Surprised at my psychiatrists conclusion

[justafool]

I suffer with GAD and stress, quite badly. Yesterday I had my usual 6 month appointment with my psychiatrist. My doc has been changing the dose of my antidepressants to try and get me on track, my psychiatrist actually decided to change my medication completely to mertazipine (remerol) which I have to start taking after being 'weaned' off escatalapram. He also advised me to stop taking sleeping tablets AND diazapam because I have been on them so long and thy will have stopped working, only making my anxiety much worse. The mirtazapine should calm me down, help me sleep too. Anyone had any experiences with remerol/mirtazipine? He said, although it is so hard, to try and go to bed at midnight and get up every day between 6/7am. Easier said then done when depressed but willing to give it a go lol.

Thankyou for listening.

Justa :jiggy:

 

[NicNak]

Re: surprised at my psychiatrists conclusion

Hi Justa

I was taking a medication that would make me sleepy (risperidal) and what I would do is take it around 8pm and by the time it kicked in it would be around a "regular" sleeping time, around 11pm.

Waking up. Well that is an issue I have, I don't transition well.

Hope the little infomation there helps.

It is great your open to the advice of your Psychiatrist. You never know until you try if it will work for you.

All the best and let us know how it works for you.

:hug:

NN

 

[David Baxter PhD]

When Remeron (mirtazapine) was first approved for use in Canada, I had a client at the time who had tried pretty much every antidepressant on the market with little benefit. Three months after starting Remeron, he was in a back to work program.

Obviously, it may not have that kind of "miracle" effect on everyone but it certainly worked for him.

 

[justafool]

Thank you so much for your replies. my therapist is happy about the changes too and we are currently working on cbt for sexual abuse survivors too ..... she said it would help with my anxiety problems. Glad I found this site, thank you so much

Justa

 

[amastie]

Thank you for sharing this information justafool, NickNack and David,

I like to keep an eye on antidepressants to discuss with my own psychiatrist. So far, none have ever helped me, but then I don't stay depressed for more than a few weeks at a time and so taking antidepressants in the long-term has never been found either useful ar appropriate. It would be good to find one that would work in the short term - especially if it helped me to reduce the need for anti-anxiety medication which I frequently use, among other reasons, to help me settle to sleep.

I'll bring up the subject of Remerol when I see her next. (Though it may go by a different name here in Australia). My periods of depression, though they never last, I find are becoming increasingly debilitating.

Thank you again,

amastie

 

[NicNak]

I should clairify that the medication I was taking was an anti-psychotic, Risperidal.

I added only for the sleep schedule advice. Hope I didn't cause any confusion

 

[amastie]

No probs here
amastie