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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 15 of 15. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by raisinb on August 15, 2008, at 11:44:33
I'm thinking of trying it. My "Welloft" has been great for depression, but at 300 mg WB and 50 mg Zoloft, I was still losing way too much weight, and my sleep was still iffy. My pdoc put me on 150 mg WB and 100 mg Zoloft. My sleep is getting worse (though this might be related to going back to work), and now I have no sex drive and my emotions feel very muffled, like they're far away from me.
I'm going to give it the full month to see how it goes. However, the next thing my pdoc wants to try is Remeron, since I need to gain weight and sleep better. I'm wondering, though, if it will help my depression, too. I know the only way to know is to try it, but does anyone have experiences?
From my reading, I think I have the "classic endogenous" depression. My family has a history of severe depression (especially my father). Depression causes me to lose weight and worsens insomnia (which I've had to varying degrees for years anyway).
Posted by robbieboy74 on August 15, 2008, at 11:59:02
In reply to has remeron helped anyone?, posted by raisinb on August 15, 2008, at 11:44:33
No, that crap sucks man.
Posted by Phillipa on August 15, 2008, at 12:12:07
In reply to Re: has remeron helped anyone?, posted by robbieboy74 on August 15, 2008, at 11:59:02
Never took a dose for depression just sleep and it didn't put me to sleep but interesting you say you're losing weight the opposite of most say. What kind of dose is your doc thinking of putting you on high or low? High they say is weight gaining and acts as antidepressant from my reading also. Phillipa
Posted by ricker on August 15, 2008, at 12:55:05
In reply to Re: has remeron helped anyone?, posted by Phillipa on August 15, 2008, at 12:12:07
I was on remeron 15mg. for 3 years. I basically thought of it as my sleeping pill. IMO, it's a great addition to one's cocktail if they are looking for something to help with sleep.
I did gain weight while on it so it may work well for you.
Sleep and weight gain aside, lets not forget it does have antidepressant properties so you may be able to reduce the zoloft back down to 50mg.Good luck, hope all goes well.
Regards, Rick
Posted by Partlycloudy on August 15, 2008, at 16:29:19
In reply to has remeron helped anyone?, posted by raisinb on August 15, 2008, at 11:44:33
YES!!! It's helped me tremendously. I'm currently at 45mg (generic) and augmenting with 20mg generic Prozac. When I first started Remeron at the lower dosage it was very sedating and I gained weight. As the dose was increased to the therapeutic range the weight gain stopped.
It helped my mood the best of all the medications I've tried to date, where I'm able to feel a full range of emotions but no blunting. And, in balance, the side effects have been the most benign for me. The Prozac was necessary to add, though I'm finding it rather activating, it too has settled down after 6 weeks or so.
Partlycloudy
Posted by bleauberry on August 15, 2008, at 18:37:12
In reply to has remeron helped anyone?, posted by raisinb on August 15, 2008, at 11:44:33
Like anything else, remeron is a miracle for some and poison to others. Browsing through archives of this forum and sites that allow people to rate and review their med experiences, people who did very well with remeron were usually in the 30mg to 45mg range. Sedation is pretty strong the first few weeks and I think that prevents a lot of people from giving it a fair go.
In a metastudy at pubmed various antidepressants were compared by combining data from many different clinical trials to see if any were superior. Though differences were small, Lexapro got definite superiority, while Remeron, Effexor, and Milnacipran got probably superiority. So from a clinical point of view, not always comparable to the real world it seems to me, Remeron is up there near the top.
I used it for about a year in combination with prozac. My highest dose was 15mg, mainly for sleep, so I was probably under the level where it might have really helped.
Posted by SLS on August 15, 2008, at 18:46:27
In reply to Re: has remeron helped anyone?, posted by bleauberry on August 15, 2008, at 18:37:12
Hi BB.
How have you been doing lately?
What are you doing for treatment?
- Scott
> Like anything else, remeron is a miracle for some and poison to others. Browsing through archives of this forum and sites that allow people to rate and review their med experiences, people who did very well with remeron were usually in the 30mg to 45mg range. Sedation is pretty strong the first few weeks and I think that prevents a lot of people from giving it a fair go.
>
> In a metastudy at pubmed various antidepressants were compared by combining data from many different clinical trials to see if any were superior. Though differences were small, Lexapro got definite superiority, while Remeron, Effexor, and Milnacipran got probably superiority. So from a clinical point of view, not always comparable to the real world it seems to me, Remeron is up there near the top.
>
> I used it for about a year in combination with prozac. My highest dose was 15mg, mainly for sleep, so I was probably under the level where it might have really helped.
