| Rating | Reason | Side Effects | Comments | Sex | Age | Time Taken
and Dosage | | Date Added |
  | | | | F M | | | | |
Change sort order by clicking arrow under column heading.
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| 5 | cyclical vomiting | A 30 pound weight gain. | Started out originally at 15 mg then to 30 mg. As of last February, now at 45 mg. Appetite has returned, and finally able to eat again without wondering if it would come back up. Needed to put on some weight but now am pass my goal weight. I am not vomiting anymore and no longer feel nauseous. | F | 49 | 1 years
45 mg 1X D | | 9/1/2010
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2 | Depression, Panic Disorder | Increased appetite, weight gain, some sedation at lower doses but no next-day 'hangover' | A very easy drug to take; side effects practically nil, but I didn't get any benefit from it either. Seems to work wonders for some though, so don't let my experience put you off. Also it seems quite synergistic with other medications, especially serotonergic or noradrenergic ones. An odd one... | M | 27 | 6 months
90mg 1X D | | 8/31/2010
| 3 | depression, insomnia | EXTREME hunger- i mean beyond what i consider normal. I did two days on and ate 2 donuts, 3 granola bars, 1lb of strawberries, and 3 bananas within a 2 hour period. | if you don't want to gain weight DO NOT TAKE. Extremely bad experience for me. I would rather be unhappy/sleep deprived than fat and happy. | F | 27 | 3 days
30 1X D | | 8/30/2010
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| 5 | Nerve Pain, Anxiety, Depression | hunger, back pain, insomnia | wonderful drug, works fast! took all my nerve pain away! Instant relief of anxiety and depression! Take in morning because it makes me manic, also on depakote for bipolar disorder, the two drugs cancel each other out and I sleep fine. | M | 37 | 3 days
7.5mg 1X D | | 8/27/2010
| 4 | depression, anxiety, insomnia | weight gain, sugar cravings, drowsiness, digestive troubles (bloating and gas) | I really like this medication. I have tried so many things. For years anxiety and depression have run my life. I could barely leave the house, have no friends, couldn't even go to the grocery store. After one month of adding this drug (I take welbutrin and depakote as well) I am starting to get out of the house more, to go to support groups and try to make friends, and to actually work on my problems. Therapy is an important part of treatment, but before this medicine I couldn't make any progress. For the first time in 10 years I am happy and hopeful for the future!!! The side effects are well worth the benifits. The drowsiness is just enough to let me sleep great, but I wake easily and am alert in the mornings. I have gained 10 lbs, but in the last week the sugar cravings have disappeared. I hope that the weight will level off now that my appetite is more reasonable. | F | 30 | 1 months
15mg 1X D | | 8/18/2010
| 4 | clinical depression | Not had any side effects, except for appeptite increased. | | F | 55 | 3 weeks
30 mg 1X D | | 8/15/2010
| 2 | Severe Depression | Enormous appetite increase (particularly for carbs/sweets), inevitably leading to ~20 lbs. in weight gain.
Vivid dreams, mostly very strange nightmares.
An overall sluggish feeling throughout the day. | While on remeron, I ate everything in sight! I would have intense cravings at night and very early in the morning (for example, getting up at 5 a.m. and eating 2 bagels and 3 bowls of cereal). I have an iron willpower when it comes to eating healthy and maintaining my weight - this medication was very unforgiving. I gained 20 pounds in 2 months!
Within 45 mins. of taking remeron, I would be fast asleep. I had very scary nightmares nearly every night, however; they were vivid and seemed to last the entire time I was sleeping.
I am usually a very active person, and found it hard to muster up the energy to work out some days. I felt sluggish and slow. I didn't realize this until I started tapering off the remeron, and started to feel like 'myself' again.
| F | 20 | 3 months
30 mg 1X D | | 8/9/2010
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| 3 | major depression | very vivid dreams, dreams of waking to an awful situation, waking a little to find out it was a dream, falling asleep to more nightmares of trying to wake up. I need someone to make me acutally wake up and get out of the dream cycle, then I am ok. | TWO PSYCHIATRISTS TOLD ME ON TWO DIFFERENT APPOINTMENTS THAT AN INCREASE IN DOSAGE WILL DECREASE SLEEPINESS THE NEXT DAY. DOUBLED MY SMALL 15 MG DOSAGE. HAD A TERRIBLE TIME WAKING THE NEXT DAY, BUT WAS LESS SLEEPY DURING THE DAY. I NEED HELP TO GET UP AND OUT OF BED, THEN IT IS OK. DON'T KNOW IF IT HAS HELPED MY DEPRESSION, I FEEL BETTER, BUT A LOT OF OTHER THINGS HAVE CONTRUBUTED TO THAT AS WELL. I STILL TAKE CYMBALTA AND RITALIN AND AN ASSORTMENT OF OTHER MEDS FOR PAIN, DEPRESSION, DIABETES, HIGH CHOLESTOEROL AND OTHER STUFF. WHAT MATTERS IS THAT ONCE I AM AWAKE AND OUT OF BED I FEEL PRETTY GOOD. I am also working on the things that create my depression, and that work has been more helpful than just meds alone. | F | 62 | 3 days
30 MG 1X D | | 8/5/2010
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| 1 | Anxiety, mild depression, sleep | dizziness the first day on 3.25 mg. and then the day that I increased it to 7.5 mg. I had severe depression like I had not had before. | My referral to from my family doctor to a psychiatrist landed me on Remeron. I started at 3.25 mg. I had dizziness and my sleep was even worse than before, not sleeping for the fist half of the night and then getting about 4-5 hours in the early morning. On the 5th day I increased it to 7.5 mg with horrible depression; tears all day long for no apparent reason. So I quit on the 6th day per the suggestion of my family doctor. All of these depression/anxiety drugs are scary. I am now back to 5-HTP and Neurexan which are supplements. They do not carry all of the control I would like, but are better than the drugs as there are no side effects. I have not found one drug that I can take and I cannot afford to continue trying, as they all seem to mess up my life worse than it is. | F | 58 | 6 days
7.5 1X D | | 8/4/2010
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| 1 | Depression | INCREASED APPETITE!!! violent dreams, inability to wake up in the morning, VERY pissy....will rip your head off for any reason, constantly groggy | all i can say is no no no no no. remeron has made me worse.....gained 3 lbs in the last 5 days....always tired, constantly hungry. | F | 27 | 7 days
15 1X D | | 8/2/2010
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| 1 | Depression | Lethargy, un-natural weight gain, hair loss, loss of cognitive ability, frustration, anger, misery, hopelessness, flunking school | If you are somewhat suicidal before taking this, this is THE one way ticket to taking yourself out!
Having been an A/D guinea pig for 25 years - drugs that kill you aren't sold because they almost killed me - Remeron is the WORST. Its like taking Ecstasy, crashing, and everyday the crash gets worse, and worse, and worse, and... you get the picture. The first few days were psychedelic and not in a fun way. for the first month I felt good. Now I am a zombie. I feel permanently brain damaged, I am now flunking school after straight A's, I can think and reason for about an hour a day. I hope the creator of this drug has his balls fall off and I wish for his children to be hopeless crack addicts begging for change in the gutter. This drug is pure evil! | M | 32 | 5 months
15mg 1X D | | 8/1/2010
| 4 | Manic depression | Insatiable appetite, vivid often awful dreams, sleep disturbance. | Firstly - this drug will help you massively with depression and I would not be here wihtout it so all bad points aside - I would accept all the side effects knowing it will help your mental state.
Remeron or Mirtazapine as we know it in the UK helps with sleep problems up to a maximum dosage of 15mg so any higher dose than this conteracts sleep - you may find yourself dropping off to sleep after 30mins of taking your tablets but only staying asleep for a few hours then constant tossing and turning with wild, vivid dreams. You struggle to get up early morning and unfortunately this never subsides.
The insatiable appetite for sugar also never subsides and unfortunately you will put weight on even with gym/exercise.
