Dangers Of Mirtazapine (Page 22)
(Newest replies first)

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

Mirtazipine is relatively safe when used at low doses in felines for appetite stimulation. The above cat I believe had other issues, which were not caused by the mirtazipine. (black tarry stool is indicative of upper intestinal / gastric bleeding - and can be seen with lymphoplasmacytic diseases) It is a drug of last resort in cats that will not eat sufficient amounts to sustain themselves. And many of these cats will pass on due to the underlying disease. That being said each cat is individual and may react differently to each medication. Some cats have had fatal reactions to routine antibiotics. Please be cautious when posting as, although unfortunate for you and your cat, the medication works quite well in most cats with minimal to no side-effects.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 19

Update -- A couple of hours after my last post I took my cat to the emergency vet. His temp had dropped to 94 degrees, he was acutely anemic, his heart was very small in the x-ray, and he was getting shocky, according to the emergency doctor. His eyes were extremely dilated, he was yowling, seemed very uncomfortable and anxious. It was horrible and sad to watch. At noon I left him with the vet who said he should be okay after blood transfusions. At 4:30 the vet called to say he'd had an episode - that his heart had stopped and he'd stopped breathing. They were able to get his heart started again and he was breathing on his own but was unconscious. The vet hoped that if they continued the transfusions, he would respond. 15 minutes later the vet called again to say he'd passed. When I went to pick up his little body, I noticed black tarry looking stuff coming out of his behind. The vet said it was obvious the cat had been bleeding into his GI tract and that he'd bled out. Prior to this day, my cat had not had any history of GI problems. He was being treated for lymphocytic plasmacytic rhinitis -- a nasal disease. He'd had a blood test the week before and had a normal blood count at the time, and was not anemic at all. How he could suddenly bleed to death internally is a mystery. The only thing I can attribute it to at this time is that I gave him mirtazapine and 15 hours later he was dead. The vets insist that mirtazapine wouldn't have this effect and say they give it to their patients all of the time. I think they may be covering for each other. I think that the anxiety caused by the drug must have made my little guy's heart pound so much that he popped a blood vessel somewhere inside and then the blood continued pounding right out. Jennifer (above) says she thinks her cat had a stroke, which is one of the documented side effects of this drug, so why couldn't a blood vessle pop somewhere besides the brain? It was a horrible experience for my cat and for me. Please pass the word on to all you know that mirtazapine should be used with great caution on small animals. If my Abby died so other animals might be saved, then his death wouldn't be in vain. I feel his pain and the fear, confusion, and anxiety he experienced in his last hours were completely unnecessary. People - read up on drugs before you give them to your pets. I know I will from now on.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 6

The vet prescribed Mirtazapine 15 mg for my cat yesterday. Within an hour or two after giving him the first pill, he became anxious, seemed uncomfortable, disoriented, and started crying. He's been crying off and on all night so I've been trying to console him. We gave him this drug to try to stimulate his appetite after he had a bad reaction to Clavamox which caused him to quit eating. I stopped the Clavamox and about 15 hours later, he ate some turkey babyfood. Unusally a ravenous pig, he didn't want to eat anything else even five hours later so I decided to give him the Mirtazapine. Unfortunately, he's now having a very bad reaction. It scares me that Jennifer's cat seemed to have a stroke. I don't know how long this is going to last and don't know if I should take him to the vet again today. Right now I'm afraid to trust the vet again. No one told me the side effects and I stupidly didn't look them up. I've called the vet hospital and they were rather nonchalant about it and said the symptoms should go away. This pill has not made my cat eat at all so I'm now afraid he will go 72 hours without food, since that is the length this drug works. He's crying right now. I don't know what to do.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 4

Jennifer, We have used Mirtazapine on one of our cats after trying many other options, including a feeding tube. He had lost almost 9 pounds- down to 8.5 from 17... the dosage was 1\8 of a 15 mg tablet every 3 days, and even at that small dosage we noticed what seemed like nervousness the first day after giving him the medication. You did not mention what dosage you gave your cat, from your comment it would seem you gave too strong of a dose. Our vet warned us this was a dangerous drug if overdosed, and we used it with caution and it worked wonders for us, along with a lot of patience....

