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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 13 of 13. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Mauro Rapallini on June 20, 2000, at 8:47:15
I started on Remeron at the begining of this year. Here is my experience. Two hours after my first dose I felt very sedated ..then slept for 12 hours. The following day I felt like a zombie. I continued and after a week the sedation no longer was a problem as it went away. I also realised my depression was going away. So soon ? I couldn't believe it. I felt more motivated, slept better, and my mood was on a high. However...it also gives you an enormous appetite (especially for sweet things)...and the weight soon piled on...I gained an extra 10 pounds in two months.
So be careful with the food intake. But that is easily rectified...eat lots of fruit and work out. Believe me once your mood is lifted you have the motivation to do it. I am now down to my normaal weight and have never felt better. I continue on 30 MG daily. If you are a male..then there is also good news here too!! Your libido is fine and there is absolutely no ejeculatory delay that I used to experience on the SSRI's.
Posted by JaneS on June 20, 2000, at 12:47:30
In reply to Starting on Remeron.....it really works!, posted by Mauro Rapallini on June 20, 2000, at 8:47:15
> I started on Remeron at the begining of this year. Here is my experience. Two hours after my first dose I felt very sedated ..then slept for 12 hours. The following day I felt like a zombie. I continued and after a week the sedation no longer was a problem as it went away. I also realised my depression was going away. So soon ? I couldn't believe it. I felt more motivated, slept better, and my mood was on a high. However...it also gives you an enormous appetite (especially for sweet things)...and the weight soon piled on...I gained an extra 10 pounds in two months.
> So be careful with the food intake. But that is easily rectified...eat lots of fruit and work out. Believe me once your mood is lifted you have the motivation to do it. I am now down to my normaal weight and have never felt better. I continue on 30 MG daily. If you are a male..then there is also good news here too!! Your libido is fine and there is absolutely no ejeculatory delay that I used to experience on the SSRI's.Mauro-
Thanks for sharing. I started on Remeron 4 months ago after 1 year of Serzone. My only complaint with Serzone was that I felt like I was still underwater, my head hitting the ice...I could see daylight but couldn't quite break through to it...hence the Remeron. It was like someone flipped a switch! Immediately I felt like 'myself' again except for sedation during the day and a voracious appetite. I stayed on it for 2 months (and 10-12 pounds) then wanted off because of sedation. Then went to Celexa...just didn't feel good...dropped about 3-4 pounds...but then realized I had begun the slide to that deep dark pit again...in crisis, went to my pdoc who put me back on Remeron...again the switch was flipped. (Incredible feel good but more weight and sedation...I'm taking 30mg.)Question: What time of day/night do you take yours? I am currently playing with 8:30-9:00pm with varying results. Still can't wake up in the morning. If I take it much earlier, I go to bed that much earlier and with 2 young daughters, I just can't afford that luxury. Any suggestions?? Higher dose??
Any and all recommedations appreciated. Thanks for your ear!
...Jane
Posted by Mauro Rapallini on June 21, 2000, at 1:43:21
In reply to Re: Starting on Remeron.....it really works!, posted by JaneS on June 20, 2000, at 12:47:30
> > I started on Remeron at the begining of this year. Here is my experience. Two hours after my first dose I felt very sedated ..then slept for 12 hours. The following day I felt like a zombie. I continued and after a week the sedation no longer was a problem as it went away. I also realised my depression was going away. So soon ? I couldn't believe it. I felt more motivated, slept better, and my mood was on a high. However...it also gives you an enormous appetite (especially for sweet things)...and the weight soon piled on...I gained an extra 10 pounds in two months.
> > So be careful with the food intake. But that is easily rectified...eat lots of fruit and work out. Believe me once your mood is lifted you have the motivation to do it. I am now down to my normaal weight and have never felt better. I continue on 30 MG daily. If you are a male..then there is also good news here too!! Your libido is fine and there is absolutely no ejeculatory delay that I used to experience on the SSRI's.
