Increased Appetite!!!!!!!

Thank you for your advice evergreen, now I have to try put into action!!!! I have low confidence/self esteem and no motivation now fat not much goin for me is there!!!!

It's hard to fight the craving if you're a foodie or have had weight problems in the past, I'm all the above.  I put on 20 lbs +, it was as if something had taken over me and I was out of control.  

However, (hindsight is a wonderful thing !!) I realised that sugary foods or carbs lead to further agitation and restlessness whilst on Mirt, I would literally eat a bar of chocolate and within 20 minutes my legs would start twitching ~ "restless leg syndrome".  Also I believe it leads to anger issues, some think this is a side effect of Mirt', some think it is the combo of sugar with Mirt.

It is only now I'm down from 15 mg to 6 mg (as I'm tapering off slowly) that the desperate craving has virtually stopped, hoping to get back into some of my nice clothes later this year !!

I hope you can conquer the craving, for some it is worth it for the ability to be able to sleep after months of insomnia.  Bear in mind that this med is given to anorexics to help them to be able to eat !!

Wishing you well 

Oh Jay I feel your pain!! It's awful, the harder I try the hungrier I feel and it seems to be carbs that I crave.

I was previously on sertlaline 150mg but had to come off as they were disagreeing with a certain bodily function!!! I wonder now that I am feeling better that I go back on them but at 100mg......this might solve it but I seriously have to do something. Have you tried any othe AD's?

Hi Jill, I guess at least we're not alone! My GP originally prescribed citalopram but I only managed 6 days on those before changing to mirt. The citalopram made me extremely agitated ,"wired" and I stopped them when I found myself completely losing it with some poor woman in a white mini  who cut me up at a roundabout. Completely out of character for me so that scared me a bit and made me feel like I couldn't trust myself? 

Im worried about going back to the how things were and about trying a new med with new possible side effects. That's why I've decided to go all out for a week with the weightloss and see what happens

if only it was as easy as finding a med that works 

I've been doing some research on weightloss and mirt and I think some people have managed to shift weight whilst using a high fat low carb diet ( something about insulin resistance and the uptake of fat stores? Am definitely going to look into that. Will let you know if it works!

I had a long thread on weight loss on mirtazapine. In summary, I founf that it was pointless dieting until the weight gain plateaued. This happens after around 6 months on the drug. Obviously, doo your best not to over eat as much as you can before then, but proper dieting is pretty much impossible. Then once you stop gaining (or the gain slows down greatly, which it will), get yourself some really accurate scales and write down every singlle calorie you eat or drink. Also make sure you do some exercise every day. Look up ho many calories you should need a day based on your sex, age, height, current weight, and exercise level. Now mirtazapine will actually lower this amount by 200-500 calories a day, so knock off 200 to start with. That is the number of calories you are allowed each day to stay the same weight. Then eat less than that. I managed to lose all my mirt weight with this method whilst I was still on 30mg of mirt. I was on it for a total of four years.

Hiya, thanks for the info, most of the stuff I've found on the internet says the same... mirt and weightloss not a winning combination, at least initally. It's just I have this nagging feeling that I can control my body if I set my mind to it. Think I'm defintaely feeling more positive as a result of the mirt lol

I can't tolerate the weight gain ( i'll end up with a BMI of 50+ at thia rate,so will change meds if  this week's efforts are futile!

 

Hi Jay

This message is really personalised to you, bearing in mind that you had anxiety & sleep issues not depression, am I right (?). You might find that Mirt' would really work better for you at a lower dose because at 12.5 the food craving is less, and the lower you go the more it disappears, generally speaking that is.

I am wondering, if you wanted to, try dropping the dose ever so slightly to 12.5 mg for 2 weeks, in half & in half again, and see how the craving is then, maybe.  Pill cutter at the ready.

Reducing does carry a warning of withdrawal sensations, as you probably know, so you would have to go slowly, if you feel its better at 12.5 then try to go to say 10, 9, 8 until at a managable (cutting tablet wise) method.  7.5 worked well for my anx & insomnia, so thought it might help anyone in a similar position.

Worth a mention.

Wishing you well on your flab fight with the Mirt (me too 20 lbs).  ggrrr

Hi calmer, thanks so much for taking the time to reply. When I went initially to see GP it was the anxiety and insomnia that took me there. I think (now ) that I felt low because of the lack of sleep and exhaustion from almost non stop whirring of anxiety!

I am definitely feeling more like my old self , my GP told me I was depressed but tbh I don't know! Does that affect your suggestion about dosage? And how are you getting on with the weight gain? Has reducing helped at all?

Hi Jay

My initial symptoms were the same as yours, insomnia first though, then anx', doctor said depression but like yourself I'm not so sure.

Doctors 'should' start anyone at 15 mg and it sounds like this worked for you, then doctors ask you to increase.  15 mg is normally used for anxiety and insomnia, the higher doses for depression.

I can only say, for myself, when I was tapering slowly from 15mg, at 7.5 the food craving stopped, I still feel sedated as I did on 15 mg, and I still sleep very well, in fact I sleep better than at 15mg.  Some say the lower the dose the more sedation, and to be honest I find this to be true also, doesn't sound logical, but yes I am more sedated.  It doesn't stop me going about my day at all, it's only when I sit down to relax, I feel sedated.

Perhaps it was depression for me; whilost on Mirt for a year, I've taken the time to do CBT, Mindfulness, meditation etc ... I don't want to go back there again ~ looking forward now, not back

 

It's really hard at the beginning Gina, that feeling after eating your evening meal of needing another meal, followed by a pud or chocolate ...  don't forget - they give Mirt to anorexics to encourage an appetite.