Nightmare of a drug

Ihave been on mirtazapine for years. I take 45mg. at bedtime along with 200mg.of Trazadone and 2mg of klonopin. The only side effect I've experienced with the drug we are discussing was an initial weight gain and we are talking only about 10 lbs.I am a firm believer of continuing with medication until the initial side effects diminish. After a fair trial period 3 weeks or so then I would ask for something else. There are so many antidepressant to choose from. Many times it really is trial and error.

[quote:7c5af07072=\"Fuzzy Head\"]I've been suffering from depression for about 4 months now and was changed from citalopram which appeared to have little or no effect. Last night, I took my first dose of Mirtazapine. Wow, is this drug awful. When I went to bed, I fell asleep almost immediately - nice, first time in months. However, in the morning I could not wake up, I had an appointment so had to get out of bed; I felt exhausted, confused and dizzy. My partner said my face looked puffy.

On returning home later in the morning I went back to bed and was out cold for a further 7 hours! I've had the most vivid, frightening dreams and woken up with the greatest hunger I think I've ever experienced; feel irritable, depressed, fuzzy-headed and have a facial tick.

I've just spoken to a psychiatrist friend and his advice is: \"If you were my patient, I'd recommend you persevere for another week or so, wait to see what you're like once we increase your dosage next week. We can't allow patients to chop & change their medicine at will. However, as your friend, I'd say bin 'em, get to your doctor tomorrow and change to something else.\"

If only it were that easy to get an appointment with one's GP......[/quote:7c5af07072]

i had the same problem when i first starting to take these as i couldn't sleep at all b4(sleeping pills and vallium didn't do anything) i was taken off citalopram really quick and put on these.

i slept like a baby after my first one and ate like a pig and felt really angry and grumpy (not me at all) but this only lasted a couple of weeks after that i started to feel like my old self again . so you have to just hang in there until you get used to them.

i'm still on them now but just droped to 15 mg and i sleep well wake up full of life and ready for action.

please give them a chance to kick in.

mandy

Hi,

I'm so relieved to find someone in a similar position, and joined this site because I have just started mirtazapine. I have always had quite vivid dreams that I can usually recall in the morning, but last night, after only the second time taking a tablet (and only 15mg) I had the most terrifying nightmares I've ever experienced. I slept very soundly from 8.30 - 1.45am (very unusual for me, but as I've discovered, these things knock you out!) but from that point until 6.30 this morning I woke up every 15 - 20 minutes after having these terrifying dreams - at one point I had to get up and put all the lights on, and was terrified to go back to sleep (i'm not someone who has ever been afriad of the dark!). I was previously on prozac, but it had the effect of keeping me awake all night, whereas once I woke up last night, I fell straight back to sleep, despite trtying to stay awake, knowing the dreams would start as soon as I closed my eyes.

According to the leaflet that comes with the drug, 'vivid dreams and nightmares' as a side affect a very rare, affecting only 10 in 10,000 people, so I don't expect much advice, but would be so grateful if anyone had any. Will these nightmares continue, or is it just an initial reaction?

Thanks, Lisa

your not alone lisa i to suffer from dreams everynight and they are all mostly bad , i too wake up often throughout the night too , im on 45 ML , the highest dose , my friend is also on the same dose and i asked him about the bad dreams and broken sleep patterns and he says he doesn't get that , so i thought i was alone with this , but we and it seems everyone else agrees that it makes you eat like a pig and therefore put on weight , i tend to wake up half way through the night after a bad dream and go downstairs and munch on anything i can get my hands on , then go back bed and fall asleep , and feel very guilty when i wake up , the complete opposite to when i was on prozac , im giving these a good month though in case the side effects go then i will stay on them if they go if not im going back on prozac , the only reason i switched to these tablets was because prozac killed my libido and mirtazapine seems to be ok in that department , but i think feeling \"normal\" without a sex drive is better than feeling bad with a sex drive , CAN ANYONE ELSE THAT FEELS THE SAME OR SIMILAR LEAVE SOME FEEDBACK PLEASE because i think im alone with all these side effects from anti-depressants .

Hi Lisa,

I have suffered with depression and anxiety for many years, an have tried many drugs including nearly all ssri's. Zispin is a drug that does help sleep when you first take it , but the tiring effect does wear off.

For me it is probably the best as the side effects are minimal and it does seem to act like an antihistamine.

All of the drugs have there pros and cons , but you are better to give them at least 3 months (if you can bear it), to see how you feel then.

I have experienced bad dreams withe most drugs, but zispin does offer some sleep.

Weight gain is a problem as they increase your appetite, and some people experience irritability and anger attacks.