I have just reduced to 30mg and had VERY bad withdrawel symptoms but this is to expected from over 2 years on 45mgs and after 10 horrific days all is settled again.
| F | 27 | 2 years
45mg 1X D | | 7/22/2010
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| 2 | anxiety, ocd | exteme sedation, very lethargic, groggy the next day | This is the official drug of sleepy-bye land! It will seriously knock your lights out within an hour of taking it. And then you will sleep! Seems like a good choice for a panic attack, since it is so sedating. | M | 30 | 1 days
7.5 1X D | | 7/22/2010
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| 1 | Clinical Depression and Anxiety | Weight gain (5kgs in 14 days), mega munchies (hence weight gain), joint pain and swelling of hands and feet. Disturbed sleep in first half of the night and then deep sleep with inability to get up before late morning (I go to bed around 10.30 pm). Dizziness, anger, panic attacks (not a problemn before this drug) increased heart rate/palpitations etc etc etc......... | My Psychiatrist won't return my emails or calls about the side effects. I hate the weight gain as it is making me more depressed and angry but by far and away the biggest issue for me is the fact that I have seen NO positive effects (yet). It has all been negative and the joint problems and fluid retention are really worrying me. I thought that the side effects were supposed to be transient but how long is 'transient?' I want to come off this drug but my husband is urging me to stick with it until I talk to the psychiatrist (yeah-like he is going to return my calls/emails. I feel like I am stuck in limbo at the moment. So far this drug scores a big fat Zero. | F | 44 | 15 days
15mg 1X D | | 7/18/2010
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| 5 | OCD Treatment | Extreme exhaustion about 2 hrs after taking it, all-day tiredness for the first two weeks I started it, slight confusion, vivid dreams, increased appetite | I love this medication, it has been wonderful for me. Before I was on it, I was underweight due to constant stomachaches everytime I tried to eat (This was caused by anxiety) and I could not sleep, again due to anxiety. The OCD was interfering with my life on a daily basis; I couldnt eat at restraunts, fast food, or even friend's houses out of fear of getting food poisoning, I was germaphobic, and the obsessions/compulsions caused a huge ammount of anxiety. After taking Remeron, almost all of that dissappeared. I gained weight (Though it leveled out quickly and I've weighed a steady 130 lbs for years now) the anxiety was gone, and I could sleep. I still have some lingering loop-thoughts, but the compulsions are pretty much gone and I'm not dictated by irrational fears anymore. Remeron has worked wonders in treating OCD! | F | 18 | 8 years
15 mg 1X D | | 7/14/2010
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| 2 | depression | | | F | 35 | 7 days
7.5 1X D | | 7/12/2010
| 1 | chronic depression (dysthymia) | Disorientation, dizziness, fogginess, lack of concentration, constipation, dry mouth, increased appetite, difficulty reading, difficulty interacting with people, general surreal feeling. Lower dose caused insomnia. | This medication was added to Lexapro and Ritalin. The side effects were unbearable and I had no choice but to discontinue after only 10 days. I may have stopped too soon but I couldn't endure another day. This stuff was awful and made me feel worse which I didn't think was possible. Never again. | M | 49 | 10 days
30 MG 1X D | | 6/28/2010
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| 5 | Panic Disorder | Sleepiness, small gain in appetite | Hi. I've been on Remeron for almost 3 and a half years and have had a very positive experience with uit. I started it during a fairly dark period of my life (early twenties, new school and job on the east coast) and can honestly say it helped a ton. The meds make me tired but I had insomnia, so that's fine. As far as weight gain...I've gained about 20 pounds...but that's over the course of three years, and I was fairly underweight at the time...now I'm a healthy weight. If you control your cravings and exercise, you'll be fine. Here are the problems with the drug: ZERO alcohol tolerance (you just pass out) and fairly impossible to quit it. I've tried tapering off but my anxiety comes roaring back with a vengeance. Also, if you drink without skipping a dose, you can expect a really terrible hangover with increased depression. I should know; it happened to me this morning. Overall, though, I wouldn't leave it for any other drug. It's been a miracle of sorts. | M | 23 | 3 years
30 MG 1X D | | 6/13/2010
| 1 | anxiety/depression | Memory loss, confussion, worse depression, disorientation, pressure on top of head, dizziness, and loss of cognative ability. | 18 months after discontinuing this medication the side effects have not stoped. The side effects of this "poison" have ruined my professional career and taken the joy out of my life. | F | 29 | 12 months
30 1X D | | 6/11/2010
| 2 | major depression | HUGE Weight Gain.I put on 20 kilos in a period of three months,which I haven't been able to shake off since.Maybe to some people this side effect would not matter,considered that in fact it does help for the treatment of the negative thoughts and the improvement of the mood,but for me,who I also suffered from a binge eating disorder this has led to a worsening of the co-existing disorder.Though it had a lot to do with the choise of the medicine of my psychiatrist of that period,I would not recommend it based on that side effect. | | F | 42 | 5 months
1X D | | 6/3/2010
| 1 | for sleep | atfirst it made me drunk allday.AFTER SO LONG I AM ON A WALKER AND USEE A WHEELCHAIR,50LBS GAINED BAD MEDICATIONSTOP TAKING IT!
i FELL SO MANYTIMES AT NIGHT I CAN'T COUNT | | M | 63 | 15 years
30 1X D | | 6/2/2010
| 3 | Insomnia | Exhaustion, no energy | I have longtime insomnia have been taking Ambien which worked some for nearly 2 years
First night on Remeron - 6 1/2 hours of uninterrupted sleep (more than in many months)
Second night - It took 1 1/2 hours to fall asleep, and I kept waking up (maybe got 5 hours sleep total)
I haven't really had the marching munchies, but I'm too tired to take my walk during the day. I'm going to take half a pill at of Remeron at bedtime, and will go take an Ambien if I wake up. | F | 53 | 2 days
15mg 1X D | | 5/21/2010
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| 1 | Depression | I first developed muscle weakness in my arms, after taking seven days. Then my feet went numb. Then severe burning skin at six weeks. Was told it caused periperal neuropathy, also had very tender breasts. It helped my anxiety, but at too high a cost. | | F | 48 | 6 weeks
7.5mg 1X D | | 5/15/2010
| 5 | dep | energy | nice | M | 55 | 6 years
15mg 1X D | | 5/1/2010
| 5 | depression | When I first started taking Remeron I had the most unusual side effect: nocturinal eating. I had never gotten up from sleep to eat. After taking Remeron I would find myself in front of the refridgerator stuffing food in my mouth. I learned to leave out finger food to eat in the night. This side effect did pass. | After being tried on every antidepressant, Remeron was the first antidepressant that made me feel not depressed. It is a miracle drug for me. I did have some weight gain. I read more about Remeron and some sources stated that the weight gain would decrease with increased dose. That is what I found, I increased it to 1.5 45mg for a while and am now at 90mg. The weight gain stopped and I was able to loose the weight I had gained. | M | 53 | 4 years
90mg 1X D | | 4/29/2010
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| 1 | sleep | My friend just died from it! | | F | 56 |
30 1X AN | | 4/24/2010
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| 5 | Depression, anxiety and insomnia | At first I was very sleepy but that passed after a few days. I am a little groggy first thing in the morning but that wears off. I am always hungry and have put 2 stones on. | It seems to help with my anxiety , sleep and depression much better than any other anti-depressants I have tried and I would recommend it. Other anti-depressants have stopped working for me but this one hasn't. | F | 39 | 2 years
30mg 1X D | | 4/22/2010
| 1 | Depression & anxiety | The usual - weight gain, insomnia, thirst, dry mouth. Also, no relief from depression or anxiety. | When I read "Adrenal Fatigue" and tried the suggestions in that book (especially drastically increasing my salt intake - Kosher salt worked best), I got relief from depression, anxiety, insomnia, and nausea. Doctors had been throwing every Rx in the book at my case and here were my symptoms described and actually HELPED in a book I could read myself. I just wish I'd found Dr. Wilson's book about ten years ago, before trying all the meds. Maybe I wouldn't have gained so much weight going through the Rx mill. | F | 40 | 7 days
30 mg 1X D | | 4/20/2010
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| 1 | Sleeplessness | Feeling like a darted animal. Not sleepy or tired, just drugged. Kicked in after 15 minutes. Could barely make it to bed. | Antidepressants act very dissimilar on people. This is MY experience. Very unpleasant feeling. Felt like I was going to lie down on the spot and die. Slept 13 hours. Could finally get up and be steady enough to pee. Called and canceled all plans, could not function. Slept 3 more hours but couldn't make it out of bed until 2 hours after that. Still feeling very drugged, unsteady and terrible. | F | 40 | 1 days
