Posted by allisonm on March 10, 2000, at 19:26:35
In reply to Re: General Remeron Questions, posted by Elizabeth on March 2, 2000, at 16:14:44
I have been taking Remeron for two years now for major depression, single episode, moderate. Started at 15 mg, upped to 30, then the maximum of 45. My doctor warned me to start on a weekend because of the sedative effect. I took it on a Friday night and slept most all of Saturday. But I had not slept well for so long, so it was a relief.
I gained some weight, but much more so when my doctor added lithium in October 98. No matter what I did I could not take the weight off.
I found 45 mg most sedating. As I have written before, I would have to be careful when I took it because within half an hour I would get dizzy and groggy and HAVE to go to bed. Alcohol exacerbates this.
Got off lithium in April 99. Things got bad again in May and June 99. Got put on Wellbutrin SR 100mg and Remeron was cut down to 30mg.
Things got worse in October 99, so Wellbutrin dose was upped to 200 mg. I took it all in the morning, then the 30mg Remeron at night.
Lately, the 200 mg of Wellbutrin in the am has made me squirrelly, so my doctor and I decided to split the dose and take 100 in the am and 100 in the afternoon, with the 30 mg Remeron at night. It seems to be working. I am content with this mix. I am afraid to reduce the dosage for fear of going backward again.
When things have been bad, I often have wondered whether the Remeron was working at all, except that I always could count on being able to fall asleep pretty easily every night. I have trouble recalling my dreams also, no matter the dose. If I take the Remeron too late (like 10 or 11 pm instead of 9), I have trouble getting up when the alarm goes off at 6. Alcohol at night exacerbates the morning haze. Coffee eliminates it, but now that I'm on the Wellbutrin, I have to be very careful about caffeine because I will get jittery and shaky. I am almost completely decaffeinated these days. This means being a little more vigilant with the Remeron timing at night, although I think the Wellbutrin has been cutting the haze, too.
Contrary to what I have read in earlier posts, my doctor tells me the weight gain INCREASES as the dose increases. Since I started the Wellbutrin, I have lost weight -- almost 10 pounds without exercise. I'm just not hungry most of the time. I'm just glad my jeans are getting loose again.
Right now I feel all right. There were times this last fall and winter when I was not (some may recall my fall post asking about hospitalization). When feeling bad, I have often thought of just discontinuing the drugs and the weekly psychotherapy and letting nature take its course. If that meant suicide, so be it. I cannot vouch for Remeron and Wellbutrin as the end-all of cure-alls. I think they supply a degree of normalcy, but only when the rest of the world cooperates.
allisonm
(I was just allison last fall, but I see there's another allison now, so I'll be allisonm.)
poster:allisonm
thread:1924
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000302/msgs/26675.html