Anyone switch from Remeron (Mirtazipine) to another medication right away? + other ?s

[JoeShum]

Hi I am a 28 year old Male with severe anxiety since I was about 10 and have been reading this forum for a while but never decided to join, I just liked to read but now I have a couple of questions.

I have been on Remeron Mirtazipine for 2 years now and in the first year and a half it was great. 2 Years ago I had sleep problems not being able to sleep and a bit of depression along with my severe anxiety, I was also under weight. After going on Remeron it helped everything for about 1.5 year, my sleep was great, depression gone and anxiety was non existant, I also got my weight where it should be.

The past couple of months it seems like the medication hasen't been working and I talked to my doctor, he said that this is common with medication and that after a couple of years it usually dies down and I would need to increase dossage (which has been done) or switch to something else. In my case it seems it died sooner then usual, My last appointment he said that next time I go we would be switching if I wanted to do it and he gave me 6 or 7 options that I can't rememember (one was the generic of prozac I think because its cheap). He also said there should be no problem changing right away (eg. the night before I go to him I still take remeron then the next day the new med) and I can't risk this med change not working out because I have things to do.

Q1: Has anyone switched meds right away and what are your experiences and what did you switch to?

Thats question number one and I have a couple of other questions. Remeron is considered a NaSSA, what I will be switching to is most likely an SSRI or SNRI, I have taken SSRI's before with not great results, (Celexa was one) and I am worried about side effects, I had some sexual disfunction with celexa and I am hoping not to get into that again. So...

Q2: Are there any other NaSSA's like remeron? or SSRI / SNRI without sexual side effects?

Q3: What would be the best medication for Anxiety, taking into consideration cost and quality?

Q4: Are there any medications that can also help with concentration and anxiety, since the past couple months concentration has be bad?

Q5: Once off of remeron did anyone lose weight as that would probably make me underweight again which may not be good, maybe a med that can help keep my current weight?

Q6: After the switch do you get any side effects from the switch because I can't afford the wasted time on something that may not work.

Thats all I can think of right now,if anything else I will post a new question in this topic.

Thanks for the help in advance.

I forgot to mention the medication can't be one of those big capsules as I have problem swallowing those.

[Noca]

Welcome to SAS!

The only time I tried Remeron was once. I slept 16 hours, woke up and fell asleep while mowing the lawn the next day. I then flushed the pills down the toilet(this is before knowing that such a thing was bad).

[akstylish]

Originally Posted by Noca

I slept 16 hours, woke up and fell asleep while mowing the lawn the next day. I then flushed the pills down the toilet(this is before knowing that such a thing was bad).

Yeah it made me too sleepy all day even when taken at night so I had to stop taking it after a few days.

[Noca]

Originally Posted by JoeShum

Q2: Are there any other NaSSA's like remeron? or SSRI / SNRI without sexual side effects?

Q3: What would be the best medication for Anxiety, taking into consideration cost and quality?

Q4: Are there any medications that can also help with concentration and anxiety, since the past couple months concentration has be bad?

Q5: Once off of remeron did anyone lose weight as that would probably make me underweight again which may not be good, maybe a med that can help keep my current weight?

Q6: After the switch do you get any side effects from the switch because I can't afford the wasted time on something that may not work.

I forgot to mention the medication can't be one of those big capsules as I have problem swallowing those.

2) No
3) Adderall XR
4) Adderall XR
5) I take Zyprexa 10mgs to maintain my weight
6) ???

[JoeShum]

Adderall seems to be for ADHD and not for anxiety and its a capsule which I hate, so I don't think it would be good for anxiety.

[KurtG85]

Originally Posted by JoeShum

Q1: Has anyone switched meds right away and what are your experiences and what did you switch to?
Thats question number one and I have a couple of other questions. Remeron is considered a NaSSA, what I will be switching to is most likely an SSRI or SNRI, I have taken SSRI's before with not great results, (Celexa was one) and I am worried about side effects, I had some sexual disfunction with celexa and I am hoping not to get into that again. So...
Q2: Are there any other NaSSA's like remeron? or SSRI / SNRI without sexual side effects?
Q3: What would be the best medication for Anxiety, taking into consideration cost and quality?
Q4: Are there any medications that can also help with concentration and anxiety, since the past couple months concentration has be bad?
Q5: Once off of remeron did anyone lose weight as that would probably make me underweight again which may not be good, maybe a med that can help keep my current weight?
Q6: After the switch do you get any side effects from the switch because I can't afford the wasted time on something that may not work.

