Mirtazapine Weight Gain

During benzo withdrawal, I started taking mirtazapine and remained on a tiny dose  (3.75 mg) for six months. I was told that such low dose was acting more like a placebo effect; however, I started gaining a lot of weight from the beginning. Granted, I was probably underweight due to benzo withdrawal, but the fact is that eight months later I'm 15 pounds heavier, and I'm a short person. I've been forced to buy new clothes. Even my underwear doesn't fit anymore.

I've been slowly withdrawing from mirtazapine since February, and I'm expecting to complete my mirt taper next week. I can't believe that at my current dose (0.75 mg) I'm still experiencing the same ravenous hunger and I'm still gaining weight! How can such a small dose affect my weight that much? Will it change once I'm off the drug? Next week it's my birthday and I don't want to celebrate it because I don't want my friends to see me this fat

I know this concern is nothing compared to how I was and felt only a couple of months ago, but the whole thing about weight gain is making me depressed.

Psych meds are powerful stuff.  They don't just let us sleep, they mess with our metabolism, hormones, thought patterns, etc.  I too gained a lot of weight on remeron, but I never have trouble withdrawing from ad's so i'm hopefully going to slim down again.  I think the weight will come off when you're off the drug.

I tried mirtazipine for a couple weeks at that very dose. I can assure you it has effects at that dose that are not placebo...

 

At first I was going to be taking 7.5 mg, and this zonked me out for about 16 hours. So we did 3.75 mg instead. After a couple weeks I gave up because it was giving me headaches and still a lot of grogginess in the morning. It absolutely helped with sleep though. And yes I was ravenously hungry all the time, but back then I needed to re-gain weight. I think almost every account I have heard about Remeron mentions the hunger side effect. The hunger effect went away when I stopped taking it. I think you will find it a lot easier to control your hunger once it is out of your system, although it usually takes some time to get one's weight to actually decrease.

 

In any case, mirtazipine may be a very helpful drug for some people, but it is definitely a potent one. I think a low dose can still have a profound effect.

I'm getting desperate about the weight gain. I'm gaining about 2 pounds per month, and I've calculated that it's going to take me at least another 3 months to get off mirtazapine. I watch my food, I exercise every day, don't know what to do anymore. God knows what would happen if I didn't work out or eat healthily. I'm getting stretch marks all over my body. I feel so ugly! I'm embarrassed to be seen by friends and acquaintances. I hate this horrible drug. Sorry, I had to vent :'(  :'(

 

 

It's one of the crazy side effects, T.L. I was actually glad for the gain at first as I lost 30lbs in 1 month when I was in tolerance. Seriously - 30 lbs in one month. Well, I've gained exactly 30lbs back. Like you, I am able to exercise again. And I eat clean. If not, I'd probably be a 600 lb tank about now.

 

You'll lose it when you're off - I have confidence in that.

 

Hang in there 

 

-Dave

30 lbs is a lot! I'm struggling with 17lbs, fighting every day not even to even reduce, but not to gain any more!

Thanks for your words.

The hard truth is that one of the functions of Mirtzapnie is as an appetite stimulant for treatment for depression in anorxia, cancer patients or others unable to eat.  The good news is it is not slowing down your metabolism, like many other drugs, the bad news is that it does create very strong cravings and the desire to eat more.  I have been on and off Mirtazapine twice, both short stints.  Once off, the cravings did subside.

 

WWWI

Hi WWWI, how long did it take you to lose the excess weight? I was off of the mirt for nearly 3 weeks and noticed that the cravings were subsiding, but I couldn't shed even a pound, it was very puzzling.

 

I wish I could tell you, but my weight has been SO up and down with w/d, remeron, surgery and thyroid disease that I'm a lousy gauge.  I lost  bunch of weight in the months following, but part of that was being hyperthyroid.  I do know that when i stopped eating like a madwoman because of the drug, things impoved.

