Dangers Of Mirtazapine (Page 9)

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?

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I don't mean to sound unsensitive, but, did you have an autopsy performed on your cat? How do you know the stroke was a direct cause of the drug. Of course, I know only we know our furry babies better than anyone (even vets)... just wondering if it's something you strongly believe or if it was somehow confirmed. I would just hate to have people scared of a drug that can truly be, in many instances, truly beneficial to other cats. Nonetheless, sorry to hear about your terrible loss.

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As soon as they gave him the drug he fell on his side and couldn't walk (stroke) he is not the only one check the internet which is what I should have done before I let them give him drug.

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Oh my gosh. I hope your Vet didn't prescribe 15 mg for your little cat! That dose would be lethal! That's a dose that a 150 lb person would take. My Vet just prescribed 0.5 mg for my 45 lb dog and told me that max dose for her was ONE MG. That Vet killed your cat. Accidentally I'm sure but he/she did nonetheless I'm sorry to say.

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This message is for Becky. After reading your last post I now understand that your Vet did prescribe 15 mg for your cat. As you now know, that dose was lethal for your cat because that's a dose a 150 lb person would take. My Vet just prescribed 0.5 mg for my 45 lb dog and told me that the max dose for her was 1 mg. So that Vet killed your cat. Accidentally I'm sure but he/she did it nonetheless I'm sorry to say.

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I have a 50 lb dog who suddenly developed pancreatitis and stopped eating. She was prescribed 0.5 mg of Mirtazapine once a day. The first day I gave it to her she started eating again. Then I guess her pancreas flared up worse the next day so she wouldn't eat again. I then gave her 1 mg of Mirtazapine but it made her throw up and she wouldn't eat. But 2 days later, she started eating again for a day or two. Then she stopped eating again. So I gave her 2 mg of Mirtazapine which was apparently a huge mistake. She became extremely drowsy (stumbling like she was drunk), then very lethargic (she wouldn't/couldn't seem to move at all), both pupils were very dilated, her pulse was very rapid, and she was breathing SIXTY to SEVENTY times a minute! I really thought she was going to die at that point. This went on for TWO solid days and nights. I felt so bad for her. The Vet said there was nothing that could be done to help her. I knew she was struggling but I didn't think she was suffering although I did think about having her put down but I decided to give her one more day and then FINALLY, the next morning when I woke up she was once again her perky self! She ate a good amount of food that morning too. I obviously stopped the Mirtazapine and she has done fairly well ever since. Her pancreatitis seems to be slowly getting better each day and her appetite is slowly returning. So the moral of this is to BE CAREFUL when giving drugs to your pets. I was told that my dog could SAFELY have up to 10 mg a DAY! Obviously NOT! I believe we are very lucky that she didn't die from that 2 mg dose of Mirtazapine!

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i accidentally killed my cat with mirtazapine 3 days ago. about 5 years ago she had a spinal cord injury. at that time we detected a heart murmer. 2 years later she had a urinary hematoma and realized she had hyperthyroidism at 18.2. that was 2008-2009 and she was 11-12 years of age. her creatinine was 2-2.5. i treated her with radio iodine but it took a long time to work. i gave her too much of a dose of methimazole to start (while waiting for the appointment and trial on it) and she scratched her face. so after treattment i stopped giving her that while waiting for the radio iodine to work. 3 months later her T4 values went from 18 to 7. so it didn't work fast enough. as a result from the hypertension he got a dissecting aortic aneurysm. i put her back on the methimazole starting at lower doses of 2.5 mg then built up to 5mg (i forget exactly but starting slow made her not scratch her face). and after a few more months (6 months or more total, the radio iodine took longer to work cause her T4 values were so high) the radio iodine took full effect. for the next 2-3 years i gave her amlodipine1.2 mg (12 hrs), lisinopri 1.2mg (24 hours), and 2.5 mg methimazole (12 hours).

she did well, her dissecting aortic aneurysm never burst, her heart started recieving more blood. but i didn't manage the CRF well. i never really put her on hills k/d for those 3-4 years. so about a 1-1.5 yrs ago her creatinine went from 3-5 (i couldn't be sure on the reading) then i blew off the vet's advice. i brought her back in may and the creatinine said three but by stopping the lisinopril i think i made it say 3. i think she lasted 7 months on a bad diet with a creatinine of 5. her quality of life was pretty good during that time tho.

