DOSE:

45 mg

oral

Pharms - Mirtazapine

(daily)

BODY WEIGHT:

160 lb

I quit smoking pot shortly before I went to graduate school. After three days without pot I started feeling very irritable and started dry heaving in the mornings. I figured it was just withdrawal symptoms. The symptoms never abated and actually got worse within a period of weeks. After a few trips to the campus health clinic, I landed in the psychiatrist's office.

My anger, weight loss, erratic sleeping, and suicidal thoughts added up to more then just pot withdrawal. I was very depressed. I had tried Zoloft and Prozac years before. Zoloft made me feel fake in a very hard to describe way and Prozac gave me terrible stomach cramps. Remeron hasn't produced either of those effects.

I started on a 15 mg dosage and stepped up to a 45 mg over a period of three months. The drug has improved my disposition. It doesn’t make me happy but it keeps me from cycling downward. I can break out of thought patterns easier and the worst of the depression has gone away. I no longer fantasize about killing myself. The best way to describe it is that it creates a floor for how low I can feel which is much higher then it was before. Zoloft made me feel like a fake version of myself. Remeron makes me feel like a better version of myself that is still me.

The Remeron has had some other interesting effects:

Munchie-like hunger. My stomach is full but I could still eat another whole pizza.

Strange dreams. I occasionally have difficulty remembering if I dreamed a conversation or if it really happened.

Sleepiness. I can sleep for 14 hours where before 8 or 9 was the maximum.

I’ve had to make some adjustments to my lifestyle because of this. To avoid the weight gain associated with the drug I’ve had to really watch what I eat and drink. Going to bed hungry every night was hard to get used to. The dreams are pretty much unavoidable. The sleepiness requires that I set an alarm every day. Even on the weekends. Otherwise I will just sleep the day away.

All in all, it’s a solid drug for depression but I’m not certain if it has any recreational value.

Exp Year: 2006	ExpID: 57816
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jul 21, 2010	Views: 12,196
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Pharms - Mirtazapine (311) : Retrospective / Summary (11), Depression (15), Medical Use (47), Not Applicable (38)