Mirtazapine Experiences

DaveFoster

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I've heard mirtazapine mentioned on this forum, and my psychiatrist has brought it up a couple times.

It increases noradrenaline concentrations in the brain at higher dosages; haidut has mentioned the NE increases estrogen.

Besides this, any experiences with depression/anxiety and general well-being plus any other issues it helped or harmed?
 

squanch

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I found it to be great for anxiety and increasing appetite. It does have a really strong sedating effect though (stronger than cyproheptadine). You definitely have to take it at night, it will knock you out within 30min. Because of the very long half life you will still feel it the entire next day though, which is the main reason why I don't take it regularly anymore. Huge appetite, very relaxed and no anxiety but somewhat sluggish all day (physically not mentally)
 

BobbyDukes

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It was the most hardcore sedative antidepressant I've ever tried. I think it's because of the longer half. For me anyway, taking too much meant it was more of an ordeal. Whereas with Cypro, it can all be over in a 24 hour period (if you overdo it).

Did you ever try ritanserin? It basically just feels like that, but with a heavy anti-histamine side to it. They tell you that your body grows tolerance to this side of it pretty quickly (it can be quite disabling if that part of it affects you). I couldn't get past day two. The lower I went on dosage, the worst the sedation got (I'm sure higher doses are supposed to be more stimulating, but may have that incorrect).
 

Giraffe

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I have experimented with both mirtazapine and cyproheptadine. I took mirtazapine daily for several weeks in a row, cyproheptadine I took only sporadically. Both I could tolerate only at very small doses. I haven't noticed any difference between cyproheptadine and mirtazapine.

I think it (mirtazapine) helped a lot with mood. (As predicted by the pharmacist) it took about four weeks for the effect to set in. I noticed that I did drink more coffee than usual. (I love coffee, but only as long as it tastes good. When I had enough it starts to taste bad.) Negatives were near-constipation, and when I tried higher doses worsening of RLS.

I think I'll give it another try, but this time with magnesium carbonate on board to mitigate the side-effects. Hope it works.

Edit to add: I tried mirtazapine for sleep. Sleep is an issue for me since childhood, but when it got a lot worse I decided to give mirtazapine (or cyproheptadine) a try. After a couple of weeks my sleep was back to normal, don't know if mirtazpine has helped or if it would had become better anyway. The knockout effect others have mentioned seems to wear off for me very quick.
 
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allblues

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I've been fiddling around with mirtazapine and cypro, there's definitely cross-tolerance to the anti-histamine effect, nowadays
i don't get sedated by either of them. I've used them on and off for a few months, low doses. 1-4 mg cypro/day, 7.5-30 mg mirtazapine/day.

Strangely, after losing the sedation, mirtazapine gave me slight insomnia. Guessing that's the NE effect.
Cypro feels a bit 'cleaner' than mirtazapine. AFAIK mirtazapine antagonizes 5ht3 more readily so constipation is more likely,
and that's my experience too.

As a fun fact, it's an anaesthetic too so if you peel off whatever ***t coating from the pills and put it in your mouth it's almost like taking lidocaine.
 

bluewren

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I use Mirtazapine for sleep, and I am thankful for it, every night. Previously I was lying awake, and worrying about lying awake, till 3 in the morning :(

My GP suggested 30 mgs nocte. I started with 15 mgs, and have finally settled on 7.5 mgs. It has been a tremendous help to me. I don't know how long I will keep it up....but not forever. I will use cyproheptadine as a replacement at some stage, though I don't find it as effective.

All in all, I have found it great in lower doses.
 
OP
DaveFoster

DaveFoster

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Thanks everyone for all your input. I'll give it a try.

It was the most hardcore sedative antidepressant I've ever tried. I think it's because of the longer half. For me anyway, taking too much meant it was more of an ordeal. Whereas with Cypro, it can all be over in a 24 hour period (if you overdo it).

Did you ever try ritanserin? It basically just feels like that, but with a heavy anti-histamine side to it. They tell you that your body grows tolerance to this side of it pretty quickly (it can be quite disabling if that part of it affects you). I couldn't get past day two. The lower I went on dosage, the worst the sedation got (I'm sure higher doses are supposed to be more stimulating, but may have that incorrect).
I did try ritanserin; lower amounts were okay (it's very hard to tell if it has an effect.) It seemed stimulating and higher doses I noticed anxiety and hyperstimulation.
 
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DaveFoster

DaveFoster

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I asked haidut, this is what he said about mirtazapine:

"It is not bad, even though it has been shown to sometimes contribute to serotonin syndrome. I think it is an agonist of 5-HT1 receptor. I would try it but if the doctor is open to suggestions I would ask for ketanserin if available. Cypro is able to do everything mirtazapine can, without the adrenergic side effects."

On another note, it seems to be great for sleep, as well as depression. Plus and plus.
 
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DaveFoster

DaveFoster

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Ive used it for a couple months now. Here's my experience;

Pros: Sleep, appetite, Digestion (literally perfect), Skin looks better (reduced redness, not as acne prone)

Cons: Drowsiness, definite anti sexual effect that begins just 30 mins after taking or less, weird social anxiety and lack of desire to speak or be around people (helps with other anxieties-hard to explain). Noticed this more after a month or so of use) INSANE weight gain- I've gained 40 lbs and my diet has hardly changed.
I feel that it's slightly feminizing because I didn't notice masculinizing effects from something else until I stopped using it for 3 days. As soon as I stopped using it the effects from the other compound where very noticeable.

