Shown: posts 1 to 13 of 13. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by JaneST on July 31, 2000, at 18:10:41
I have been on 30mg Remeron for almost 4 months; three weeks ago my pdoc and I started augmenting it with 150mg Wellbutrin. No change. I'm not sliding into that deep dark pit but I'm certainly not moving forward either. (Well, unless you count the 20 pounds I've gained.)
I was taking Celexa prior to the Remeron and started the Rem. without going off Celexa...and boy, for about the first 3 days I felt like wonder woman...felt like I could accomplish (and did) most anything.
So I suppose my real question here would be can you augment the Rem. with another AD like Celexa?? And, exactly what is seratonin syndrome?? Would I be running the risk of that? Something's got to give here...I've GOT to look for a job and I certainly can't like this.
Any experiences/thoughts/whatever shared would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jane
Posted by Greg on July 31, 2000, at 20:29:28
In reply to Remeron Augmentation??..Allisonm...Greg?anyone??, posted by JaneST on July 31, 2000, at 18:10:41
I took Rem for about a year, it didn't do anything for my depression, but really helped me sleep. I've heard of several prople here augmenting Celexa with Rem with great success. But as with all meds it should be done only with your docs approval. I too put on a lot of weight with the Rem, I think that's a normal side effect for many people.
Seratonin Syndrome is a very dangerous condition. The over inhibition of serotonin, induced by SSRI's causes a larger than normal amount of serotonin to accumulate in the brain and it's tissues. This throws other neuro-tansmitters out of whack too. It can cause nausea, shakes, delirium, tremors, palpitations, liver damage, memory loss temporary and permanent and can cause renal failure as well.
I would certainly discuss any changes with your doc first.
Good Luck and keep me informed. I hope this helped.
Hugs, Greg
> I have been on 30mg Remeron for almost 4 months; three weeks ago my pdoc and I started augmenting it with 150mg Wellbutrin. No change. I'm not sliding into that deep dark pit but I'm certainly not moving forward either. (Well, unless you count the 20 pounds I've gained.)
>
> I was taking Celexa prior to the Remeron and started the Rem. without going off Celexa...and boy, for about the first 3 days I felt like wonder woman...felt like I could accomplish (and did) most anything.
>
> So I suppose my real question here would be can you augment the Rem. with another AD like Celexa?? And, exactly what is seratonin syndrome?? Would I be running the risk of that? Something's got to give here...I've GOT to look for a job and I certainly can't like this.
>
> Any experiences/thoughts/whatever shared would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Jane
Posted by Andre Allard on August 5, 2000, at 7:15:25
In reply to Remeron Augmentation??..Allisonm...Greg?anyone??, posted by JaneST on July 31, 2000, at 18:10:41
Remeron augmented with an ssri is usually not common because it is not good practice. On the other hand, an ssri is sometimes augmented with remeron (for sleep disturbances). Bring the fact up with your pdoc that when you were taking both the remeron and celexa you felt great. This might persuade your pdoc to give you a small amount of celexa (10-20mg).
You could try to push the wellbutrin dosage up to 300mg - anything higher than that and you increase the seizure threshold.
Another idea is to go to the max dosage with the remeron and see what happens.
Good luck!
Posted by caroline on August 6, 2000, at 2:51:25
In reply to Remeron Augmentation??..Allisonm...Greg?anyone??, posted by JaneST on July 31, 2000, at 18:10:41
Jane
For me, Remeron 30mg did nothing except help me sleep, but it turned into a completely different drug when I raised the dose to 45mg. It has left me free of depression, anxiety and major OCD for months. My anorexia is better too and I guess all this means it is even treating my aspergers! I do augment it with an old TCA to help me sleep - anafranil (as the higher dose acted like a stimulant for me, so made it hard to sleep much at all). I spent the past 10 years of my life trying almost every psych med going and none have given me anything like the remission Remeron at 45mg has.
It would be great if the raised dose could help you too. I think it might be worth trying.Hope things start feeling better for you soon.
Take care
Caroline
Posted by JaneST on August 11, 2000, at 11:39:47
In reply to Re: Remeron Augmentation??..Allisonm...Greg?anyone??, posted by caroline on August 6, 2000, at 2:51:25
To all who replied, I appreciate the insights. Guess I have a few more roads to travel!
Caroline...did you gain weight on lower doses of Remeron...and did that abate or get worse once the dosage was upped? I've gained 20+ pounds in about 4 months and the negativity from the weight gain is REALLY affecting any benefits of the drug I may be receiving.
Thanks again,
Jane
Posted by caroline on August 13, 2000, at 2:51:48
In reply to Re: Remeron Augmentation??..Allisonm...Greg?anyone??, posted by JaneST on August 11, 2000, at 11:39:47
Jane, I did gain weight on the Remeron at first - about 10lb in a fortnight. Since I have had anorexia nervosa for the past 15 years, this really hurt. Fortunately for my peace of mind, I was able to lose that weight (and quite a lot more) with a low fat diet combined with regular power walking (it took about 10 months! Damn drug!).
As far as the raised dose is concerned, I have great news for you: I no longer need to diet or exercise to keep my weight down! It seems that what they say about the side effects of this drug diminishing at higher doses has a lot of truth in it. I know these things vary from person to person, but I've read many posts here from people who've had similar experiences.
Good luck. Best wishes, and take care of yourself.
Caroline
Posted by JaneST on August 13, 2000, at 12:26:02
In reply to Re: Remeron Augmentation??..Allisonm...Greg?anyone??, posted by caroline on August 13, 2000, at 2:51:48
Caroline:
Thanks for the info. What dosage are you currently taking?
