• Effectiveness

  Moderate (for insomnia)
• Side effects

  Moderate (for Overall)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Not at all hard to take

Dosage: 30 mg Daily

• Effectiveness

  Moderate (for major depressive disorder)
• Side effects

  Mild (for Overall)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Not at all hard to take

Dosage: 60 mg Daily

Advice & Tips: After being diagnosed with depression and anxiety my doctor put me on this and I can't praise it enough. I also suffered from bad insomnia and was severely underweight and this tablet was a godsend for those - it made me sleepy and sedated and increased my appetite so I was able to put on weight. I had no sexual side effects, it never made me feel sick and it worked extremely well for my conditions - I stopped having random panic attacks while on it and it kept my depression away. Sadly after 5 years on them they pooped out on me and I developed extreme mood highs and lows so I had to change meds. Withdrawal was manageable but since I stopped I'm averaging about 3 hours of sleep a night due to difficulty sleeping, and it isn't just difficulty getting to sleep but staying asleep too. As I said before I have nothing but good things to say about Mirtazapine, however I was lucky as all the side effects that affected me were positive. I can see why other people can have problems with the constant drowsiness and increased appetite/weight gain, but for an anxious under-eating insomniac for me it was ideal.

• Effectiveness

  Moderate (for anxious mood)
• Effectiveness

  Major (for decreased appetite)
• Side effects

  Moderate (for Overall) (dizziness)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Not at all hard to take

Dosage: 7.5 mg Daily

Side effects: dizziness

• Effectiveness

  Major (for depressed mood)
• Side effects

  Mild (for Overall) (grogginess in morning)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  A little hard to take

Dosage: 15 mg Daily

Advice & Tips: I haven't felt this good in years. For the first two weeks I cut the dose in half because of grogginess. Since then I have had a great rebound in energy, enthusiasm, and social activity. I sleep very deeply, with vivid dreams that are mostly positive. I can't say it will work for everyone, because I have been on and off many antidepressants since 1990 that had side effects like grogginess, emotional numbness, and erectile dysfunction.

Cost: < $25 monthly

Side effects: grogginess in morning

• Effectiveness

  Slight (for Depression and insomnia)
• Side effects

  Moderate (for Overall) (anxious mood)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Not at all hard to take

Dosage: 30 mg Daily

Cost: $25-49 monthly

Side effects: anxious mood

• Effectiveness

  Major (for To reduce the risk of PML while taking Tysabri.)
• Side effects

  Moderate (for Overall) (increased appetite)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Not at all hard to take

Dosage: 7.5 mg Daily

Advice & Tips: I haven't had PML, but it made me have the appetite of a lumberjack. Increase in appetite is unbelieveable. Positive side effect has been much easier to get to sleep and better sleep at night.

Side effects: increased appetite

• Effectiveness

  None (for depressed mood)
• Effectiveness

  None (for weight gain)
• Side effects

  Moderate (for Overall) (somnolence)
• Adherence

  Usually
• Burden

  A little hard to take

Dosage: 15 mg Daily

Cost: < $25 monthly

Side effects: somnolence

• Effectiveness

  Slight (for depressed mood)
• Effectiveness

  Slight (for weight gain)
• Side effects

  Moderate (for Overall) (somnolence)
• Adherence

  Usually
• Burden

  Not at all hard to take

Dosage: 15 mg Daily

Advice & Tips: this pill does make me quite sleepy. I learned on PLM that others here have experienced the same side effect, even more so at a lower dose and less so at a higher dose. My p-doc said I could take one or two pills at bedtime. Taking 1/2 a pill makes me MUCH sleepier than taking 1 or 2. I usually take 1, but sometimes just a half if I really want to get good sleep. I've yet to try taking 2, but perhaps I will to see if sleepiness-effect is less. The only bad thing about the sleepiness if it's hard to wake up in the morning, I just want to keep sleeping!

Cost: < $25 monthly

Side effects: somnolence

• Effectiveness

  Moderate (for insomnia)
• Side effects

  Mild (for Overall) (drowsy in morning)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Not at all hard to take

Dosage: 15 mg Daily

Advice & Tips: Remeron is definitely a good medicine for insomnia however the problem that I have had is that often I get only four to five hours of sleep instead of a full eight hours when I wake back up. However I am thankful for at least some sleep. This medicine has also helped with my anxiety level.

Side effects: drowsy in morning

• Effectiveness

  Can't tell (for bipolar disorder)
• Effectiveness

  Moderate (for insomnia)
• Effectiveness

  None (for anxious mood)
• Side effects

  Severe (for Overall) (anxious mood, apathy, loneliness, avoidance of people)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Not at all hard to take

Dosage: 30 mg Daily

Advice & Tips: helps with sleeping, but increased my appetite significantly, which resulted in gaining weight. It does not help anxiety and mood problems at all.

Side effects: loneliness, avoidance of people, apathy, anxious mood

• Effectiveness

  None (for bipolar disorder)
• Effectiveness

  None (for anxious mood)
• Effectiveness

  Slight (for insomnia)
• Side effects

  Severe (for Overall) (anxious mood, apathy, loneliness, avoidance of people)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Not at all hard to take

Dosage: 30 mg Daily

Advice & Tips: significant increase in appetite, I cry more than before, feel sleepy all morning,

Side effects: loneliness, avoidance of people, apathy, anxious mood

• Effectiveness

  Slight (for Depression with Insomnia)
• Side effects

  Severe (for Overall)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Somewhat hard to take

Dosage: 15 mg Daily

Advice & Tips: It was very effective in helping me sleep for pretty much the whole day and I was always sleeping that I didn't hurt myself. But when I did I didn't feel it.