Lasting, heart pounding anxiety from very vivid dreams/nightmares! (mirtazepine)

Treatment and medication
1

I've been taking mirtazepine 30mg-1x before bed since January 15, 2015

and each night my lifelike, vivid dreams and nightmares have gotten increasingly worse! I've always had such dreams that I actually physically act out when I'm asleep, ie punching, kicking, screaming, crying but I've never had such heart racing, lasting anxiety until now. Not only are these dreams terrible, but I try to wake and can't get myself out of them, if I do wake, say to use the potty, I feel as though I'm still dreaming and when I go back to bed I pick up right back into the same dreams....just continuing further into the psychotic, nightmarish kind of spiral! On top of that I'm still too damned afraid to exit my home!

2

Also have had a major increase in night sweats, which I kind of assume

is related to the dreams/nightmares.

3

Hi I too have very vivid dreams, in my dream I cannot breathe and wake up trying to get my breath. I tend to sleep solid for 2 hours then just toss and turn dreaming right through till morning and feel exhausted! 

4

It's terrible! I couldn't deal with not being able to catch my breath, I've enough trouble with that due to my blood/bone marrow issues. I sure hope that won't continue to happen to you

Sandy. And I hope these dreams and nightmares will subside, and soon! If not the doc is gonna have to change my meds, I

just can't live like that. Good luck to you and keep breathing 😉

5

I'm sorry to hear about the dreams.but I was the same I was frightend to go to bed some nites.I had to come of mirt because of the side affects.some people dont realise how bad it gets.if it doesn't calm down I would go back to the docs.I was told to give it about 6 weeks .but it wasnt for me.hope things get better for you soon.god bless

6

Sweating and weight gain are the two most common side effects with Mirtazapine. If you're wakening up, that's a sign of depression Nd so you may need a higher dose of Mirtazapine, which is a sedative antidepressant.  You could also try taking it at a different time to see if that makes any difference or aske the GP to give you 2 x 15mg and take one 3 hours before the other (assuming ou don't need 44 mg.  I take 15 mg at 8 pm and 0 mg at 11-11.30 pm.

7

i started mirtazapine 30mg at the begging of january , i also had very vivid dreams for about a week , then they stopped , now sleep solid for 8 hours ,i think maybe i sleep to deeply as i struggle to wake in the morning , have noticed that my anxiety has reduced , but still having mood swings , the feeling of not wanting to be here , i would try and go four weeks on the mirtz but if your symptons do not change get your gp to put you on somethig else , no medications should make you feel worse than you are allready feeling , i think i am just starting to feel some benefits so i will give it a little long , one of the side effects i have noticed is shortness of breath 

8

Well, this is good to hear that I am not alone in the dream world!

I am on 30mg of Mirt now, this is the 3rd week, and let me tell you....every night I go to bed its like going to the MOVIES!

man oh man, its getting out of hand now ...

Before I ever started these meds,I used to dream, maybe once or twice a week,

and sometimes I could remember them, sometimes not.

and they always contained wierdness, and ppl i did not know or recognize.

but NOW...I am falling asleep within the hour of taking mirt. . . and I go full blown into a dream consisting of all the people I know... and extremely VIVID!

I always wake 1.5  hours after falling asleep, and i go back to sleep right into another effin dream, and this goes on ALL night , waking every single 1.5 hours.

I talk in my sleep, constantly now,

I really despise this side effect of the mirt.  its awful that I am not sleeping sound..I wake every morning at 3 or 4 and I stay up, I do not want to continue the dreams any more....I am pretty okay most of the day , but I cant wait to go to bed at night to sleep...I am so tired by 8 o clock pm.

If this is a bad side effect then maybe I shouldnt be on 30 mg and maybe I should go back down to 15mg.

I have also gained 10 lbs but thats ok, as I was underweight and dont mind the extra lbs at all.

I hope it gets better for you, tho I doubt it will for me...this has been going on every single night for 3 weeks straight now.

9

Going back to doc a week. he had better do what I tell him that I know is right and works for me or he's history!

10

I'm not waking anymore than usual, less actually, but the night terrors are horrid!

11

Been on it now for almost four weeks and the night terrors are worsening as each night passes.....suppressed memories highly likely! In my opinion, I'm more PTSD than bipolar.

12

I've read that the 15mg has a stronger sedative effect. You'd be wiser to ask your doc to try something else....especially as I've read that coming off of mirtazepine is worse than being dope sick! Good luck to you hon, and to all the rest of ya's on here!

<3

13

just wondering dave if you had a problem getting off the mirt?

thank you

14

I have no idea why these doctor want to go up with mirt, mirt works in reverse. So if I were you I'd go down to 15 slowly. I didn't  have a problem going back to 15 but some people do so you can do 22 for a week or two. I think 15 is the right dose for most people...even 7.5 is a good dose unless you have terrible,depression. The larger doses are for big time depression...lower for insomnia and anxiety. Talk to your doctor, but I would say go lower.

15

Thank you for your input,

I really appreciate that.

I have slept the last 3 nights and waking up at 530 in the morning and completely unable to remember my dreams at all now, which is the exact opposite of a few days ago. Isnt that just odd?

I went to sleep eary last night, 830 pm as I was Just exhausted.

but now awake at 2 am... I will go bck to bed around 4 and im sure I will get a few hours sleep again before I get up with the kids and get them off to school. but yea, Im guessing that maybe 30 is too high, and I see my doctor again on monday ( she cancelled last monday)

Another thing is that through bloodwork, We have discovered that my thyroid is higher than it should be , 5.8 , so that may be the problem I am having to deal with as well.

 

16

I didn't but I came of them very slowly. my doctor was very good.when I finished she put me on to something else I cant remember the name but they made me feel suicidal.so I came of those then she tried me on amitriptyline. I take 100mg a nite I still have bad days but not as bad as I was having.I hope you get sorted out rose.god bless