>
> Mauro-
> Thanks for sharing. I started on Remeron 4 months ago after 1 year of Serzone. My only complaint with Serzone was that I felt like I was still underwater, my head hitting the ice...I could see daylight but couldn't quite break through to it...hence the Remeron. It was like someone flipped a switch! Immediately I felt like 'myself' again except for sedation during the day and a voracious appetite. I stayed on it for 2 months (and 10-12 pounds) then wanted off because of sedation. Then went to Celexa...just didn't feel good...dropped about 3-4 pounds...but then realized I had begun the slide to that deep dark pit again...in crisis, went to my pdoc who put me back on Remeron...again the switch was flipped. (Incredible feel good but more weight and sedation...I'm taking 30mg.)
>
> Question: What time of day/night do you take yours? I am currently playing with 8:30-9:00pm with varying results. Still can't wake up in the morning. If I take it much earlier, I go to bed that much earlier and with 2 young daughters, I just can't afford that luxury. Any suggestions?? Higher dose??
>
> Any and all recommedations appreciated. Thanks for your ear!
>
> ...Jane
Hi Jane, regarding the sedation...note a smaller dose will result in more sedation, paradoxical, but true. I always take my dose around 9pm... if your sedation doesn't go away..try to increase the dose to 45MG. Let me know how you get on.
Posted by Mike O on June 21, 2000, at 12:15:29
In reply to Re: Starting on Remeron.....it really works! » JaneS, posted by Mauro Rapallini on June 21, 2000, at 1:43:21
> > > I started on Remeron at the begining of this year. Here is my experience. Two hours after my first dose I felt very sedated ..then slept for 12 hours. The following day I felt like a zombie. I continued and after a week the sedation no longer was a problem as it went away. I also realised my depression was going away. So soon ? I couldn't believe it. I felt more motivated, slept better, and my mood was on a high. However...it also gives you an enormous appetite (especially for sweet things)...and the weight soon piled on...I gained an extra 10 pounds in two months.
> > > So be careful with the food intake. But that is easily rectified...eat lots of fruit and work out. Believe me once your mood is lifted you have the motivation to do it. I am now down to my normaal weight and have never felt better. I continue on 30 MG daily. If you are a male..then there is also good news here too!! Your libido is fine and there is absolutely no ejeculatory delay that I used to experience on the SSRI's.
> >
> > Mauro-
> > Thanks for sharing. I started on Remeron 4 months ago after 1 year of Serzone. My only complaint with Serzone was that I felt like I was still underwater, my head hitting the ice...I could see daylight but couldn't quite break through to it...hence the Remeron. It was like someone flipped a switch! Immediately I felt like 'myself' again except for sedation during the day and a voracious appetite. I stayed on it for 2 months (and 10-12 pounds) then wanted off because of sedation. Then went to Celexa...just didn't feel good...dropped about 3-4 pounds...but then realized I had begun the slide to that deep dark pit again...in crisis, went to my pdoc who put me back on Remeron...again the switch was flipped. (Incredible feel good but more weight and sedation...I'm taking 30mg.)
> >
> > Question: What time of day/night do you take yours? I am currently playing with 8:30-9:00pm with varying results. Still can't wake up in the morning. If I take it much earlier, I go to bed that much earlier and with 2 young daughters, I just can't afford that luxury. Any suggestions?? Higher dose??
> >
> > Any and all recommedations appreciated. Thanks for your ear!
> >
> > ...Jane
> Hi Jane, regarding the sedation...note a smaller dose will result in more sedation, paradoxical, but true. I always take my dose around 9pm... if your sedation doesn't go away..try to increase the dose to 45MG. Let me know how you get on.
Hi,
I'm new to this little piece of cyberspace, so excuse me if I am intruding. Here is my experience with Remeron. For the last 20 years I have been on so many different meds I couldn't begin to name them all. Elavil was the longest. Even so, nothing worked. About a year ago I started on 15mg of Remeron. I was actually feeling better, but was suffering some side effects.
My doctor bumped it up to 30 then 45mg. For the first time in my life I experienced what I assume must be "feeling normal". The black moods and despair lifted. I don't know about weight gain; at that point it was worth it. I have been doing pretty good, up until the last few months. I have been kind of bouncing up and down.
The bad part is that, now when I have a down episode it is worse than I ever remember, and each one seems worse than the last. Anyway, over all I recomend Remeron.
