Posted , 15 users are following.
Hi All,can anyone tell me when or if the weight will come either during or after finishing with tapering off mirt.I feel like a large piece of lard on 2 legs after adding 2 stone.I have just seen myself in the mirror and look like Ian Beale in Eastenders with a protruding tum.I am on 3rd cut from 15ml-now down to 11.9mg or 0.77ml.
0 likes, 17 replies
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jackie.143 plainden
Posted
When you stop overeating. I am on Mirtzapine and I eat like a horse with it, so I am not being funny. I assume when I come off it these desires to overeat will go - but I am on 45mg, and had these desires on 15mg, so in my case I guess it will come off slowly. You probably need the drug to be out of your system for a while before the weight will drop off. However, apparently quite a few anti-depressants have weight gain as a side effect. Your doctor may put you on another, although I believe Mirtz. is one of the worst for weight gain - but it's a relatively effective anti-depressant, with fewer side effects.
evergreen plainden
Posted
Not until you are off it, I'm afraid, although your appetite should decrease a lot before then and the weight gain should slow down or stop (if you are careful what you eat). I didn't start to lose weight until I had been off it completely for two weeks.
sharon12462 plainden
Posted
I found the cravings stopped about 2-3weeks after coming off.. I started losing weight while on mirt thr a strict no carb diet apart from sweets I couldn't stop that craving bt still lost weight every week. Good luck.
sem2175 plainden
Posted
I didn't really overeat when I was on it but couldn't exercise at all as had abdo surgery. Put on two stone and have lost it again in just beer two months since stopping without tapering. Felt more like I put on ten stone though, really uncomfortably heavy and mainly around my middle, not my normal weight distribution.
sem2175
Posted
deb44437 plainden
Posted
Hi plainden.. Im always interested in reading posts in regards to mirtazipine & answeres to many of my questions that I I wanted to know about the effects of this drug.. I have been on mirt 30mg for 6 months.. my Doc advised me to construct a new diet consisting of more green vegetables, fruits (low in sugars) carbs & fats.. However, I did notice that I had more cravings for nibblies eg; chocolate, crisps etc., I guess that Im one of the more fortunate ones igher who have higher energy levels.. Love Ian Beale by the way xx - GOOD LUCK plainden.. Im sure you will not have to deal with the weight prob when you are off mirt all together
maritza_64249 plainden
Edited
Hi
I think is a myth about mirt to gain weight, if you work out very often you don't necessarily gain weight; it can add muscle but not fat. If you eat healthy you can't gain weight.
Hope it helps you
evergreen maritza_64249
Edited
It's not a myth. I have always been a skinny size 8 and exercised every day. Proper gym work out every day, plus have a physical job with horses. I also eat healthily and am the same size age 53 as I was when I was 18 (I still have my old jodhpurs). However, within 6 months of going on mirtazapine I gained 20lbs without changing a thing. Yes, I craved more food, but I didn't eat it. I have a very strong will. When I decided I would have to diet, I documented every morsel/calorie that passed my lips, and every minute of exercise I did each day for over a year. With my height (5ft 10), age and fitness/exercise level, I needed 2400 calories a day to maintain my weight, but if I ate any more than 1800 calories in a day, I gained weight. The proof is there on my spreadsheets that in my case I needed at least 400 calories a day less than if I wasn't on mirtazapine. When on my higher dose of mirt, I needed 500 calories a day less. So the weight gain on mirtazapine for MOST people is two pronged; it makes you want to eat more, and it lowers the rate at which your body burns calories and promotes fat storage. There are a very lucky minority who do not appear to be affected by this. You are obviously one of them.
evergreen
Posted
sharon12462 maritza_64249
Edited
Omg you are joking . It's not a myth at all this med has made so many people I'll because of the weight gain. If u research it like many have its a hestimine blocker & also used to make anorexics eat. Therefore you are very lucky if you dnt gain weight...my word I wish it was a myth the constant suger cravings made me relapse
sharon55732 evergreen
Edited
Agree 100%...I exercise everyday and have always been careful with what I eat (I had anorexia 13 years ago) so I have really good will power. I have been taking mirtazipine 15mg per day for 6 months now (went through a bad break up last year) and I feel I am ready to come off them as I feel now mentally strong enough and also because of the weight gain. Like you I had cravings but absolutely did not give in, exercised as usual every day and maintained a healthy diet and still gained weight regardless. I plan to do a slow taper, although I'm feeling a little nervous because of all the horror stories about withdrawal symptoms, I feel more hopeful that I will be fine!!!