15 mg 1X AN | | 4/15/2010
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| 4 | depression,anxiety, insomnia | Some next day tiredness. increased appetite. slight foot restlesness. | I have taken this before, but started out at 15mg and quickly jumped to 30mg, which I believe was too muuch, too quickly for me. I started out the first 3 nights at 7.5mg and last night went up to 15mg, with only slight increases in tiredness the next day. I am gonna stay at 15mg for a while and see if I should go up to 30mg. I sleep a lot better and feel much calmer and feel my depression lifting. I have been taking zoloft for the last 4 years and it's not really working anymore. I still take the zoloft b/c zoloft withdrawal is no fun. | M | 31 | 5 days
15mg 1X D | | 4/13/2010
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| 1 | depression | Extreme fatigue, exponentially increased appetite | Immediately after my first dose I began eating four times the amount of food I would normally eat, and still remained hungry. I also could not function normally due to the absolutely debilitating fatigue. It was so horrible I discontinued the med after 3 days. | F | 40 | 3 days
30 1X D | | 4/13/2010
| 2 | poor sleep related to fibromyalgia | At first, the medication helped me sleep, but after a few weeks, it no longer did so. I quit taking it daily and took it only when I was desperate for sleep. Even at a higher dose, it no longer helped me fall asleep or stay asleep. Instead, I developed uncontrollable restless legs, to the point of moving to the couch to avoid kicking my spouse. What a relief to realize it is actually the medication causing this problem, meaning it will go away if I stop taking the Remeron (which wasn't helping me sleep anymore, anyway. It's a pity, because those first couple of weeks with improved sleep were great. | | F | 47 | 4 months
30 mg 1X D | | 4/12/2010
| 5 | Major depression + psychosis | None | Made me sleep like a baby for 8h+ straight every night! Allowed me to regain energy and serenity. Also no effect on sexuality which is a big plus. Very happy with this med overall! :-) | M | 30 | 6 months
30mg 1X D | | 4/8/2010
| 3 | Anxiety and depression | Weight gain due to change in metabolism. Those of you who have not had this happen are lucky - it does not happen to everyone. I gained 25 pounds in 2 weeks. Yes, I had cravings - but I did not give into them and I exercised more but the weight is here. I now have fat deposits under my knees and in my armpits. I have read that these never go away. My blood pressure has always been low and now is higher - ditto cholesterol. | The drug worked miracles for me with depression and severe anxiety. I have never felt so calm. It is like a miracle. So now I am trying to decide what to do b/c of the health risks - a difficult decision. I've tried many other medications and this one worked like no other. | F | 50 | 3 months
22.5 1X D | | 4/8/2010
| 4 | Anxiety attacks | appetite simulus but after awhile it was controllable. Groggy in the morning | Works great for me. Two or three days of sleepiness, etc. are great after an anxiety attack. | M | 67 | 6 years
15 mg 1X D | | 3/25/2010
| 1 | depression | extreme sedation/grogginess/exhaustion, anger/irritability | The month I spent on this drug was hell, though it's pretty fuzzy thanks to the fact that I walked around in a haze most of the time. I slept easily 12-14 hours a day and spent my few waking hours trying to stay awake, eating, staring at the TV and trying not to take people's heads off. Awful awful drug. | F | 25 | 1 months
1X D | | 3/14/2010
| 4 | Depression, Anxiety, OCD | The two major side effects of this drug have been listed here ad nauseam: increased appetite and sleepiness. When you start this drug you will be an outright zombie for the first week or two, or at least that was my experience. If you have a job that requires you to be coherent in any way, best of luck to you. Thankfully for me I was between jobs. This intense zombie like period passes but I am still having difficulty getting up in the morning. Some people have said that moving from 15mg to 30mg helped lessen the desire to sleep in but I haven't found that to be the case. With respect to the eating: I considered myself lucky at first since I didn't notice either a change in weight or a change in appetite. Over time though I started to realize that my appetite had in fact grown quite a bit. Most of it is mindless eating and you don't realize at all that you're doing it, which might explain why some people say they've gained weight without changing eating habits (not saying it's impossib | Despite the negative side-effects, Remeron has been a surprisingly good drug. Interestingly it never seems to be a first line drug for OCD or anxiety and yet both have been very well managed by the med. I've tried everything including Wellbutrin (increased anxiety and OCD), Effexor (sweat like a maniac, zero libido), Luvox & Zoloft (both worked for anxiety to some degree but had memory problems on both and sexual side effects were not tolerable) and Celexa (sweating, sexual side effects). Needless to say there is always a trade off with these medications but if you're a man in your mid-30s, the sexual side-effects can be particularly hard to live with. I have found Remeron to be relatively free of any of the usual SSRI sweating / libido / cognitive & memory inducing side effects. I'll check back up on this board in a few months to give it a final verdict. If I haven't ballooned into a fat slob, I'll give this one an A. | M | 37 | 2.5 months
30MG 1X D | | 3/12/2010
| 1 | Depression and anxiety | Immediate and rapid weight gain, nausea and decrease in appetite, clenched jaw from days 2-3 on the drug, going numb and getting pins and needles very easily. Excessive sleeping and grogginess | I read hundreds of posts on this site about this drug on my first few days taking it. I kept expecting to be fighting urges to munch on sweets. Those urges never came. Instead I have been fighting waves of nausea and feelings of utter exhaustion. I know that I have not given this drug a long enough trial to rate its effect on my depression, but I am in the midst of weaning off Zoloft, and although my sex drive has returned, I am fighting labile moods, lethargy, irritation and sadness as if I were back to square one, pre-Zoloft (Zoloft was an amazing drug for my depression but destroyed my libido). At this point I am feeling as depressed as ever, too tired to function unless I'm consuming at least 40 ounces of coffee a day, and not interested in food. Because of my preparation for the weight side effects of this drug, I figured I would be able to ward off any weight gain. I have gained 6 pounds in one week despite this and decided to do some research. I found that certain people seem to have a vulnerability to weight gain on this drug because of their physiological make-up. Tonight is my last dose of the drug. I'll have to be miserable until my next appointment with my doc. It's not worth it for me. Though I have heard it has worked wonders for others and not everyone is effected by the weight gain, I certainly have been. I am hoping that I can find some drug that meets my needs and am feeling a bit discouraged at this point. | F | 26 | 9 days
30 mg 1X D | | 3/1/2010
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| 1 | anxiety and depression | Excessive sedation, increased depression, insatiable hunger and weight gain. Panic attacks after 4 weeks on med. Confusion and anger. Low blood pressure. | First 3 weeks I was just a zombie, couldnt think and became confused or very angry for no reason. Turned mild depression into deep depression. Didnt enjoy food but just wanted to eat and eat. Sedative affects started to wear off after 3-4 weeks and I then felt like I was climbing the walls with anxiety again and began having panic attacks. Felt better as soon as I stopped this medication but feel that overall it has delayed my recovery from my condition that I am still trying to recover from 5 months later. | F | 34 | 5 weeks
30 mg 1X D | | 3/1/2010
| 4 | Anxiety/Depression | I did notice the increase in the desire for sweets for the 1st couple weeks, but that was easily controlled. And being sleepy, but had been put on meds for BP too, so I think that was part of it. I would suggest starting when you have a couple days off work/school if poss. | Seems to work for me. I find I no longer walk around with my head down in public. My roommate notices too. Says I have become more involved in things. The only thing I don't like is the dry mouth in the morning. Another plus is I had no sexual side effects, in fact it may have increased a bit. | M | 32 | 1 months
30 MG 1X D | | 2/28/2010
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| 3 | depression, anxiety, insomnia | Morning Drowsiness, Increased Appetite, Weight Gain | My depression/anxiety condition hit rock bottom at a time when I didnt have access to my therapist and I decided to start using this drug out of desperation more than anything.
