Changed from Fluoxetine to Mirtazapine

Does Mirtazapine really give you an appetite , I have just changed from fluoxetine 40 mg to Mirtazapine 15 mg and after taking the first dose I never thought I was going to waken up . I slept all night and practically all day after taking just 15 mg. 

I must say I have not stopped thinking about sweets etc and eventually ate lots of chocolate . I keep saying to myself I have a big enough weight problem without gaining any more . So I'm going to really try and get this thinking of food out of my head . Has anyone managed to do this ????? 

Mirtazapine will make you eat like a horse and then some more.  I have always been skinny never been able to put weight on my whole life - im 27 now.  Within 3 months i put on a stone and my stomach looked swollen and it felt like water weight.  Might be different for others but for me mirtazapine raised my appetite through the roof - which was a good thing for me !  That was one of the good results of mirtazapine for me although the bad side effects were unbearable

Mirtazapine didn't increase my appetite in fact I ate less! All it did was make me feel so tired all day and it took all my motivation away so i had to come off it, now on venlafaxine and I no longer have the horrible sedated zombie feeling, 

Yes it will increase your appetite, especially for sweet things, and the chances are you may put on a few extra pounds, you have to decide if the Mirtazipine is helping your Depression, anxiety or whatever, enough to put up with this.

It will settle down after a while if you stay on it, but you may have to keep an eye on what you eat from now on

all the best

Paddy

It didn't give me an appetite. Thats what I was put on it. Everybody is different though. 

How are you feeling now liam?

I'm not feeling too bad thanks Kat, Not great but much better now I'm off the Mirtz. Managed to enjoy my day out! The venlafaxine still making it hard to fall asleep, maybe I should take it earlier, How are you? 

I'm about the same. Very up and down .

Do you sleep ok once you've managed to get to sleep? Or do you still have to take your tablet that helps you sleep? Glad you enjoyed your day. 

I'm still taking the pill to help me sleep and when I do sleep ok once I manage to drift off. I might take the Ven earlier and see if that helps. 

Try putting the question of when best to take it on the venlafaxine site.

I have a problem with eating for comfort as it is , so if Mirtazapine is going to make it worse I dread to think of what I will be like.the worst thing is that I read all the side effects and then think am I craving sweets or is it just my mind :-( 

That's encouraging to know that it didn't give you an appetite , I could be just thinking of sweets because I'm used to comfort eating when stressed 

Thanks for the reply , I don't have the zombie feeling but I am more tired than usual and fall asleep very quickly , something I never did while taking Fluoxetine , with Fuoxetine I eventually fell asleep but if I was not working I did not want to get out of my bed , and also did not want to get motivated to doing simple chores like hoovering ironing etc 

I hate not having an appetite.  I'd rather be chubbier and happy. I've lost over a stone in weight. I could afford to lose it. But don't want to lose anymore.

I'm another one where mirtazapine didn't give me and appetite, I lost weight while I was taking it. Make sure you have plenty of healthy foods around if you think it's making you want to eat! 

Thank you very much for sharing that advice  much appreciated , my daughter gets married in August and the last thing I want is to be fat !!! 

I've noticed a slight appetite increase but I find planning out what I'm going to eat for the day in advance helps and I've only gained a couple of lbs. Also having unfattening sweet snacks like fruit, sugar-free jelly and flying saucers (the sweets - 5 calories each or 80 for a full bag!)