Hi. This is about my husband. He has been on Mirtazapine 15mg for one month then the doctor switched him to 30mg. He has been on 30mg for about 2 weeks now and has muscle soreness and weakness (to the point that he can't tie his shoelaces), metallic taste even if he drinks water, dry mouth and blurred vision. We are thinking of calling the doctor to change but we also want to stick through it and see if they go away. Has anyone experinced these side effects and did they go away after a while?
Thank you
No, those do not sound like the usual side effects. Also, it is unlikely that he would get new side effects after being on a med for a month at a lower dose. I woulld get him to the GP ASAP. His symptoms sound like they might be serious.
He should come off them while it's not too late. Strange things will be happening to him and he'll be seeking treatment for things that will really be caused by the drug. With this start I don't think it will get normal, perhaps better, perhaps even close to normal for a while. After a year on it I still wonder if my muscle hurt from the drug, is my vision problem something new and sometimes I forget I had none of it before the drug and I'm happy with it. But lately I started a long process of withdrawing (24 weeks) and that's from only 7.5mg! He can email cita people for help. Good luck!
I came of them after about 10 weeks because of the side affects but not as bad as your husband is having.I would go back to the docs when you can.it took me 3 different antidepressants before they found the one that suited me.I hope he gets it sorted let us no how he gets on
Muscle weakness, dry mouth, metallic taste, and blurred vision are possible side effects of mirtazapine. With respect to blurred vision and weakness, it is suggested to call your Dr at once as reported on drugs dot com. I also have blurred vision, a damaged eye from an accident, and take 2 other meds with the same possible side effects of blurred so I can’t trace it down to mirtazapine alone. But I suggest searching the web and printing out the possible side effects related to mirtazapine if it is not on a warning pamphlet that is dispensed with each refill. I live in America, and by law, each med and refill must contain an information pamphlet of what a med. is used and for possible side effects and when to call a Dr. Unfortunately, I can’t directly quote from my last one since I threw it away, but I would definitely get in contact with your Dr. The side effects can outweigh the benefits.
I would cease taking these medication imediatly...and see the doctor...my deepst empathy for this situation, hope it improves and you find the right treatment 
I've looked in the leaflet which came with my mirtazapine, and everything you mention is listed as "very common" or "common" side effects. Myalgia (muscle pain), shakiness or tremor, dry mouth, etc. However what seems strange is that they've only appeared with the increased dose. It's really up to your husband, whether he can tolerate the side effects for a while until they (hopefully) settle down. Perhaps your doctor can advise you. I get the shakiness sometimes, and particularly the dry mouth, but the drug has been such a help in easing my depression & anxiety, that I put up with it.
Hi augury
Your post echoes what I went through
With mirt
I was convinced it was something else
Until my partner said have a look at the side effects on the leaflet ,
I suffered symptoms similar to that of fibromyalgia every joint in my body ached
I was so debilitated you'd have thought
I went 10 rounds with Mike Tyson
I had pain all over hands , feet etc
As well as gaining weight
In the end I had to come off it
It just did not agree with me I went from 15
To 30 mg , only thing it did was knock me out
I had exactly the same experience. How long did you stay on it? And how did you come off it? My witrdrawal process is going to take several months but I'd love to do it quicker. X
Hey all. First of all, thank you for all your replies and support! Just want to update you on his situation. Because of the severe dry mouth he was drinking everything we had in the house, including lots of sugary drinks. Because of that and the other side effects he had we ended up calling 111 (UK) and a doctor came to our house. He ended up calling the ambulance and we are now in the hospital. They think he has diabetes but...we are not sure if it's just him not eating any solids for more than a week and just having drinks...We have definitely stopped taking the pills but no one has told us anything about it or slowly coming off it. We are now worried about whitdrawal side effects from going cold turkey on them.
Sorry to hear of the latest developments, but it might be good for your husband's problems to be investigated further. I'll be interested to know how he gets on. By coincidence, I've recently been investigated for diabetes, amongst other things, because I was drinking and weeing excessively. Nothing showed up, so the doc said it could be a side-effects of the antidepressants.
