Remeron - whats your experience of it?

[Julie359]

Have been researching differnt classes of Anti-d's and have come across Remeron (TeCA) that sounds pretty good.  If you have tried this or are currently taking it what is your experience of it and have you found it more tolerable than other Anti-d's?

Thanks for your time......

[Julie359]

Just to let ya know i did speak to a different lady doctor about half hour ago and i explained what route666 said, she said that there could be a possibility of this happening although on the medcial system Propranalol isnt a drug that is known to interact with Mirtazapine.  She did say though that because i am worried by this side effect now she feels it would be better to try something else, so we both agreed on Amatrypline.  Which is a Tricyclic.  This has no bearing or interactions on propranalol....

[Julie359]

So why do you think my doc would prescibe me Mirtazapine when he knows im on Propranalol if it would cause me harm?  Are you sure you have got that right about the drug interactions, i have been told this drug is greatly tolerated when taking other drugs that are not normally tolerated by anti-d's.  

[Julie359]

Seriously! I take 30mg x 2 daily, and yes i have experienced nocturnal hallucinations when i have woken briely from my sleep and have had alot of issues with dizziness, vertigo and ciruclation at dose of 40mg x 2 daily, hence lowered it.  Although i would say it has taken a great egde off of my GAD but does nothing for my phobic disorders.

So i wonder why my doctor never picked up on this when i spoke to him about this, he knows i take Propranalol as he was the one who prescribed it to me, so why would he prescribe it if it will cause me harm?  

[Route666]

Do not take Remeron with Propranolol. You will develop hypotension (excessively low blood pressure). The risk of orthostasis (low blood pressure upon standing) is too great. You would likely faint.

Remeron has alpha-1 antagonist properties. You are on a beta-blocker (beta antagonist). If you block both alpha and beta, bad things can happen. It appears as though the Tarot cards failed to reveal that!

Propranolol can actually worsen anxiety paradoxically, as it crosses the blood-brain barrier in very high concentrations. Hallucination, nightmares, anxiety, psychosis and so on would not be uncommon. Has this possibility been investigated?

[Julie359]

Im really not sure with this now, before i began taking the propranalol i was 8st 7lbs roughly and after 6/7 months of taking it now i am about 10stone. So since christmas i have piled it on.  I already have issues regarding food, some would say obsessive, i certainly would.  Im actaully in fact the opposite to MrGreen in that if i miss a meal or go too long between meals i start to panic as i feel weak and think ill have a low blood sugar attack.  I have suffered hypoglycemia several times in my life.  At my worst i start to prepare food straight after eating a large meal and carry food around with me where ever i am.  So with this being part of my illness i think if i were to take Remeron i proberly would end up the size of a house with other serious health issues.  I already look like someone has stuck a bike pump up my rear end and over done it with the wrist action... my cheeks look like im harvesting nuts (LOL) so may just keep it and  take it when im either having a seriously messed up day (to knock me out) or when i just cant sleep.

Also going totally off track i do tarot cards and i did do a reading concerning this drug and this is what came out.  I asked the question:  should i take this anti-depressant remeron?

1st card means issue = Trust
2nd card means Internal influences that you can not see = Thunderbolt, which means feeling insecure, standing on shaky ground and wanting to hold on to something secure.
3rd card means external influences that you can see = Source, in this situation it means the anti-depressant.
4th card means What is needed for resolution = slience, means this will be the outcome of taking Remeron, peace.
5th car means Resolution: the understanding = Mind, means it will cause peace of the mind.

So i then asked so was the SSRI's causing me to become worse?
Answer = intensity, which is so true cause they make my symptoms far too intense and i cant cope.

So if i take the Remeron what will i become?

Answer = sharing, means to share your love, joy, laughter and start to experience life and will make you feel more full.  

Although on the sharing card it has a picture of a large woman with a plate of food and food all around her, dining at candle light....LOL  so again im wondering if this means ill become a big fat bird, eating well into the night.

You may think its a load of toosh, but i believe in it.  It helps to make decisions.

[Route666]

Perhaps the easiest way to summarize Mirtazapine is:

(A) Primarily antihistaminic (sedating) at dosages under 30 milligrams.

(B) Primarily noradrenergic (activating) at dosages in excess of 45 milligrams (much like an SNRI). For anxiety, you wouldn't take this much.

Weight gain is almost universal, given the alpha-adrenergic antagonist property of the drug. The weight gain can be rather massive. For the anorexic with mixed anxiety and depression, it's a good choice. If you're obese or have diabetes, you probably wouldn't want to take Zispin. Otherwise, it is worth trying. It is benign in comparison to an SSRI or SNRI.

Trazodone is another option that is very similar, although its not nearly as potent.

[MrGreen]

My thing, like I said, was that I had stopped eating. I assume they thought it a good idea to try it on me. But the eating problem was a serious one. No matter how hungry you feel, if you have problems eating, you are still not going to eat. That is how it never changed what I ate. I always said there is no one pill that can fix eating problems. The problem I have is emetaphobia. You tend to limit what you eat. No matter how hungry you are. But others I have known on it did eat a lot. I was around a few of these people for a month or more and some would have up to 7 eggs for breakfast along with other food. They sure ate big. So that is one side to consider.