I hadn't slept or eaten properly in many weeks and was really freaking out. This drug helped both of these problems, and I was back sleeping like a baby again within a couple of days. This drug starts working almost immediately.
The morning drowsiness was quite bad, and it never really sorted itself out. I was hopeless of a morning, looked like a complete zombie, and driving the car to work was pretty sketchy.
Whilst taking the drug, I am convinced my metabolism slowed down, as I followed a strict diet but still put on weight. When I stopped taking the drug after 2 years, I lost 5kgs in a matter of weeks, with no change to exercise routine or diet.
There are no magic ADs out there. They all have side effects, and just have to weigh up what you are prepared to tolerate in terms of side effects versus how bad your initial symptoms are. | M | 30 | 2 years
30 MG 1X D | | 2/28/2010
| 1 | anxiety | I am gaining a lot of weight | | F | 70 | 10 days
25 1X D | | 2/28/2010
| 1 | anxiety/depression | REMERON RUINED MY LIFE! Side effects are permanent! 15mo after quiting its like my brain is still ruined. | | F | 29 | 12 months
30mg 1X D | | 2/25/2010
| 4 | Sleeping Problems & Depression | 1st Year dizziness & drowsiness... Now, Dizziness & drowsiness no problem but dry mouth and considerable weight gain... | If you stop taking Remeron, there will be no side effect at all. My doctor warned me about weight gain, now i am over weight, but it did help me to sleep well. Dry mouth always stays with you. And you should also experience increase appetite of chocolate and sugar contained products. Also from time to time blood sugar level must be checked. The biggest problem is the weight increase !!! | M | 41 | 5 years
45 1X D | | 2/20/2010
| 1 | insomnia, suicidal thoughts,IBS | sleep okay first two days, then insomnia back-- from drug.Very dizzy-- ALL day-long hangover. | GARBAGE for me. I'm not severely depressed and feel I can cope via therapy and self-discipline. Another dr. gave me Paxil last year, which was worse; new doc (a psych) pushed Remeron as non-SSRI but it still kicks up serotonin after two days. Except for people who really need them, these drugs are awful. To hell w/ all of 'em! | M | 58 | 4 days
7.5 1X D | | 2/16/2010
| 5 | Depression; Insomnia; IBS | Increased appetite; sedation. | Remeron is truly a great medicine for some people. It controls my IBS and helps with insomnia and depression. I'm on the 30mg dose and find that it works a bit better than the 15mg. The depression has lifted somewhat in combination with Lexapro 20mg and Zyprexa 2.5mg. | M | 25 | 2.5 years
30 1X D | | 2/15/2010
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| 2 | Severe Depression | Severe insomnia, weight loss, increased BP | My 79 year old mother is taking Remeron. Her doctor selected it specifically for its supposed sleep aid but it is having the opposite effect on her. She can fall asleep but then wakes up after a short time and can't go back to sleep. She has a decent appetite but has actually lost a bit of weight likely due to her anxiety over this lack of sleep. Her BP has also risen; wasn't thinking about the relationship of that to the Remeron but after reading other comments, maybe it is the cause as well. She has also seemingly hit a plateau in her depression recovery. Called doctor today to request a change of meds for her. | F | 79 | 60 days
20 mg 1X D | | 2/15/2010
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| 2 | GAD, appetite | vivid, often scary dreams. drowsiness, inability to wake in morning. psychedelia. | Before I started seeing "doctors" for my problems, I was smoking marijuana. I had NO appetite, I was vomiting every morning when I woke up, and I had crazy anxiety. The weed helped with EVERYTHING. I slept the perfect amount of time every night, I could eat 3000 calories in a day, as opposed to 250, and my anxiety attacks were under control.
But weed is illegal and expensive. So I went to the doctor. After getting put on a ton of other drugs that dont help, I was also put on remeron, to help me sleep at night, and to boost my appetite.
For shortness sake: The remeron makes me feel like a train hit my head while I was asleep, I cant wake up for at least 10 hours, my appetite hardly went up (I crave sugar a little bit more), I have vivid, often disturbing dreams that I dont enjoy 100% of the time. The only thing it helps with is my vomiting in the morning.
Instead of putting me on $2500 of drugs every month, that all have addictive potential and withdrawl syndroms, and dont help (when COMBINED) nearly as much as weed, why cant they just prescribe me marinol? Because theyre dumb zombies. Im on xanax, klonopin, lexapro and remeron. I cant orgasm, I get brain zaps, I still cant eat, I miss class because Im still on remeron in the morning, I cant concentrate in school, and I have to see 2 doctors a month. Thanks big pharma! | M | 19 | 8 months
30mg 1X D | | 2/15/2010
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| 1 | | Permanent muscle atrophy. Terrible muscle pain and weakness.
Terribly high blood pressure compared to normal while on Remeron. Permanent changes in metabolism. | I agree with everything posted by the person who wrote on 1/24/10. I also have been a runner for many years - I was a marathon runner before I took Remeron. While on Remeron, my blood pressure shot up from 90/50 to 145/90 and I experienced excruciating muscle pain, weakness, and atrophy. I suddenly had trouble running at all and could not walk up the stairs without being short of breath. My blood pressure returned to normal when I went off Remeron, but the other side effects persist over two years later. It took a year after I discontinued Remeron before I regained some of my strength, but I never regained the muscle mass. I have permanent muscle atrophy and permanent metabolic changes from taking Remeron. Do not take this drug; your mind might recover but your body never will. | F | 32 | 2 months
60mg 1X D | | 2/10/2010
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| 3 | major depression/anxiety/insomnia | HAS HELPED SOMEWHAT WITH DEPRESSION (NOT CRYING AS MUCH) BUT STILL CAN'T SLEEP AT ALL ON 15MG IN THE EVENING. HUNGER PANGS ALL THE TIME. LETHARGIC SEVERAL DAYS IN BEGINNING | HELPING LIFT MY DEPRESSION BUT NOT HAVING ANY SUCCESS FALLING ASLEEP AT ALL DOSAGE IS 15MG. SORT OF MAKES ME PANICKY OR RACEY WHEN I TAKE B4 BED. WONDERING IF I NEED TO GIVE IT A 2 WEEK PERIOD TO HELP ME WITH A SLEEP PATTERN B4 IT WILL KICK IN ALTHOUGH IT SEEMS TO WORK FOR MOST RIGHT AWAY? I DO GET GROGGY WHEN I TAKE IT BUT I STILL CAN'T FALL ASLEEP. I WAS HOPING FOR MORE BUT HAVEN'T GIVEN UP ON IT YET. | F | 38 | 10 days
15 mg 1X D | | 2/8/2010
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| 3 | Anxiety | Craved sweets, but did not give in to the temptation. | I take Remeron for anxiety and it has helped me. I also wanted to let all those out there who are suffering know that there is hope and not to be scared off by the posts about medications. I found help at my local hospital and took an intensive group treatment program that has changed my life for the better, I now have the tools to deal with the things in life that cause depression or make us anxious. It was a difficult but amazing experience and I would recommend anyone who can find a program like this to do it face the fear and do it. It is so worth it. The medications can help but this is life long help. | F | 36 | 4 weeks
30 mg 1X D | | 2/3/2010
| 5 | depression | I was scared of that this med would make me gain loads of weight, but i was anorexic/bulimic and could use a few pounds anway... in the short term i gained about half a stone, but since then its levelled out and i feel much calmer and sleep much better. Its not easy to lose weight on remeron which actually makes it easy to get through the worse throws of bulimia/anorexia since you can't go off the deep end because diets just don't work on zispin, its great for maintaining healthy! | I take this with fluanxol and its making all the difference! Weight gain is a good side effect for me and for those scared of it, the weight gain seems to go away. I'm stable, the weight is stable- so all is good. | M | 28 | 4 months
| | 1/30/2010
| 2 | insomnia | feeling like a zombie , didn't have energy to think of anything | i took it for 2 days x 30 mg only but i felt like i wanted to sleep forever .i was sluggish the next day and could not drag my feet and trying to fight my insomnia by my self. | M | 23 | 2 days
| | 1/28/2010
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| 1 | Severe depression + Sleep problems | Hangover every morning, weight gain, weight gain and yet more weight gain! | I began taking Remeron last July for depression and sleeping problems. Starting dose was 15mg rising to 30 mg and then 45 mg. I felt hungover most mornings and sluggish all day, craving for bad foods which i controlled by nibbling on fruit. Since last July i have gained 45lbs - yes, 3 stone! I have gone from a size 8 to a size 14. I have been slim all my life and even when 9 months pregnant my weight never went over 9 stone. I am very athletic, competing in half marathons on a regular basis. I run between 25 and 30 miles every week and as i've been running for many years, i am well aware of calorie intake and what my body needs. When the weight started piling on, i reduced my calorie intake to 1300 per day which was far less then what i should be burning off each day and wrote down every calorie i ate even down to the 5 calories in my black coffee but the weight kept coming! I finally gave up last week after trying to lose 6 lbs in preperation for a skiing holiday by running an extra 8 miles and swimming every day before my run, i gained another 5 lbs. My running times have got slower and slower over the last few months, a recent check up at the doctors revealed that my blood pressure has risen too. An average reading for me was 80/50 this is now 147/95. I am now coming off Remeron and will see how i cope. I hope to get back to my pre Remeron weight of 8 stone 4. Remeron worked as an antidepressant and rescued me from a dark place but came at a price. | F | 35 | 7 months
| | 1/24/2010
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| 5 | Depression/Insomina | Sleepiness, Dizzy and irritable for the first week or so, | Just take these comments with a grain of salt. Everyone is different. I was on Remeron for 2 years several years ago. I started taking it again this month. Yes, I gained weight the first time but I also lost it while I was still taking it. Just don't gorge.
