Remeron Weight loss problems and anger

A day later and I have lost a further 1kg. Mirtaz prevents you from losing weight. Still on 30mg's, im going to lower my dose to 15mg's soon. I was 67 kg's less then 2 weeks ago. Lowered my dose and I am now 65 and a half kilo's. Loss of 2 kilo's in less then 2 weeks.

I have also cut out using salt in my cooking as well.

Cassie

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I also have been attending the gym twice a week, doing daily excercise on the wii fit and going for a weekly bike ride as well. You need a good supportive counsellor and a good doctor that believes in you and isnt just looking for a bandaid solution.

Cassie

Im on mirtazapine had to buy joggers just to see my doctors.

I was on this medication for insomnia, my doctor asked me if gaining weight would be a problem. At the time I was 105 lbs, and did not care as I have always been thin and gaining an extra pound or two purposely was inpossible for me. He told me that I would only gain about 5 lbs in a 6 month period. What a LIE! I gained around 35 lbs in a 2 month period! All I craved was chocolate candy and pasta and I over indulged myself. He couldnt believe it when he saw me the visit! Anyway a year later I am off the meds, but it is nearly impossible to lose the weight I gained in my mid section! This is the weed pill I say cause all you want to do is eat and sleep!

For anyone who is considering taking Remeron (mirtazapine), or whose doctor has recommended it, please be advised that this drug ALMOST ALWAYS results in significant weight gain. In fact, it is often prescribed in cases where an individual's appetite has been handicapped from chemotherapy and other cancer treatments. 

What you need to understand is that your doctor may simply not know this. An alarming number of doctors, especially general practitioners, are ignorant about this class of drugs (this and many others) and will prescribe it without warning you of the side effects. I personally challenged a doctor on her lack of knowledge about Remeron, and her response was "the official medical literature does not indicate weight gain as a side effect." 

All one needs to do is conduct a cursory Web search and you will find thousands of patients who report weight gain in conjunction with taking Remeron. Dig a little deeper and you'll find multiple well-credentialed medial professionals who affirm that this med simultaneously increases appetite and revs down metabolism. The result: RAPID weight gain. It's not uncommon for someone to put on 5 lbs per week in the first one to two months on the drug -- which is why many practitioners prescribe it to patients whose appetite has been handicapped.

As anti-depressants go, Remeron is effective in a larger percentage of the population than SSRI meds (Remeron is not an SSRI), and it typically works much faster than SSRIs for reasons that are not entirely clear. But, that benefit comes with some major negatives:

--Weight gain

--Increased drowsiness and difficulty waking (people often report wanting to sleep for 14 hours a day)

--A general "zombie" feeling after waking that can last for hours

--Forgetfulness and other mental shortcomings 

Will your doctor know this information and warn you accordingly? Unless you are seeing a psychiatric specialist, likely not. 

In conclusion, be wary of taking this medication unless you are at the end of your rope and you are seeing a competent psychiatric professional who is able to fully inform you about what you're getting into. DO NOT let a general practitioner talk you into taking Remeron. You need only Google around the forums like this one to see why that is a terrible idea, and one you will likely regret. I encourage you to conduct your own search and educate yourself about this and other anti-depressants before committing yourself to what will likely be years, if not a lifetime, of taking them.  

Best wishes 

 

Each person is different. Some lose weight. Don't feed your appetite.

Don't feed your appetite.

i finally weaned myself off mirtazapine 10 days ago and am finally starting to lose weight. it took about 3 weeks to slowly wean off it. while on Mirtazapine i was having major anger issues, blood pressure was through the roof, started loosing heaps of hair and i was miserable. i slowly started taking chelated magnesium at night while slowly tapering off the mirtazapine. the magnesium definately helped with sleep issues. being an insomniac for years its nice to take a natural supplement for sleep and mood. my depression is gone and my blood pressure etc is slowly improving. horrible drug.

thanks for the info. i just started taking it. i see your comment was over a year ago, has the weight issue continued? progressed, lessened? Also, thank you for the perspective of the ben vs the down side

thank you.. i don't think there's going to be a med that will accomplish what i need, without side effects. it's nice to know that the benefits outweighed the negatives (excuse the pun).

I was placed on remeron for sleep in conjunction with gabapentin. I hate been on gabapentin for 1.5 months when I was placed on remeron. within 2 weeks of remeron I noticed my clothes fitting tighter and I had sausage fingers. I thought I was just retaining water. after for weeks and a complete loss of my muscle definition I jumped on the scale. I went from 158 to 189 in a month. I am a body builder and was doing a clean bulk and heavy lifting. I had an intense craving for carbs which I usually don't.

I have been off remeron for 3 months and have only dropped 2 pounds. even my trainer/coach is at a loss to help get the weight off. we cant restrict calories too much or I'll start losing muscle that I've worked very hard to put on. has anyone had success dropping the weight they rapidly put on?

Wow. Interesting reading and i totally agree with you 100%

I'm so glad I found this forum. 2 years on mirt and I have gained 20 pounds. I run 3 times a week, bike 10 miles a day to work, do HIIT 3 times a week, closely watch my intake and the pounds just keep coming. I have decided to stop taking this drug (and keep on the venlafaxine I am also on). When I gained the first 10 pounds, my doctor cocked her head to the side and chirped "But you're doing so well, so just exercise more and eat less". But I'm done. I can't possibly exercise and more than I do and my weight should be going down, not up. And it's not muscle, I have these gross fat rolls across my back and gut. Disgusting. I'm DONE with this drug.

I'm having significant trouble losing the weight I gained from Remeron. I hate that drug.
The only good thing about it was the dreams. I gained about 30 pounds in less than a month, and it's true that I had a voracious appetite. But now, I've been off it for a month, I'm exercising specifically for belly fat and although I am eating bean soup and salads, I can't seen=m to lose that las ten pounds. I'm frustrated because I liked my figure before this, now i feel dumpy and none of my clothes fit. it's a very powerful drug but it didn't address the anxiety after day three, it just made me fat. Also, it didn't cure my insomnia, after day three the insomnia resumed. STAY OFF IT!!!!!!!!!!

I’ve been taking Mirtazapine for 5 years. I’ve unfortunately gained over 40lbs. I was prescribed Mirtazapine for depression and also to gain weight since I was too depressed to eat (was going through a tough time). I weight around 98-100lbs before I started Mirtazapine. (I’m 5’6” so I was very thin). At first it was great. I was eating. Didn’t feel horribly sad and anxious all the time. Then I just kept gaining weight. Could not stop eating. I had gotten to a point where it also stopped working for my depression. I felt completely emotionless and apathetic all the time. I recently tapered my dose from 45mg to 34.5mgs. It’s only been about a week and I have dropped several pounds without even trying. I don’t want to eat very often but I’m still able to force myself. Not hating it! I don’t feel terrible. Just somewhat jittery.