Remeron worked first week now not so good.

[redding1]

Hello again, I thought i was in the clear last week. I felt so much better after only taking my new med Mirtazapine (Remeron) for a few days. I was sleeping and eating and feeling normal. Then BAM, on a week of being on it and being on a reduced level of Celexa (I'm switching over) I felt the panic come on. It's been two days now and I'm all anxious and worried. The cycle is starting (I hope not). I was wondering why I felt so good the first week and now week two I'm sliding back. I'm worried about my lower back which can be part of the culprit. I know it's too soon, but going backwards-isn't that a sign the med might not work or be working. I have taken .5 klonopin again to help me until I talk to my Pscychatrist tomorrow (phone call). Any advice as to what might have happened. I felt so normal and slept great!

[redding1]

Thanks, you have eased my mind. My psych. said that i can go ahead and take the klonopin. I just don't want to be stuck taking the benzo. I sure hope the Remeron will help with anxiety. I sleep darn good on it and have not been groggy or anything. My appetite is/was the same as before I spiraled down 6 months ago. I also started thinking my leg aches and numb heels and a sign on something more serious (nerve disorder), I also got a few new anxiety symptoms this week (light twitching in my legs and warm sensation once this morning) I was relieved to find out that many people with anxiety suffer these weird sensations too.

[M4Y0U]

Sounds more than a withdrawal to me. You only have you real answer once you are withdrawn from Celexa completely and know if Remeron is working.

Remeron is rated as a very good antidepressant as far as I know but one size doesn't fit all.

M4

[redding1]

I was not on it very long. I was on 20mg of the Celexa for 4 weeks and then 40mg for 1 week before starting the Remeron. Can I still be withdrawing from the Celexa or am I sinking back into my anxiety/depression?

[M4Y0U]

You might be experiencing withdrawal from the Celexa. Remeron is a different antidepressant that will act differently on you neurotransmitters. For example, Celexa was only inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin while Remoron is an antagonist of the 5-HT1A receptor and is most likely to affect your dopamine and noradrenaline (by affecting the adrenergic and 5-HT receptors) levels  while not inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin itself as it's a serotonin receptor antagonist.

Basically I think you are experiencing withdrawal from the serotonin reuptake inhibition as it fits well with the one week time lapse you described. I wouldn't expect a sudden change as you have to gives Remeron some time to work but meanwhile even tho it might be affecting you right now you are also tapering from the Celexa so keep that in mind.

I would give some time for Remeron to work as I believe it's a good antidepressant while tapering off slowly from the Celexa which might be the problem here as you are describing what sounds like a withdrawal from it.

You say you are taking Klonopin as well. Remeron can enhance the effect of the Klonopin as it's affecting all benzodiazepines. It is still safe to use Celexa tho while being on Remeron and Klonopin.

So my thoughts are that the withdrawal symptoms are normal considering all the mentioned above factors and you will know if Remeron works for you once you have gone thru the withdrawal process which can last for a while if you keep reducing your dose while activating the 5-HT receptors but they normally don't suggest a sudden stop of an SSRI and it's very not recommended if you been a while on it which is more than 6 months (everyone is different tho but a good 6 months is enough to make your brain chemistry adapt to the reuptake inhibition which would explain the symptoms described).

M4