Dangers Of Mirtazapine (Page 13)

It seems to me that Mirtazapine is a potentially dangerous drug with little information known about it. My veterinarian prescribed this drug in small quantities for my cat as an appetite stimulant, so I began reading articles on the drug and its effects. Although it is supposed to be used as an antidepressant for humans, it has a wide reputation for causing suicidal tendencies in children and young adults. It causes weight gain (the side effect my vet was looking for in my cat's case). It also can cause feelings of depression, and wooziness. I spoke with a nurse who took it and she said the effects of sluggishness and dizziness lasted 2 to 3 days. It can also cause nausea and headaches. It seems to me that these side effects are anything but what a person who is already depressed should be feeling. (suicidal tendencies that they didn't originally have, feeling tired and unwell physically, and weight gain that could cause feelings of insecurity or increased depression) Giving this drug to my cat was the worst thing I ever did. About an hour after administering it to her, she began crying, looking confused, and she could not walk straight. We figured the effects would wear off, but they seemed to worsen. The next day she was holding her head down, walking in circles (trying to walk straight) and she could not focus her eyes. We brought her to the emergency animal hospital, and they called a poison center. Even the poison center had so little information on this drug (especially being prescribed to cats) that they did not know how to counteract the effects. We believe that the drug actually caused a mild stroke in our cat, and the vet said this looked like it might be the case. On top of that, it has a 72 hour half life, so we just had to wait the drug out for her to even feel better. If this drug could cause a mild stroke in my cat, I could only imagine what it could also do to a human. With so little knowledge of the effects, and such long-lasting effects, it seems to me that it is a dangerous and harmful drug for doctors to be prescribing. A few years from now, when it actually is studied more, I bet that it will be taken off the market as another one of those trial drugs that did not work out. Until then, how many people (and animals) will it harm?

REPLY

REPORT

Do your research and you will find out . I've researched for many many months , good I did or my cat would Not be alive now ..

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Cats need protein (a fact ) but CKF cats need good quality meat , not meat by products .. Organic is very good , also should be grain free or can give raw cat food found in frig at pet stores( my cat wouldn't eat it ), or there r many recipes online to make your own cat food .. But limiting protein does result in muscle wasting . Be an advocate for your cat and Research !!!! Vets don't know everything and consult internist and do research themselves but to what degree depends on the vet ..

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

My cat had a seizure and I think the drug caused it too. He took it only twice and then it happened. Time will tell if he never has another seizure again.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Vets still widely use this med . so sad to hear this news about your cat . And vets think it is safe to use . I too was given a prescription for my cat , but after extensive research I did Not give this med to her . However her appeptite is better . My cats life threatening issue for months was extreme anemia .. Due to being given Epogen . She had antibody reaction it too . I opted for transfusions , and now 7 months later , her body is producing red cells !!!Has been for several months !! The internal doc , I finally took her too was amazed . I learned so so much researching on my own . Had I Not my cat would be dead . The extreme anemia resulted in a heart murmur and she still has 2 kidney stones , . Hopefully her stones will remain inactive ! We take it one day at a time and I'm always researching !!! She is Not on a low protein diet either , She gets can food with animal protein Not vegetable protein ,, and without grains .. Lots of information on what cats should really be eating !!!!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

My cat has been taking Mirtazapine for 10 days 1/4th of a 15mg tablet. He is completely disoriented, walks around the house all day as if lost ir he hides, his balance is off, doesn't remember how to get on or off of the bed, etc. He hasn't purred or meowed in days. I am mad at my vet for not telling me about the side affects. Will he get back to normal after a few days off the drug? Is there anything I can do to detox him?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I got this from Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Kidney Disease:

"A few years ago I heard from a lady whose CKD cat had an extremely severe reaction to mirtazapine, and since the medication takes a long time to clear from the cat's body, her cat's reaction lasted for around three days. A poison centre was unable to offer any suggestions, so she just had to wait for the drug to work its way out of her cat's system. I have since learnt that when cats react badly to mirtazapine, it is often because their bodies are creating too much of a hormone called serotonin. Mirtazapine is supposed to stop serotonin being bound to receptors in nerve cells, but this may cause too much serotonin to accumulate in the cat's brain instead, which leads to a condition called serotonin syndrome. Symptoms of serotonin syndrome include a fast heart rate, hypertension (including dilated pupils), excessive vocalisation (meowing loudly or howling), being "spaced out", walking strangely, stumbling, pacing up and down, breathing problems such as panting or breathing very fast, and agitation. Although this reaction is not common, I have since heard from several other people whose cat experienced it, so be aware of the possibility, and be sure to start with a really small dose. Mar Vista Vet mentions that the risk of serotonin syndrome is higher if you are using a painkiller called tramadol at the same time.

The antidote for serotonin syndrome caused by mirtazapine is actually another drug commonly used as an appetite stimulant in cats, cyproheptadine. Treatment of the serotonin syndrome with cyproheptadine (1998) Graudins A, Stearman A & Chan B The Journal of Emergency Medicine 16(4) pp615-9 explains more about this. One possible dose would be 2mg given twice within the first 24 hours, followed by 1 mg given twice daily for the next 48 hours; but do not give this without your vet's knowledge and approval. I would recommend actually taking your cat to the vet if you think s/he is suffering from serotonin syndrome because other treatments such as IV fluids may also be necessary."