Posted by allisonm on June 21, 2000, at 19:34:49
In reply to Re: Starting on Remeron.....it really works! » JaneS, posted by Mauro Rapallini on June 21, 2000, at 1:43:21
> Hi Jane, regarding the sedation...note a smaller dose will result in more sedation, paradoxical, but true. I always take my dose around 9pm... if your sedation doesn't go away..try to increase the dose to 45MG. Let me know how you get on.
I have to disagree with you here. I've been on Remeron for 2.5 years. I've taken it at 15, 30 and 45mg for long periods of time -- 30 mg and 45 mg trials each were for more than a year.
The larger the dose the more sedation. The larger the dose, the more weight gain. I have been told this by two pdocs and I have found it to be true from personal experience. I'm on 15 now. At 45mg I had to make sure I was at home when I took it because I became woozy and unsteady on my feet. Just trying to get up stairs to get to bed could be difficult with 45. 30 was manageable. 15 is mild sedation, though I still find that if I take too late I'm hung over in the morning.
Posted by Zannah on June 22, 2000, at 12:10:30
In reply to Re: Starting on Remeron.....it really works!, posted by Mike O on June 21, 2000, at 12:15:29
> Hi,
> I'm new to this little piece of cyberspace, so excuse me if I am intruding. Here is my experience with Remeron. For the last 20 years I have been on so many different meds I couldn't begin to name them all. Elavil was the longest. Even so, nothing worked. About a year ago I started on 15mg of Remeron. I was actually feeling better, but was suffering some side effects.
> My doctor bumped it up to 30 then 45mg. For the first time in my life I experienced what I assume must be "feeling normal". The black moods and despair lifted. I don't know about weight gain; at that point it was worth it. I have been doing pretty good, up until the last few months. I have been kind of bouncing up and down.
> The bad part is that, now when I have a down episode it is worse than I ever remember, and each one seems worse than the last. Anyway, over all I recomend Remeron.Hi Allison & fellow Remeron patients,
I am taking 30 mgs. around 10 pm, asleep by 11:30 or so. Most daytime sedation has been eradicated by coffee and Wellbutrin SR 150 taken 3 x's a day. I am not super-alert, but I am not asleep either, which is good. I have a 3 yr. old who keeps me running.
Allison, have you talked to your p-doc about something for those black moods? Any suggestions?
Hope you feel better soon.
Zannah
Posted by allisonm on June 24, 2000, at 22:13:04
In reply to Re: Starting on Remeron.....it really works!, posted by Zannah on June 22, 2000, at 12:10:30
Hi, Zannah,
I think it was Jane who mentioned the black moods, but I get them too.Since my Wellbutrin SR was upped from 100 2x/day to 200mg 2x/day in April (the top dose, I understand), I have had more energy and focus. I felt
a LOT better. However, the energizing effect has pretty much worn off now, as I expected. But also I am starting to feel bad again -- unhappy, sad, aimless, reclusive, suspicious, insecure, very self-critical, toying with the idea of suicide again. Or as I said to my pdoc this week, I've felt better.We discussed where to go from here a little bit this week. I want to bring it up again next week because I don't think this Wellbutrin/Remeron mix is going to hold the fort. I feel a subtle backslide, dammit, just when I thought maybe I'd found the right recipe.
According to an algorithm I found on Dr. Bob's links page the next step is MAOIs but I know very little about them. Need to do some surfing. I'd asked my pdoc about Reboxetine, which isn't out yet in the US, but he said there are other older meds out there with similar mechanisms. Rebox has side effects, as do these older drugs, and both may (again) be too much for me to tolerate.
take care.
Posted by julesvox on July 4, 2000, at 22:09:20
In reply to Re: Starting on Remeron.....it really works!, posted by allisonm on June 24, 2000, at 22:13:04
i've been taking remeron for over a year after being on about 9 different med trials and feel the most committed to it. my doc prescribed dexedrine which helps w/the sedation and the appetite stuff. (luckily i don't have addictive tendencies; they tell me at the pharmacy 'not to tell anyone i have it.') i'm bummed about taking another med just to mitigate side effects, but it's working OK, and i've been able to stop drinking coffee and don't use other stimulants. i still have a problem w/sedation--can't take the remeron too early at night because i'll pass out; still can't jump out of bed in the morning and don't really wake up til i take the dex--but it's much better than before, and i haven't really noticed any side effects on the dexedrine (unlike wellbutrin, which i couldn't tolerate as my ad bcs of tremors...).