REPLY

Was this helpful? 6

Kate, please chill out. Some reputable vets prescribe mirtazapine for cats who are losing weight because of chronic health problems. That said, animal guardians are right to be concerned about their animals taking such a strong drug, given that there's no way to know how the animal is feeling (anxious? depressed? disoriented?) once on the drug. My vet, who is excellent in all other ways, has just prescribed this for my cat (weight loss from kidney trouble), and now that I know what it is and how strong the side effects can be, I have no intention of giving it to my cat. I would encourage other animal lovers to look for other alternatives; antidepressants are incredibly powerful drugs, the mechanisms of which are only partly understood, and the side effects can be debilitating. I know: Over the past 15 years, I've taken Prozac, Zoloft, nortriptaline, Lexapro, Celeca, Effexor, and Cymbalta, and I've experienced strong, albeit varied, side effects from each, and insufficient relief from each to warrant continuing any of them. I reiterate: I would *not* give mirtazapine, or any other antidepressant, to my animals under any circumstances.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 5

Luckily, I had enough mental capacity to stop taking Mirtazapine and recommend that everyone steer clear of this horrid medication. -quote

Excuse me, but you have no right to recommend anything.
I could say the same about many anti depressents but I dont, because its true...different medications work for different people.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 13

all anti depressants have risks of suicidal tendencies and increasing depression. if you feel that, the medicine is wrong for you and you just stop taking it and try a different one. obviously this was the wrong medicine for your CAT since the medicine was designed for HUMANS.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 3

Mirtazapine is the worst anti-depressant there is. I thought I knew what depression was, until I took Mirtazapine. It sent me into a downward spiral that resulted in me wanting to die. I can really understand now how a drug can actually make people kill themselves. Luckily, I had enough mental capacity to stop taking Mirtazapine and recommend that everyone steer clear of this horrid medication.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 11

I also wanted to add that I have lost 40 pounds while on Mirtazapine for the past two years. I am careful with my diet and I exercise. Too many people use their medication as an exuse for this or that. If you are gaining weight then eat less and exercise. If you beleive that your medication is causing you to behave in ways you don't like then stop taking it and talk to your doctor about another choice. Not every medciation works the same for every person and there is no perfect medication for anything. One drug may work well for me and not for you, that's the nature of being human...we are all different.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 9

I have been taking Mirtazapine for two years without any side effects. I have been taking medication for Bi-Polar, Depression and Anxiety for 13 years. Mirtazapine has had the fewest side effects and the best results of all that I have tried.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 10

I use remeron as a sleep aid, 45mg. at 9, sleeping like a baby by 10.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 6

I am very, very sorry to hear about what you went through with your cat. That poor baby, I would have to say I would be causing that vet major problems if that happened to me and my furbabies.

As to the side effects that you read about this drug, if you check other antidepressants, you will actually find those are common to most of them. It can be very hard, when treating depression, for a doctor to have to make the decision to use something based on the benefits and risks to the patient.

However, I have never before heard of this being used in cats, and yes, waiting it out is pretty much your only solution. Making sure your car eats, even if you have to tempt them to do so, and drink plenty of water, is something you can remember in the future to help hurry it along and out of their system if such at hing would happen again.

Some cats just don't eat a lot and are naturally small and underweight. Other than trying various different foods, including some people food tidbits, to try to tempt them to eat more, there isn't a whole lot you can do about it and your vet should have known that. As long as the cat is staying primarily healthy, then it is not worth trying such a risky drug.

I have a cat like that, he is so much tinier, weight wise, than my other 3 boys, however, his fur is shiny, he had energy, he plays, he does eat when he is hungry, so he is basically healthy and I would not let the vet try to give him anything to make him eat more, since he was staying healthy and not dangerously thin, I felt it did not warrant the risks. He is now almost 8 years old and still as healthy as can be, just thin.

I would not ever go back to that vet if I were you. Your furbaby deserves better.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 3

I have used mirtazepine as a last resort for depression (it is not commonly prescribed unless other drugs have failed or if weight loss is a big problem), and while the side effects are horrible, it really worked for me. It gaves me bundles of energy and motivation, which I had none of before this treatment

REPLY

Was this helpful? 8

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