So really in an emergency it's good but there does seem to be better stuff out there.
I get what you mean about the "weird social anxiety." It's like being by yourself is enough, and I have a desire to do things that are non-social, but I appreciate the nature of other people. It also had a somewhat hypomanic effect on me.
 

Loachi1105

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Hello,
I have been prescribed Mirtazapine 15mg in 2008,
I have always been a bad sleeper, but at that time, at a stressful period it skyrocketed.
I barely slept for weeks.
When I had a sleep exam done by a Psy specialized in sleep, it showed I only had ¼ of the required REM sleep.
The Psy pointed out that it was without doubt due to my benzo use for many years.
So he prescribed me Mirtazapine 15mg.
It did indeed in the beginning give me some sleep back.
Sleep, yes, but would not call it restoring sleep, just better than nothing.
Coincidence or not but in the same period my anxiety also god worse,
so I ended up going from 1mg akton that I used for 15years to Xanax 2Mg.
Since then I am stuck in a state of always be wired like hell.
Things went somewhat up and down a little, I have less intense sudden panic attacks, )who did not appear with the Mirtazapine but after a year) , but I am really stressed out all times.
Even writing this post is a hard thing to do.
I have been trying to find what is wrong for years without success.
As things did not get better I was now again once more trying to find an answer.
As I yesterday read that Mirtazapine is noradrenergic, my first understanding (probably misunderstood ) was that it raises noradrenalin. So my thought was , that’s my problem, the noradrenalin is what messes me up. That’s why I google on it and decided to try to slowly taper off.
But as I read other posts here I probably get it wrong, but still don’t get it if adrenergic does or does not mean increase in noradrenalin.
But conclusion:
Pros :
* Yes it helped me break the out of the roof insomnia for some months.
Cons:
*!!! I got addicted to it very quickly !!!! , when forgetting to take it , no way to get asleep.
Even when I accidentally forgot to take it, so no placebo effect.
- I even need to take it close to go to bed time, I tried to take it a few hours before, to get out of bed with more ease, but when taken 4h before bed seem like it does not work anymore.
* Sleep ? Yes I do sleep , with trouble , and certainly not a restoring sleep.
* Appetite ? not for me , am never hungry, but gained about 10 pound I can not shed off.
* Anxiety, well I can not prove Mirtazapine it is involved , but if I google Mirtazapine and anxiety, seems like I am not the only one with the connection.
* Mood ? Felt no effect there. Exercise and social interaction to get out of negative thinking have better effect.
* Cortisol ?? an other post suggest it lowers Cortisol?? Mine definitely went up from a few point lower that top range to a few points above range. ( not that I claim Mirtazapine caused it , but clearly , neither did it prevent it)
I wish I did never take it longer than 2 weeks.
 

Peat Party

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I went through a horrible period (Nov 2016) of a lot of panic attacks & general anxiety, which i'm first now beginning to come out of. I'm not saying Mirtazapine was the cause of it, i don't know, but like @Loachi1105 it didn't do much to lower anxiety or relieve depression (30mg). I recently did an ultrasound of my abdomen and found out i have a fatty liver. I think Mirtazapine might have contributed to that since i've gained 30lbs the time i've been on it.
 

Davsey85

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Jan 31, 2017
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Hey Dave i prescription for mirtizipine 15 mg

Thinking to take 7.5 mg for the wired sensations at night for emf

Is there anything you would to the mix if one were to go on a long flight
From us to ethiopia

Mirtizipine 7.5 plus cypro 1-2 mg daily and perhaps ldn starting 0.5mg sound like a good cocktail
for stress reduction from emf?

With some Aspirin and K2

My father said he would purchase
anything for me on alldaychemist
today

To help me deal with my emf and Fibromyalgia concerns so i can go
With him to ethiopia and escape
from the radiation here in the us

Thank You Mr Dave



I've heard mirtazapine mentioned on this forum, and my psychiatrist has brought it up a couple times.

It increases noradrenaline concentrations in the brain at higher dosages; haidut has mentioned the NE increases estrogen.

Besides this, any experiences with depression/anxiety and general well-being plus any other issues it helped or harmed?
 

Ellae

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Jul 3, 2018
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Hi, I know it's an old thread but for me it has been a life savior.

I suffered from severe insomnia two years ago after major nervous breakdown/burnout and I was about to really loose it when I found mirtazapine. I sleep so deeply on it, have very pleasant dreams and it truly helped me calm down (first I felt veeery relaxed during the days as well but it wasn't too big of a problem for me since I needed to rest, with time that effect lessened and I was able to stay awake throughout the day).

In the beginning I took one fourth tablet, now I haven't needed it for a long time but occasionally take 1/8th tablet when my estrogen is at it's highest because it seems to have other very beneficial effects other than just good sleep. Right now I am experimenting with it again because **** Portion Control's Nathan recommended antihistamine for those dealing with cancer and since I've been having some precancerous sores in my mouth it might be helpful. :)
 

SonOfEurope

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Jul 10, 2016
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The only one by big pharma that didn't de-personalize me and increased sleep, appetite and anabolic status.

Probably best to cycle it to avoid heart rhythm changes and excess weight gain, Progesterone+dhea or Pregnenolone can in many ways replace it.
 

golder

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May 10, 2018
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The only one by big pharma that didn't de-personalize me and increased sleep, appetite and anabolic status.

Probably best to cycle it to avoid heart rhythm changes and excess weight gain, Progesterone+dhea or Pregnenolone can in many ways replace it.
I agree with this testimony! Do you still use mirtazapine infrequently?
 

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