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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 21 of 21. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by uncouth on June 9, 2009, at 17:32:22
So why isn't anyone on Remeron. It seems with all the cocktails out there, few people are taking this drug. Including me. Are we all so vain that we can't handle the RISK (not guarantee) of weight gain, in exchange for potentially live-changing remission of depression.
At my next pdoc appt i'm going to ask about Remeron. Everything I've read about it seems to show it as a particularly effective drug, especially in cases of treatment resistantce, and especially as an augmentor (the well known "California Rocket Fuel"). I wonder, what my life would be like, if I was on Remeron plus Effexor instead of just Effexor 3 years ago....so maybe i'd be 30lbs heavier...but i also might be married, have a good job, and living independently instead of well...you know.
So YOU ALL TELL ME -- WHY ARENT YOU ON REMERON? Am I living a pipe dream? Is it really not as effecacious as it sounds?
I've been borderline suicidal the last few months and it just hit me today, why not remeron, why not remeron, why the F not? I'm freakin' importing medication from UKRAINE for gods sake, and i haven't tried good ole' mirtazapine cuz i'm afraid of a little weight gain? is that it? really? what the F is wrong with me.
comments please!
Posted by SLS on June 9, 2009, at 17:46:18
In reply to Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery...., posted by uncouth on June 9, 2009, at 17:32:22
> So why isn't anyone on Remeron. It seems with all the cocktails out there, few people are taking this drug. Including me. Are we all so vain that we can't handle the RISK (not guarantee) of weight gain, in exchange for potentially live-changing remission of depression.
>
> At my next pdoc appt i'm going to ask about Remeron. Everything I've read about it seems to show it as a particularly effective drug, especially in cases of treatment resistantce, and especially as an augmentor (the well known "California Rocket Fuel"). I wonder, what my life would be like, if I was on Remeron plus Effexor instead of just Effexor 3 years ago....so maybe i'd be 30lbs heavier...but i also might be married, have a good job, and living independently instead of well...you know.
>
> So YOU ALL TELL ME -- WHY ARENT YOU ON REMERON? Am I living a pipe dream? Is it really not as effecacious as it sounds?
>
> I've been borderline suicidal the last few months and it just hit me today, why not remeron, why not remeron, why the F not? I'm freakin' importing medication from UKRAINE for gods sake, and i haven't tried good ole' mirtazapine cuz i'm afraid of a little weight gain? is that it? really? what the F is wrong with me.
>
> comments please!
Many times, people who find a successful treatment drift away from posting here and become engaged life outside this environment.Just try the drug. It does not have a bad track record. It is just that it has not been the soup-of-the-day here for awhile.
- Scott
Posted by Alexanderfromdenmark on June 9, 2009, at 17:51:47
In reply to Re: Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery.... » uncouth, posted by SLS on June 9, 2009, at 17:46:18
> > So why isn't anyone on Remeron. It seems with all the cocktails out there, few people are taking this drug. Including me. Are we all so vain that we can't handle the RISK (not guarantee) of weight gain, in exchange for potentially live-changing remission of depression.
> >
> > At my next pdoc appt i'm going to ask about Remeron. Everything I've read about it seems to show it as a particularly effective drug, especially in cases of treatment resistantce, and especially as an augmentor (the well known "California Rocket Fuel"). I wonder, what my life would be like, if I was on Remeron plus Effexor instead of just Effexor 3 years ago....so maybe i'd be 30lbs heavier...but i also might be married, have a good job, and living independently instead of well...you know.
> >
> > So YOU ALL TELL ME -- WHY ARENT YOU ON REMERON? Am I living a pipe dream? Is it really not as effecacious as it sounds?
> >
> > I've been borderline suicidal the last few months and it just hit me today, why not remeron, why not remeron, why the F not? I'm freakin' importing medication from UKRAINE for gods sake, and i haven't tried good ole' mirtazapine cuz i'm afraid of a little weight gain? is that it? really? what the F is wrong with me.
> >
> > comments please!
>
>
> Many times, people who find a successful treatment drift away from posting here and become engaged life outside this environment.
>
> Just try the drug. It does not have a bad track record. It is just that it has not been the soup-of-the-day here for awhile.
