[cryingchild]

Im getting really confused here.I have been prescribed zispin by my shrink as he said it was a sleeping tablet But now I have been told that it is not a sleeping pill its a form of anti depressent?? Who Is right ..I would like to know what exactly it is im taking..........

[kvinneakt]

They really should explain this stuff!

I was prescribed Zyprexa and discovered it was an anti-psychotic. I guess I was more wacko than I realized.

Bumper sticker: Wherever you go, there you are

[CamW]

cc - Zispin™ (mirtazapine; CDN: Remeron™) is classified as a "noradrenergic and selective serotonergic antidepressant" (NaSSA). It has a unique, sorta bizarre, proposed mechanism of action that results increases in both noradrenergic and serotonergic neurotransmission (ie. the electrical signal is carried from one nerve cell to another more efficiently).

Zispin's most pronounced side effect is ..... (you guessed it) .... sedation! Low doses of Zispin (15mg-30mg) are very sedating, especially when one first starts taking it. I have seen psychiatrists start people off taking 45mg of mirtazapine (Zispin™/Remeron™) and lower the dose to 30mg after a week or two. At the higher dose the potentiation of serotonin and norepinephrine transmission overshadows the effects of the drug's strong H1-histamine receptor antagonist action. Zispin can then be called an "antihistamine with antidepressant action" at low dose, and and"antidepressant with antihistamine action" at high doses.

Zispin is prescribed as a sleeping aid by psychiatrists much the same way (and for similar reasons) another older antidepressant is. Desyrel™ (trazodone) 25mg to 100mg at bedtime is a non-addictive, relatively safe hypnotic. An antidepressant dose for Desyrel is 450mg to 600mg daily in divided doses.

Zispin is as safe as Desyrel, if not safer, especially in men. Desyrel can cause <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic486.htm>priapism</A>, and one-third of those cases require surgical intervension. ".... Erm .... kindly keep that scalpel away for there, if you please! ....

Zispin/Remeron and Desyrel can be used as hypnotics because of their sedating properties. The antidepressant action only occurs if you have an existing dysfunction of serotonin and/or norepinephrine transmission (something we often call depression). Otherwise, if one has normal neurotransmission, the drug really can't really normalize neurotransmission that is already "normal".

If you have any specific questions, I will try to answer them.

- Cam