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Mirtazapine inconsistent?

Posted , 8 users are following.

zac14
zac14

Hi i was just wondering if anyone else has had an inconsistent response to mirtazapine. I have been taking 15mg for 4 weeks and sometimes i sleep ok and other times i lay awake for an hour or two and when i eventually get to sleep it is very restless and i feel shattered when i wake up. My mood hasn't really changed that much except for the odd day here and there and i feel very lethargic and unmotivated most of the time. I'm a bit confused really, are things likely to improve or is this possibly as good as it gets? Has anyone noticed good improvement after a very inconsistent start? Thanks in advance if anyone has any input on this.

0 likes, 60 replies

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  • Lupingirl
    Lupingirl zac14

    Posted

    Oh Zac I have had no success with this drug.  I just feel worse on it.  It would be good to hear if anyone has found it beneficial.  I
    • zac14
      zac14 Lupingirl

      Posted

      I feel it may not be for me but i don't want to be too hasty,i agree it would be good to hear if anyone had a good response especially after a month of very little if any improvement.
  • kat50
    kat50 zac14

    Posted

    Hi Zac, i'm afraid I haven't had much luck either with mirt. I was put on it when my other AD stopped working.  It was meant to help with sleep and appetite.  It helped with sleep but not with appetite.  Long story short, now tapering off mirt and gone back on original AD. Some people on here have had success with mirt but I don't think it did anything for me. 
    • zac14
      zac14 kat50

      Posted

      Thanks for the reply, i'm just confused as to how long you should give it to work as some doctors would have you taking it for at least a couple of months before you give up. How long did you take it for before you decided it wasn't helping?
    • kat50
      kat50 zac14

      Posted

      I've been on it for a couple of months. Mirt is meant to be faster acting than most AD's. I've read a lot about it being inconsistent.  Have you been on any medication before and are you on it for depression or anxiety? 
    • zac14
      zac14 kat50

      Posted

      I'm on it for insomnia and depression but i'm not having much help with either and dont feel upping to 30mg will help my sleep as it is meant to be more sedating at lower doses.
  • danmountain
    danmountain zac14

    Posted

    Hi zac. 

    I've been taking it for about a week and half, and I've noticed an increase in appetite (which is a good thing for me) and also feeling less tearful. Sleepwise, I don't fall asleep any quicker but I do have trouble getting up in the morning. Hope it works out for you. 

    • zac14
      zac14 danmountain

      Posted

      Thanks for the reply Dan, it looks like it may be starting to work for you, i hope it continues.
  • sunset17
    sunset17 zac14

    Posted

    Hi Zac, thought I'd interject a positive experience of mirtazapine. As you have described improvements for me were also inconsistent when starting out on mirtazapine. It took me at least 5 to 6 weeks to start noticing serious improvements, and it was a gradual improvement. I've been taking mirtazapine around 6 months now, I am very settled. I do still have the occasional nights when it takes me a while to get to sleep, but my sleep is a million times better than it was before january.
    • zac14
      zac14 sunset17

      Posted

      Thankyou for that positive reply sunset17, it is so hard to figure out if and when a drug may work for you, i was feeling that a month was a good amount of time to get a feel for whether it was going to help but maybe i have to give it 6 weeks... confusing when you feel terrible.
    • sunset17
      sunset17 zac14

      Posted

      Yeah I would say give it a bit longer if you can. I know it's frustrating when you are waiting to find out if it's working for you, you might still feel that it's not doing anything for you after a few more weeks, I had that with citalopram, I carried on taking it for 8 weeks before deciding it wasn't doing anything for me, and that's when my doctor changed me to mirtazapine instead. Everyone is different though, but just saying don't give up hope smile.
    • zac14
      zac14 sunset17

      Posted

      Hi sunset, i forgot to ask how was your sleep when starting out the first month? Did you get good sleep from the begining or did you have nights where you couldn't get off to sleep? I'm trying to make a decision about whether to keep going or not, thanks.
    • sunset17
      sunset17 zac14

      Posted

      Hi zac. I still had nights when it took me a while to get to sleep, but mostly it did help my sleep. I had quite severe insomnia before taking it, I would still be awake at 6 in the morning, or get to sleep and wake a number of times in the night, or sleep for a few hours and then wake really early, I went through all possible ways of not sleeping. So when I started mirtazapine it mostly helped my sleep, but even on the nights where it takes me a while to get to sleep it's still much better than the way my sleep was before. I occasionally have nights when I have difficulty falling asleep but when I do get to sleep I sleep for a long time.

      The sleep was a major thing for me, that was the reason I was switched to mirtazapine as it was suggested that it would help my sleep. I take 30mg.

      Happy to help if you have any other questions. I see lots of people aren't finding mirtazapine successful, all I will say is that you should do what you feel is personally right for you, everyone has different experiences of medications. Have you taken any other medications before mirtazapine?

    • zac14
      zac14 sunset17

      Posted

      yes i have taken venlafaxine for 3 years between 2002 to 2005 it was helpful but when i tried it again in february of this year i had horrible side effects and had to discontinue it! I also had a 2 year spell on prozac which helped a bit but i struggled with my sleep on it and came off with no problems. I was then med free for 7 years, not well but drug free.  Thankyou for your reply it is good to hear from others experience. I'm not sure what to do now... all i know is i don't feel this is helping me at all and not sleeping is making things a lot worse, i suppose i will end up coming off the mirtz as my sleep is so disrupted. My only option according to my gp is to go up to 30mg, try another ssri or sleeping tablets. To say i am very low and confused right now would be an understatement. Thanks again.
    • sunset17
      sunset17 zac14

      Posted

      I am sorry to hear that things aren't going well for you at the moment. I am on the 30mg dose and it has helped with my sleep, it might be worth you giving it a go. However if you aren't getting any benefits from mirtazapine perhaps it isn't right for you. I know that I went back after a month of taking it and they just told me that I would have to give it longer. Does it help you sleep sometimes or not at all?
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