I came of mirtazipine because of sevevre side effects. The aches and pains was one of the many I had along with sedation, memory problems and generally slow cofnitive functioning and clumsyness. They normally sayd to give it 4 weeks but I would have expected to see some improvement after 2. Normally its is best to taper of any antidepressant. How sloly depends on how long you have been on it. If he has only been taking them a few weeks a short taper over a few days should be ok. For example 2 days at 15mg then another 2 days or so at 7.5 and then see how he is stopping. That said he may need another antidepressant for the problem he originally went on mirtazipine.
Also Mirtazipine is well known appitite stimulant and gives many people cravings for sugery food and drinks which may explain the overindulgance. On a different not if he does have diabetes at least now you know before it causes more problems.
Hi sorry its a day late
I was roughly on mirt for 8 weeks
I just quit cold turkey there was suppose to be a fading out period
And start another med roughly 5 days
Later that being fluoxetine
But I didn't because I was very wary
After the way mirt went . So I was
Med free for roughly 3 months
The anxiety crept back in so I'm now on day 19 of flux
Yes...Mirtz holds onto to te sugar in your blood...increases sugar...i did suggest coming off the mirtz asap...good that you where in safe hands with hospital....speak to your doctor for withdraw assistance, maybe some valium for anxiety for the first week or two...good luck
Hi augury sorry to hrar about your husband , I can only tell you my experience I've been on mert for 3 weeks, this was to help with coming off venlafaxine.
But right from day one I've had terrible side effects, the tiredness that eased after week 2, but the muscle pain and the breathlessness, with stomach pain and diarrhea it's just been to much, at the same time I also having withdrawal from venlafaxine which have been awful.
Spoken to my gp this morning, she's been very good told me to stop taking mertazapine right away & tho take one tablet of 37.5mg off venlafaxine. Think was trying to quickly tho come off venlafaxine.
But if your husband is feeling like this he must come off them if his gp agrees . I do hope he feels better soon.
He is now at home, after 3 days in the hospital with severe dehidration and a blood sugar level of 40 (4-7 is normal). He is now stabilised and we are treating it as if it is diabetes although it is not conclusive yet (it might just be the sugar bomb he had in his system).
I hope that everyone who is on Mirtazapine is being very careful about what they eat; I know it can give you insatiable cravings.
We went cold turkey on the pills because all the doctors have ignored us when we asked about it and did not prescribe anything else. I suppose it was more urgent to make him stable...But now he is having some hallucinations from the withdrawal symptoms, which I hope they won't last long.
I hope he feels better very soon. I've read a lot on Mirta and it can cause many disfunctions and although I'd do as doctors say for now, keep in mind that soon the diabetes issue should be rechecked (as it could have been drug induced). Many people ended up on more medication just to learn that it was Mirta causing all troubles. Having said that your husband may still need some help with respect to the issues which put him on the antidepressant in the first place. I find Mindfulness very helpful. Any book on Mindfulness would be good. I have Mindfulness for health. It has gained worldwide popularity as a distinctive method to handle emotions. It teaches to accept and inhibit difficult emotions rather than trying to avoid them. Mostly through breath.
He may well have trouble sleeping now (I've been there with stopping Mirta suddenly) but lots of sleeping pills may have the same side effects (sore joints and muscles) I've heard of sleep thru by Gaia being good but personally I've not been able to find anything that would knock me down as well as this drug can.
Also if you email cita people they have great results with helping people to come off antidepressants. When I contacted them they confirmed this is one of the worst ones to come off, judging by the volume of queries. They'll also help with going forward and may suggest which sleeping pills are good.
Take care both you!
I'm glad to hear he's on the mend.
Don't be shy about telling the GP to try something else. Very often apart from the basics the GP's know very little about the affects of mental health drugs and to compound the problem finding the right drug for an individual is really a roulette and very much trial and error. Its not uncommon to try upwards of 3 or 4 drugs to find one thats suitable. Is sleep problems the reason for him being given Mirt? Thats a common reason.
What has he tried so far?