>
>
> - Scott
I have heard if you try it start on a dose of 30 mg or higher. Lower doses are too sedative. I only gave remeron 2,5 weeks. Sedation was so bad that, I couldn't keep up in school. On a positive note, remeron did give me remission a few hours a few days. I regret, I didn't give it month. But It gave me bad restless leg syndrome, a bit of akathsia and heavy sedation at times. I still wish I had stuck it out. My half-brother is on it and I think he has really benefitted from it. The combination of inducing sleep and stimulating during the day. No sexual side effects either which is great. I hate having sexual dysfunction even if I don't have a sex life anyway.
Posted by Sigismund on June 9, 2009, at 18:08:33
In reply to Re: Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery...., posted by Alexanderfromdenmark on June 9, 2009, at 17:51:47
Wouldn't it be the same as agomelatine only not as good?
I couldn't handle the sedation the next day.
Posted by bleauberry on June 9, 2009, at 18:51:25
In reply to Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery...., posted by uncouth on June 9, 2009, at 17:32:22
At askapatient.com or revolutionhealth.com you will find a few people that did very well with remeron. Overall, not. I don't know how it looks so good in clinical trials. I think maybe the depression scores in the categories of sleep, appetite, and anxiety improve so much that it appears numerically to have had a strong antidepressant effect. When overall when you look at just its effect on depressed mood itself, maybe not that strong of an effect? Just a thought.
I like to read the stuff Dr. Gillman has to say at psychotropical.com. Check it out. His experience with remeron was poor and he doesn't have much good to say about it except that it is probably the world's most potent antihistamine.
I was on it for a year trying to augment prozac. Honestly it did nothing more than prozac was already doing. It had zero effect on anhedonia. But it was good as a knockout sleep aid and it was good for increasing appetite. The sleep however was the kind filled with wild bizarre vivid dreams. Withdrawal from it was prolonged and difficult.
As a sleep aid, I think people dose it too high. Anything in the range of 4mg-7.5mg is really potent for sleep, more so than a higher dose. For me anyway.
Personally I think the clinical trials and meta-analysis of its greatness are flawed and misleading. That doesn't mean it doesn't work like a miracle for someone else, but I just haven't seen it that often no matter where I look.
Posted by Zana on June 9, 2009, at 18:57:33
In reply to Re: Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery...., posted by Sigismund on June 9, 2009, at 18:08:33
I am on 45 mgs of remeron. I started using it for sleep. It is a great sleeper. Then my pdoc pushed the dose hoping for more AD effect. It never gave me any relief from my depression that I could tell. But I am now on Pristiq, had a really fast, positive response to 50 mg, the standard dose and then after about 2 months, a crash. I have just recently, about 10 days ago, upped my dose to 100mgs and am feeling better, though maybe a little agitated. But, back to your question about remeron: I never gained any weight on it and I am also taking 150 mgs (was 300mgs) of seroquel which does not make me hungrey but definitely screws up my sense of satiety. My pdoc thinks that the combination of remeron and pristq (effexor by any other name?) may be a good thing. I can only tell you that it didn't do much, if anything for my depression alone. Is it augmenting the pristiq? I dunno.
Zana
Posted by uncouth on June 9, 2009, at 19:50:47
In reply to Re: Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery...., posted by Zana on June 9, 2009, at 18:57:33
thanks all for the useful comments. so so far, it looks like that remeron ISNT the miracle stahl sorta-claims it is when he calls it california rocket fuel in combo with effexor.....
anyone have AMAZING AWESOME responses to Remeron, please post ASAP!
Posted by desolationrower on June 10, 2009, at 4:49:32
In reply to Re: Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery...., posted by uncouth on June 9, 2009, at 19:50:47
I like to think its because people realize they can get the same antidepressant effects from yohimbe, except they'll be skinny and awake instead of fat and drowsy.
-d/r
Posted by SLS on June 10, 2009, at 6:04:39
In reply to Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery...., posted by uncouth on June 9, 2009, at 17:32:22
Hi Uncouth
Regarding Remeron:
It looks like I've been out-voted. I would tend to agree with the majority. However, if you are coaxed into taking it, try to move up rapidly to 60-75mg. Doctors seem to forget that this is the true therapeutic range of Remeron. Going to 45mg is like stopping at 150mg of Effexor. Perhaps it is their lack of experience with Remeron or they just want to cover their butt in case something untowart happens seeing that the label states that the maximum dosage is 45mg.
