[svetlana]

I'm in the UK, I have been taking Remeron for 3-4 weeks now, it has seemingly improved my mood but I can't handle the side effects, 10 pounds weight gain, though this has sort of come under control, extreme jumpiness on falling asleep, I don't want to go back to tricyclics and SSRI's are great but they blunt my emotions and switch off my libido ! Everything seems to have so many pros and cons. Is there anything else out there ?

I'm not up on all the anti-depressants, but your pdoc should be & should listen to your concerns about side effects & be willing to work with you to get good results without all the side effects. I was dxed with bipolar 1 & it took about a year of trial & error to get the right meds for me. That was a tough year--extreme dizziness on one drug, falling asleep even while driving on another, etc. There is hope.--Suzy

[SandyWeb]

It took us well over a year to figure out that SSRIs were not what my body needed....after trying almost everyone out there! LOL. My serotonin needs to be reabsorbed and not kept bouncing around in my brain. Makes me loopy! What we finally figured out that my main problem was with norepinephrine.

You didn't say what does you are on with the Remeron? I think once you get past 30 mg, you are mainly affecting the norepinephrine rather than the serotonin (anyone correct me, please). Maybe your serotonin is fine just as it is, and it's another neurotransmitter that needs help (norepinephrine or even dopamine). I was using 60 mg per day, and besides from the massive weight gain over 2 years, the drug was a wonder!

Right now I am taking Effexor XR, and I'm at a level that mainly impacts the norepinephrine. It took about 2 weeks to adjust to the increases in dose, (and I know that I still need to increase it a bit more), but it is helping me quite a bit (along with my clonazepam and Lopressor SR). Still can't sleep, though. Dang! *smile*

Oh, just to let you know....if you try Effexor XR, your doctor will probably start you off at 75 mg. That impacts only serotonin, and you are probably going to feel really skittish and bad. I quit after a week and a half because I couldn't handle the return of my startle reflex, etc. But then I knew that I needed to get past that serotonin impact, so I took 75 mg for 2 days, and then went straight to 150 mg. I immediately began to feel better. Whew. What a relief. I stayed on that level for about 4 days (it takes 3 days to reach steady state on Effexor XR), and then I went to 225 mg. I feel even better, but I know that my body needs a bit more. I'll probably give 300 mg a try in May, once a bunch of stressors have ended in my life at the present time.

Remember, this is just MY experience.

Good luck and God bless,
Sandy