The hard truth is that one of the functions of Mirtzapnie is as an appetite stimulant for treatment for depression in anorxia, cancer patients or others unable to eat.  The good news is it is not slowing down your metabolism, like many other drugs, the bad news is that it does create very strong cravings and the desire to eat more.  I have been on and off Mirtazapine twice, both short stints.  Once off, the cravings did subside.

 

WWWI

 

WWWI is correct.  Mirt does not slow metabolism, but does stimulate appetite, especially for sweets and carbs. For health reasons, I am very conscious of my weight, and I discussed the specific actions of Mirt with my pdoc before starting it.

 

I took it 22.5-30 mg/day for almost  3 years, and never gained a pound.  I had definite cravings, bu t they were manageable.

Hello everyone! I know without a shadow of a doubt that it does effect metabolism and makes you retain water!

It does effect everyone differently, but I know that I eat clean and exercise but still can't shake of 6-7 pounds.

I have found that eating high fats (good fats), high protien, no starchy carbs other than some oatmeal in the morning works best! You can eat some fruit in the mornings and as many low glycemic veggies you want.

If you are hungry at night eat almonds (cocoa dusted).

 

I know some doctors say isn't doesn't effect metabolism, but they do t know that for sure...

:-)

 

C

I've never eaten so healthily in my life and I've gained about 15lbs! It must affect metabolism somehow. And as soon as I gain some weight, it's just IMPOSSIBLE to lose it. And I do try hard and exercise like crazy. It doesn't even become muscle, it's just an unshakeable layer of lard that sticks in very unflattering places (like my waist! I never had belly fat like this before). My partner thought at first that I was overeating, but as he saw me so distressed he started watching the calories I ate and was shocked to find that I'm putting weight on at 1.300 calories per day. And of course, I'm hungry all day. It's such a losing situation...

They gave it to me for sleep....I gained 30lbs!!!! I didn't know it was the med...I had never had aweight problem! Well...I lost it all after I was off of it, my new doc told me he gives it to cancer patients who have no appitite....to gain weight!!!! Good luck with that!

mary

It's good to know that the weight eventually goes away... Can't wait to start losing it! Thanks, Mary!

I am also very short. When I went on Remeron I weighed 95 lbs (from benzo withdrawal; I couldn't eat). In 2 months after starting Remeron, I weighed 130! How 'bout them apples?! This was 8-weeks post-benzo. I had to buy all new clothes, and I was miserable.

 

Now, I became obsessed about losing the weight and was miserable thinking about it all the time. I now know that the negative, obsessive thoughts about my weight were from benzo withdrawal. I just hated myself so much at that weight, and I thought about it all the time! I hated it so much that I tried to taper the Remeron at 6 months, to horrible effect; I had a full benzo freakout and had to re-up the remeron to make it stop.  I decided then that I was going to forgive myself and let myself be heavy until benzo withdrawal was over, even if it took 36 months, because I needed the remeron to get through this, and I wasn't going to let negative benzo thoughts make me feel badly about myself, since they had already tortured me enough.

 

Well, funny thing....At 6 months on Remeron, my appetite stabilized, and I stopped gaining weight. At 1 year on Remeron, I was able to lose 10 pounds because the appetite effect had lessened more over time. Also, at 1 year on Remeron, which was also 1 year off benzos, I realized that I didn't mind being a size 6 instead of a size 4, and might actually look better with a little meat on my bones.

 

So the point of my telling you all of this is to say, "Give yourself a break!!!!" You have been through hell, so stop torturing yourself about weight gain. In time, you will get off the Remeron, and you will lose the weight AND you might even lose some of the weight before you get off the Remeron like I did.

 

You look BEAUTIFUL! Hang in there, sister!!

Ask2266, you're so right about the negative thoughts... Withdrawal must provoke some perception disorder, as I'm seen myself so gross. I have a friend who put 20 lbs and she feels OK about it (not over the moon, but not disheartened, either), while I'm going crazy about it. Anyway, it's good to hear that the ravenous hunger does stop... I just don't like the sugar cravings the remeron gives me! It's not healthy, and it makes it very difficult to keep a good, balanced diet. 

But you're right, patience and self-love are key!