Ritalin + Mirtazapine

[planetdave]

I've just got back from my docs and was reading a bit of what a psych had written about me.

Firstly she had put NO ADHD - so I don't trust her. Secondly there was a note in there to put me on Mirtazapine, which none of my group doctors (useless) have broached; I'm on ritalin at the moment.

I googled mirtazapine and it looks good - SSRIs and me dont see eye to eye and I have been having anxiety problems (justified in my view) which wont be helped by my ritalin.

Can these two be mixed? Coming off ritalin would be a severe blow to me; I turn into Mr Hyde and become blind to my social surroundings. On the other hand I'm going through a proper rough patch (fighting a grievance at work that is going to be very stressful) and need all the mental strength I can muster so being anxious and depressed is not going to help.

So - is this psych right and I should go onto mirtazapine? And is it contraindicated for use with ritalin?

I'm siding with sticking as I am - my group doctors don't seem to want to bother my meds (they have no clue) so I might have a supply until I get ANOTHER diagnosis (Maudsley for those who know these things). Or should I go back to them and order up the mirtazapine?

[Mincan]

I was on this combination... not for more than a few weeks, it sucked for me at the time simply because I didnt like the effects of the Mirtazapine - lethargy, didnt want to do anything but eat carbs and sleep. And worst of all! - Brain zaps! I got worse ones off this than I did on Lexapro/Cipralex

[planetdave]

I've never had brain zaps. What are they, like neuralgia of the noggin?

[Mincan]

Like an electrical charge that starts in your head and works its way down to the tips of your fingers. When you are trying to sleep, you are jerked awake by one and you jolt up a bit and your brain feels like it just was spiked.

[planetdave]

[Mincan]

Im going to hopefully try to go the Wellbutrin + Dexedrine route next month.

[planetdave]

Hope that works for you - not on my option list; and there is the possibility that I will have the ritalin withdrawn before reaching the sanctuary of S.L.A.M. (our main clinic). The referral is in the post but it could easily take twelve weeks before they see me and I have about six weeks dosage left. If that runs out then I'm (tries to find word that doesn't set off the hypersensitive swear filter) buggered.

[photek]

Dude luckily for you, you live in england, If I was you I would take Reboxetine instead of mirtazapine it is a selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor and it can be mixed with SSRI's like lexapro and things. But you might not needs the ssri's because they can give you major sexual malfunctions. You won't hear much about reboxetine on forums like these because the FDA didn't approve it in USA because it was competition for strattera I assume. It is approved as an anti depressant in UK but strattera is only approved for ADHD because it doesn't have any evidence as being an anti depressant.

[planetdave]

Unfortunately they don't give me the option - the only thing I can do is refuse what they offer, and what they offer is often inappropriate to me since they're a bunch of idiots. I was just wondering if this psych had a lucky hit (because otherwise she looked like one of those 'AD/HD in adults? I don't believe it' types).

[photek]

My psychiatrist prefers to not treat adults with adhd because most of them are just normal adults. He made a special case with me though because I was diagnosed at 17. I was relatively young aswell

[planetdave]

I would take issue with your psych - normal adults? What psychoactive drugs is he/she on?
I've had a life full of pain from misunderstanding - now I have meds which have opened my eyes to the mayhem I created and can now control.
My last psch visit would have sent me back to my own stone age (if she'd got her way and had my ritalin pulled).

[tree oh tree]

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My psychiatrist prefers to not treat adults with adhd because most of them are just normal adults. He made a special case with me though because I was diagnosed at 17. I was relatively young aswell

I had trouble with medication treatment in england, but seeing as they now agree that I'm better off on it than not I'm fairly happy.
It does seem that alot of adults and people in general have ADD symptoms, but most can control it.
Maybe your psych thinks you can control those symptoms well enough, but instead think you are having more trouble controlling anxiety or depression?
Did you recieve a diagnose whilst young? Was there suitable indication that you have these problems?
Perhaps ask your psych why you think she thinks you don't have that problem?
My social worker told me he couldn;t prescribe Concerta to me as I was now an adult (I'm 19), but after my GP giving me a perscription again, and me showing improvements from it he seemed more confident to prescribe.
I no longer abuse drugs, thankfully!

[beachwalker]

Get another psychiatrist if he doesnt believe in Adults have ADHD

Even if you dont have ADHD yourself

the evidence is measurable by many different objective means ie tomography and scans

and widedly publicised in general psychiatrists journals and literature that crosses the entire discipline
It is hard to beleive somebody in this field today could be so out of date with the literature
I would not go near somebody like this for any kind of treatment for any conditions at all.

All doctors are taught it is their duty to keep abreast of the literature from at least 1 or 2 major journals
it is common sense and a job prerequisite