The disheartening info you shared is that it took 10 months for 10 pounds!!! I've gained 20...and it only took 4 months!...but it sure was a lot of fun.
Thanks again,
Jane
Posted by allisonm on August 13, 2000, at 21:13:30
In reply to Re: Remeron Augmentation??..Allisonm...Greg?anyone??, posted by JaneST on August 11, 2000, at 11:39:47
Hi Jane. Sorry, I've been away for 2 weeks. Just back now. I agree with Caroline and Andre about changing the doses first, either of Rem to 45 or Well to more than 150, which seems low to me. I'm on 400mg/day, and while the seizure risk is higher, the possibility is remote, from what Cam W. tells me.
Anyhow, re augmenting Rem with Celexa, there are only two threads on this. You might want to go to the eGroups site on Remeron. There's a folder there with all of the psychobabble threads on drug combos with Rem. http://www.egroups.com/links/psycho-babble-tips/Remeron_000963366608/
there's also an eGroups link for Wellbutrin (http://www.egroups.com/links/psycho-babble-tips/Wellbutrin_SR_000963633280/) but it's not finished yet. I still have to go through all of the psychobabble archives from 12/99 and before. Summer keeps me outside in the garden pulling weeds, and away from this machine.
Hope this helps.
allison
Posted by JaneST on August 13, 2000, at 21:39:13
In reply to Re: Remeron Augmentation??..Allisonm...Greg?anyone?? » JaneST, posted by allisonm on August 13, 2000, at 21:13:30
Allison:
Hi, thought you might be out of town as I hadn't seen a post from you Anywhere lately. Gardening sounds wonderful...I do a little but it's pretty restricted.Thanks for the suggestions. Naturally I have checked our your Remeron folder but I don't remember the Celexa threads. Interestingly, today I read a post by Cam W. re: the good feeling you get when you first start something and then have the wearing off feeling...and it's just your body's adjustment...makes me feel like I probably didn't give some other things enough time to work themselves out.
Sigh, I weighed myself this evening...I was depressed enough so I don't know WHY I did it...but now I know I've gained 25 lbs!!! Gross. I thought I had gained some more because of my clothes...I really wasn't in the frame of mind I should have been...still not.
Had a pdoc appointment last week but missed it...thought for sure it was this week...it will take about another 3 weeks to get in...but I've got to do something. I'm not in my darkest of pits but it's still a pit...I agree about the Wellbutrin...everything I read seems to point to a minimum of 300mgs. Ditto the Remeron at 45mgs...so those will definitely be topics on the agenda when I do get an appointment.
Any postive the Remeron is doing is totally negated by the weight gain. Weight has been such an issue with me for the past 10 years...I wasn't prepared to deal with it AND the trial and error roller coaster.
Thanks again for your help. Glad you're back.
Jane
Posted by allisonm on August 14, 2000, at 22:07:28
In reply to Re: Remeron Augmentation??.. » allisonm, posted by JaneST on August 13, 2000, at 21:39:13
Hi Jane and thanks. I didn't think anyone would notice I was gone.
I know how you feel about the weight gain on Rem. I didn't weigh myself for a long time because I knew I was gaining weight and didn't want proof-positive. I figured when I got off the drugs, I'd get back to a more normal weight and I thought that it probably was better to be heavier and alive than thinner and dead.
Now I have resigned myself to the fact that I probably will have depression at some level or another for the rest of my life and will have to take these drugs forever. I worried awhile about the longterm effects of these medications, but eventually decided that if they do shorten my lifespan, the fewer years I had on the drugs probably would be more satisfying than a greater number of years feeling bad -- assuming I didn't do myself in before my natural time to go.
If weight is an issue, it's certainly worth voicing your concern to your doctor. You don't need to feel worse than you already do, and lord knows there are what seem like a zillion drugs out there. I feel badly that you have to wait so long before talking with your pdoc again and I hope that you and he/she can find the right combination.
Best wishes, and thanks again.
allison
Posted by MH on August 19, 2000, at 12:15:17
In reply to Re: Remeron Augmentation??..Allisonm...Greg?anyone??, posted by caroline on August 19, 2000, at 1:54:12
> Jane,
>
> I'm currently on 45mg. And I have good news for you. There is no need to be disheartened. What I should have said in my previous post is that it took 10 months for me to lose the weight I wanted to - which was considerably more than 10lb! The first 10lb did take more time to shift than ever before, but it was gone in about three months.
>
> Hope this cheers you up!
>
> Best of luck and look after yourself
>
> CarolineDoes anybody know if Remeron is approved in Australia as yet...??????
MH
Posted by caroline on August 20, 2000, at 1:55:54
In reply to Re: Remeron Augmentation??..Allisonm...Greg?anyone??, posted by caroline on August 19, 2000, at 1:54:12
> Jane,
>
> I'm currently on 45mg. And I have good news for you. There is no need to be disheartened. What I should have said in my previous post is that it took 10 months for me to lose the weight I wanted to - which was considerably more than 10lb! The first 10lb did take more time to shift than ever before, but it was gone in about three months.
>
> Hope this cheers you up!
>
> Best of luck and look after yourself
>
> CarolineP.S. Sorry for posting this twice - previous header was inappropriate!
Posted by acer on August 20, 2000, at 3:45:55
In reply to Remeron ??..is it approved in Australia, posted by MH on August 19, 2000, at 12:15:17
I live in Sydney and tried it a year ago, last year in April. It didnt work
for me but I got it by just ringing up Organon and
they said it wasnt released yet but if I gave them
my doctors name , phone, etc. they would send some out to him (for free too!) and then he could
give it to me - which he did.
Cant recall who exactly it was at Organon I dealt
with, sorry.
This is the end of the thread.
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