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[Noestrogen]

Should say that although I say that I didnt notice any great improvement in daytime anxiety.....thats maybe not fair. I did feel a hell of a lot better because I wasnt surviving on 2 hours sleep a night. I just meant that it didnt completely solve my anxiety. Im really grateful the GP prescribed it. Its the reason Im alive.

[Gilla999]

It's the reason I'm alive too.. I echo those words totally. Nothing is a magic bullet without side effects or down sides, but my insomnia was so severe and serious that I literally wouldn't be here if the doc hadn't prescribed it for me, as absolutely nothing else worked.

I am in the process of switching to Trazodone (becauss of the massive weight gain) and although it's as effective at sending me to sleep I'd say it's not as effective as Mirt for keeping me asleep throughout the night. I have to take another quarter of a pill when I wake at 3am. That's no big deal though and will be worth it if I can lose the Mirt weight. So jealous of anyone on Mirt who didn't gain weight! And nice to hear others positive stories from it

[Noestrogen]

Gilla,  people with normal metabolisms, on this drug, have my total sympathy.

The only reason I didnt really gain weight wasnt because of any kind of will-power, it was because Im 'naturally' really thin. And in a horrible angular, boney, ill-looking way!

When younger, I was always over-eating, desperately trying to gain weight, to no effect. But this drug did something to my metabolism that meant I (briefly) was able to retain some extra fat. For the first time in my life I looked almost normal and it was fantastic! But my metabolism corrected itself and reversed it agggrrrr 

I used to joke with friends that we should develope a 'fat swap' procedure where it was sucked out of their desired areas and pumped into me. This was before liposuction became a thing. I think its possible to do that for our own fat, redistributing it, but I wonder if its possible to donate it to someone else  Hmmmmm   

[nattyd]

Hi, a quick update since my last post

I've started taking 7.5mg of Mirtazapine and it is really helping with my sleep, enough to help me to nod off and to stay calm enough to get back to sleep if I wake in the night. I have had a bit of daytime drowsiness but not too troublesome - just grateful to be getting some rest. I have gained about 2lbs in three weeks, but to be fair I am eating more as I am generally happier, less tired and anxious, so will keep an eye on this.

I also had my private meno appt which found that my estradiol level was just 91. Apparently it should be c. 400 on hrt.  So it seems that I am not absorbing from my oestrogel. The consultant has encouraged me to persevere with the oestrogel as she believes it to be the safest and most effective if you can get it to work for you. She has advised that I apply 2-3 pumps to inner thighs in the morning and another 2-3 pumps to inner thighs early evening. Tbh I probably hadn't previously been patient enough with allowing the oestrogel to absorb fully. I have found that for me this takes at least 20 minutes to be fully dry, so at the  moment it seems that I am spending a lot of time walking around the house in my pants waiting for gel to absorb!
I have been advised to do this for four weeks and then return for another blood test and if my estradiol level is not in the region of 400 then I may need to change to oral hrt. The consultant mentioned Bijuve if I need to go down the oral route.

So far the combo of increased oestrogel and the mirtazapine is really helping. Not quite feeling 'normal' but loads better than I was
xx

[Nas]

Hey Nat,
Sounds like you are heading in the right direction.

Does the mirtazapine make you constipated by any chance? It did me a few times, but my sleep is so poor again, I may trial it again. Don’t want to be constipated though!

Fingers crossed you continue feel well x

[Gilla999]

Noestrogen I feel for you - it's no easier being super skinny if you feel unhappy with it, and in some ways I imagine it's harder to be taken seriously over! If you're ever looking for a fat swap volunteer, here I am 

Nat, so glad to hear you're doing a little better. Just to say, a level of circa 400 would be WAY too low for me - I need it to be at least 700 to feel well, though I wonder if this is because I have high SHBG, so less Estrogen is actually available to my cells. So really the level you need varies enormously, but certainly 90 is very low! I'm curious as to why they want you to stick with oestrogel over any other HRT - as far as I am aware it is no more safer than the patch for example, and you may absorb that better and avoid all the drying time! It is of course safer than oral HRT which uses non body identical estrogen, which is what she may have meant.

Nas I suffer from terrible constipation but it's hormone related and began when I started HRT - I didn't find that Mirt gave me it, just in case that helps. I really hope you start to feel better soon xx

[Stella2]

I took Mirtazepine for 6 months, initially for insomnia and anxiety. It helped with sleep but I felt numb. I also gained some weight. Tapering off was not easy and I developed IBS too and my anxiety became a big issue, but that might have been coincidence. But we are all different, if it was for sleep and anxiety I wouldn't recommend it, but that's just my experience.

[Gilla999]

Coming off it is notoriously hard and I can only taper at 10% every 3 weeks (I have the liquid version) without getting withdrawal symptoms (some people are much more able to tolerate the symptoms though, I'm just a baby!). Having said that my brother in law who takes it has managed to stop relatively quickly without any problems so I do think it just depends. I also have to taper slowly off SSRIs so it's not particular to Mirt (for me).

[nattyd]

So far no constipation from the Mirtazapine, though I do only take 7.5mg and take a daily probiotic supplement and drink lots of water - not sure if this helps.

I am concerned about the withdrawal when the time comes and this nearly stopped me from taking the mirtazapine, but after horrible experiences with sertraline and citalopram, and simply not being able to function on two hours sleep a night, mirtazapine has been a live-saver and I'll have to cross the withdrawal bridge when the time is right.

I'm not sure why the consultant was so keen for me to stick with oestrogel over any other HRT - I was so sleep deprived when I had my appointment, I didn't really question anything but I will ask when I have my next appt.

[Gilla999]

I wouldn't worry too much about the coming off it - I've been on a slow taper for quite some time... yes it's a pain when you'd just like to stop it quickly but it's no hardship really - a small exchange to make for being well! And as long as you do taper slowly you'll be fine (I have no withdrawal at all from doing 10% every 3 weeks). And you may be one of the lucky ones who doesn't need to go so slowly!

Definitely worth asking about another method of HRT next time if you want to - I've seen lots of women here commenting that absorption of one product (eg patch vs gel or vice versa) was better for them, it seems to be quite unique. Good luck xxx

[Bevey]

I use Seroquel. It's also called Quetiapine. You need the immediate release formulation, and you take it right before bed. In the dose range of 12.5 to 100mg, it is used off label for sleep. I've used 50mg every night for years, and it's been brilliant for sleep. You might want to ask your doctor about it. Plus, I've had no side effects:)

[nattyd]

That's great information, thank you. Will ask about this at my follow up appointment.
Best wishes
Nat