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Mirtazapine diet club

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evergreen
evergreen

I thought I would start a thread about trying to lose weight on this drug. If others are currently dieting, please add your experiences here. I would like to discover whether we gain weight on mirtazapine purely because it increases our appetite, or whether other factors are at play. I certainly gained weight quickly when I started on mirtazapine (around 1.5 stone). My appetite was revenous, especially for sugary foods. I tried to com off mirtazapine around 6 months in and failed. I lost half a stone in the week I waas off it, but most of that was due to severe nausea. When I went back on the drug I did not gain more than a couple of pounds, but I was being very careful what I ate. My weight has been steady now for two years.

I am not happy carrying around the extra stone however, and so have decided to diet. I am on day 8 and it is VERY hard. But I have lost two pounds so far. This is with me still eating 1700 - 1800 calories a day. I have a very active physical job and so my daily calorie requirement is 2100.

I have also started taking raspberry ketones and green coffee bean extract as of this morning in the hope that it will help me to burn fat. The interesting thing is, the amouont of weight I have lost is the same as would be expected from a person who is not on mirtazapine.

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  • Mermaid3011
    Mermaid3011 evergreen

    Posted

    I just found this article here: http://www.consultant360.com/article/psychotropic-induced-weight-gain-review-management-strategies

    Has anyone ever tried to add topamax or metformin to their drug cocktail in order to prevent the weight gain from mirtazapine? 

    • evergreen
      evergreen Mermaid3011

      Posted

      I've not heard of topamax but I have used metformin on my horse that had a metabolic disorder (insulin resistance). It really helped her lose weight. I think it is used for women with polycystic overies.
  • daniel84638
    daniel84638 evergreen

    Posted

    Hello Evergreen,

    I'm on Mirtazapine 45mg since May 2014, started out on 15mg then to 30mg and now where I am today. The last two weeks I've been using my brand new Treadmill to workout. 30 minutes a day, For Dinner I have Vegatables, Sweetcord, Carrot's and brocoli.  In the evening I eat Fruit Salad, Which consists of my 5 a day, done this now 2  weeks, my weight before I started this diet I weighed 88KG. My weight as from now is 88.8KG. So basically i've added 4 pounds per week. Planning to go to the doctors on Monday to discuss this and hopefully try a alternative that dont subject me to gaining weight, Gaining Weight is affected my life, and also to my relationship. I keep you posted on how I manage to progress. 

    Good Luck 

    • evergreen
      evergreen daniel84638

      Posted

      Hi Daniel, I replied to your discussion on the other thread about how it takes time for your body to adjust to the mirt. I would suggest trying the green coffee bean extract that you can buy on Amazon. They have the effect of raising your metabolism slightly which can help you to lose the weight. However, any weight loss will be very difficult until your body has readjusted itself to the mirt which takes 6 - 12 months. Good luck!
  • Mermaid3011
    Mermaid3011 evergreen

    Posted

    Hi everyone! I have been MIA for a few days. 

    Did I tell you about the appointment with my Pdoc? He was sooooo not happy with my decision to stop mirtazapine until he can give me something that stops/reverses the weight gain. I just told him that me taking mirtazapine is like the Titanic and an iceberg. You want to keep us far away from each other!

    After trying to convince me to take mirt anyway and me asking about this study I had read about Topamax and Metformin (link in my post above) he actually agreed that there are options to offset the weight gain and even help losing weight while being on both meds.

    He has had good experience using Topamax to offset weightgain through other psych drugs that are famous for their sideeffect of weight gain, but hasnt had much experience using Metformin. Apparently there is specialist in town he knows who has done studies on exactly that topic. He promised me to touch base with her and let me know at our next appointment (which is next Wednesday).

    I am very curious to hear what can be done. 

    In the meantime I am fine and losing weight, but I know I would be in a better mood on mirt. Though since I am not suicidal and dont really feel extreme lows... I'll take it.

     

    • evergreen
      evergreen Mermaid3011

      Posted

      Glad you're losing the weight again, Mermaid. Keep us posted on the meformin and topamix. smile
    • sunset17
      sunset17 Mermaid3011

      Posted

      Hi Mermaid, I didn't realise you had decided to stop mirtazapine, is that because of the weight gain?

       

    • Mermaid3011
      Mermaid3011 sunset17

      Posted

      Hi sunset - yes, I took it for a week, gained 4 lbs despite strict dieting and told my doc I couldn't take this going forward until he finds something that counteracts the weight gain.
    • sunset17
      sunset17 Mermaid3011

      Posted

      Hi mermaid, yes I completely understand you. For me at first the increase in appetite was a good thing, as before I had started taking it I had lost a lot of weight and was hardly eating anything due to depression, and I am someone who usually enjoys food. So when I had an appetitie again I thought it was great. But then after putting on more and more weight I know feel that I am overweight, and I know I've put loads on when I have to go out buying new clothes because things don't fit me anymore! The hunger does lessen, but it's still there and I am finding losing weight difficult.
  • evergreen
    evergreen

    Posted

    I'm stalled with my weight loss at the minute, neither gaining or losing. But I'm sticking with it. I've lost 8 pounds so far and only 6 to go to my target. My weight losss seeems to go in fits and starts, so I'm not discouraged.
    • Mermaid3011
      Mermaid3011 evergreen

