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adrian57649
adrian57649

Hi.am new to mirtazapine.what am I expecting .last night was my 1st night 15mg.same tonight then 30 mg daily.how long generally to start feeling betr.

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  • betsy0603
    betsy0603 adrian57649

    Posted

    Hi Adrian, 

    Why rushing up to 30 so quickly?  15 mg is the minimum effective dose and could actually do all you need it to, but it would take a week at that dose to see.  Plus, the system needs to adjust to that level of drug before increasing again.  Just wondering why your doc wants to rush you up so quickly?

    You should sleep well with 15 but some get over-sedation and have trouble sleeping too long and feeling groggy.  This should also pass in the first week.

    What condition are you treating with mirt?  Insomnia, anxiety or depression?  The higher doses are used for depression, while 15 mg is used more for insomnia and anxiety, I believe.  

    I was put on it for depression, anxiety, inappetence, and insomnia.  It initially helped, and I was able to sleep wonderfully, but the benefits other than sleep wore off pretty quickly and I had to keep raising the dose.  It turned out I was in withdrawal from coming off of Effexor, and the mirt just couldn't hold up to it.  I reinstated the Effexor and everything turned around.

    You should know that mirtazapine has quite a reputation for being very difficult to come off of.  Did your doctor inform you of that?  They tend not to.  Very bad withdrawal effects if you don't taper off very slowly.  That is another reason to wait and see if 15 does anything for you before going up to 30, since if it doesn't end up working for you, you have that much farther to taper off.  

    • adrian57649
      adrian57649 betsy0603

      Posted

      Hi Betsy..I'm treating .I'm told ..severe clinical depression ..was told this about 6 yrs ago but brushed it off .nothing a drink wouldn't fix. But recently my whole world collapsed around me .lost my job.my partner.kids.u name it ...so after a suicide attempt..and nearly being shot by the police..was asking them to do it ....I guest 30 plus yrs of brushing thing away caught up with me ..I'm finally being as proactive as possible to change ...so I was put on this med...wasn't my doc who did it though...he's away...but I might as others have replied also...just keep on 15 mg for a few weeks and see how I go...I'm now on my 3rd day and have already noticed I'm happier...thanks for ur reply ..
    • betsy0603
      betsy0603 adrian57649

      Posted

      I'm glad you are doing better, Adrian!  It sounds like you have had a rough road that would have beaten down anyone! Are you in therapy along with the meds, because the meds are a band-aid to give you a footing.  It sounds like you are committed to doing the necessary work to change your life for the better, so wonderful!  There's lots of cognitive behavior therapy self-help online, and meditation and mindfulness are also so valuable.  I spent most of my adulthood with depression despite the medication, and only this year did I finally decide that I had to do the work because I couldn't stand continuing on as I was.  Methods that focus on neuroplasticity seem to be most helpful.  

      It also helps to learn about being present, not spending time ruminating about the past and present, because neither are tangible and doing so only perpetuates our suffering.  All we have is this moment, so we need to try to up our awareness of the present and get more connected with ourselves.  Thinking is the enemy, especially negative thoughts, worrying about the future, pining for the past or spending time fretting over our screw-ups in the past.  It's all self-defeating.  So, notice when the thoughts start going that way, be aware, and let them float on by.  Take deep breathes and focus on the sensation of breathing. When the thoughts start going, do not judge yourself but just nudge yourself back to noticing the breath.

      Lots of stuff online about all of this.

      I wish you a happy, positive 2016, Adrian!

    • adrian57649
      adrian57649 betsy0603

      Posted

      Thanks.yeah I'm trying to be as positive as I can be ..and am looking forward to what lays ahead..as scary as that is.I'm going to start going to aa meetings.get counseling etc.just never thought I'd end up in this situation.but ....looking back ...something was gonna break sooner or later..so its happened and I've got two choices.and I'm going with the ...all the help I can possibly get as I've just really hit rock bottom..and a guy I know yes ago said to me ...when u hit rock bottom.last thing u wanna do is start mining .....so I'm really grateful for u .and others for replying to me .....got along road ahead .but I'm walking forwards and will not look back now...love lost so much in such a short time.now I can only try to fix myself and those I've hurt .thanks again
    • mort96380
      mort96380 adrian57649

      Posted

      I just want to reply to give you some perspective from my personal experience with Mirtazapine. Most AD drugs, but this one in particular it seems, aren't something you can just start and stop as you please. You become dependant on them. Although some people can just go cold turkey most find it very hard to stop taking AD medication, especially Mirtazapine.

      Mirtazapine's positives are that it seems easier to start on than most ADs and it can also be pretty fast acting often offering the user improved mood in the first week, although it's full effect will not be felt until on 30mg for several weeks. 

      What I've found from experience is that you really need to decide now if this is the AD for you. Because after a few weeks at 15mg you won't be able to just stop taking it and you will most likely need to up the dose to at least 30mg before knowing if it's effective as an AD. By this point coming off the medication will cause withdrawal. 

      So, you really need to decide now if this is the medication for you and if it is be prepared to stick with it. 

      I not not saying this stuff to scare you. It's just that from personal experience I found you can't really do half measures with this stuff, that'll just make everything twice as difficult.

