Sertraline vs Mirtazapine

Update after taking it for a week now.

It definitely makes me sleep like a log but I'm a bit unsteady on my feet for a while when I wake up and also before I can get into bed after taking it. Also I'm yawning all the day as well.

I have a dry mouth, constantly feeling as if I haven't cleaned my teeth, 

i also have a permanent tummy ache but I'm constipated.

I don't feel any less anxious and I'm apparently ratty as anything with my family.

i realise it's only been a week today but I feel like going back on Sertraline as that at least made me feel calmer. I can't keep swapping and changing like this. I probably should give this three more weeks to kick in, shouldn't i?

its easy giving advice on here but it's difficult to know what to do yourself. Has anyone else noticed feeling a bit sweaty occasionally on it? I know everyone is different, it's hell, isn't it? Perhaps I'd be better being on no medication and just ripping someone's head off!

 

 Apparently, I can't take any other SSRI except for Sertraline because of my health problems. Anyway, I got completely floored today by the dizziness, the floor coming up to meet me, the fog in my head, etc etc and in a rare moment of clarity, decided that I want my life back. it's only been just over am week but I can't drive safely, I could eat a horse, I feel as if my head and feet don't belong to me and still I am ratty and bad tempered.

I rang the doctor and begged for advice which eventually ended up with me getting an appointment this afternoon. I was told it isn't wise for me to go back on Sertraline or stop taking anything which is what I feel like doing. He gave me 15 mg tablets of Mirtrazine to take for two weeks, see how I go until my scheduled appt with my own GP. If I really can't stomach 15 mg then I should stop altogether. It's such a relief being told what to do as I can't make a decision to save my life.  I can't remember what it feels like to be able to move my head without being dizzy or how I felt before took anything!

You are obviously very knowledgable, Tony. I'm going to have to Googke SNRI's and TCA's as I don't know what they mean! I took the 15 mg dose last night and still slept quite well, not quite as hungry, still quite irritable, still dizzy and with this funny feeling in my feet which has spread to my hands now. Please note all the qualifying statements. Time will tell. We'll see how we go. Don't run before you can walk. How many more sayings can I fit in here?

Forgot to say I have tried CBT a few times but it doesn't suit me. I felt more anxious about what I had been told to do, how I should be acting, what I should be saying etc. I also want to say that I realise I'm lucky, some poor people are a lot worse. I can function, can get made up, go out, shop and all that. It doesn't mean I feel fine though, just not that bad.

I don't see anything current on this forum. For some people the lower the dose the more sedating with this medication from what I was told by a psychiatrist. my weight dropped so low on another medication I needed the weight bad and would eat things to help gain weight also. It makes me hungry and my weight did level off and I stopped gaining weight. I'm on 30 mg. I would snack on healthy foods like fruits vegetables or yogurt and salads but be careful with dressings as those can make you gain weight. Also try to go for walks regularly to help with weight. If your concerned with the dose you can always let your doctor know you would like to lower the dose if you gain to much weight or it makes you too sleepy. I started at 15 mg and when I went to 30 mg my weight stayed the same. I was down to 76 lbs so in my case it truly helped with sleep as well. I also take an anxiety medication in addition to a secondary sleep medication. Sorry I'm just responding but I keep seeing posts from a year ago

You can take sertraline and mirtazapine together -- in fact, they work synergistically and the addition of mirtazapine is thought to mitigate many of the unwanted side effects of SSRIs and SNRIs, like sexual dysfunction and dirrhea. This is accomplished due to mirtazapine's unique pharmacological characteristics, acting as a 5-HT2 and 5-HT3 receptor antagonist. The specifics get a little complicated and aren't pertinent to this post, but by inhibiting these receptor sites, and in symbiosis with the serotonin reputable inhibition of your given SSRI or SNRI, 5-HT1 is specifically stimulated; this serotonin receptor site is thought to be especially involved in mood regulation and thought to be under stimulated in anxious and depressive conditions -- in contrast to, say, 5-HT3, which when stimulated induces nausea and vomiting, among other things (in fact, the antiemetic drug ondansetron is a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist).

The combination of duloxetine and mirtazapine is colloquially referred to in psychiatric circles as Limerick Rocket Fuel, and the combination of venlafaxine and mirtazapine is likewise referred to as California Rocket Fuel.

Anyways, my point is that this drug is very useful, and when taken in combination with SSRI and SNRI antidepressants, has a very tolerable side effect profile. I would recommend you see a psychiatrist, if you're going to be taking such an aggressive course of treatment -- and I would generally recommend such professional counsel when taking any psychiatric medication, even for something ostensibly simple and common like depression or anxiety. General practitioners simply aren't as well equipped to manage such medications and aren't as quailified to assess your longterm response to treatment. Having such expertise involved can only be to your benefit.

Iv never took meds before and was put on 100mg ster and had horrible acid reflux and bowl issues, but slept well. Was changed to 15mg of mirt and bowls back normal no acid reflux but can't sleep and eating loads at night , and up at night doing stuff loads of energy, when I try to sleep my arms and legs twitch and restless, but happier and anxiety better

I had the same 100mg of stert but was switched to 15 mg of mirt, I can't sleep up most of the night active, and eating lots also, I need something to help me sleep, I have so much energy, 100mg of stert made my bowls terrible and acid reflux and night terrors, but I slept ok on them.