself a hard time .

      But on a positive note when the good days are good, they are lovely 😃

      I start Prozac on friday & I'm sure that will be delightful (not lol)

      Re work, its the worst isn't it? But how I deal with that is to think if I'm sat here without anyone having a clue about whats going on in my mind then I'm sure as hell not the only person in the office with troubles. If I have learnt anything from this experience, its to always be kind as you really don't know what people are going through!

      xx

    • SerotoninSurfer
      SerotoninSurfer Guest

      Posted

      I gave up drinking and smoking which is probably why i find it hard to relax as i was abusing both of them to de-stress. It's all about moderation so you can still live your life as you say. Spot on about kindness. You always assume you're the only one at work with mental health issues but they reckon 1 in 10 of adults is on antidepressants if not more. Good luck with the Prozac....

    • Guest
      Guest SerotoninSurfer

      Posted

      Wow! Well done you re smoking & drinking! Thank god I get the most horrific hangovers so I've never used alcohol as a crutch (I wasn't in a great way yesterday after 3 glasses of wine the previous afternoon which is pathethic really haha!)

      So many people take antidepressants nowadays, its absolutely nothing to be ashamed of 😃

      Wishing you continued good luck with your mirtazapine and sertaline journey & thank you again for your kind words of encouragement! I really appreciate it. Thank you! xx

    • SerotoninSurfer
      SerotoninSurfer Guest

      Posted

      How's it going this week Biddy? Hope you're having a good week so far x

    • Guest
      Guest SerotoninSurfer

      Posted

      Hi Jon,

      Mirtazapine 45mg has definitely helped lift my mood 😃 Started fluoxetine on friday, didnt feel great over weekend however it feels like the side effects are subsiding slightly since yesterday so hopefully it should start working on my OCD over next few weeks! Ah wouldn't it be lovely to have a quick fix medication!

      How are you feeling? x

    • SerotoninSurfer
      SerotoninSurfer Guest

      Posted

      That's good news. Your mood lifting can only help you shift the OCD. Is it just OCD thoughts or behaviours too? I am having more good days than bad but the anxiety still ever present although at a lower level. The intrusive thoughts and circling negative mind seems to be improving too so just got to ride out the bad days and enjoy the good 😃

    • Guest
      Guest SerotoninSurfer

      Posted

      Hi Jon,

      Delighted to hear you're doing well 😃

      Sounds like we are on a similar stage in our recovery!

      Obsessive Thoughts are the main component of my OCD but I also have traits of compulsive behaviour.

      Sending you best wishes for a speedy recovery x

  • lindarivendell
    lindarivendell Guest

    Posted

    Yes I got horrible more anxiety on 30mg and 45mg. They discovered I could take 15mg not anything higher .2017 I was on 15mg and was starting to get better. Then they put me on 30mg. Within 8 days I got worse. Finally after 8 weeks they listened when I explained to them. They put me back down to 15mg and very shortly got out of hospital. Had a relapse in 2018 as I went cold turkey. They put me on 30mg again and all I did was cry and cry and cry

    Another girl in the hospital went the same way on the higher dose. Doctor finally said it could be the medication and after 9 weeks this time in hospital I was put on Amitrytyline and started to get better and got out of hospital. That was about 12 weeks ago. Can do just about any thing now as I can cope. But my CPN said afterwards that what I was still feeling was trauma and it's the memory of it all is still there. It is difficult for me to write all this as it brings it back more. But I hope this helps God bless.

    Ps I can't take any SSRI drugs and only can take the lowest dose of mirtazapine. Hope this helps but I am not strong enough to continue bringing this back into my mind. Hope it helps you. x

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