Also, I didn't have any 'permanent fat cells' after I came off of it.... nor did it disrupt my sleeping habits afterwards. Sure, it might do that to some, but not everyone.
Read these for piece of mind (just as I am doing) but don't replace your mind with it. If you don't like it, talk to your doctor about changing. If you're getting hungry all day-- eat carrots, not snickers. Weight gain solved. | F | 27 |
| | 1/23/2010
| 1 | Insomnia/Depression | hangover effect next morning, extreme fatigue | | M | 17 | 5 days
| | 1/23/2010
| 4 | Anxiety and insomnia | A bit sluggish in the morning. Weight gain is a side effect, have to be careful about eating habits. | | M | 57 | 60 days
| | 1/22/2010
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| 4 | Depression, insomnia | Blurred vision, increased appitite | It is a great drug overall. I had some major depression and this drug has me feeling like my old self. I worry about things a lot less, and don’t get depressed too much while I am on it. The bad part for me at least, this drug has a tendency to blur my vision, and I cant figure out why. Another thing which may affect people is this drug makes you very hungry. Not a big deal for me, but for some with less self control you will add some pounds. The trade off for me is worth it. With proper diet and some exercise weight gain should not be an issue. One awesome benefit of this drug is it makes you sleep really well. I have not slept this good in years. And it is not a sedated like sleep, it just makes you tired out and lets you sleep through the night. | M | 32 | 4 months
| | 1/22/2010
| 1 | BiPolar, Depression | Sugar and Salt cravings, WEIGHT GAIN, drowsiness, high blood pressure | It is a crime this medication is still available. It is even more of a crime with today's science they cannot remove the chemical portion that causes the obscene weight gain. I cannot vouch for others, but over a three month period I put on 30 pounds. That's right, 10 pounds a month. I have NEVER had a problem with my weight. Twenty minutes after you have taken this medication the drowsiness will hit you, and then the Sugar & Salt Zombie will take over your body. Cake bowls full of cereal and milk, bags of crisps, etc. You get the picture. Oh and my depression did lift some only to crash when I could not wear any of the clothes I had and I could not recognize myself in the mirror. Sorry. For me it was too high a price to pay. High blood pressure and a risk for Type II Diabetes is not my way of beating depression! | M | 45 | 4 months
| | 1/21/2010
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| 5 | Major Depression | Initial weigth gain (~5/10#)but it eventually subsided as my body acclimated. It was a miracle for sleep problems immediately but does make you feel a little loopy the first few days. But overall its been over three years and it really helped me turn a corner during a really low low and has continued to work for me, though I just had to add Wellbutrin to the mix for smoking& hitting anohter low after multiple stresses- job change, move & breakup.... | Have suffered from major depression from as far back as I can remember and had uncessfully tried MANY other ADs first. Prozac, Effexor, Trileptal, Lyrica, & more! | F | 28 | 3 years
| | 1/18/2010
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| 5 | Major Depression | Increased appetite. Some weight gain. Feeling tired. | I have been a guinea pig for many antidepressants and anti- psychotics. I must say Remeron has been my savior with zero "bad side effects". I have been on it now for over a week and already feel so much better. I can't wait for the full benefit of this drug to kick in! | F | 32 | 2 weeks
| | 1/16/2010
| 5 | Seasonal Affective Disorder | Some drowsiness/sedation the first week to week and a half, mild to moderate "hangover" feeling in the mornings for the same time frame. Mild GI side effects, some gas and bloating, but then again I also have IBS so that may have something to do with it. | Look, just because a drug didn't work for you doesn't mean it's a worthless drug. Remeron helped me with a minimum of side effects. In the past I had briefly tried other medications for my SAD (winter depression) and have gotten unbelievable side effects. Wellbutrin was 4 days of clinical mania. Didn't sleep a wink. Not one minute in 4 days. Lexapro was a TOTAL loss of ALL sexual function [I'm female]. Paxil was a panic attack that landed me up in the hospital with a pulse just slightly over 200 and I've never had any issues with anxiety before. I could not stay on any of these medications long enough to tell if they would help my SAD or not.
