Posted by Larry Hoover on November 10, 2002, at 9:14:37
In reply to Re: Remeron, posted by Heide on November 10, 2002, at 7:42:47
> Thanks for the reassurance, Larry.
You're welcome.
>My pdoc started me at 15, because I'm still taking Effexor.
I hope the Remeron helps with the Effexor withdrawal. Some people get some weird shit happening.....electrical zap feelings.
> The dose of Remeron she wants me on is 30mg, or maybe more, depending. The 15 mg dose is temprorary, but I haven't felt this dopey since my experience with Lithium.
Lithium made me so stupid I literally couldn't remember what I was talking about. Half way through a sentence, I'd forget what I'd already said.
> Remeron must be a weird drug to have less side effects the more you take. That just doesn't seem logical.
Actually, that effect is very common. It's called an inverted-U dose/response curve. It might be useful if you picture something more like the bell-curve of the normal distribution.
On the left half of the U, the drug has escalating effect with increasing dose. Then you reach a plateau, where dose doesn't do much to change the effect. Then, with further increase in dose, the effect drops off.
The sedating effect of Remeron is generally attributed to the effect at histamine receptors. The antidepressant effect is attributed to binding to others altogether. The inverted-U picture applies to the histamine receptors at a lower dose than it does at the other receptors (whether it's an inverted-U at those other receptors or a more linear dose/response doesn't matter, if you're still to the left of the plateau). So, the antidepressant effect is increasing with dose, while the sedative effect is decreasing with dose.
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:127034
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021108/msgs/127115.html