Posted by JaneS on July 6, 2000, at 12:00:28
In reply to Re: Starting on Remeron.../tried dexedrine? » allisonm, posted by julesvox on July 4, 2000, at 22:09:20
> i've been taking remeron for over a year after being on about 9 different med trials and feel the most committed to it. my doc prescribed dexedrine which helps w/the sedation and the appetite stuff. (luckily i don't have addictive tendencies; they tell me at the pharmacy 'not to tell anyone i have it.') i'm bummed about taking another med just to mitigate side effects, but it's working OK, and i've been able to stop drinking coffee and don't use other stimulants. i still have a problem w/sedation--can't take the remeron too early at night because i'll pass out; still can't jump out of bed in the morning and don't really wake up til i take the dex--but it's much better than before, and i haven't really noticed any side effects on the dexedrine (unlike wellbutrin, which i couldn't tolerate as my ad bcs of tremors...).
Hello,
I'm interested in your post as I have been on Remeron for awhile and though it worked tremendously for two weeks, it now seems to be pooping out...so I'm gathering info for my next pdoc appointment.
I have the sedation thing too, yet I'm taking 30mg. I'm researching augmentation so I would be curious to know what mg dex you take in addition to what mg Remeron. Clear as mud?
Thanks,
Jane
Posted by allisonm on July 6, 2000, at 20:30:49
In reply to Re: Starting on Remeron.../tried dexedrine?, posted by JaneS on July 6, 2000, at 12:00:28
Jules, Jane,
No. I've never taken dexedrine. I've tried Zoloft, Effexor XR, Remeron alone, Remeron with lithium and Remeron with Wellbutrin. The Rem/WB combo is by far the best.Since my last post, I've talked with my psychiatrist a lot about my recent slump. He and I have come to the conclusion that it has a lot to do with the time of year (three anniversaries marking bad stuff coming up this July). I don't think the drugs are pooping out.
Jules, I wonder what dose you're on with the Remeron. Maybe it would help to decrease the dose by 15 mg. I also wonder how many hours of sleep you are giving yourself. I find if I take the Remeron, I have to crash, too. But also find if I'm not getting enough hours of sleep in, it's a lot harder to get up and I'm a lot foggier. Don't cheat yourself on sleep. It's EXTREMELY important.
I also wonder how long did you take the Wellbutrin? I had tremors and irritability at first, but they eventually went away. But they were tolerable. At least they seemed tolerable. With the Zoloft and the Effexor, I felt as though I was racing -- mind, body, heart. It was awful. Now sometimes I wonder whether I just was bothered by symptoms that I might find tolerable as long as I knew they were short-term. I wonder whether I tolerate the WB now because I've taken a few of these drugs already and know that sometimes side-effects happen but decrease with time. I might still be on Effexor... who knows.
Jane, I wonder how long you've been on Remeron. It can take 6 to 8 weeks to work. I wouldn't give up on it if you haven't been on it at least that long. And if you did find it helpful, maybe lithium augmentation or something else like WB might help.
take care.
allison
Posted by julesvox on July 7, 2000, at 12:10:17
In reply to Re: Starting on Remeron.../tried dexedrine?, posted by allisonm on July 6, 2000, at 20:30:49
jane & allison--
i have been on remeron for over a year. i take 30 mg at night. i take 5mg dexedrine twice a day, at breakfast and at lunch. some days if things are feeling ok i'll skip the second dose, and some days i'll skip it altogether. most days it feels like the second dose is needed, bcs the med doesn't pace itself throughout the day. i started on 10mg 2x day but even one dose of 10 made me too jittery.
about six months in on the remeron, i think, i remember the side effects getting more fierce and i felt severely depressed again. i considered switching meds but decided to hang in there. things evened out again. my doc suggested lithium w/remeron--i'd taken lithium with effexor, i think--but i haven't tried that or any other augmentation w/ the remeron.