- Scott
Posted by ricker on June 10, 2009, at 12:18:13
In reply to Re: Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery...., posted by desolationrower on June 10, 2009, at 4:49:32
> I like to think its because people realize they can get the same antidepressant effects from yohimbe, except they'll be skinny and awake instead of fat and drowsy.
LOL. Just goes to show how we all respond so differently to meds! I was on it for 7 years as an augment to effexor, slept great, felt great, not drowsy, not fat...hmmm
I would take zyprexa or seroquel if I was looking to get fat?
Funny how people laying on a couch all day stuffing their face blame the med for weight gain?
If the med works, use it, it worked great for me and I'll probably be going back on it.
Rick
Posted by ParnateStarted2008 on June 10, 2009, at 13:39:52
In reply to Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery...., posted by uncouth on June 9, 2009, at 17:32:22
I had one friend who used it years ago for Panic. Said it worked great, I never saw him gain a pound and he slept in until 2 everyday (he did that before Remeron too tho, so I wouldnt say remeron made him sleep in longer.
Posted by johnj1 on June 10, 2009, at 21:26:27
In reply to Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery...., posted by uncouth on June 9, 2009, at 17:32:22
I hate to give you a negative view but remeron was a very bad drug for me. It made me angry and I would blow up a lot, made OCD worse and generally made me quite foul. I only stayed on it for 3 years because I thought I was supposed to feel that bad and resigned my fate. It did help me sleep but it caused sponge brain and my head always felt heavy. My wife almost left me during that time and I wouldn't have really cared. It also cause a lot of anxiety like tension in my chest and stomach. I would try something else because weaning off can be horrible and can give you terrible insomnia.
Posted by X-ray on June 11, 2009, at 10:43:58
In reply to Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery...., posted by uncouth on June 9, 2009, at 17:32:22
Hi,
I've been on and off Remeron many times for the last years.
Now, I must conclude that this drug doesn't live up to my expectations.I sleep okay on 45 mg, but I don't feel rested the next day.
I'm tired, have a problem to concentrate, can't work properly.There is something missing about Remeron!
I have tried really hard to come off Elavil, but now I'm back where I started back in 1972.
Best regards,
X-ray50 mg Elavil (in the evening)
0,5 mg Fluanxol (morning, afternoon)
Posted by floatingbridge on June 11, 2009, at 16:58:33
In reply to Re: Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery...., posted by X-ray on June 11, 2009, at 10:43:58
Hi, I have a friend who takes remeron as part of her cocktail quite successfully, though I don't know her dose. It was prescribed as an add-on, mainly for sleep, but she seems to be doing well with it for some time. I respectfully disagree with Ricker--it has caused weight gain for her, but she accepts that over what she had before. She is very active, a mom, a nursing student--not a couch potato. Weight gain from meds has different causes, some out of our control, at least for some of us.
Candace
Posted by ColoradoSnowflake on June 12, 2009, at 21:33:46
In reply to Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery...., posted by uncouth on June 9, 2009, at 17:32:22
Why are you trying to come off of Elavil? I'm on it and love the sleep it gives me, but know nothing about Elavil.
Thanks in advance for your response.
Gayle
Posted by TriedEveryDrug on June 13, 2009, at 11:21:14
In reply to Re: Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery.... » desolationrower, posted by ricker on June 10, 2009, at 12:18:13
> Funny how people laying on a couch all day stuffing their face blame the med for weight gain?
>actually, certain receptor agonists/antagonists can affect fat production and metabolism in general, boost/decrease appetite, etc.
So I think it is valid to blame them med in some cases.
(fortunately I've never had a problem w/ weight gain, just loss.)
Posted by TriedEveryDrug on June 13, 2009, at 11:24:41
In reply to Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery...., posted by uncouth on June 9, 2009, at 17:32:22
I liked remeron a lot - it made me very placid.
Unfortunately the two times I tried it, remeron caused my crohn's disease to flare up.
