# Mirtazapine (Remeron) question



## meridian (Feb 3, 2008)

I have been taking mirtazapine 30mg for a couple of months and have found it has helped a lot with my sleep, appetite, depression, and generalized anxiety. Best of all it doesn't have any troublesome side effects (eg sexual problems) and it is the only antidepressant I seem to tolerate (I found SSRIs too activating). However, my social anxiety is still a problem.

I was thinking of increasing the dosage and was wondering what other people's experience was in taking a 45mg dose. On Wikipedia it says that as the dosage increases the less sedating it is supposed to be. Is this what others have found or did the drowsiness also increase. Does increasing the dose help the social anxiety symptoms or is it just more of the same effect.
Any feedback would be much appreciated.


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## nenad (Jan 3, 2008)

I had a similar experience with Mirtazapine. Thinking increasing the dose might do more for SA i went up to 60mg. It didn't, it only increased the side effects with minimal benefits. At 60 mg it had significant sexual side effects. The sedation was similar at 30 to 60 mg.


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## meridian (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks nenad. Are you still taking it or did you find something more effective? If you did stop taking it, was it hard to come off?


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## redkit (Mar 14, 2006)

try a benzo for SA. mirtazapin is useless.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Remeron is a wonderful drug if you have sleep problems. No sexual side effects. Its more powerful than SSRI's as it works a different way and i think it effects all neurotransmitters.

I personally couldnt handle the excessive drowsiness.


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## mranonhello (Nov 13, 2003)

More of it was less sedating for me. I only tried it twice once at 15 MG and then once at 30MG. For me this drug was so sedating that I could not function on it at all. There was a definite decrease it it when I doubled the dosage, but It was still so much that I could not function on it.


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## nenad (Jan 3, 2008)

meridian said:


> Thanks nenad. Are you still taking it or did you find something more effective?


No. I found it helped my SA in most situations and in general i appeared more confident, but certian situations would still cause my SA to escalate into a panic attack. This and the 10 kg i put on in 3 months led me to try again.
The next med i tried was Effexor and im currently doing reasonably well on Parnate. They are more effective against panic, depression and general anxiety but are activating (especially Parnate). I wouldn't recommend either for just SA.



meridian said:


> If you did stop taking it, was it hard to come off?


Not at all. I had no withdrawal symptoms.


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## meridian (Feb 3, 2008)

I feel that the sedation side effect has improved over time. I think the tiredness levels are probably comparable now to when I was taking paroxetine. And getting a good night sleep every night really helps. My weight was getting low because of the anxiety so the weight gain effect is actually a good thing for me. Again I don't feel the gain in weight is much different to when I was taking paroxetine. When I get to my desired weight I feel I will be able to curtail my eating habits.


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## foxtrot (Feb 17, 2007)

I didn't find mirtazapine very useful for SA but it was of course pretty excellent for insomnia... all sedating side effects would settle themselves out fairly quickly with doseage _increases_ (yes, it worked that way for me). I was never bothered by any other side effects which made it a very decent med for me (ie it didnt cause insomnia or sexual problems like everything else has) but then it wasn't much good for SA so I quit it... no problems quitting except return of baseline insomnia. My backposts would prob tell you a little more about my experiences with the drug...
effectively a damn good sleeping aid and not much else... but no side effects or discontinuation syndrome either.


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## meridian (Feb 3, 2008)

It seems odd that mirtazapine supossedly is a broad spectrum antidepressant (increasing noreadrenaline and serotonin) but many people find it doesn't help their SA. I had a friend who was on it and over the course of a year he become much more social. He said that improvement happened over many months. I'm hoping this is what will happen with myself because I don't really want to go back to SSRIs. Perhaps this drug takes longer to work on SA symptoms.


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## CBCBC (Sep 20, 2008)

Someone mentioned something about benzos to treat anxiety. That is fine for a short term solution if you feel like you can't take it anymore, but they act on the same receptors that alcohol does so you might say something that is not appropriate. They also can be addictive. Not a good long term solution. 

I have heard of a drug called inderal that lowers your heart rate and eliminates symptoms of anxiety attacks. I have never tried this one, but it might be worth asking your doctor about. 

Don't forget behavioral approaches to. No medicine can be a panacea for you. There is a great book by Dale Carnegie called "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living". It was written in the 1930s so it really goes to show you what an eternal problem anxiety is. It has given me some new perspectives and practical ways to approach anxiety. 

Good luck!


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

CBCBC said:


> Someone mentioned something about benzos to treat anxiety. That is fine for a short term solution if you feel like you can't take it anymore, but they act on the same receptors that alcohol does so you might say something that is not appropriate. They also can be addictive. Not a good long term solution.


Benzos can be used long-term (as in for the rest of your life) and some patients require that. It's just anti-drug propaganda that says "benzos are for short-term use only". Yes, benzos enhance the effect of GABA, the main calming neurotransmitter in your brain. Alcohol also acts on GABA, though in a different manner. If acting on GABA means a drug is bad, then I guess that rules out Nardil which actually increases the amount of GABA in the brain (along with other things), while benzos only enhance the effect of what you have rather than increasing the amount of GABA.