1-2.I've switched off a lot of meds. I have had withdrawals from some but withdrawals are a joke for me in comparison with years and years of suicidal depression. Wellbutrin (a NDRI) has positive sexual side effects in many. Same goes for buspar although that is in a class of its own but that may be a good med for you to try. There are a lot of other options for counteracting SSRI induced sexual side effects such as libido stimulating herbs. St. Johns Wort is good for depression and has a positive effect on sex drive for me. Viagra is a must for most on SSRI's. Most any med which inhibits serotonin (that is currently available) is going to have negative sexual side effects. Gotta deal with it.

3. Completely different for every person. Only way you will ever know is to try. The sooner you recognize this the less of your time and energy you are going to waste.

4. That will be different with everyone as well. Lexapro is great for my concentration, others say it puts them in outer space.

5. I have heard from many sources that remeron leads to mega weight gain. Not to sound like a jerk, but how hard is it to not eat enough? I know, I know, we all have our unique problems.

6. If you are not open to the 'down time' that may come from trying a new med which MIGHT make you feel like crap for awhile while you give it a shot to work then you might as well give up on med treatment all together. The only way you will know if a med helps you or not is to try it and unless you get lucky it is likely that you may have to try a few meds in order to find the one that is right for you. I personally see that time as the only time worth spending, no matter how wasteful it may be in capitalist society's view. This is my personal opinion and experience but I really don't think you need to give meds 4-6 weeks to 'work'. In terms of side effects going away, maybe, but not for getting an idea of how a med generally effects your mood. I only say this in case you are scared that the only way you can trial meds effectively is to be on each one of them for 4-6 weeks at a time and theres no way you can spare that much time. About 4-5 days on a med has been the same as 2 months on a med for me but again, everyone is different here so you really may need to be on a med longer to feel effects.

Adderall is a stimulant which, much like very high amounts of caffeine, releases a short term burst of neurotransmitters (believed to be mainly norepinephrene and dopamine) which makes you alert, energetic and active for awhile until the crash. The effects last about 4-6 hours in IR form and XR just releases another dosage later in the day without you having to take another pill.

Adderall comes in IR form which are small tabs.

Adderall is known to suppress appetite in a lot of individuals.

Adderall can make anxiety worse for some as norepinephrene is a commonly linked neurotransmitter to anxiety however the large amounts of dopamine and some amount of serotonin it releases (in addition to its CNS stimulant energy boost) can make it overall helpful for some with anxiety or depression problems. I take a low amount as the anxiety it causes in me at higher dosages is unbearable but I do see significant positive effects at my low dosage of 5mg IR.

Adderall is typically not viewed as a good treatment for anxiety or depression because when one 'crashes' their anxiety and depression is typically worse than before they took their first pill which leads one to crave another pill in order to counteract the feeling. Higher dosages are sometimes desired as well to counteract negative feelings brought on by the crash or to reach the state one felt when first starting the med. This is what is known as a building up of 'tolerance'. It is also a psychologically addictive med for many. Then again so is lexapro because I don't feel like killing myself when I'm on it, but adderall has more of a reputation for abuse and addiction because of the short term euphoria it brings on in a lot of people.

Adderall can have positive sexual side effects for some (I believe this is more common with women) but I believe it is fairly common for men to have an increase in desire but a decrease in 'ability'. This is because adderall is a vasoconstrictor which draws blood away from the extremities (your wang being one) and towards the heart.

[bezoomny]

When I tried Remeron, it was mainly for insomnia. I still took Effexor during the day, and took Remeron at night. It knocked me out, which was good, but I started gaining a lot of weight and quit taking it. I really don't remember even having a withdrawal.

It's odd, there's always a drug that everyone here touts as the miracle drug for a month or two. First it was Klonopin, then it was Nardil, and now it's Adderall...

[KurtG85]

Originally Posted by bezoomny

It's odd, there's always a drug that everyone here touts as the miracle drug for a month or two. First it was Klonopin, then it was Nardil, and now it's Adderall...

