Wellbutrin & Remeron (Mirtazapine)

C

clareMc

Cathlete
I have some questions on anti-depressant medications for those in the know. I'd love your feedback. If you would rather send them to me personally via email, my address is: [email protected].

Thanks!

Does anyone here take Wellbutrin? Do you take it alone or in addition to another medication for depression? If you combine, why did you add the Wellbutrin? What side effects have you experienced with the drug? Were they long lasting?

Has anyone ever taken Remeron (generic name Mirtazapine)? Reports of side effects I have read say it tends to leave patients "fat and sedated". Was that the case for you?

How sucessful (or not) have these 2 drugs been for you?

My psychiatrist is pushing Remeron on me and I'm not keen. Enormous weight gain reports (up to 20 pounds) have me concerned. I am also not keen at all on being mentally/cognitively sedated whilst taking the drug on a long term basis.

Thanks for all your help everyone,

Clare
 
Hi, Clare! I don't have personal experience taking those two drugs, but I am a social worker and have had kids on both. Often my kids would take Wellbutrin in addition to other medications due to severe emotional issues, but it isn't necessary. I've seen great results from Wellbutrin but I would not let your doc push something that causes weight gain. Remeron has caused immense weight gain in some of my kids...in addition to Risperdal. There are always other alternatives in my opinion. You can check on the web for really good information on both drugs. Just do a google search.

Debbie
 
Hi. I have taken both. I took Wellbutrin for several years and did not experience any side effects while on the meds. Remeronis a whole other animal. To be fair, i didnt give myself time to adjust to the med but i took it at bedtime, as directed, and when i woke up i couldn't move. i stood up (thought i did) to walk to the bathroom and fell strait to the floor. i could think clearly, but i could not react. my reflexes were frozen. i had to call my mother to take me to work (which was pointless b/c once i was there, i couldn't do anything) and i could not function normally for several days after that. needless to say, i didn't take it again. x( i have nothing negative to say about Wellbutrin though.


jes
 
Debbie and Jes:

thanks both for your replies. You are confirming my worst suspicions about Remeron. I had a gut instinct this would not be the drug for me.

Jes, I can't believe your reaction to the drug: it sounds awful. It must have been a frightening experience. It would have freaked me out totally.

Problem with this damned pyschiatrist is he never mentions the side effects that will matter to me while I am with him, as much as I plug him for information. It's only after I leave his office and do my own extensive research and talk to others that I discover the heinous side effects attached to his drug suggestions for me and realize he is witholding information. Why? How can he think that massive weight gain and sedation will be acceptable to me and to an academic? My therapist keeps telling me "he's an excellent psychiatrist" but I can't get the guy to be totally forthcoming about each drug he suggests and it's bloody expensive to keep going back to ask him about yet another drug possiblility since the last one he prescribed is unacceptable to me, yet again.

I may try Wellbutrin that my PCP prescribed for me. I just wonder why the psychiatrist himself, the man in the know, did not prescribe it himself.

Anybody else with any experience and stories to tell?

Clare
 
I have been on Wellbutrin a couple of times, always in conjunction with another antidepressant. Both times, I went off of it because I got REALLY crabby. My doctor has avoided Remeron with me because of the side effects, including the weight gain. She says she would only use it as an absolute last resort as there are many alternatives to treat depression. Gaining weight while on an antidepressant would totally negate the drug's effect - it would make me even more depressed!! My doc has tended to stick in the SSRI family but due to the poop out factor, I have to change every so often.

--Lois
 
"Gaining weight while on an antidepressant would totally negate the drug's effect - it would make me even more depressed!! "

Exactly! I tried explaining this to my therapist. She doesn't get it. But then she's a bird thin Asian body type who probably couldn't conceive of a medication making her gain weight!

Thanks Lois,

Clare
 
I have been very clear with my doctor that weight gain automatically eliminates the drug from consideration. She is very sensitive to this and totally supportive. As I said before, those drugs are in the "only as a last resort" category. I got very lucky when I found my doctor. I have been going to her for 14 years and I left a trail of doctors behind who didn't make the right diagnosis (which she did). When we switched health insurance plans, she was no longer covered but I still go to her and pay out-of-pocket. She's worth every penny.

--Lois
 
I've been on Wellbutrin for a while now, and I really like it. The first time I was on it, I had a few anxiety symptoms, but not this time around. I also take a mood stabilizer.

Sometimes Wellbutrin has weight loss as a side effect. It definitely was an appetite suppressant for me at first.
 
Thank you so much ladies for your honest replies. Wellbutrin so far is getting a big thumbs up. This would be my first choice then. I shall talk to this psychiatrist man about my plan.

Thank you!

Clare
 
I take Wellbutrin with Zoloft. I haven't noticed any terrible side effects, although I'm beginning to suspect Wellbutrin may be the culprit in my raised blood pressure. I couldn't take Wellbutrin alone, though. I was still terribly depressed. The doctor said it doesn't affect serotonin, and apparently that's what I need most.

Shari
 
Well remeron saved my life, it did cause drowziness at first, it took about 2 weeks. As I said before I did gain a little weight at first it came off but to be honest once you start feeling like living your life again few extra pounds is not a horror. I felt great once I got a blood level :) . You need to find the one that works for you, don't shy away because of what you hear they all work different for each one of us. Rebecca
 
I can certainly vouch for that. Even though all of us may have taken the drug at one point or another, "your mileage may vary". However, as I said before, DO NOT hesitate to tell your doctor if any side effect is unacceptable to you. If the doc isn't sympathetic, find a new one (easier said than done, I know). I have access to all of Boston's vast medical resources and it still took me a while to find the right doctor. Just keep plugging!! Your quality of life is important!!

--Lois
 
Thanks to all you ladies, thanks for the support. I am afraid I have taken Remeron off my possibility list. The thought of sedation and massive weight gain is just not acceptable to me. I'm far too stubborn and independently minded to just put myself in the hands of the medical community. I have to have an opinion and I know my limits. Remeron just scares me. But I thank you all for your opinions, stories and timely reminders.

Clare
 
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