[Paxiled]

i haven't taken it, but after reading Mr. Green's success with it I asked my psychiatrist.  She said she only uses it with Alzheimer's patients who have stopped eating because it makes everyone (except Mr. Green) eat like crazy.  So she didn't like the idea of using it for me, since I'd gained a lot on Paxil.  Also said it was very sedating.  Anyway, not personal experience, just my psychiatrist's opinion on options for dealing with this never-ending Paxil thing.

[MrGreen]

Here in Ireland the tablet goes under the name of zispan. Took me a good while to cop on that it was remeron. A Canadian friend put me wise to it. I know I was put on only for the eating aspect of it. But if you don't want to eat no tablet will make you eat. There has been zero change in that aspect for me. I eat what I used to eat only. Nothing more or nothing less. But I do know others that can't stop eating. I was in hospital when put on it. The bloke in the same ward was on it and had nightmares every night. He would talk in his sleep. Freaky stuff he was saying. The next day he knew nothing about the dream and told me not to say a word about what he was saying. What he was saying was ' kill, kill, kill '. ( LOL ) Must have been some nightmare.

Only in the very early days, some 20 yrs ago was I ever really on any SSRIs. I must have went through them all back then. I hated them. Some no longer existed. They would be outdated. Taken over by more modern forms of medication.

One thing I will say is that you will sleep. Trust me on that one. But I take mine at night and don't feel knackered the next day at all. I take more anxiety meds in the morning. Am wide awake. Might be just me and meds. My body might be able to withstand more.

You can only give it a go. See how you feel on it. Might be the one for you. Might not be. Word of warning. Breaking a tablet might taste horrible. I am lucky with the sollutab form. I hear the other form has a horrible taste. Swallow as fast as you can. ( No jokes needed  LOL )

[Julie359]

Well i spoke to my Gp this morning and he prescribed me the 15mg tablets, but he didnt sound too happy.  He said that it is a great drug but me personally seem to be very sensitve to the drugs so he said that i shouldnt get my hopes up cause if i end up having side effects then i could become very dissapointed and more depressed as it didnt work.  But he said we wont find out unless i try it so gave me the prescription, he also said i should take half a 15mg tablet, instead of a whole one.  

After i spoke to him i found a medical web-site and a thread about Remeron, and i was dissapointed by what i read.  Several woman found it totally knocked their socks off, they either got too sedated on 15mg and couldnt funtion properly, became far too hungry and was eating to much and piling on the weight or they were having nightmares.... all of what you have said but they didnt seem to be coping at all with how it made them feel.  

So now im not too sure about whether i should give it a go or not. I may actually quarter the tablet so instead of 15mg or even half 7.5mg it will be a very low dose...... and just see how i go for a few days then increase if im ok with it.  

So why do you hate SSRIs?  what too many side effects?  How many different ones did you try?  Plus also did it calm your anxiety straight away or like SSRI's did u feel an increase of anxiety when you forst started it?

Cheers for the info...... i cant believe you seem to be the only one who takes it...no one else has answered on here or the depression forum.....ppppffffff

[MrGreen]

You know I don't even know what dose I am on. Mid range dose. People do take higher amounts. It is good for knocking you out at night. But you can wake up after a few hours and be wide awake. I have gotten used to that by now. But normally they would start you on the mid range dose. I know they wanted me on it for weight gain. But with my problem of not eating much, that is in my mind. Hungry or not you are still not going to eat. It never effected my weight at all. I see it as an easy tablet. I hate SSRIs. This is the first one I have been on for a long period of time. I will check my dosage later. Don't know it here and now. They go up in 10mgs. Like 20mg, 30mg, 40mg and the likes. The sollutab is great. I hate swallowing tablets. Normally have to crush them. So this can just disolve on the tongue. So easy. Nightmares I have had a few. But I love them. Love dreams of all sorts. So no issues with that part at all. Best you can do is ask. See what your doctor says. Hope it works out well for you.

[Julie359]

also i think id tolerate some weight gain if it means getting my life back.....

[Julie359]

yeah i read that it is great for severe anxiety as it has a strong sedative effect, but carries fewer side effects than other anti-d's.  Also read that it kicks in faster than other anti-d's from as soon as 1 week.  

What dose did you start on?  Have you taken it long?  

I think im gona ask my GP to give me a try on this, although im wondering why they havent suggested this well before now?  All they keep trying me on is SSRI's..... with no luck.  I read that this drug is great for people who can not tolerate SSRI's.

[MrGreen]

It's great. I love it. Though with the average person it can cause weight gain. Not with me though. It also causes nightmares with a lot of people. Makes others feel tired. I have never any problems with it at all. I take the sollutab version. Disolves on the tongue. Works for anxiety too. Blocks off anxiety receptors in the brain. I would give it the thumbs up. Never done me any harm at all. I'm off to take mine now.