Hope this helps...

Patricia

REPLY

Was this helpful? 3

If your cat has kidney issues, it's at a greater risk from the potential side effects of this drug. The cat's body is less able to tolerate/utilize the drug and it's harder for the cat's body to eliminate it from the body.

Serotonin syndrome is more likely in cats with CKD, and it is one of the rare side effects of mirtazapine. The syndrome can be fatal. (Please do some research on serotonin syndrome.) Vets should explain this risk to owners of cats with CKD instead of just handing the drug over to owners with dosage instructions.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 2

The vets say it is safe , don't give any warnings about side effects . You need to do your own research , for sure. An internal doc and 3 other vets have assured me this drug is safe !! But I still refused to give it to my cat .her appetite is up and down but she is stable . She has kidney stones . She almost died when the first vet I took her to when she originally got sick , told me kidney disease and starting her on an EPO ! I never received any warnings about this drug . !!! As a result she almost died when her red blood count was 7!!! I opted for transfusions against the vets recommendations - put her to sleep !! 4 transfusions later , a diagnosis of stones from internal doc ,( i took her too ) and her body finally began to produce red blood cells again after antibody reaction dissipated .. I did sooo much research and learned so much !!! It has been 9 months since that horrible day that that vet said she must be put to sleep !!! It has cost me a fortune , but it was worth it ,, her blue eyes r still shinning . The Orginal doc - was suppose to be a very excellent vet , made many errors in his treatment of my cat ,, I discovered these errors thru my extensive research !!!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Your supposed to give 1/4 of the tablet every 72 hours. You gave the whole thing.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Who are you talking to? What I've read is 1/4 of the tablet from all contributers to this forum. No one said they gave their pet the whole tablet. Read carefully.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Be VERY VERY VERY careful with Mirtazapine. This product has NO authorization from the FDA in cats which means that there has been NO safety clinical trial conducted on this product on ANY animal. I am not the one who says that, I had that from the FDA that I contacted after my cat has been overdosed with this product by the whole team of incompetent veterinarians of University of California Davis school of veterinary medicine ( Dr Sykes, Hoareau, Farrell, Zacuto, Stern AND the dean Dr Lairmore)! So if you are in California, keep away from these people, they are dangerously incompetent; and be very careful with mirtazapine. There are other products less dangerous, above all on cats with kidney disease. Mirtazapine is eliminated at 75% by the kidneys and cats with kidney disease have a higher creatinin which makes the elimination of the product even slower. Hence the risk of accumulation of this product. After being given one 15 mg pill ( 4 times the dose he should have had) my cat ended up in ICU for 4 days with a blood transfusion. Of course the irresponsible staff at UC Davis ( including the dean LAIRMORE and the chancellor KATEHI ) refused to cover the expenses of the palliative care EVEN if they acknowledge the overdose ( basically it is "your cat came to us with a diagnosis already done, of a pathology that could be managed, referred for an exam and ends up dying but you will pay for our mistakes). My cat is dying. Because of lousy veterinarians at UC Davis but because this dangerous medication also. The vets blah blah saying that no one ever died from mirtazapine is true BUT my cat has irreversible nervous aftereffects, worse, this product has worsened his cardiac and kidneys diseases dramatically. He is terminal. SO he did not die on the spot but he will be dead soon from a bunch of other stuff triggered by this product.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

How awful !! My cat also had 4 transfusions , but it was bc the vet put her on an EPO and didn't monitor her blood levels enough and didn't tell me about the deadly side effects either . But that was almost one year ago , She has stones and gets sub q fluids daily . However , her appetite is effected but I've managed to deal with the up n down appetite issue and refused to use mirtazipine .. After what we've been through I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of giving her this pill . I was directed to give 1/4 every other day . Which of course I didn't do . She is holding her own . I'd like to c her gain a little more weight but she hasn't lost any and is around 7.7, her lowest was 6.5, but she is a petite kitty , I hope ur cat pulls through this horrible ordeal , keep us posted ! .

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

My wife and I just back from the emergency vet after a bad reaction to mirtazapine. We woke up this morning to our cat howling, back arched, panting, and drooling. Had a terrible time getting him in the carrier. We had given him half of a 15mg pill as prescribed by our vet (who also didn't mention any risk at all). I see most people here say 1/4 a pill every 3 days. The prescription actually said half a pill twice a day! Thank God we only gave him one dose. This seems like medical malpractice to me.

He is on fluids, Benadryl, cyproheptadine, and getting oxygen right now. I'm just praying he pulls through. I'm absolutely shocked at what has happened what I've read here.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Hello,
I pray for you cat to recover. Mine NEVER did. Too bad I have no possibility to show you a video but when he shakes his head, he throws himself on the floor. But if you want to go on yelp I have posted his medical report in the pictures and I will post a video soon. The product mirtazapine by itself is DANGEROUS because it is not meant for animals and the vets who are saying that it is safe are frauds and liars because I have a letter from the FDA saying that NO safety study has EVER been conducted on this product on cats or any animal at large. I happen to be clinical research associate so I know for a fact that all trials have to be filed with the FDA and reviewed by an ethics committee, so IF there was ONE official study, it would be in their record. I can provide you with all the details if you want to take the vet to court. Just answer here and I will give you all the information you need to hold them accountable.

