Weight gain... Metabolism or just overreating?

Hi Sam

I am afraid it is simply down to eating more.........I dont think it affects metabolism. It is well known that certain anti depressants work on improving appetite for IBS sufferers. For everybody else it just improves appetite where it isnt needed.

Just eat the amount you would normally eat and you wont put on weight!

Personally I believe that mirtazapine can increase your appetite, especially for sweet things - as you've found. Also it can give you a dry mouth, which makes you crave something tasty. I've had this effect particularly, but I try to relieve it with drinks ( not sugary pop). I haven't gained weight in the 6 years I've been on mirtazapine so it isn't inevitable. So it seems to me it does come down to a matter of willpower.

Mirtazapine does give you a ravenous appetite with cravings that are very difficult to control, especially to begin with. But it also lowers your metabolism for the first few months (though this does right itself after around 6 months). So even if you eat exactly what you did before mirtazapine you MAY put on weight (I say 'may' because not everyone does). But the majority of the weight you gain is because of the increased appetite it gives you.

So all that sounds pretty scary, eh? It certainly was for me and I was shocked that I had gained a stone and a half after 6 months and so tried to come off it. But don't panic. Here's what I've learned:

You most probably will put on weight in the first few months on mirtazapine. There is not much point in fighting it except to rein in your eating as much as possible by ordering your groceries on line, so you are not tempted by all the chocolate bars. DO NOT BUY ANY CHOCOLATE. Make that a rule. Because if you haave it in the house you WILL eat it.

After a few months, probably around 6 - 10 months, your boody will have fully adjusted to the mirtazapine and its metabolism will have pretty much returned to normal. Now is the time to diet. You must count all your calories including any drinks and work out how many calories you need each day. Just google calorie calculator - I can't put a link on this site. And then diet. You will lose the weight as fast as anyone else who is not on mirtazapine. I have lost more than half the weight I have put on and am feeling fantastic. The weight is coming off me steadily each weight. Another user on here posted that she has lost four stone whilst on mirtazapine.

You will always really enjoy your food whilst on mirtazapine, but the cravings do get more controllable. It's a great drug for depression and sleep, and if you can just get over that first six months, then weight loss is as easy as without. Good luck!

Positive vote for mirtazapine from Pixie too. It definitely helped me, saved my sanity and gave me back my life, when other antidepressants were either unsuitable or had stopped working.