Posted by yxibow on August 16, 2008, at 1:33:07
In reply to has remeron helped anyone?, posted by raisinb on August 15, 2008, at 11:44:33
> I'm thinking of trying it. My "Welloft" has been great for depression, but at 300 mg WB and 50 mg Zoloft, I was still losing way too much weight, and my sleep was still iffy. My pdoc put me on 150 mg WB and 100 mg Zoloft. My sleep is getting worse (though this might be related to going back to work), and now I have no sex drive and my emotions feel very muffled, like they're far away from me.
Is the lack of sex drive coming from the Zoloft or is it psychological depression? Because my experience with Wellbutrin is that it boosted my drive incredibly (while making my OCD worse and setting my scalp on fire and yes, sleeplessness)
Because sometimes a tad of Wellbutrin is added to an SSRI to mitigate sexual problems.
> I'm going to give it the full month to see how it goes. However, the next thing my pdoc wants to try is Remeron, since I need to gain weight and sleep better. I'm wondering, though, if it will help my depression, too. I know the only way to know is to try it, but does anyone have experiences?
>
> From my reading, I think I have the "classic endogenous" depression. My family has a history of severe depression (especially my father). Depression causes me to lose weight and worsens insomnia (which I've had to varying degrees for years anyway).Remeron is an excellent antidepressant, for treatment resistant people I think -- its unique tetracyclic properties, especially in high doses where you get serotonin blockades like antipsychotics (to an extent).
The downside is heavy weight gain due to the drug, but also due to a heavily increased appetite that people have trouble monitoring (Seroquel isn't a boat for me but I try).
In small quantities, 7.5 or even half of that, it will be a pretty effective sleep agent for some people.
For me, the second time around with Remeron turned into, well, an antidepressant instead of a sleep agent and the NE like boost just aggravated me to pieces. But that's only my experience. I would say largely people find it pretty soporific and contributory to a good sleep cycle.
Just watch the weight because although some say that at high doses they don't experience it -- and maybe thats true, largely weight gain is dose increase related from what I've heard.
-- good luck
-- Jay
Posted by raisinb on August 16, 2008, at 10:11:32
In reply to Re: has remeron helped anyone? » raisinb, posted by yxibow on August 16, 2008, at 1:33:07
Thanks, Jay.
I'm positive the lack of sex drive is from Zoloft. Even when I'm severely depressed, I have a pretty high sex drive. When I was on Wellbutrin alone, it was boosted even higher (I was like a teenage boy! :)).
I do wonder about the weight gain thing. I've lost 17 pounds from being depressed/being on Wellbutrin and Zoloft. Since I only weighed 115 to start with, that weight needs to come back. However, reports of Remeron weight gain are so extreme that I worry about being huge. I've never been overweight before, but I doubt I'd enjoy it. And since I have always been naturally thin, I don't have skills/experience in monitoring what or how much I eat. And people say it's very hard to control that Remeron appetite.
Guess the only way to know is to try it. This pdoc really seems to know her stuff, so I'm comfortable trusting her judgment.
Plus, I think I'd rather be a little plump than have no sex drive whatsoever. When I go out with someone, I can't figure out whether I like him or not, which makes dating much more of a guessing game (like it's not already!)
Posted by raisinb on August 16, 2008, at 10:12:37
In reply to Re: has remeron helped anyone? » raisinb, posted by Partlycloudy on August 15, 2008, at 16:29:19
Thank you! It's always encouraging to hear positive experiences, even though I have no idea how it might affect me. I'm glad you're doing well.
Posted by raisinb on August 16, 2008, at 10:13:51
In reply to Re: has remeron helped anyone?, posted by ricker on August 15, 2008, at 12:55:05
Thanks, Rick. Good to hear that it works for the main symptoms I have. I hate this emotional blunting thing.
Or wait, I can't feel hate...so I vaguely, intellectually think there may be something wrong with it...
Posted by raisinb on August 16, 2008, at 10:14:52
In reply to Re: has remeron helped anyone?, posted by bleauberry on August 15, 2008, at 18:37:12
Thanks, BB. I'll keep that in mind to make sure I titrate up to the right dosage if I decide to try it (which seems more and more likely. I hate this no-emotion-no-sex-drive thing.)
Posted by SLS on August 16, 2008, at 11:59:52
In reply to Re: has remeron helped anyone? » yxibow, posted by raisinb on August 16, 2008, at 10:11:32
Hi.
Sometimes, weight loss is an indicator that a tricyclic will work best.
- Scott
Posted by blueboy on August 17, 2008, at 10:08:11
In reply to has remeron helped anyone?, posted by raisinb on August 15, 2008, at 11:44:33
I took one and it didn't help. I took two then three and it did nothing. I took the entire trial package and I would have done better drinking a glass of warm milk.
Really, it had zero effect on me.
Posted by dbc on August 17, 2008, at 12:01:46
In reply to Re: has remeron helped anyone?, posted by blueboy on August 17, 2008, at 10:08:11
It works decently in combination with SNRIs or maybe NRIs. Personally i only use the stuff as a sleep aid.
This is the end of the thread.
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