My husband is in the military and having been abroad for a long time, I can only recommend you to be VERY careful with vets in America. They are BY FAR FAR FAR the worst we have ever seen ( and we have been living in Africa, Europe, Asia, etc), the best being in France and in England. Vets boards in the US are ran by the vets themselves and wolves don't eat wolves, besides, a pet is considered an object like a table or a chair, therefore there is little to no damage to recover for malpractice and these people know it. No accountability leads to lousy practice. My cat is still alive but on oxygen 20 hours per day and his pronostic is a matter of days. UC Davis School of veterinary charlatanism do not take ownership for the aftermath of their malpractice. The chancellor KATEHI is even worse, she has no honor and no leadership ( no wonder why UC Davis has such a high rate of rape!). If I had done something like that to anyone, I would be all over the place to fix my mess but these people have no honor no pride.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

How terrible about your cat , glad u went to the emergency facility . I research Everything before I give my cat . I t was a miracle she didn't die after having an antibody reaction to Epigen !!!!!! I was so tramatized n upset about that entire ordeal that I researched and researched for months and I'm very very cautious about everything that I give her ..

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Nope nope the half life is 20 to 40 hours BUT the product is eliminated by the kidneys at 75% so for a cat with a kidney disease and a high creatinine, the elimination is much slower.

FYI Half life= the time it takes for the body to eliminate 50 % of the product.

Now if you want to know why your cat had a stroke or much more problems, here is the full FDA file:

fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/04/briefing/2004-4065b1-26-tab11G-Remeron-Tabs-SLR016.pdf

Read that, print it and have a good talk with your vet because they don't know half of what is in that file! Good luck

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Hope ur cat is better ! That medicine is like an antidote to the reaction to mirtazipine . So you've done everything possible to save ur kitty . Give us an update soon .

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Thanks for the prayers and well wishes, guys. We moved our cat to the normal vet from the ER today and he is doing much better. The Cyproheptadine seemed to help for sure. It's a bit of a miracle as he was comatose, panting, and drooling. The ER vet admitted he thought he was going to die.

Thank you guys very much for this thread. My ER vet lead to the same conclusion I got from the info here, but this thread really helped make me aware and confirmed that the treatment was proper.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Great news !! Soooo happy to hear this news !! ! Getting your baby immediate Help is what saved him . You really have to do lots of research , there are good and bad vets same as any other medical profession . And some much more knowledgeable and up to date than others . These babies can't speak so we must advocate for them to get the Best ! My Keefe is truly a miracle kitty and I ended up deciding what to do based on my research , after the vet almost killed her. !!! Breaks my heart to read all these horror stories. No one questions the vets and don't check out prescribed meds before giving and neglect to ASK lots of questions .. If you don't like the vets attitude and answers . Find another VET ,, it may be the difference between life and death for these babies

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I am so sorry to give a horrible night to my cat and a horrible night for me as well. I hardly managed myself last night. I have panic attack problem myself. My cat was sick and I took him to emergency vet the other day. He had loss of appetite for long time. Vet doctor gave him an appetite stimulant Mirtazapine. Last night first time I gave him 1/4 of the tablet. About an hour later my kindest cat in the world became like an angry lion. He started crying. He was so restless, he started breathing hard, his eyes became weird, he became lost, confused and so many other things. Oh my God. This is a crime. Use of this medication should be banned for cats or any animals immediately.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I started on 15mg mirtazapine 7 weeks ago and titrated up after 4 weeks to 30mg for 1 week; then back down to 15mg for t...

3 REPLIES

Hi I took the 30mg on tuesday evening took 3 hours to kick in slept okay but the day after was very unwell so I was to f...

1 REPLY

My partner took a very large overdose of mirtazapine a few days ago, he vomited some of them back but has since been ver...

1 REPLY

started tapering off Mirtazapine 4 weeks ago. Crazy dreams have been less, appetite good, felt nausea first 2 weeks like...

1 REPLY

can anyone advise me how to reduce my dosage from 45mg down ## Hello, Tommie! How are you? You should follow you doctor&...

1 REPLY

How to taper off 15mg of mirtazapine.....take 7.5 mg for awhile???? Slept great. I am 71, healthy but have mild groggine...

2 REPLIES

what affects am I likly to get from going off 3 and a half, 30mg. Mirtazapine. I have been on them for a long time. How ...

1 REPLY

## I started taking 15 mg of Mirtazapine a month ago and for anxiety, feelings of fear and worry and depression. I’...

5 REPLIES

I am a 33 year old male. I've been a low self esteem person from childhood. Due to some family tensions before my ma...

1 REPLY

My doctor (who I don't have much confidence in) prescribed a combination of 40mg Escitalopram (Lexapro), 200mg Clomi...

1 REPLY