on mirtazipane but getting no sleep!

Hey bea I am on 15 mg mirtazapine.... I have been on them 5 wks and feeling better... I was initially not sleeping before I started the meds... now I sleep all night... don't get me wrong the first week I felt extremely sluggish but that goes as the body gets used to the meds... I was on this med years ago and helped me recover.. I to have about 4 stone to lose but my happiness I'm afraid comes first... I think that If ur depression is a result of ur weight then u will most certainly put more weight on therefore I firmly believe this is not the med for u... but I suppose that's for u and ur gp to decide... citalopram did not agree with me either... try and take ur med an hour before bed time and stick to a regular time and try getn up at the Same time each day and don't nap in the afternoon.... hope u gt better soon... lift ur mind and gt motivated x

Ps meant to say that there is no reason for my depression .....

Hi Bea

I've been taking 30mg mirtazapine for about 5 weeks now. They are starting to have a good effect on me.

From the first day I have been able to fall asleep easily and stay asleep, only woken up early a couple of times because of the cold. For the first 3 weeks though I would say that I had been feeling very tired during the day and I would sleep over 10 hours at night and have a sleep in the day aswell, and like you said I would feel as though I hadn't slept at all. This is improving now though.

I am now starting to feel a lot better in myself aswell, a lot calmer and not irritable at all now.

The mirtazapine does make me very thirsty, but that I can deal with.

The doctors are right when they say it can take 6 to 8 weeks to start feeling the benefits, and it seems like such a long time but for me it has been worth sticking with it. The best effect they've had on me is giving me back as I would call it "my laid back attitude". Depression and anxiety had caused me to get very worked up and irritable over the tiniest things, but now I feel back to normal and able to keep calm and relaxed.

I had tried citalopram too for 8 weeks before doctor changed me to mirtazapine because I had severe insomnia and the citalopram were having no effect on me.

I hope they work for you, you won't feel that they are working straight away but try to stick with them .

Thanks, I'm sticking with them but so difficult to cope with the side effects. At the moment I'm suffering dizziness and nausea as well as spending half the night on the toilet! Yuck!

I'm incredibly thirsty on them already.

Have you noticed any difference in your eating patterns?

Oh dear, I didn't have any of those nausea or dizziness side effects, but I understand they are common and should disappear as your body gets used to the drug. If it's very troublesome for you though there's no harm in going back to your docs.

Yeah they do make me very thirsty, I had blood tests too to make sure it wasn't anything else like diabetes and thyroid problems which can cause similar symptoms. I try to drink more though anyway because I find I get headaches when I don't drink enough.

It hasn't affected my eating massively. Depression and anxiety had caused me to lose a lot of weight anyway from a loss of appetite so it isn't as much of an issue for me if I gain weight. It hasn't caused me to eat more but it has caused me to want to eat the bad stuff like chocolate and biscuits more, but then I can't eat as much at meal times. I usually just have breakfast, have a little bit of a snack on chocolate and things throughout the day and then can only manage a small meal in the evening. I never really feel hungry when I eat.

I've had full set of blood tests and alls OK. I'm very sluggish and suffering badly with bloating. I've gone up 2 dress sizes in a week!

I've hardly eaten due to everything I do eat giving me heartburn and bloating. I've got heartburn worse than when I was pregnant too. I've had customers congratulate me as I look pregnant. Its so embarrassing and is making my anxiety worse. I'm so unhappy!!

Aww bless you. You can go back to your doctors if you are unhappy with the mirrtazapine, you are entitled to make a preference in your treatment. They could suggest something else more suitable for you. Try not to worry there are plenty of options.

The mirtazapine made me very sluggish in the beginning too for at least the first 3 weeks, I slept over 10 hours at night and slept during the day aswell, but now when I sleep I feel refreshed (occasionally get a tired day).

I've been on mirtazepine 15mg for nearly one week, have slept fairly well once I get off to sleep, haven't wanted to get up in the morning, but put that down to my depression. I've been eating a lot of chocolate and biscuits and getting a bit bloated also very constipated. Dry mouth too. I'm supposed to double my dose to 30mg after one week. I thought I was feeling less anxious and more optimistic one day, but feeling low again, hope they lift my mood..

Hey Stephen hang in there... as u c I've been on 15 mg for six weeks now.... I was very sluggish the first week but that soon left my system... I was very difficult to treat in the past but recovered on mirtazalpine... I does increase ur sugar intake and I also experienced a dry mouth which will go.... its early days yet but mirtazapine is usually one of the fast acting antidepressants although can take 6-8 weeks to settle into the system.... I feel now that I should go up to 30 as my symtons have been creeping back... I think u can feel a little all over the place initially so keep ur chin up... it worked wonders for me and mirt is used to treat major episode of depression .. remember ur not alone... things will .gt better... keep posting... its good to talk....

Ps.... I was really bad at Christmas and since starting mirt and the difference has bn nite and day.

Hi Jacqueline, thank you for responding, I feel a bit better today after getting up and reading your comments, it's good to know that I'm not alone. I definitely felt a lift in my mood and hope that that continues as I up my dose to 30mg tomorrow night, though I realise that it will take awhile to get into my system.