[Philup]

Hello all. I suffer from GAD and OCD. I have been on 150mg of venlafaxine for years. About 4 years ago I had 150mg of quetiapine (not modified release) presecribed which has now gone up to 300mg daily.

I have some 25s knocking about from previous dose alterations and am taking 375mg a day.

In addition I have now been prescirbed 30mg of mirtazipine a day. I am worried about serotoning syndrome.

I see the psychiatrist privately so this is not a concern which I can raise without forking out a load for another appointment. Sadly, it didn't occur to me during the appointment,

Quetiapine itself makes me sleepy the next day and has zapped any motivation. Ideally I would want off it but when I forget to take a dose I literally do not get any sleep.

If you were me would you skip the quetiapine to start taking mirtazipine instead, and will it get me to sleep?

I am a bit worried about taking all 3 together as well in case of accidental od of sedatives, 300mg of quetiapine and another sedative-type med, mirtazipine 30mg on top, seems a lot to me.

I know that no-one here is my psychiatrist but wondering if anyone else could share any experience with these three meds.

Thanks for reading.

[Turtleboy]

i'm just a layperson about meds but it seems a very very heavy set of medications for ocd and gad, i hope you figure it out soon, big hugs

[Philup]

Originally Posted by Turtleboy

i'm just a layperson about meds but it seems a very very heavy set of medications for ocd and gad, i hope you figure it out soon, big hugs

Thanks, this is what I am thinking!! Though there is a lot of depression and hopelessness in amongst it.

[Americano]

Effexor is bad about keeping you awake, and like you can’t relax. It also has harsh withdrawals. IMO you should taper down while adding a more relaxing antidepressant like a ssri and not start adding meds to counter side effects from other meds

[Philup]

Hello, no the plan is to keep the Effexor. I am just a bit worried about ODing (as in literal OD, where your breathing centre shuts down) from the 300mg of quetiapine and the 30mg of mirtazipine.

I am pretty-much resigned to staying on effexor, have been on it many, many years.

[Misterpain]

You are absolutely nowhere near a danger zone you can go all the way up to 800mg quetiapine ( you can still go even higher but the results of say 1200 as compared to 800 is neclidgeable, the law of diminishing returns) did have a doctor flat line me playing drug roulette , he lost I was resuscitated ( no don't reccomend it , you can live happily without those experience points), you are not going to have respiratory arrest from your doses , but it asks the question you are under no obligation to answer but why is this such a huge thing for you ? Did you have a sudden loss of family member or something, or is this just an unknown fear ? Quetiapine is s drug that is more sedating the less you take it has a very weird profile of being an anti histamine up to certain dosage and then shifts around to become an anti psychotic ( it is the only atypical with these unique properties) but considering these are all based on anti histamines its not surprising that one is very similar in lower doses to anti histamine.

[Philup]

I have had anxiety since I was a child and OCD since I was aged 4. Parents just thought I was quirky. In the past three years my Mum dies suddenly in front of me and my Grandad 4 months later. My Nan is left and I am trying to meet her increasing care needs as I am the only relation who now lives near.

Thanks for your info, that is an absolutely terrifying story and is what I am scared of with the mirtazipine and quetiapine.

[-jimi-]

Depends on how sensitive you are. If I took those meds together I would not wake up at all. But if you can actually stand on your two legs after a night on quetiapine you're definitely not as sensitive as me.

Hopefully you can skip the zombie drug and sleep on the mirtazapine instead.

[whisperingskye]

Hi there,

I take 150mg venlafaxine, 45mg mirtazapine and 200mg quetiapine. Have been on this combination since August and have had no problems. I think it would be fine to take all three but if you are very concerned maybe have a chat with the pharmacist..that way you won’t have to fork out to ask your psychiatrist.

[Philup]

Thanks folks. I am still scared about the mirtazipine and quetiapine combined I am going to try coming off the quetiapine and just taking the mirtazipine. Hopefully that will enable me to sleep. As mentioned, when I have forgotten the quetiapine dose I literally do not sleep. But I would rather risk that than risk not waking up at all, which is what I am worried about with the combination of the 2.