it's hard to keep track of all the timelines. she had been losing weight but with the spinal cord injury it was hard to tell if she was just walking funny. on sep 20 this year i noticed she had a real problem. i thought it was an edema from the sub-q fluids but her creatinine was 10 and BUN around 150. we gave her 5 days of IV's and got it down to 6.5 but it went back to 8. on oct 23 i brought her back and her creatinine was 18 and BUN 227 (i should've out the feeding tube in back then). i couldn't bear to euthanize yet so we 5 more days in ICU we of IV's we got her from 18 to 10 and BUN from 227 to 117. i brought her back 5 days later to change check her feeding tube and her creatinine went from 10-12. to tell you the tuth she could actully function with a creatinine over 10. but i can't tell you how long she would've. it all happened really fast.

i was given mirtazapine on sep 23 and used it a few times. i was aware of the side effects. and she did seem to freak the first hour it was given the 2 times i gave it.

for some stupid reason even after having a feeding tube, on nov 2 i decided to slip in 1/4 of a 15mg mirazapine tablet. mostly because she look depressed. her heart was way already worked. after 10 minutes she went to the litter box started having trouble breathing, threw up (which looked a little bloody) and then really started having trouble beathing and then died within 4 minutes from either the aneurysm finally breaking after all this time or heart failure.

in addition to the 2 instances of IV's she also had a blood transfusion. im sure these things weakened the aneurysm. i fed her at 10:30 am thru the feeding tube 65ml of hill k/d and 30 ml water, i also gave her 20 mls water before and after. 3 hours later at 1:30 pm i gave her some azodyl (which she wasn't used to yet) and the 1/4 15mg mirtazapine. another possibility is she got shortness of breath while puking and then choked.

but she had blood in her mouth, she puked some blood. im hoping that she died from the aneurysm bursting from a side effect of mirtazapine. and that it was quick and less painful. but it sucked. her creatinine was so high i should've put her to sleep the week before.and helped her cross the rainbow bridge more peacefully.

the bottom line is if your cat has an aneurysm or heart disease (level 4-5 murmer) there's a good chance you can accidentally euthanize them with this drug.

my email is xxxxx@xxx {edited for privacy}. i rambled a lot, but if you have any questions related to the somehting simlilar i might be able to help.

this drug has so many side effects for cats, it's just not worth it unless you use very small dosages. a feeding tube it much better and easier.

ps. trust me i know about cause and effect and connecting it correctly. my cat would've died soon, and i was being cruel keeping her alive like this. i didn't mean to end it that way. but was was probably for the best it happened like this instead of making her suffer thru the next week of some bad and fatal azotemia.

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I'm so sorry. I know how you feel. With what you went thru you can tell you really loved your baby. See post 145 this is what I went thru. Wasn't easy.

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my cat didn't get jaundiced. she went from 8-9 pounds to 6 pounds over 8 months. losing most in the last month. i should've noticed earlier. once they start looking skinney to you it's time to spend more time.

i looked for hepatic lipidosis, she never got it even after barely eating anything for a weak.

look, obviously mirtazapine is useful. you have to give it in small dosages. you have to make sure she gets stuff like amlodipine and plavix if there's heart problems first, before you give it. start with a dose of .5mg over for a few weeks. it's always best to introduce drug slowly. and don't ever go over 1mg, especially on an older cat with cardio problems.

and again, a feeding tube is better. this drug is not useful when there are other more effective alternatives.

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First, I am so sorry for those who have lost their precious pets. I would like to suggest an alternative to Mirtazapine as an appetite stimulant - Cyproheptadine. It is an antihistamine that is also used for anorexic humans as well as animals. It has been around a long time. Some on here have tried it or tried it & it worked for awhile but then not so well (I imagine as their pets illness worsened), hence trying Mirtazapine. I, however, have read enough here to know I am leery of the latter. Cyproheptadine works very well too as an appetite stimulant (given in the proper Vet prescribed dose). Those who have not tried it, may want to give it a try.

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Thank u for this info.

I am a psychologist, & over the years, several of my clients w refractory depression have been prescribed mirtazapine (Remeron). They all put on a significant amount of weight, but no one's depression seemed to remit at all.