      Posted

      No dont feel discouraged. My losses go in curves too. a bit up, a bit down, a bit stable for 4 days and then suddenly 1 lb loss! You are doing great! Baby steps! I admire you for taking Mirt and fighting the weightgain with willpower, excersize and smart food choices!
  • SylviaLockwood
    SylviaLockwood evergreen

    Posted

    Hey I'm on 15mg mirt, originally started on 30, and since I started 3 years ago I've gained about 2 stone. For me, this was initially a benefit, because I was medically anorexic (NOT anorexia nervosa, I had a suppressed appetite due to brain chemistry and had very little appetite, I actually wanted to gain weight so I wouldn't look so gaunt!) Part of the reason I was put on mirt was to gain the weight, but I also have depression/anxiety/OCD, so I need to remain on it even though I am now at a healthy weight for my height. 

    I have to tell you, going from having very little appetite to WOA full tilt was very strange! It felt like being possessed! Which, as I've read, I am not alone in feeling. After I had gained a healthy amount of weight, I started to gain more than I wanted (also being hungry all the time is really annoying). I went down to 15 mg and that helped quite a bit with the CONSTANT hunger, but I still felt a major spike in appetite right after taking it (I take it at night) so I had a dilemma. If I tried to go to sleep without eating anything, I would wake up with crazed zombie-like hunger pangs. If I ate just a little before sleeping, same problem. If I ate as much as I wanted, yay I could sleep, but binging on cookies and cereal left me feeling uncomfortably full and made me gain weight/get acne. 

    The "solution" I've worked out (it's not perfect) is that BEFORE I take my pills, I prepare myself a snack designed to make me as physically full as possible, with a lot of fiber and not too many carbs, so that I'm mostly filling up on water/fibers. This, in addition to exercise (exercise is super important for any weight maintanance/loss program) and a good diet during the day, helps keep me from gaining weight, and if I exercise some discipline I can loose a bit of weight if I gained any during holidays/stress. 

    Good things to fill up on is fruits and veg, like oranges, berries, bell pepper, carrots, etc. Water is great too, and you can mix it with chia seeds and make a pretty filling drink. By filling up on fruits/veg/water, if I have any cravings for sugar/carbs, I can't eat all that much, maybe a little square of chocolate or a couple pieces of toast. 

    It's not perfect, but I've found that planning around my need to eat a lot is better than pretending it doesn't happen or trying to hold out until I break down and eat junkfood. 

    • evergreen
      evergreen SylviaLockwood

      Posted

      Glad to hear you now have it under control. You sound very similar to me in that before going onto mirtazapine I had no appetite at all. Eating was a chore I had to go through to have any energy. I had severe nausea to the point of vomiting. So to suddenly have a ravenous appetite felt very strange to me! My husband just said 'Welcome to MY world.' He's always struggled not to eat too much.

      Interesting about what you say about the cravings you get after taking your pill. I have heard other people say the same. Thankfully I very rarely get cravings after I take it. I just get them all day long, thoough they are a lot less than they used to be.

      I have not lost any weight this week, but then I have not really eaten much under my maintenance level of calories, so it is not surprising. Hopefully I will get my act together again over the next week. I am, however, now only 10 stone 3 and being 5 foot 9, this is a good weight for me. I want to lose another 6 pounds, but that is so I can be lighter for the horses.

    • SylviaLockwood
      SylviaLockwood evergreen

      Posted

      Yes the "eating as a chore" rings very familiar to me. Now that is not a problem, instead I get the fun of dealing with mad cravings! (Honestly I MUCH prefer this problem to that of not being able to eat, not having an appetite was a nightmare). 

      It's sort of a tradeoff because while I get very strong cravings after taking it, I think my appetite is about normal the rest of the time, and very manageable. 

      It sounds like you're at a very healthy weight, but I understand wanting to lose a little bit for horseback riding. I gained almost a stone over Christmas (cookies @_@), and I've just about lost it all. I attribute this to exercise and keeping track of my intake.

      I don't know much about raspberry ketones or coffee extract but I do know that moderate amounts of caffeine can help with weight loss. Caffeine is stimulating so you don't feel the need to have as much food for energy, and it also helps stimulate your bowels. I can't have espresso levels of caffeine because it can cause panic attacks in me, so I usually get mine in the form of super dark chocolate or tea. 

      I try not to focus TOO much on how many individual pounds I've lost or if I've "suceeded" each week (I don't always manage, my OCD lends itself to counting calories and each tick of the scale), and focus more on making sure I run every day, seeing if I can beat my record in terms of duration/speed, and being aware when I'm eating and what I'm eating. 

      I've noticed that the simpler the foods I eat (fruits & veggies, unsalted nuts, fish/chicken grilled with simple seasoning, unsalted popcorn as a snack) the more success I have with losing weight. I think it's because not only is it easier to keep track of my intake (there aren't too many hidden calories in an orange), there's probably some effect that high levels of salt and sugars and trans fats has on slowing the metabolism. It sounds like you have other vitamin/nutrition concerns to keep track of as well, so that might take precedent. 

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