Mirtazapine Helped - A Miraculous Drug

I appear for the defence , M'Lud. 

I was on SSRI antidepressants for some time.  They countered my extreme anxiety well, but I had bad insomnia probably caused by the  AD.  I tried various drugs for the insomnia (zopiclone,  amitriptyline etc) but with little success.   My doctor suggested mirtazapine but I declined as I had read about its weight gain side effect.  However eventually I changed my mind out of desperation.  The mirt was miraculous: it completely solved the insomnia.   I felt "normal" for the first time in months. 

"But what about the side effects" I hear you say.  Well, I did get back my appetite - but no more than it was before I became ill.   I gained a little weight, but no more than I had lost.

I did have difficulty getting up in the morning and feeling groggy after that, but those lessened with time. I take the minimum mirt that allows me to get to sleep - about 11 mg,  and I think that keeps the side effects down.

Mirtazapine is like a knife in that it is not evil in itself, it is how it is used that matters.   The people who say it is evil have perhaps been on the wrong dose.  Mirt tends to be more sedative at low doses; more activating at high doses.   Do not throw out the baby with the bath water!

I get the impression from reading posts on this forum that mirt is best used (at low dose) to counter insomnia or where an SSRI antidepressant has not been tolerated.