    • adrian57649
      adrian57649 mort96380

      Posted

      Hi there.I have never taken a ad before.so I can't say yes or no to whether its right or wrong..all I can do is take it and find out if it will help or not.I've brushed depression away for so so many years putting up with it and using drink as a band aid until about 5 nights ago when I exploded and caused possible major damage to those around me ...I'd had people for yrs sayn get help.especially my possible ex ..who suffers it herself.she's on 450 mg effexor daily...her dad is on it also.runs his side of the family.anyway the way I've grown up is .deal with it.don't be weak etc...so that's what I've done .until recently...was very ugly...so.I've finally sought treatment ..and am willing to now take any advice...and treatment I can get...I'd just like to say thanks for ur reply.
    • lorraine52317
      lorraine52317 adrian57649

      Posted

      Hi again Adrian

      after reading through posts i just wanted to add.....

      don't think about what withdrawal may or may not be like now. You are doing amazing by not drinking and taking your antidepressants, to enable you to get your life back. I think mirtazipine has given me my life back in record time! Evergreen has been tapering off and has done so very slowly without too many adverse effects. Keep doing what you are doing and it would be a privilege to get updates from you xxx

  • evergreen
    evergreen adrian57649

    Posted

    Hi Adrian, I agree with Betsy in that I would not go up to 30mg quite so quickly. Get used to 15 first and then up the dose if it is not enough. In answer to your question; mirtazapine tends to work very quickly compared to other ADs. It only took a couple of days for me on only 15mg to feel a really positive effect. However after a month, this effect wore up and I returned to my GP who put me up to 30mg. Again, it worked very quickly. It worked well for me for nearly 4 years before my dpresssion and insomnia returned. This drug also causes many people to put on a significant amount of weight.
  • elaine16260
    elaine16260 adrian57649

    Posted

    Hi, i'm new to the forum & also new to mirtazapine. I was taking 200mg sertraline & 20mg amitriptyline for a few years but after a life altering experience I found that the combination was no longer working for me. Over 10 days I was weaned off them & prescribed mirt 30mg.

    I started taking mirt 2 days ago & my sleep has not improved any. I have found myself laying awake at 2am feeling frustrated & emotional.

    So, i'm the same as you Adrian, wondering how long it's going to take for me to feel a change.

    • betsy0603
      betsy0603 elaine16260

      Posted

      Elaine, your situation may be complicated by the coming off of the other drugs before the mirt.  You may have WD effects that mirt can't overcome.  How long of a taper did you do for the sert?  What was the dose you jumped off from?  If the mirt doesn't make you feel better, soon, then talk to your doctor about taking a tiny amount of sert againl  I'm talking 1/2 or even 1/4 of the smallest size tablet, depending on how long you have been off.  Nowadays it is common for docs to combine sert with an SSRI or SNRI, the two working together better than each alone.  But in your case, I would say it would be a slight reinstatement to alleviate any WD symptoms you might be having. 

      As I wrote above, mirt couldn't overcome my Effexor WD, but when I reinstated the Effexor with the mirt, it worked like a charm almost instantly.  I am now tapering off both because I feel it is time to be free of psych drugs, having been on them for 20 years and seeing some negative health consequences...

    • elaine16260
      elaine16260 betsy0603

      Posted

      I reduced from 200mg to 100mg for 7 days followed by 3 days at 50mg. I then had 2 days medication free before starting the mirt.

      My headaches were unbearable & I have a constant dizzy/buzzy feeling (apologies for the description but I don't know how else to put it into words!). My moods have been varied which I really need to control, I'm a single parent to my 16 month old daughter so can't afford to lose it. I'm a pretty strongminded person in certain aspects of my life so i'm managing to stay levelheaded for now but the uncertainty scares me, by that I mean not knowing how i'm going to react to this medication.

      Betsy, how long would you leave it before getting back in touch with my GP?

      Thank you for your reply xx

    • betsy0603
      betsy0603 elaine16260

      Posted

      If mirt isn't making you feel better within the next few days then for sure go back and see about that reinstatement of a little bit of sert.  Then you can do a much more gradual taper off.  Unfortunately, the docs don't know anything about tapering, which is why you're in this boat; the taper you did was WAY too fast!  At least he had you do some kind of taper which is better than what a lot of docs do; they have peope stop one and start another, and there is just so much chaos created in the brain from doing that!  Then, when the WD symptoms are bad, they treat it as a new illness and add more meds!  Do not let yours do that to you; it is a simple misunderstanding of what is happening that leads people to poly-drugging.  It is a real nightmare to try to get off of multiple drugs properly, as each one creates its own dependency and need for a slow taper.
  • lorraine52317
    lorraine52317 adrian57649

    Posted

    Hi Adrian

    i started feeling better almost straight away! Only side effect was sleepy for a day. I'm now eating quite a bit, which I was not doing before. I had been on citalopram for six months prior to mirtazipine, which didn't help me much.

    mirtazipine has given me my life back. I have now been on it for three weeks.

    How are you feeling so far? X

    god bless x

    • adrian57649
      adrian57649 lorraine52317

      Posted

      Hi Lorraine..I do feel better ..but am very sleepy ....and eat ...god ..ate more yesterday than I have in the last week..Also its my sixth day without any alchohol so I think my body is freaking out abit..one thing I've noticed is I'm able to smile again ...been a long time so I know something's working ..thanks for replying
    • lorraine52317
      lorraine52317 adrian57649

      Posted

      Adrian your post made me smile ♥

      So pleased you ate well and delighted you were able to smile again. Well done on not drinking for a week. Your body will certainly thank you for that. This drug certainly gives you your appetite back, which is a good thing if your eating had been previously poor.

      Please keep me updated..your well on your way to getting there xxxx

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