another remeron newbie.....

[betcsu]

i asked these questions in an old exsisting thread but im afraid it would be hijacking to ask mine on top of theirs so i deleted mine from that thread and have started my own here. sorry for the confusion. thanks in advance to anyone who can answer these questions:

nothing like digging up an old thread.... im a newbie to remeron as well as have some more questions to add:

first off, what does YMMV mean?

now, ive been prescribed mirtazapine for depression and as a sleep aid. im taking 15mg.

1- im a little (more than a little) concerned about the weight gain side effect of this med. is the weight gain caused because of the cravings and binging or can you restrict your diet and exercise and still gain weight? if so, how can you counteract the weight gain? (please tell me you can!) (but dont lie either...)

2- as far as the sweets cravings, is this only at night when i take the med or will i be craving them all day long as well?

3- does the hunger/cravings side effect ever go away or diminish or will i always feel this while on the med?

4- ive taken this for 2 nites in a row now and im sleeping 9-10 hours each nite BUT im still waking several times a night. will the waking level out & will i eventually sleep straight thru the nite? if so, how long before this kicks in?

5- ive been waking up and feeling very groggy both mornings since taking this. is this a side effect of the med or is it because im still waking several times a night? if its because of the side effects, will this level out after i adjust and will the grogginess wear off eventually? if so, HOW LONG before i wake up feeling rested? will i ever wake up feeling rested?

6- as an anti-depressant, how long before the a/d effect start to kick in and i start feeling less depressed? i know SSRIs can take several weeks so im curious about this med.

i guess thats all of my questions. sorry to have so many of them but thanks in advance to those who will take the time to read and answer them. the one thing im happy about is my caffeinated beverages again. ive been avoiding them like the plague because of sleep and hypo issues but with this morning after grogginess i feel safe in have a cup of tea (with 10 pounds of sugar! - NOT!)  i seriously am gonna watch my sugar and food intake cuz the LAST thing i wanna do i gain weight but i hit the abyss after a few weeks flying to mars without a space helmet so i'll do what i gotta do to get me leveled out but i am worried about my weight.

in case anyones interested i DXd MDD recurrent and then bipolar II and im currently taking mirtazapine 15mg and depakote er 1000mg.

thanks in advance again for any answers you can give.

[Sunshine]

first off, what does YMMV mean?

Your Mileage May Vary. In other words, one person's experience with a medication won't necessarily be the same as yours.

1- im a little (more than a little) concerned about the weight gain side effect of this med. is the weight gain caused because of the cravings and binging or can you restrict your diet and exercise and still gain weight? if so, how can you counteract the weight gain? (please tell me you can!) (but dont lie either...)

It's caused by the cravings. They are pretty serious. But if you have the willpower, it shouldn't be a problem. I don't think you'll gain weight unless you change your eating habits.

2- as far as the sweets cravings, is this only at night when i take the med or will i be craving them all day long as well?

Good question. I noticed them more in the evening, but that's probably just because I tend to be too busy during the day to notice it.

3- does the hunger/cravings side effect ever go away or diminish or will i always feel this while on the med?

In my experience, this side effect never went away.

4- ive taken this for 2 nites in a row now and im sleeping 9-10 hours each nite BUT im still waking several times a night. will the waking level out & will i eventually sleep straight thru the nite? if so, how long before this kicks in?

I don't know how much data there is on Remeron as a sleep aid. My problem is falling asleep, so I can't really answer your question. Maybe someone else has better experience.

5- ive been waking up and feeling very groggy both mornings since taking this. is this a side effect of the med or is it because im still waking several times a night? if its because of the side effects, will this level out after i adjust and will the grogginess wear off eventually? if so, HOW LONG before i wake up feeling rested? will i ever wake up feeling rested?

It's a side effect of the med. I don't think it goes away until you hit higher doses of the med (45 mg). But the sleepiness side effect goes away, too. In my experience, the grogginess went away within 15-30 minutes of getting up and showering, etc. But getting to that point was always a challenge.

6- as an anti-depressant, how long before the a/d effect start to kick in and i start feeling less depressed? i know SSRIs can take several weeks so im curious about this med.

This is definitely a "YMMV" question. Definitely a couple of weeks, but I don't think as long as SSRIs. At 15 mg, you might not notice a significant difference at all. But at a higher dose, you won't get the added benefit of sleep inducement.

Regarding the caffeine, I'd keep it out of your diet if at all possible. Aside from the sleep issues, it's just not a good thing to put into your body if you've got any kind of mood disorder.

Hope this helps!

~Sunshine

[~nestling~]

no weight gain and minimal cravings here...

I'm on 30mg...and the sleep has evened out too...have been taking it (in addition to varying efexor doses) since mid October last year.

[Zelda]

Unfortunately, I had a terrible time with cravings     ....and since I have absolutely no will power, especially with sweets, I packed on the extra pounds:(.

But.........by reducing my 15 mgs. to 7.5 (::whisper:: without my drs. approval) I have controlled the cravings and felt a bit better in the morning too. 

I hope it works for you!!!

Presents meds:

Effexor xr 600 mgs.

Provigil 200 mgs.

levoxyl 150 mgs

caduet 20 mgs

nexium 40 mgs

remeron 7.5 mgs

clozaril 200 mgs.

[Dipsy Doodle]

Hi,

I've been on Mirtazapine since Nov. 06 (but I'm coming off it).

In response - I do 1/2 hr - 2 1/2 hrs vigorous exercise per day, and take in about 1500 calories, to keep the weight off.

Re. sweets cravings - I eat 3 bowls cereal with sweetener, a yoghurt + fruit - nothing else (crap diet, NOT recommended).

Hunger/cravings: not gone yet. If I give in, I pile on the lbs. (I'm also taking Lyrica, which may be making the weight gain a bit worse?). Not giving in is too hard for me when I'm depressed! doesn't work as an AD for me - another reason why I'm coming off

I sleep 9-10 hours - so I've got to come off it. can't take it when I have to go into work the next morning. It helps me sleep on 30mg or over.

If you can sleep through, you'll feel better - go see your Dr

[Maceo]

the cravings for me were really powerful but it was only when the med was kicking in at night. i'd start to feel sleepy but soo hungry and i'd literally grab handfuls of cookies and go to bed eating them lmao. i didnt gain weight tho.

[SashaSue]

Remeron made me all kinds of hypo/maniacally mean, so I wasn't on it all that long. But, I think I remember Pdoc telling me it was one of those really wierd ones, where the sleep & weight related side effects are serotonin related, and are most noticeable at the lower doses. At higher doses, the NRI effects kick in more heavily, and balance some of that stuff out. This was awhile ago, so I might not be remembering correctly, but it's one I researched more than usual, because it was so odd. The effects are very dosage dependent, and just... wierd.