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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by raisinb on September 24, 2008, at 12:30:38
I am only on 11.25 mg. My pdoc has me titrating up very slowly. I am also down to just 25 mg of Zoloft. Maybe I'm just not taking enough of either to get an antidepressant effect.
It's very hard to get up in the morning, I have headaches, and I feel stoned and groggy often. And sad. I just cry and cry over the smallest things. It's like I am getting no sleep at all instead of 10 or 12 hours a night. I sure hope it gets better. Just venting :(
Posted by Phillipa on September 24, 2008, at 13:03:23
In reply to Remeron is making me cry all the time, posted by raisinb on September 24, 2008, at 12:30:38
I'm so sorry. Love Phillipa
Posted by desolationrower on September 24, 2008, at 13:39:01
In reply to Re: Remeron is making me cry all the time » raisinb, posted by Phillipa on September 24, 2008, at 13:03:23
Your dose is only enough to make it a sleeping aid. higher dose will be an actual antidepressant and not (quite) as much grogginess.
-d/r
Posted by desolationrower on September 24, 2008, at 13:53:22
In reply to Remeron is making me cry all the time, posted by raisinb on September 24, 2008, at 12:30:38
Oh, and were you going to go onto another sri or snri? imo half the reason to use mirtazapine is to offset side effects of sris (insomnia, lack of arousal, anxiety). Hope you get onto a helpful amount soon.
-d/r
Posted by raisinb on September 24, 2008, at 14:02:47
In reply to Re: Remeron is making me cry all the time » raisinb, posted by Phillipa on September 24, 2008, at 13:03:23
Posted by raisinb on September 24, 2008, at 14:04:45
In reply to Re: Remeron is making me cry all the time, posted by desolationrower on September 24, 2008, at 13:53:22
That is what I figured.
I don't think I'm going on anything else. My pdoc has me titrating up to 15 mg and tapering off Zoloft over the course of 4 weeks. After that, we have another appointment and I'm guessing she'll see how it's going and add or subtract or change based on that. I am pretty sure, though, that she thinks Remeron will be a good solo med for me. In theory it sounds great--weight gain, sleep, plus an AD. In practice I sure hope 30 mg differs from this.
Posted by bleauberry on September 24, 2008, at 17:27:36
In reply to Remeron is making me cry all the time, posted by raisinb on September 24, 2008, at 12:30:38
So what's going on? A reaction to recently lowered zoloft doses? Typical, can last a couple or more weeks. A negative reaction to Remeron? Could be, it happens. Too small of a dose of Remeron? Probably. All of the above? Could be.
This stuff is so hard.
I understand your doc is moving slow on remeron, but that really is not how it is usually dosed. The lower the dose, the more sedating and the less good effect. In some countries they jump straight to 30mg or 45mg first day to avoid the oversedation of lower doses. At those doses, if it is going to work, it usually shows something within a week. On the other hand, if it actually is making you more depressed, you would know that too, and could then tough that out for 2 days while you wash out of you what's left of the drug.
Lowering Zoloft definitely complicates the picture. It doesn't mean it was working and now that the dose is too low it isn't working any more. It means the receptors are crying for the serotonin they are accustomed to, even though that didn't do you any good. They will adjust but it can take a couple or three weeks.
Posted by greywolf on September 24, 2008, at 17:44:14
In reply to Re: Remeron is making me cry all the time, posted by bleauberry on September 24, 2008, at 17:27:36
I would bet that if you went straight to at least 30mg or 45mg of Remeron immediately, you'd feel a lot better than hanging out at 15mg.
Greywolf
Posted by raisinb on September 24, 2008, at 18:01:54
In reply to Re: Remeron is making me cry all the time, posted by greywolf on September 24, 2008, at 17:44:14
I think I'll stick it out for a couple more days, then call my pdoc and ask her about jumping up a bit. She's a good pdoc, very warm and caring and knows her stuff; I just think this particular schedule might not work for me.
Posted by Tony P on September 27, 2008, at 22:09:49
In reply to Remeron is making me cry all the time, posted by raisinb on September 24, 2008, at 12:30:38
I find cutting back on or stopping an A/D often produces a bounce-back effect (briefly); I actually feel the effects of the A/D _more_ when I cut back. I expect that's because so many of them have a partial sedating effect.
I haven't taken Zoloft myself, but my wife once described it as the "sad drug" (Prozac was the "angry drug"), so maybe you're reacting to the Zoloft -- on the down-slope, as it were -- as she did.
Sometimes too I've found that an A/D released me to feel sorrow that I'd been to numb to experience when I was deeply depressed. I don't want to belittle how uncomfortable you must be feeling, but perhaps the sadness is natural, even though the med change-over is exaggerating it.
As others have said, you can expect much greater benefit from a higher dose of Remeron. And it's almost a rule-of-thumb that when starting a new A/D, the side effects come on first, and then the benefits more gradually. So hang in there, and keep posting.
Best wishes,
Tony P
This is the end of the thread.
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