Not "everyone", more like a few... overzealous... individuals. I have done my best to try and counteract the ridiculous claims and misinformation which usually have surrounded the 'miracle drug' type posts you reference. Fortunately I haven't seen near as many irresponsible and misleading posts popping up over the last month or so.

I guarantee you most knowledgeable and experienced people will not even bother to stop to post on a forum where people are discussing their meds of choice like they are touting a miracle drug. Honestly, when I first saw this forum and some of the posts in here I wasn't compelled to register because I saw that there were a lot of intelligent discussions going on but because I was so damn offended by the rampant, misinforming subjectivity I saw. People need to get serious about doing their research, sticking to the facts and maintaining their objectivity or else they just hurt people who are new to the experience of meds. I do my best to contribute to make this forum a reliable information source that knowledgeable people would contribute to rather than a 'my med beats your med' circus.

The forums at http://www.crazymeds.us/CrazyTalk/index.php?act=idx I think are a very good example of responsible info and knowledge sharing although they unfortunately aren't near as active as this forum. I haven't really seen any more active social anxiety forums than S.A.S.

[JoeShum]

Thanks KurtG85

I really appreciate you taking the time to write the long post, I guess I will have to test out what my doctor recommends. Just a little nervous of this whole thing.

[Noca]

Originally Posted by bezoomny

When I tried Remeron, it was mainly for insomnia. I still took Effexor during the day, and took Remeron at night. It knocked me out, which was good, but I started gaining a lot of weight and quit taking it. I really don't remember even having a withdrawal.

It's odd, there's always a drug that everyone here touts as the miracle drug for a month or two. First it was Klonopin, then it was Nardil, and now it's Adderall...

Thats because Klonopin, Nardil and Adderall XR ARE amazing drugs.

[Noca]

Originally Posted by KurtG85

Not "everyone", more like a few... overzealous... individuals. I have done my best to try and counteract the ridiculous claims and misinformation which usually have surrounded the 'miracle drug' type posts you reference. Fortunately I haven't seen near as many irresponsible and misleading posts popping up over the last month or so.

I guarantee you most knowledgeable and experienced people will not even bother to stop to post on a forum where people are discussing their meds of choice like they are touting a miracle drug. Honestly, when I first saw this forum and some of the posts in here I wasn't compelled to register because I saw that there were a lot of intelligent discussions going on but because I was so damn offended by the rampant, misinforming subjectivity I saw. People need to get serious about doing their research, sticking to the facts and maintaining their objectivity or else they just hurt people who are new to the experience of meds. I do my best to contribute to make this forum a reliable information source that knowledgeable people would contribute to rather than a 'my med beats your med' circus.

The forums at http://www.crazymeds.us/CrazyTalk/index.php?act=idx I think are a very good example of responsible info and knowledge sharing although they unfortunately aren't near as active as this forum. I haven't really seen any more active social anxiety forums than S.A.S.

Have you actually tried any of those drugs listed above when you call them "ridiculous claims"? I doubt it.

[KurtG85]

Did you have a problem with my post Noca? If so you need to state what it is specifically rather than throwing out insults for what, as far as I can tell, is absolutely no reason.

FYI, here is a list of meds I have tried: Xanax, Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, Prozac, Luvox, Zoloft, Desipramine, Nortriptyline, Imipramine, Remeron, Wellbutrin, Cymbalta, Effexor, Trazodone, Risperdal, Geodon, Abilify, Buspar, Dexedrine, Focalin, Adderall, Concerta, Ativan, Neurontin, Guanfacine, Lamictal, Provigil, Strattera, Most all the herbal stuff.

If you think it is you I am referring to when I say overzealous individuals, it is not. We have all made the mistake of applying our own experiences a little too strongly to what we think will help others but I have never seen you go off like a moron and dedicate an entire thread to praising a med as guaranteed to cure all those with social anxiety and other such counter to common sense BS. When people get into that habit it becomes more a match of childish ego (my med can beat up your med) rather than being a source of help and clarification for those seeking info on meds. The place winds up looking more like a video game forum or something with personal opinion being thrown around as fact all over the place. That crap is uncalled for in a board presenting info to those who may feel their very lives to be in limbo. I saw an insulting and childish amount of this when I first came here instead of objective info which helps rather than harms those new to meds. I have seen next to none of that kind of behavior recently. I'm sorry if you thought it was you I was referring to.