Just been given this drug but reviews are horrifying!

Mirtazapine worked wonders for me 12 years ago for depression and ocd (anxiety) took for 5 years. Had to restart on them this year and they never had the same effect, so had to try something different which fingers crossed is working?? You wont want to hear this but its the luck of the draw with these pills, some people say mirtazapine helps with anxiety some say not and that its more for depression. It has less side effects than most apart from knocking you out intially at night especially at the lower doses, they are best to take at night. You will find lots of posts about how hard they are to withdrawal from but that was never my experiance but its possible mine had stopped working over a period of time anyhow which was why no good this time. I was med free for 5 years in between and then ocd krept up on me again. I have found g.ps hand these drugs out but are not the experts on them, mine tried telling me that there were no specfic drugs for ocd but infact there are 6 to 8 that are approved for ocd. Im taking sertraline now by the way.

Hi Stella

Your fear is well founded.  This drug was not one that worked for me regarding anxiety.  I do understand that we are all different and it's a case of trial an error which when you are dealing with mental illness and anxiety is very concerning.  Sadly doctors know very little about these drugs but hand them out too easily.  In most cases they don't have the time to get beyond the first 10 minute consultation.  I only wish I had your foresight when I was handed mirtazapine.  When I took them I didn't know this website even existed.  I can't suggest another AD but if you are "petrified" I would take your time and maybe return to your surgery for another consultation.

I took 15mg for less than 6 months.  I stopped because they didn't work for my anxiety issues.  I also made the mistake of going cold turkey not realising how protracted and horrific the withdrawal is when you stop this drug.  That's when I discovered you are very much alone dealing with the problems withdrawal throws at you.  The medical profession refuse to use the word withdrawal and unless they can hand out another AD will leave you to flounder until you find a support group such as this.  There are loads of different opinions on what is best for anxiety and bear in mind that each one given is a true account because of their experiences.  Good luck and I applaud your cautious and sensible approach.

My problem which led me to take this drug was simply not being able to sleep.

Even with 7.5mg(half a tablet) I sleep well but am groggy throughout the day. I am sure that there are benefits to some but in my case I have put on weight and despite cutting my dose gradually I cannot get off them without going back to sleepless nights.

Hi stella

What I cannot understand is why the medical profession automatically say you are depressed just because you cannot sleep

I know i did say g.p's dont always know what their prescribing but without going on a witch hunt, it can be tricky i guess as too much anxiety will lead to depression with similar symptoms. Also although there are specific drugs for anxiety my understanding is anti depressants are the first and best option and they also tend to treat sleep issues and anxiety too, otherwise u might end up with lots of pills to take. I guess doctors should give more info about side effects and withdrawal but when you are at your worst and they first prescribe i dont think you would except any of the pills, as they can all have issues with individual people. And then your other option is therapy which currently on the nhs is about 4 months waiting time by which time you would almost certainly be depressed and a lot worse.

 I was given mirtazapine to help me with sleep I tried both lowerand higher doses it didn't seem to help me sleep. It seem to agitate me even more, when I was able to fall asleep gave me incredible dreams.  I thought it had had helped with moods so I asked my doctor about taking it with something else for sleep. I tried taking it earlier in the day but it made feel groggy. So I just gave up. 

I've also just been prescribed 15mg Mirtazapine after a horrendous month on 20mg Fluoxetine when my anxiety was through the roof. I had previously been on 100mg of Sertraline for 18 months but had to come off them because of side effects (Akathisia).

I've suffered with OCD, GAD and depression for all of my life but had avoided any drugs at all until two years ago when I had a little boy (I'm male) and wanted to be a better Dad than I would be.

My experiences haven't been brilliant at all but I'm just hoping to find a drug that suits and will enable me to stay on them indefinitely......