Posted by allisonm on July 9, 2000, at 17:30:41
In reply to Re: What causes Remeron Weight gain, posted by MB on July 9, 2000, at 13:44:36
MB,
Hmmm.. that IS interesting. I first saw my psychiatrist because I couldn't sleep and the sleep lab I went to told me I had to get rid of my depression before I could get sleep again.
So that was my primary motive. Sleep. We tried Zoloft first, and then Effexor XR. Both were awful. So we moved on to Remeron, which was quite new at the time. I remember coming to this board with questions, and no one had had any experience with it. It's interesting to see so many posts about Remeron now.
Well, anyway, the Remeron finally gave me sleep. It was wonderful. He'd warned me about weight gain, but I was desperate and it didn't matter that much to me if it would get me out of the pit. It helped some, then my life kinda got blasted apart two years ago this month. I've been trying to recover ever since.
By the fall of 98, it became apparent that I was sliding, so he added lithium. I was on that till April of 99, but by June I started sliding again and it became apparent that I still needed something to augment. Enter Wellbutrin SR. Started at a low dose, 100 mg I think. That was a year ago. It helped, but then fall came around and with another backslide, so we upped it to 200 mg and lowered the Remeron from 45 to 30mg. Another backslide two months ago brought the Wellbutrin dose up to the max 400mg and we lowered the Remeron to 15mg.
I'm finding this combo works better for me. The Remeron still gives me sleep, and I notice a vast difference (not perfect, not a cure but a lot better) in mood now that the Wellbutrin is the primary AD and the Remeron the secondary.
I used to need coffee in the morning to clear the cobwebs from the Remeron, especially when I was at 45 mg. But the Wellbutrin is so activating that I have by necessity become caffeine-free.
Don't know if this helps.
Best wishes,
Allison
poster:allisonm
thread:39864
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000708/msgs/39901.html