Posted by X-ray on June 13, 2009, at 13:51:52
In reply to X-Ray! REMERON!!! mystery...., posted by ColoradoSnowflake on June 12, 2009, at 21:33:46
> Why are you trying to come off of Elavil? I'm on it and love the sleep it gives me, but know nothing about Elavil.
> Thanks in advance for your response.
> GayleHi Gayle,
Elavil is an extremely good sleep aid, but the side effects are bad.
But if you don't have a problem with that, then everything is fine.Here comes what I don't like about Elavil:
1. It takes too long to fall asleep after taking the pills.
2. This medicine will often give you a foggy head in the morning.I have tried a lot of drugs for sleep, but I'm ranking Elavil on top.
So I guess I shall have to bear the side effects.Best regards,
X-rayP.S. I'm going to try Remeron+Lyrica for sleep in the near future.
Posted by ColoradoSnowflake on June 13, 2009, at 16:10:16
In reply to Re: X-Ray! REMERON!!! mystery...., posted by X-ray on June 13, 2009, at 13:51:52
X-ray , thanks for the info. I tried Remeron a few years ago and really didn't like it. I felt very tired and stupid all the next day! Yuk.
I guess I'll stick with the Elavil and hope that when the Parnate kicks in (I'm up to 50mg now) I wont be so tired. My pdoc says Parnate plus Elavil (or Nortriptyline) are "magic" together. I can't wait!
Gayle
Posted by Number42 on June 14, 2009, at 16:53:47
In reply to Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery...., posted by uncouth on June 9, 2009, at 17:32:22
I was on remeron for 10 very good years, it worked great for my treatment resistant depression! I say go for it. I had tried all the ssri's with no luck, even tried nardil and parnate. I did gain about 30lbs. on it, but who cares it relieved my depression. It finally pooped out after 10 years, i'm currently on Prozac w/lithium for augmentation, and i'm doing well. I highly encourage you to try Remeron, it's an amazing drug! Best wishes.
#42
Posted by yxibow on June 15, 2009, at 1:50:02
In reply to Re: Remeron REMEORN REMERON!!! mystery.... » uncouth, posted by Number42 on June 14, 2009, at 16:53:47
I don't think its "valid" to blame anyone who is caught between a possibly very good medication and weight gain.
At my weight I don't feel "sexy" and I think its kind of cruel to blame people. I want to feel that way again. There's a lot of ways I want to feel again in life, starting with FEELING life, but that's a tangent, and this posting is full of tangents.
It's not my fault that Seroquel lowers my metabolism and drives appetite, and alters lipids in ways that it contributes to weight on its own even with trying to diet.
My journeys on the couch are not because I want to (well sometimes it is, hiding from the world) but because sleep and naps help my syndrome. They also probably twist my regular sleep. It is assumed I may have a concurrent sleep disorder, for years.I'm a vegetarian, vegan basically... but that doesn't mean that vegans are all skinny... I never was that way. Haven't been somewhat thin for my size since 18.
Anyhow, side tangent.
When I was able to exercise more (its really too complicated to describe now except I can't picture going into a gym with how distracted I am now, with my disorder changing it seems like it would be a nightmare.... and I used to go when the seroquel was 'working' well 7 days a week keeping my weight below what it is now but wearing myself out) things were better with weight.Now I try hard just not to eat very much, it doesn't always work.
Remeron was pre-gym, and it boosted my weight tremendously.However, don't let that completely stop you, because it varies for people.
I haven't seen good evidence though for the concept that reaching a high dose reduces the amount of weight gain. Certainly not myself.
But as a unique tetracyclic antidepressant unrelated to anything else it is a very good antidepressant with one bad feature of non weight neutral and can help people who have been through others.
Just have to remember the total calorie/food input that is going on, because change is subtle.
When it 'worked' for me, a total accident, I just took it for sleep purposes and suddenly it was better than the Luvox at the time, I had near psychedelic hypnagogic like wake states that were often fascinating.
Today I can't take it -- the NE is too much, it does not work as a sleep agent at all, in fact it works against everything.
But brain chemistry changes along the way, unfortunately, or fortunately I hope for the future.
Anyhow I'm digressing... last tangent....
Remeron is something to definitely consider.
-- tidingsJay
This is the end of the thread.
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