Depression is a serious illness and gaining even short term relief can be a godsend when you really are low.

The thing to remember is that you are not alone and your fellow sufferers understand and are there for you.

I hope that I have helped a little and send you my best wishes - hang in there because we need you as much as you need us - god bless you.

Kind regards - Ricardo

Hi, I'm really glad I decided to look up this medication!!! I too have been on Zispin (Mirtazapine) 45mg-started on 15mg- for about 5 years now. Like all other horrible, but necessary, anti-d's I don't know anyone who hasn't experienced the side effects in one form or another. It took almost ten years for me to find an anti-d that agreed with me and when I started them I too had cravings, I used to wake in the morning not knowing I had been up and the bed would be covered in chocolate wrappers. I had been underweight all my life, until I started them. I hated the way I looked so the weight gain was a welcomed surprise-I started my first ever diet aged 40!!! and knowing what I do now I have replaced the chocolate I would have killed for some nights with a little tub of fruit salad and flavoured water - sweet yes - but not near as many calories and much more healthier. I would love to hear from anyone who has done likewise. I did however have a little hiccup last year when I was prescribed Tramadol sustained relesease pain killers. These tablets are opiate based and I had a terrible reaction in the form of hallucinations - really scary - but found another tablet still opiate based but not time release- and haven't looked back since. I do intend however, cutting down from 45mg mirtazapine to 30mg, and if anyone out there has already done this I would be very interested to find out how it went. Any replies would be gratefully appreciated.

I started taking Mirtazapine a cople of weeks ago and had nightmares for the first few nights. I still dream now but they aren't bad...just strange. It knocks me out when i got to bed but i wake up feeling very anxious so I take a tranquiliser to counter his. Also makes me hungry.

I started taking mirtazapine 3 days ago. The first night I slept for a total of about 12 hours!!! except for getting up for the loo. Previous to this I ha complete nights where I did noy sleep. I thought this was great but since then I have not slept as well - am I the only one? everyone else seems to say that their sleep is better but they have nightmares etc - I don't have nightmares. I have been more moody as well and I am always hungry!

Has anyone else had any problems of incontinence whilst taking this medicine?

Started on mirtazapine 6 days ago and have been really sleepy, stopped some of my anxiety though. Going see how i go on with them, Ill give them about 6 weeks to see if they work Have been a bit restless and twitchy. :weird:

Mirtazipine was the worst experience I ever had. I was on it for six months and I turned from someone who was almost coping to someone who could only vaguely get out of bed. When I first started taking them I slept so much and I was so confused that I couldn't leave the house for almost six weeks - I can't even remember things that happened then - a friend came and stayed for three days and I have no memory of that at all.

I already had a problem with nightmares and this made them horrific. Every single night for six months I woke up terrified several times but the mirtazapine made me confused and unable to work my way out of where my head was. It was truly horrible.

I put on about 3 stones in that six months. I went out for dinner and I'd come home and feel hungry again. I'm still trying to lose that weight - shame it's not as easy as putting it on.

Because I work shifts it was difficult for me to find a time when I could take them so that I could be functional at least occasionally at work. As a result my performance at work slipped dramatically which didn't exactly help my depression or my confidence.

And then I went to my psychiatrist, told him all these things, and he said that he'd never heard of any of these side effects. I suggested he read the leaflet.

I'm now on citalopram and although it's not perfect at least I now know who I am.

I was prescribed mirtazapine on Monday after coming off prozac 6 months ago and having become increasingly depressed again. Half an hour after taking the first one 15 mg dose I could hardly lift my head but manaaged to stagger to bed, then had to get up to let dogs out and was so dopey I fell down the stairs. It is now 38 hours since I took it and feel nauseous, headachy, giddy, and unable to function as well as before I took it. Couldnt get an appointment with the gp this morning so am waiting for him to phone me after surgery's finished. Worst thing I have ever taken.

Fuzzyhead - ae you still on them. I take mine for the first time tonight with citalopram, hope I DON'T have same experience!!

It seems obvious to me that mirtazapine does not suit everybody. I have been taking my 'cocktail' including mirtazapine since the end of September. Yes it made me feel incredibly sleepy at the beginning even during the day. I went for lunch with a colleague during that period and could hardly lift my head off the table. It still has its sedative effects at night but I feel loads better. I have put on lots of weight and I am trying hard to lose it. I also felt spaced out and unreal. I should have taken some time off work then but I just went on. If you persevere with the mirtazapine then it might just work for you. It will take at least three weeks before you feel any better. If it unbearable then go back to the docs and ask for something else. Nobody should have to suffer this agony.I hope you begin to feel better.