> Since my last post, I've talked with my psychiatrist a lot about my recent slump. He and I have come to the conclusion that it has a lot to do with the time of year (three anniversaries marking bad stuff coming up this July). I don't think the drugs are pooping out.
i was going to say too that the same thing happened to me in march, always my most catastrophic month.
>
> Jules, I wonder what dose you're on with the Remeron. Maybe it would help to decrease the dose by 15 mg. I also wonder how many hours of sleep you are giving yourself. I find if I take the Remeron, I have to crash, too. But also find if I'm not getting enough hours of sleep in, it's a lot harder to get up and I'm a lot foggier. Don't cheat yourself on sleep. It's EXTREMELY important.all very good advice. my problem has always been too much sleep. i know outside of the meds i definitely need more than a lot of people--at least 9 hours--and i am usually good at giving myself that. i tried decreasing the dose of remeron, but it both made me more tranquilized and seemed to be less effective w/the depression. other things i have done to help with both side effects are (these are kind of obvious, but) exercising every day, having a really simple diet (mostly vegan, mostly raw foods, low-sugar), and playing with herbs and amino acid supplements. and the appetite stuff for me has been a real double-edged sword, since it's challenged me to confront my eating/body image stuff (and helped me stop starving myself).
>
> I also wonder how long did you take the Wellbutrin?not very long at all--a week or two--but i was suicidal and working with a TERRIBLE unethical psychiatrist and unfortunately my association with wellbutrin is that experience, which contributed to me going into the hospital.
you say you wonder whether you were bothered by symptoms that you might find tolerable as long as you knew they were short-term--i agree, and more than 'short term' for me was the sense that nothing seemed to be helping my pain, so none of the meds seemed worth it. i had the best experience on effexor for a few months. i tried it with a bunch of augmentations and then started remeron. for me, meds have always been about helping me get to a place where i can do work in my therapy, and my experience starting a new med has usually been in a state of desperation.
hope this is helpful...it's nice to be in touch. j.
Posted by allisonm on July 7, 2000, at 21:01:32
In reply to Re: Starting on Remeron.../tried dexedrine?, posted by julesvox on July 7, 2000, at 12:10:17
j.,
I can empathize. It seems my drug changes always come out of desperation.I don't see drugs as a cure. Like you, I depend upon them to get me to a point where I can get somewhere in therapy instead of being in such a bad state that all we talk about is how I can take immediate care of myself under the current circumstances.
I thought this Wellbutrin was doing the trick, but then I ran into April. And now there is June and July. I seem to go into slumps in April, June, July and part of August, and October through December. That only seems to leave January, February, March, May, September and maybe part of August for actual, real therapy.
I am getting tired of these anniversary slumps. No matter how consciously determined I am to ignore and resist them, they seem to happen anyway. Usually I don't even see that I'm sliding until I'm three quarters of the way down the pit.
I did find lithium helped as an augmentation, but the the side effects were tough to live with. I was on it from October 98 until the end part of April 99 when things got better. It got bad again in June 99, so my doctor added the Wellbutrin. I wouldn't go back to the lithium because of rapid and seemingly irreversible weight gain and constant diarrhea even after changing the type of lithium. But other people do very well on it.
Take care.
allison
Posted by 2dawgz on March 30, 2007, at 6:55:55
In reply to Starting on Remeron.....it really works!, posted by Mauro Rapallini on June 20, 2000, at 8:47:15
> I started on Remeron at the begining of this year. Here is my experience. Two hours after my first dose I felt very sedated ..then slept for 12 hours. The following day I felt like a zombie. I continued and after a week the sedation no longer was a problem as it went away. I also realised my depression was going away. So soon ? I couldn't believe it. I felt more motivated, slept better, and my mood was on a high. However...it also gives you an enormous appetite (especially for sweet things)...and the weight soon piled on...I gained an extra 10 pounds in two months.
> So be careful with the food intake. But that is easily rectified...eat lots of fruit and work out. Believe me once your mood is lifted you have the motivation to do it. I am now down to my normaal weight and have never felt better. I continue on 30 MG daily. If you are a male..then there is also good news here too!! Your libido is fine and there is absolutely no ejeculatory delay that I used to experience on the SSRI's.
>Hi ya Mauro remember me scott Oz....hehe email me sometime incredimale@gmail.com hope ur fine hen
This is the end of the thread.
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