I have also had myriad cats on this drug (when cyproheptadine failed to boost their appetite). Fortunately, they did not seem to experience what ur cat went thru, but the medication did nothing to increase their appetite. It sounds like u love ur cat a lot, & I'm sorry u & she had to go thru that.

Incidentally, what HAS worked as an appetite stimulant w 2 of my cats (w hyperthyroidism, tho that is perhaps irrelevant) is prednisolone (1.25 mg BID). Obviously, I have no idea what else is/was going on w your kitty other than inappetance, but it might b worth a conversation w ur vet(s), at least (some vets seem to fairly adamantly oppose pred for fear of diabetes).

In any event, I hope your cat is better -- or at least stable -- & I wish the two of u absolutely the best.

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Becky, I just stumbled on your post today, after my cat has had a bad reaction to an antibiotic (in our case, ClindaCure) for nasal infection of unknown cause and stopped eating, so she was prescribed 1/4 pill of Mirtazapine. The vet administered it herself, before I had a chance to research it. I'm HORRIFIED that your poor cat was given an entire pill and am SO sorry for everything that happened to you and your cat. I know that awful feeling of grief and sorrow and guilt, wishing you could turn back time and have a do-over. I'm so, so sorry. I'm still hoping my girl will pull thru and be somewhat back to normal. Thank you for posting your experience & helping others learn from it. <3

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I am glad, I think, to have found this post. I had a 17 year old kitty whom I had loved and cared for since she was a kitten. She was diagnosed with Hyperthyroid several years ago and we had been managing it well with pills. About 6 months ago she began to fight with me on the pill so after a bit we moved to a transdermal gel which I could rub on her inner ear flap. This was great and less stressful however it took us almost this past six months to find a therapeutic level for her. As a result she had been steadily losing weight. The vets had administered mirtazapine to her once a few months back when she had an infection in her gums (too old to have her teeth cleaned as they were concerned she would not come out of the anesthia) and resluted in her losing her appetite. They gave me more to give her (1/4 pill every three days) but she never needed it again. On Chistmas Eve (just over a week ago) I had spoken to her vet who suggested I give her a 1/4 tab that I had to stimulate her appetite as whereas she is finally at a therapeutic dose for her thyroid medication, she had lost a lot of weight in getting there. I gave her the pill after getting off the phone with the vet and within minutes she was yowling and throwing up. Within a half an hour she had an "episode" of some sort which if I had to guess it was a seizure/stroke??. Within another half an hour she had another one. I had talked to the vet after the first episode who said it didn't sound like the medication but cautioned to not give it to her again despite the likelihood she threw most of it up. I gave her the day to try to recover. She was sluggish, whiney and yowly at times. She moved very little and was not appearing comfortable at all. Her pupils were dialated and she seemed very weak. Her left side was barely working and her hindquarters especially. I offered her water and she showed interest, tried to sit up but wobbled and just laid back down, wherever she laneded, she did not have the strength to position herself so she was at the mercy of gravity. By 10pm that night I called the vets as I was concerned she was in pain and giving up hope she just needed to recover. Long story, not so short, I ended up making the decision to let her go. The vet discovered she was blind and/or brain damaged and confirmed she was in a lot of pain. She suggested it could be from the medication and they could keep her comfortable for the night to see what the next day brought but I couldn't bare the thought of her being in pain for another minute. there had also been indication of the possibility of cancer in past blood screenings so I really had no idea what I was up against, but my gut told me it wasn't good. This was not a clear cut decision on my part and was much more difficult than a past decision that was pretty black and white. I am greatful for finding this post as people have described exactly what I expereinced with her. I am discomforted in learning that maybe I should have given her a day to recover. I don't blame the vets, they were only doing what they thought would be helpful and the medication, if fact, had been in the past. I do find myself second guessing my decision, but I have to remind myself that she had a great life and we had a great one together. And now she is over the Rainbow Bridge where she can hear and see again and is spending lazy hunting days for the rest of eternity.