Talk about "addiction" (really dependency in most cases) really means nothing to those who are disabled by anxiety. This is like telling someone who is in excruciating chronic pain after numerous failed back surgeries resulting from a near-fatal car crash that their daily use of morphine for the rest of their life may be "addictive". Risk of "addiction" may be superior to eternal misery.


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## ayame85 (Aug 29, 2010)

Hi Everyone,

I've just been diagnosed with GAD and put onto Mirtazapine. I have heard the this can increase libido has anyone found this to be true??

Thanks

:boogie:clap


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## Iwillovercomeanxiety1 (Aug 23, 2010)

yeah i was on remeron. the higher the dose, the more activating it will become. also if u have a problem with sweating this med will lower ur body temp and dry u out


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## 1L45TTRI (Feb 10, 2010)

Im on mirt... Dry mouth,14kg,apathy,with me depersonalization in the higher doses, did lil to nothing for my anxiety helped alot with insomnia but still depressed even at 60mg. But I'm treatment resistant! If it runs out of puff in several months and you can handle trying effexor "SNRI" maybe talk to your doc about it? I'm back down to 30mg mirt at nyt,300mg effexor in morn & .5 Xanax when needed. Goodluck with your recovery


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## Not Like Them (Jul 2, 2009)

Also keep in mind that those who "get well" with remeron don´t tend to write as much about it here as those who have negative experiences. It´s easy to get a distorted truth if you rely too much on what you read on the web about others experiences. Listen to your body is my advice.


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## saosin80 (Sep 15, 2009)

I know this topic is pretty much dead but I decided to try out remeron. I am done with SSRI's. Anyway I was reading about exactly what remeron does and it sounds like it should benefit SA. I'll give it a go!

The 5-HT2C receptor normally works to inhibit the release of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine in various parts of the brain, notably in the pleasure centers such as the ventral tegmental area (VTA).[84][85] *By blocking it, mirtazapine disinhibits dopamine and norepinephrine activity in these areas, causing a pronounced antidepressant and anxiolytic response*


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

foxtrot said:


> effectively a damn good sleeping aid and not much else....


This has also been my experience with it, infact I take it purely to treat my insomnia.


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## Canadian4Life (Sep 27, 2010)

jim_morrison said:


> This has also been my experience with it, infact I take it purely to treat my insomnia.


Tried it in 2008 and it worked well for anxiety and depression. Tried it again last month didn't get any good effect. But it worked well when it did. I always try new drugs for my anxiety but end up back on clonazepam everytime. I think clonazepam is the only thing that will help me it hits the spot more aless and helps with my anxiety the way I need a med to.


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## drew345 (Jul 21, 2011)

hi i have been on mirtazapine 30mg for about 6 mths now after a fair few failed trails of other drugs eg effexor,paxil,lexapro,endronax and unfortunately i feel like the mirtazapine is not doing anything for my mood it just makes me sleepy/groggy all the time and the weight gain is not good either was wondering if anyone had any suggestions of other anti d to try that might help evevate my mood as at moment i feel like im getting lower each day and dont have an appointment with my pshyscrist till 5th august thought if i could get a few ideas to approach him witrh it would help me aswell as him


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## CD700 (Apr 22, 2010)

Like you I have tried the usual AD's and they failed. 
Something like Parnate might be worth asking your doc about
Remeron is **** and just makes you fat and sleepy


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## swim (Apr 4, 2011)

I have taken 45mg mirtazapine and even at maximum dosage it was uneffective on both anxiety and depression. On the other hand it's top choice for insomnia and a mild aphrodisiac which meant porno fruition since I was so down I wouldn't really make passes to women.


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## FairleighCalm (May 20, 2007)

i used remeron successfuly but not at the dsage you note. why not give it more time? maybe layer talk therapy on top of the meds?


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## Ash10105 (Aug 21, 2012)

*New to Remeron*

I just started Remeron for GAD and SAD. Side effects definitely not nearly as bad as everyone has lead me to believe.

Day 1 - 15 MG at night - Was really hard to get out of bed but after that I felt fine. My anxiety absolutely sky-rocketed thou (No idea why). I was also slightly nauseous.

Day 2 - 30 MG at night - Hard to get out of bed but afterwards was fine. Anxiety back to normally bad levels. Still nauseous with no appetite.

Day 3 - 30 MG at night - Slightly nauseous still. Appetite has decreased (I realise this is very unusual). Anxiety slightly lessened.

Day 4 - 30 MG at night. Nausea mostly gone. Dizziness has stopped. Still hard to wake up. Also around 1PM I've been feeling tired. My sex drive has substantially increased . My erections are much stronger which is great for a guy  Social anxiety no real change sofar but general anxiety levels have slightly decreased.

Overall too early to tell for a full review. This is just my experience sofar. Just wanted to comment that I have not experienced any additional food cravings. In fact my food cravings have decreased potentially due to the nausea.

Will repost my full review in the coming weeks.

Sofar I'm loving the increased sex drive but not enjoying getting out of bed in the morning and mid-day tiredness. Again I've had no issues at all with food cravings.

TAKE THIS MEDICATION AT NIGHT AS THE ANTI-HISTAMINE EFFECT WILL MAKE YOU SLEEPY.


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