amber14911 plainden
Edited
I gained 17 lbs after taking Mirtazapine for just 1 month. I have read tons of forums where a lot of people also gained a ton of weight in a short period of time. Like ALOT of people. I started taking it 3 months after having my son so I was already trying to lose the baby weight. It's not just the ravenous eating, it does something to your metabolism and makes you pile on the pounds quick. I swear on my life I woke up one morning, looked in the mirror and was HUGE. I looked like I was 6 months pregnant again because my stomach was so bloated. I seriously stood there in front of the mirror for 20 min just staring at myself and crying like "what the hell happened to me?" The weight did not come on gradual because I would have noticed it and have done something about it. I obsess on it and ask my family and friends if they saw me gaining weight and they all say no. I'm really not depressed about the weight gain because I could lose that (slowly), it's the fat (more like blubber) that's all over my body now. The fat goes mainly in the stomach area and other weird places where I've never had fat before. Since I stopped a month ago I still have a huge, fat stomach with rolls and now cellulite. I've never really had cellulite before. Its not because I was skinny by any means. I was 155lbs and 5'6 before I got pregnant and was content with that. I now also have huge fat rolls on my back and sides and my arms are ginormous. A ton of people say it makes you fat in places you have never had fat before and that is completely true for me. It has really messed me up physically and emotionally. I'm so angry at myself for taking this medication even after my doctor said it could cause weight gain. But isn't that a side affect of most medications? I've never experienced side affects so I wasn't worried but knowing my issues with my weight I really wish I had googled the medication because it would have saved myself of the extreme heartache I feel everyday looking in the mirror.
Sorry for my rant. So, the moral of my story is FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT TAKE MIRTAZAPINE OR ROMERON IF YOU ARE SELF CONSCIOUS ABOUT YOUR WEIGHT! Unless you want to gain weight.
This was only my experience with the medication and I have heard the same from others too. I hope by reading this I can prevent someone that's already weight self conscious from being miserable and depressed.
KO4477 amber14911
Edited
To Amber14911, have you discontinued? your experience sounds a lot like mine. my arms have gotten fat which is absolutely not an area I've ever had fat. I can't take this anymore! I was prescribed Mirt for sleep after wanting to go off Benzos but never thought the weight gain would be this severe. Been on it about 15 months and the gaining is just not stopping. It's really impacting my happiness. People say its appetite but for me I dont think it is. The weight just comes. I exercise and have a very healthy diet. So fed up!
marley1987 amber14911
Posted
hey hun have you managed to loose any of the weight ? i feel the exact same as you 😦 , so down about it . i stopped mirtrazapine two weeks ago but no weight loss yet . i also have fat in places i have never had before like my arms back and chin etc x
anne06082 marley1987
Posted
hi Marley,
hope you are well.
I too was on Mirtazapine and gained a huge amount. Went from a size 16 to a size 20.
Fat arms and bum...never happened before as i mainly gain weight (historically) on my lower tum and hips. Bum like a pancake usually and skinny arms.
At my request my G.P. tapered my dosage until i had withdrawn completely. It was over three weeks (a bit fast which i questioned but he stuck fast) and propranolol to help with the anxiety of withdrawal.
For six weeks, despite an exercise regime of power walking and my appetite having disappeared, nothing happened.
Then...Wham!
My weight started decreasing at quite an exponential rate. I lost seven + kg in two to three months.
I went on mirtazapine for anxiety (probably related to menopause) and came off them as they were affecting my heart, my weight and raised my bad cholesterol level.
I'm losing the weight still. My anxiety has returned and I'm suffering a little from gastritis. But my health will, I'm sure, will improve.
Hope that gives you and others some hope.
dhrsn67 anne06082
Posted
Hi Anne
That's reassuring. I'm hoping for the same result.
I've been on Mirtazapine for 5/6 years for insomnia. During that time I've gained weight despite working out at the gym 6/7 times a week not changing my diet and eating sensibly. I have also developed stomach problems namely bloating. Not a huge amount of weight gained but noticeable as I've always been slim. Before Mirtazapine I could eat anything but not gain weight due to working out.
As others have mentioned I do believe that the drug not only increases your appetite (not in my particular case) but does in some people slow down your metabolism.
I have attempted to come off this drug several times in the past but it has always ended in failure as the withdrawal is too much. This time I'm determined to come off it.