Just been prescribed some of these to help me sleep and calm me down.

Anyone on here used it before? I have to say that the list of possible side effects listed in the info sheet is keeping me awake and giving me the jitters! 🙁

Is that a german white?

Rule number 1, never read the stuff in a pill box.
I was on them. They work up to a point but after a while i felt they were not as effective and was moved onto stronger stuff. The best advice I can offer is find out the root cause. Go to a clinical psychologist, do a mindfulness course and accept that stuff happens for a reason.
I am currently off all medication following the above guidance.

Cheers. Been prescribed to get me some breathing space pending while counselling and – hopefully – some work/life changes can be put in place. I’m not keen on the idea of using them, but my HAD scores with the GP this morning made interesting reading.

My wife was on them when a big enough dose of another antidepressant gave her insomnia. Don’t take it until you are ready to sleep, it kicks in within 20-30 minutes and there is no resisting it.

She came off them a few months ago and is now coming off venlafaxine (which is a bit more of a challenge).

Take them while you need them, the goal should always be to get to a point where you can cope without. Having a good gp helps massively.

Was on them around 5yrs ago for two years. They worked wonders for that time, but I put on five stone. I tried them again earlier this year and couldn’t tolerate them at all.

Like all other drugs, if they work for you they work for you, if they dont they dont.

One tablet of the lowest dose strength put me virtually in a coma for 48 hours, I was so sleepy I couldn’t get out of bed.
The side effect of increased appetite and weight gain is common so I’d keep an eye on that.

You should always read the information leaflet! It contains important information!

You should read the information leaflet, particularly guidance on how to take the drug and any warnings (e.g. don’t drive) but some sections can be unnecessarily alarming unless you read carefully. Be aware that side-effects don’t happen to everyone (in the same way that not everyone gets the same level of benefit) and that the list includes all side-effects reported as related to the drug, including those seen very, very rarely. If in doubt, talk to your doctor/pharmacist.

I was prescribed them for a short while. Had to come off them as they made me very very sleepy! So, might just work for you. Best of luck.

Is that a german white?

It’s German yes.
Niederegger Marzipan

I have been prescribed them in the past. My memories are

Sugar cravings and weight gain, I think I put on about 3 stone in the two or so years I took them. It gets worse at higher doses not so bad at 15 mg but at 30 mg it seemed hard not to crave sugar all the time.

One of the more sedating ADs, oddly they are more sedating at the lower doses. I was told that when it was introduced in the 1990s the standard dose was 7.5 mg, but increased to 15 mg as it was too sedating at the lower dose.

It worked well for me for a while 3-4 months it then I felt I suffered “poop out”

At the end of the day the only thing that matters is whether it works for you.

The plus side is, unlike the SSRIs and SRNIs, mirtazapine does not impact sexual function. If anything it enhances it by lowering the orgasmic threshold, so you may benefit from amazingly intense orgasms 🙂

As per others, it works well for sleep and for SOME people for depression, but does come with weight gain and carb cravings as side effects that don’t really go away.

Do not worry about the huge list of side effects, as with most medication things tend to calm down after a few weeks and you just get left with the main ones (stuffing your face and being a bit porky).

7.5 is the best dose for sleep, but you might well feel like you have been hit by a truck for the first few days.

I’ve been on just about every sleep aid and antidepressant prescribed off label for sleep known to man. Mirtazapine is one of the better ones.

As GJP mentions the nice thing is it doesn’t mess with your libido too much.

Another bonus is that unlike a lot of psychiatric medication it is pretty easy to come off, so you can use it for a while and not have to worry about getting hammered with withdrawals.

Recently come off them after taking them for 4 months or so.
For me, huge weight gain astonishingly quickly – carb cravings, coupled with sedative effects and loss of energy. Also gave me extreme panic attacks/anxiety.
Was going through a job change at the time though, so may have been exacerbated by that, however in even quite benign situations I was shocked at my anxiety levels.

Turns out changing jobs was the answer anyway, and for the first time in years I’m happy and symptom free.

As above – standard advice is use meds to get a bit of breathing space, then find and fix the underlying issues.

Thanks for the replies.

I’ve been prescribed 15mg. Given that they are supposed to help me deal with anxiety and panic attacks, barkm’s comments are a bit worrying, but I was warned that they would make things worse before they kicked in properly. Also not looking forward to weight gain. The only silver lining to my recent cloud is that I have lost 7lbs. 😕

As for the libido thing, I’m married with kids. Whats a libido?

Mirtazapine or Stella, Mirtazapine or Stella….

Think I’ll stick to Stella after reading this.

I’ll be fine when I go part time/change jobs. 😥

Have to admit, there will be some soul searching when I get the packet out tonight to take the first one. Not sure I want to take the Stella route either though 😉

Mirtazapine or Stella, Mirtazapine or Stella….

Think I’ll stick to Stella after reading this.

I’ll be fine when I go part time/change jobs.

That’s the second comment like that esselgruntfuttock! I feel we are akin in our despair/anger/anxiety/dread about our jobs.

OP, the doc gave me some zopiclone to help me out. I only needed half of a tiny tablet and it shut me like a book. No residual drowsiness the next day that I noticed, and it did really help. The major problem is that they are very addictive and I had to be really careful not to go down the ‘just one more tonight then I will have a break from them’ route.

As with all medicines like this, they are a very temporary measure to get you over the worst. You need to be prepared to fight the urge to keep taking them (the easy option).

Good luck, trying to work on a couple of hours crap sleep is horrible.

Don’t shun the option, but go into it with your eyes open and your head switched on.

The same applies to Stella!

MCTD I do not believe it is typical for mirtazapine to exacerbate anxiety and panic attacks on commencement, this is more typical of the SSRIs and NSRIs, ie those that hit the serotonin system hard.

But everyone is different, Prozac made me so anxious that I became completely agoraphobic within a week, I was shaking just putting my shoes on to go out. Upon stopping Prozac and starting Mirtazpine my panic attacks stopped overnight. A statement that probably says more about my reaction to Prozac than it says about Mirtazapine.

Now, strangely, I have had a call from my boss, and had a bit of a heart to heart about my issues. And I’m feeling calmer now than I have for months.

Now to find the headspace to sort the non-work issues….

I downloaded an app onto my phone which talks you through mindfulness-like meditations and also has options to listen to natural sounds like rain and waves on the seashore. I find that really helps.

I feel relatively lucky in that I’ve got no worries/anxieties away from work apart from the Mr’s’ anxieties at work!!
9 more pay days then I can choose.