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Dear MissHer, I'm SOOO sorry ... when I last posted, I still had hope for my kitty and was still convinced that it was either the Clindacure or the mirtazapine making her sick, but she rapidly got worse, as you described w/ your kitty: she got weaker, less able to walk, eventually unable to stand, pupils dilated, blind, according to the 1st emergency vet that I took her to... he STILL couldn't find anything wrong w/ her after xrays & thorough bloodwork, sent us home. That night she started having seizures, couldn't stand or get to the litterbox. I took her back to emergency, they did a CT scan, and found that something had eaten a hole thru the bone between her nasal sinus & her brain and her brain was now badly inflamed. She had cystitis (sp?) when she was very young, and later some dental infection and for the past 2-3 years recurring sinus infections. Though ea infection was treated to completion w/ various kinds of antibiotics, the vet suspects that she had some kind of very strong, horrible bacteria that was never completely killed off by antibiotics. So ... maybe it wasn't the drugs that killed her, just amazing coincidence of timing that she got so sick at the exact same time I started the clindacure, and my stopping it probably contributed to her demise... I try so hard to do right by my pets, and then things like this happen, and I feel like just giving up. :(

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I currently have a dog on mirtazapine 15mg once a day. He has liver cancer and is doing good. He was diagnosed one year ago at 14 1/2 years of ago and was in great shape then.
In reading some of these posts it seems to me that cats have a a bearded time on this drug than dogs. I wonder if it is in the dosing or in the drug itself? This drug is not new only newly prescribed on the vet field. You can not read the side effects on this drug And equate them to animals. Unfortunately we have to trust our vets when they prescribe drugs because we can do little except go to forums like this to find out about side effects.
Some times we only see the bad and sad stories on these sites. It this is one story that so far has ended well.

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Sorry did not proof read and the word is harder not bearded

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I have to say that it sickens me to death how people murder their pets and package it as a compassionate act. There is no excuse for what you did. Would you have done the same for your children or would have wanted someone doing this to you? These animals have a life that is precious to them. Who are you to decide to take it away from them so easily as if they are disposable? People like this should not be allowed to have pets in my view.

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Rachel what the heck are you talking about? Nobody here takes our pet's lives carelessly and without great thought and love. I don't know what you are replying too. Please explain.

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15 mgs of remeron (mirtzapine) seems like way too much..too me, and it was terrible for my cat. clomiprimine works wonderfully for both of my cats with kidney disease.

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Be careful, this medicine can have side affects and they are not rare. They are not side affects, they are direct affects from the medicine. I too slept like a baby. They trip a switch in the hypothalamus... this is where sleep is regulated... the pill also trips the switch on appetite as it is also regulated here. You will not notice an increase in appetite at first. 6 to 10 weeks in your appetite will go ravenous, you will not recognize it and will not be able to control it. Average weight gain on this medicine is up to 50 pounds in a 4 month period. Watch out for your hair thinning and falling out in clumps in the shower.

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I lost my beautiful 17 year old persian kitty Simba last weekend after giving him 1/4 of a 15mg tablet of Mirtazapine. I know it was the Mirtazapine that killed him regardless of all the other reasons that people and vets have tried to come up with. Simba was a healthy active little guy - he had become a picky eater after his prescription food had been changed. Two days before the Mirtazapine all his test results came back normal, in fact the vet said his levels were awesome for a cat his age. The vet recommended mirtazapine to try to get his appetite back to normal and I blindly followed her advice even though I did ask if there were any negative side effects. She told me there were none. An hour after I gave him the drug he started with all the symptoms that were described by others in this forum. I called an after-hours emergency hospital and they told me it was serotonin syndrome and it should subside by morning. The howling, staggering and restlessness went on all night, it was one of the worst nights of my life watching him suffer and not being able to help him. Over the next couple of days Simba's symptoms worsened to the point that he had what appeared to be a stroke - completely paralyzed on his left side, blindness, walking in circles, walking into walls. I rushed him to the animal hospital where again another vet knew nothing about the drug or the antidote but did look it up when I explained it to her and administered the antidote. By the next morning Simba was unresponsive and had to be euthanized. I was and still am devastated about this and I'm very very angry that vets are prescribing this drug that they seemingly know nothing about. I would like to take action about this but I'm not quite sure how. I will submit a complaint to the college of veterinarians but I doubt that that will do anything. Does anyone have any other ideas or has anyone tried to take action in any other way? I hate the thought that other pets and their owners will suffer the same tragic loss because they put their faith in an uninformed veterinarian.

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