At a loss as to what else to try my new doctor gave me Remeron and for me, it was the magic bullet. I was experiencing such strong symptoms that I very literally felt nothing but apathetic and overwhelmed by the smallest task - I missed 2 weeks of work because the thought of making breakfast was just too much work and then I didn't have to worry about it because I stopped eating entirely. I had no food in the house for over a week because going to the grocery was too much work. I lost 15# that I could not afford to lose. All my emotions were just gone. The only thing I wanted to do on the rare occasions I was out was go back home and sit on the couch again. The irritability was so extreme I considered giving my cat away for fear I may hurt him against my own will. Remeron completely eliminated these symptoms after onl | F | 32 | 21 days
| | 1/16/2010
| 1 | anxiety/insomnia/depression | I've been off this drug for over a year and I am still messed up. My cognition is ruined. Still have not been able to loose all the weight I gained despite running about 50 KM per week AND doing Bikram yoga. I have never been able to feel alert ever since I began taking the crap. Still dull mood and drowsy in the morning, all of which were side-effects of the medication. It took 12 months to taper down using liquid form. | If you have side effects that won't subside on this medication, consider it likely that they will become permanent (i.e. will last for years after you get off the stuff). | F | 35 | 12 months
| | 1/16/2010
| 5 | insomnia anxiety depression | sedation at first...quickly disappeared though | Remeron is a WONDER drug. Ask your doc for this medication. It works as well as the tricyclics but with way lower side effects. I gained more weight on Paxil than Remeron. Start at 30mg is the trick. Don't believe all the negative stuff. If you want relief get REMERON. Super anxiolytic! | F | 43 | 2 years
| | 1/9/2010
| 4 | gad/depression/muscle pain | a bit sleepy when first started taking.on 15mg for first 2 weeks then went up to 30 mg...got terrible munchies | so far so good still get muscle aches but not as bad ...thinking of going up to 45 mg go in a bit of a daze some times and eaisley aggitated.....gunna stick them out any 1 wont to contact me feel free.......muscle aches in neck, back and on front chest and shoulders | M | 39 | 6 weeks
| | 1/6/2010
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| 3 | mainly depression and worry | sluggishness | I think the trick to this drug is starting at 30 mgs. I did a few days of 15 mgs and was overcome by the effects of sedation. The shrink upped the dosage and everything was better. This drug has improved my mood but not quite enough for my satisfaction. I don't feel as energized, but I've read that at higher dosages the drug is more energizing. So I am moving up in dosage to 45 mg. as of this evening. I do agree with the 30-year-old guy lower down. The weight gain is possible if you give into it. Yes, you get more cravings, but either you manage them or you don't. If you give into them, then you diet the next day. I asked my pharmacist about this. He told me no patient on this drug has complained of weight gain. There has been some talk of metabolism changes that make weight gain happen despite appetite control. I'd like to know more about this because I work out and am in good shape and don't want to lose the edge. So anyone who knows anything about this please post. Vis a vis eating, I do think the drug makes food taste better, another reason people overeat. I read in a post somewhere, not on this site I don't think, that taking remeron is the anti-depressant equivalent of smoking marijuana. It heightens the experience of eating. That said, it can be controlled. | M | 51 | 4 weeks
| | 1/6/2010
| 1 | bipolar depression | i was taking zispin not remeron.
still mirtazapine but im not sure if the brand name makes a difference.
okay where to start?
i put on a nearly two stone in a month.
i ate everything i could see.
since im also bulimic this was a HUGE fucking problem.
i started hallucinating 'grudge' type japanese ghost children in my room but was completely paralyzed and unable to do anything.
i got horrible night sweats.
i got dizzy.
i got shakey. | I HATE THIS MEDICATION.
i had the most awful time on this.
i started out on 15mg the first week then up to 30mg the next week then 45mg then i screamed at the psychiatrist to take me off it
because the side effects were so horrific that i was thinking about killing myself.
hate it. | F | 24 | 3.5 weeks
| | 1/5/2010
| 5 | anxiety/depression after surgery | I had no unwanted side effects--I needed to regain my appetite and I did. I have added some pounds which I needed. | I only take 7.5 mg at bedtime. I would advise starting with this small dosage to see if it does the trick. | F | 71 | 2 months
| | 1/4/2010
| 4 | depression/anxiety | Glued-to-the-bed morning somnolence that goes away fast with a single cup of coffee, but it can be hard to get up sometimes. Some weight gain, perhaps 5-8 lb. over the 7 weeks I've been taking it. Not too bad given that the holidays fell in this period. I do not have the "munchies" some folks describe getting on this stuff, bur food tastes pretty good, especially sweets. I'll have to watch what I eat a bit and also work out some more. | After 7 weeks at 15 mg/day, I think this stuff is helping me, albeit in a somewhat subtle way. I have a bit more initiative and no longer automatically go into blue funks when something goes wrong or for no apparent reason at all. It has also had a significant positive impact on my anxiety, which is the larger portion of my dual diagnosis (GAD/depression) situation. In summary, I'm not dancing in the street and passing out flowers, but I feel better. I think I'll give it another month at 15mg. and if I hold steady, ask the p-doc about upping me to 22.5 or potentially 30 mg. I get the sense there is more improvement to be had and it may be dose related. But, I'll wait a bit first. | M | 58 | 7 weeks
| | 1/4/2010
| 5 | Major depression, anxiety | Increased appetite at 15 mg, that went away when upped to 30 mg. Morning drowsiness that wore off after a week or so of first taking it. Increased sensitivity to alcohol. | Honestly, I wish I would have taken this medication sooner- I would have spent a lot less time being anxious and depressed. The weight I gained was the weight I lost during my depression (about 5-10 lbs.) When I was upped to 30 mg, I didn't have the appetite or drowsiness like I did at 15 mg. I slept better at 15 mg, but overall I feel better now w/ 30 mg. I'm glad I didn't see these other posts before taking it or I would have been scared off. This stuff really helped me. Word to the wise: watch your alcohol intake while taking this stuff. My tolerance went out the window, now one drink is like having 2-3. Good luck! | F | 23 | 7 months
| | 1/3/2010
| 4 | | | | F | 20 | 9 months
| | 1/3/2010
| 5 | severe anxiety and depression | very tired at first then hungry for sweets | Remeron saved my life. I had tried just about every med known to mankind, but when I was put on Remeron, my anxiety and depression were cured. I can now put things in perspective: most every problem is now managable. please try remeron. | M | 42 | 3 years
| | 1/2/2010
| 1 | trauma, anxiety, depression | MEGA exhaustion and mega increased muscle pain (these are two of my biggest original problems). i am ANGRY, irritable, upset, not sure i'm awake or asleep, headache, trouble eating(!!! what??) feeling out of my body and out of my head, desperate feeling of uselessness/hopelessness. | i've only been working up to my prescribed dose of 15 mg. i took half that for two days, then a full pill last night. i am taking a generic version of this drug. i haven't been this depressed in at least a decade. i feel like i'm back living with my father who caused all this in the first place. i would have called my doc earlier if i could have thought straight enough to do so. contemplating the emergency room now. haven't eaten and have hardly stopped crying ever since taking the first half dose but was trying to "let it work". i have previously taken celexa, and a bunch of anti anxiety meds like lorazepam for panic attacks, all at very low doses of about .5 mg. the anti anxiety scripts changed with the doctors prescribing, while celexa was constant for about a year (starting at lowest recommended dose, reaching highest) (would really help to have insurance AND a psych of my own at any given time, instead of a succession of pcps and clinics, half of whom don't believe in my fucking conditions, and most of whom are afraid to prescribe half the drugs at their disposal bc of addiction, which i have NEVER had a problem with...) at first they helped with panic but steadily that type of medicine started to make me feel like all my nerves were firing out through my skin and i just wanted to die. | F | 28 | 3 days
| | 12/22/2009
| 2 | depression | Initially I slept a lot. After I got used to it life was fine. All hell broke loose when I eased off of it. | After getting off the drug, I could not sleep well - even with xanax and ambien. It took over a year to experience 4 - 5 hours of acceptable sleep. 2 years later, I cannot sleep the night through and have a permanent sleep disorder. | M | 53 | 2 years
| | 12/14/2009
| 3 | Major Depressive Disorder | Hmmm, well intially this was the miracle drug. I was able to sleep like a baby, my depression was gone or at least managable, but the pounds continued to pack on. | So this is my first post and I must say that I am quite upset with myself for not checking this site 4 months ago when I began the medication for what to expect. As I stated in the otehr comments section, at first things were sweet on the drug. I was taking 30 mg at night and sleeping like a baby. Less irriated, agitated, and almost no anxiety issues. During the 1st month I was so happy to be feeling better I attributed the weight gain with all the celebrating I was doing for having my life back (this accounted for about 10-12 lbs). The second month I was still feeling good but started to get upset about the weight gain, but still attributed to other things like, being at home on stress leave for 2 months, so I began an intensive work out regimen along with diet pills to curb my appetite and began eating healthier. I've been working out for about 6 wks now and I can honestly say I've seen no change. Sometimes I even feel like I'm gaining weight. My stomach and lower back and thighs seems to have really been where the pounds have made their home and already being a thick girl this is not OK! I also have been experiencing night terrors lately. So bad that I feel like I am actually fighting the entire time Im sleep and wake up feeling exhausted. The dreams are really detailed too, and most of them are reccuring sitautions that are devastating to go through even in a dream. So after 4 months and about 2 pant sizes, I've decided to remove this drug from my body. I have | F | 28 | 4 months
| | 12/8/2009
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| 1 | seasonal affective disorder | LAWSUIT: Permanent fat deposits; permanent muscle atrophy | IF YOU HAVE DEVELOPED PERMANENT FAT DEPOSITS AND/OR EXPERIENCED MUSCLE ATROPHY AS A RESULT OF TAKING REMERON, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT
kmw4v2008@yahoo.com. I AM FILING A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST THE MANUFACTURERS OF REMERON. | F | 32 | 2 months
| | 12/7/2009
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| 2 | depression, anxiety | sedation, derealization | The sedation from this drug is ridiculous. After being on it a little while, I got these derealization effects where I would walk around in a fog completley detached from everything and everyone around me. This in-effect caused my mental anxiety to worsen since I found it so hard to fuction on this med due to feeling drugged. It also made me feel dead inside where I became completley flat/ numb and I hated that feeling. The only good things that came from this med was that it allowed me sleep and it restored my appetite at a time when I really needed both. Overall however, the bad outweighed the good so I got off. | M | 29 | 5 weeks
| | 12/4/2009
| 5 | insomnia | Initially, a bit drowsy first thing in the morning, but the effect wears off in an hour or so. Developed quite a sweet tooth,gained about 5 lbs. Sleep is great - better than ever. | I have taken remeron for about 5 years. It saved my bacon. Had terrible insomnia and it was the only thing that worked. I did have a brief relapse after about a year, so in desperation, I learned progressive muscle relaxation. Learning to discipline myself to do 20 mins of meditative,progressive relaxation, plus remeron (I've gone from 15mg to 7.5mg) has helped me enormously. I would say to anyone suffering through insomnia, that the combination of the drug and a little training in relaxation could bring much relief.As for the munchies,once I was sleeping well again, I got my energy back, and I started gently cycling to work everyday (major adjustment!)and walking at lunch. That has kept the weight down. For me, remeron has been a blessing.Take care and good luck. | M | 46 | 5 years
| | 12/2/2009
| 1 | Major Depression | Increased appetite, weight gain, insomnia, dizziness/drowsiness during the day, excessive amounts of sleep (16+ hours daily), mania | I can't stop eating sweets and carbs, I've gained 7lbs in 2 weeks after working for a year and a half to lose 25. I cant fall asleep until 5-7am (I take it at night)once I do fall asleep, I'll sleep for a good 12-13hrs and after 2hrs of being awake I pass out for another 3hrs. I'm taking ritalin which may explain the mania. I'll just get so angry for no reason that I want to punch something and just curse my head off until it goes away which sometimes I will go to bed pissed off all to hell and I can't seem to get it to go away. | F | 18 | 1 months
| | 12/2/2009
| 3 | depresssion and taper from zolpidem | Sleepy, day time fogginess. Minor constipation, dry mouth initially. Have gained 2-3 lb., but this may be due to Thanksgiving over indulgence. So far, no ravenous sweet tooth or other similar effects often mentioned for this med. Vivid (with a capital V) and prolific dreams, but no real nightmares | I'm taking 15mg. daily for depression/anxiety and to ease my taper from low levels of zolpidem and diazepam, (5mg every other day and 3 mg day respectively). I've only been taking it 2 weeks as of today and can't say it has helped of yet, although I do feel more placid in general. I think I may be in the transitional phase where the drug is starting to kick in as I have alternating periods of energy/clarity (new to me of late..) and pretty profound blues. I'll give it a month, by which time I should be off the Zolpidem and then re-assess with Madame Shrink. | | 57 | 2 weeks
| | 11/30/2009
| 5 | Insomnia | PEACE OF MIND, RESTFUL SLEEP, AND INCREASED FOCUS. WHY DON'T MORE PEOPLE COMMENT ON THE POSITIVE SIDE EFFECTS OF THIS DRUG! | BEST MEDICATION OUT THERE. I SUFFER FROM SEVERE INSOMNIA AND CHRONIC DEPRESSION. I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECT OF WEIGHT GAIN AFTER READING THE POSTS. HOWEVER, I HIGHLY DOUBT THE MEDICATION ITSELF IS CAUSING THE WEIGHT GAIN. IT WILL INCREASE YOUR APPETITE BUT JUST DONT GORGE AND YOU WILL GAIN NOTHING. DOXEPIN, PAXIL, SEROQUEL, ALL MUCH WORSE FOR WEIGHT GAIN AND CAUSE BLOATING BASED ON MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THE MEDICATIONS. I HAVE EXPERIENCED NONE OF THESE NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECTS WHILE ON REMERON.THIS IS A FREAKING WONDER DRUG. DON'T BE PUT OFF BY THE CRAZY POSTS TALKING ABOUT SEVERE WEIGHT GAIN. | M | 30 | 60 days
| | 11/28/2009
| 1 | Depression | FAT, FAT, FAT. Unless you need to put on an extra 20-30 lbs, this is the med for you. | When will big pharma create a depression medication that also has the properties of steroids?! Muscle instead of fat. That is my dream. With Remeron, growing fat was my nightmare! | M | 44 | 5 weeks
| | 11/27/2009
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| 3 | Difficulty sleeping | Serious. Weight. Gain. Ugh! | I'm so disappointed! Remeron has been the only drug that has truly worked for me with my sleep issues (early waking and subsequent insomnia), but the weight gain was awful. I gained 25 lbs in 4 months! I've never gained weight with any other medicine so honestly, it didn't occur to me that Remeron might be the culprit. I started back on my diet pills which curbed my appetite and gave me lots of energy. I was working out and eating little...but I was still gaining weight! Finally a nurse friend of mine suggested it was a reaction to medication. I checked my other meds, but none showed weight gain as a side effect. Then I checked for Remeron and boom! Blogs and websites everywhere testified to the weight gain. So I've gone off the med, but I'm still not losing weight despite the fact that I am eating very little. So now I'm fat and sleepless. This is so frustrating to me. Have I wrecked my metabolism permanently? Does anyone have a tip for getting your body back after Remeron? | F | 41 | 5 months
| | 11/21/2009
| 4 | Severe Depression. | Slept soundly, no waking and not being able to get back to sleep.(A good thing for me)
Initially slept 12 hours or more at a time and very groggy on waking.(Would wake,doze,wake,doze - hard to get up)
Dry mouth for a couple of weeks
WEIGHT GAIN. It was slow and I didn't notice it at first, but when I went to wear something a bit clingy...YUK!!!Where did that weight come from???
| I only put 2 and 2 together about the weight gain, after it had become quite noticeable. When I looked back at when I began taking Remeron and the weight gain beginning, it was a 'perfect match'. My appetite and eating habits hadn't changed, but my weight had. That's when I decided to look up 'Ask a Patient' to see what others have experienced. (A friend had told me about the site, and I think it's wonderful!!!Thank you)
When I initially read about the possible side effects of the drug,which was given to me when I first started taking it, it included absolutely everything imaginable,so it wasn't any help.
ALSO I've never experienced weight gain on any other medication that has listed it as a side effect. This is a first. Happy with the overall effect of the drug though, just not too fussed about the extra weight. | F | 52 | 4 months
| | 11/17/2009
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| 2 | anxiety and depression | dizzy, drunk like, insomnia, animal appetite, eating massive amounts of food, serious weight gain. | It did stop my irritabilty but just cant seem to pick myself up. | F | 33 | 60 days
| | 11/16/2009
| 2 | insomnia, anxiety | insomnia | How long does it take for the Remeron to help with sleep? I have been taking 15 mg for a few days, and my sleep seems so much worse. | F | 36 |
| | 11/12/2009
| 3 | severe depression | dry mouth, sleepy | only been on it about almost 3 weeks and it has lifted mymood and gotton me somewhat out of my funk i migh need a little stronger dose. | F | 58 | 3 weeks
| | 11/6/2009
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| 3 | depression | average | | M | 41 | 14 days
| | 10/22/2009
| 5 | Severe Depression and Anxiety | Late evening munchies, excitation when I tried to increase to 45mg | I posted in June and wanted to update. I guess I've been on 30mg for the past four months. A few weeks ago I tried to increase my dosage to 45mg. I was taking 30mg at night and 15mg in the morning. For the first few days I felt great (I'm wondering if it may have been placebo) but after three days I was unable to get to sleep when I took my dose before bed. So now I'm back to 30mg and things are still ok. The one thing I've noticed that separates this drug from the dozen or so others I've tried is that you don't feel apathetic. I still have bad days and I still have bouts of anxiety sometimes. I have less suicidal ideations and am able to get my work done more effectively. I know that many people pass on this drug because of all the accounts of weight gain. Unlike some of the other psych meds, remeron doesn't make you gain weight. It just makes you hungry. Just by knowing this I was able to keep my weight gain to under 10 pounds. I recently started taking 5-htp in the am which works like an appetite suppressant. WARNING: You shouldn't take 5-htp if you are on any other SSRI or med that effects serotonin. Anyway I'll continue to update every few months. | M | 32 | 4 months
| | 10/12/2009
| 4 | depression, anxiety | depression, anxiety, fatigue, sleepiness, dizziness | I stopped taking Remeron 1 1/2 year ago after 9 months of treatment. I tried a lot of other medicine which made me feel worst. Remeron seemed to work for me. I didn't feel anxious and depressed and I could live a normal life. My doctor told me that I needed to stay on medicine for a least 1 year, but because I felt good I thought I could handle a normal life on my own without any medicine's help. I was wrong. There were some events in my life that dragged me down. I was depressed every day and very, very anxious all the time. I started taking 15 mg of Remeron 7 days ago and today I will increase to 30mg. I've been feeling depressed, anxious, tired, and I feel like sleeping and eating all the time. I know that I will gain weight (it happened before) but I need it, because I lost a lot for the past month. There are a lot of side effects but I hope that soon I will feel better. I know for sure that it takes a while to feel the improvement. Sometimes it's very hard to give the medicine time to work and you think that instead of helping you it makes you feel worst. Everybody is different and reacts differently to this kind of drugs. I've learned that it's very important to give the medicine time to work. I wish everybody good luck. | F | 41 | 7 days
| | 10/12/2009
| 3 | PTSD | Everyone please be sure to check your cholesterol if you are on this drug. Mine skyrocketed (from 139 to 287!). This is a potential side effect of Remeron. I also gained weight steadily. BUT the drug worked like a miracle for my symptoms. I slept the best ever in my life. My libido was slightly improved, and I finally felt comfortable in my skin with much less anxiety. | It was too bad about my cholesterol because I had to go off it. | F | 49 | 3 months
| | 10/12/2009
| 5 | anxiety, depression | weight gain | the only antidepressant that helps!!! but have to take 7,5mg because otherwise i'm constantly hungry; even after months of taking 15mg gained 70 pounds | F | 24 | 3 years
| | 10/5/2009
| 4 | Insomnia, Postpartum Anxiety | Weight gain, dry mouth, helpful sleep aid. I had a baby about 4 months ago & have experienced terrible Postpartum Anxiety & insomnia. The Drs put me on Klonopin, Seroquel, Xanax, Ambien & Risperidol. Remeron is the only medication (15 mg) that helped my insomnia but I am noticing rapid weight gain. That is discouraging but I am thankful to have some good sleep under my belt. May try to ween off as I dislike the weight gain & feeling hungry all the time & never feeling "full". | While I hate the weight gain, I am thankful for this medication. I take 15 mg before bedtime & I have slept every night but one (for the past month). I was on some super serious sleep/anxiety meds & they either didn't work or left me destroyed the next morning - unlike Remeron. I am a little slow to get out of bed but once I do I feel 100%. | F | 37 | 30 days
| | 9/28/2009
| 4 | depression | i have been tired for 2 weeks. i am trying to decide if this is a side effect. | plz list your experience esp. if you were tired. thx | M | 72 | 25 days
| | 9/11/2009
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| 4 | Major Depression | Weight gain of 30 lbs, hunger, constant fatigue | I had to keep increasing my dosage because the med would lose it's effectiveness over time. I gained 30 lbs on this stuff and became an exhausted sloth. I put up with the side effects because it helped greatly with my depression. I have to credit Remeron for helping me get through that time, and I have not been depressed since stopping the medication. | F | 30 | 2 years
| | 9/8/2009
| 3 | Depression/anxiety | Some weight gain (about 20lb in a few years), very strange dreams initially, but these wore off in a few days/weeks. Felt pretty spaced out the first few days. | The depression improved a lot for the first few weeks, but then it seemed to stop working. Makes you very sleepy right after taking it, which can be either a blessing or curse (having suffered from insomnia for a long time, it was a blessing for me). | M | 29 | 3 years
| | 9/8/2009
| 5 | Severe anxiety, panic and depressio | Initally tired and ate a lot (it was needed). A bit zoned out for a week (that has now settled right down). Vivid dreams at times. | I wrote about my son in July when he had been on it for 2 weeks. The update is that this medication has helped my son come back to me. Before the medication he had stopped leaving the house, was panicked all the time, thought he was going to have an anuerism, felt constantly sick, wouldn't go to sleep and was suicicdal more than once. He now goes out more, has started dancing and piltes again is talking to his friends and does not feel he is going to be sick or have an aneurism. He ate a bit initally but now it has settled down (he needed it he is over 6 foot and weighed 64kgs before now 78kgs and looking like he should). I wanted to update this to reassure anyone who might be apprehensive, it really has been a life saver for my boy. All the best. | M | 16 | 2 months
| | 9/5/2009
| 3 | Insomnia | Eventual partial loss of medications effectiveness. | I posted a rating on 2-21-09. I am posting an update to that rating. I got the what seemed to be the best sleep of my life for 2 months and then it stopped working as effectively for me as it did originally. I got the best sleep of my life for 2 months and then I started waking up earlier and it took me longer to get to sleep. However, I am still on Remeron because the sleep that I am able to get is enough to give me a clear head the next day. I do wish I would return to a normal sleeping pattern. My wife drifts off to sleep within 5 minutes of her head hitting the pillow. I hope to be able to do that again one day. | M | 47 | 160 days
| | 9/5/2009
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| 2 | insomnia | fatigue, depersonalization, depression, heart racing, no motivation, state of being awake/asleep | I would not recommend this drug to anyone. This is the first a/d I have taken. It was prescribed for insomnia (15 mg) which resulted from a short course of prednisone. After taking this for 2 months, I have been tapering for 7 months at very small amounts in hopes of rebound insomnia not resulting. I pray that I will feel back to my normal cheerful self when getting off this medicine and pray these lethargic emotions are not permanent. It seems these types of medicine do more harm than good. | F | 42 | 9 months
| | 9/3/2009
| 5 | Depression, GAD | Remeron made me sleep for 48 hours straight through when I started out at 15 mg. Thankfully my doctor anticipated this and gave me a note for work. For the next two weeks I continued to take 15mg. at bedtime and it knocked me out right away. This was great as I was having trouble sleeping. I had difficulties getting up in the morning, and for the first month at 15mg. I would get really sleepy at work around 3PM. This side effect eventually went away. I increased to 30mg as I was tolerating the drug well. At 30mg, the drug still put me to sleep. After a month at 30mg, I really started to notice an increase in my overall happiness! The things that used to make me cry no longer did!! I'm feeling very upbeat and thinking of asking to increase the dosage to 45mg. | This drug worked great for me!!! I didn't have any of the weight gain issues that plague most people on this medication. It's been 2.5 months and no weight gain. I've been on all of the SSRI's and all they ever did is decrease my sex drive. Remeron is amazing! I'm happy, I still have my sex drive, and I'm not gaining weight! I really think that every anti-depressant effects everybody differently. Thankfully I've found the one that works for me after 8 years of every other pill on the market! | M | 26 | 2.5 months
| | 8/30/2009
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