Does anybody have these side effects on 45 mg of Mirtazapine?. my legs feel so heavy, tight, swollen, and my knees are sore in the joints. it gets this bad that I am unable to walk as normal and I have to sit down. I feel like my legs are going to give in on me. my toes feel cold and numb, especially in the mornings. I am in my 60's and have told my GP. she thinks its old age or arthritis, but I doubt that. I have read up about the side effects and it does say less mobility or sore joints and problems with movement. they state this is rare!. I have to follow this up with the Psychiatrist who prescribed this drug to me. I will see what they say. I am not happy that I feel like I am about to lose my ability to walk for longer than say 15 minutes without having to sit down and then the pain doesn't go away after doing that. Please let me know if you have the same side effects and what they did to help you with them,maybe changing meds may have to happen. im not sure. My blood pressure is normal so its not that.
Mirtazapine - Does anybody have tight stiff legs, feel swollen , heavy and sore knees?
Question posted by pjc1151 on 16 Dec 2017
Last updated on 23 March 2024
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22 Answers Page 2
Pjc1151,
I started taking this drug December 2019. I started having the side effects you listed and more after taking 7.5 mg for about 25 days. The first two weeks were fine but then a turn for the worse. My knuckles also became extremely painful as well as my hands and forearms. My knees became inflamed and difficult to flex, especially my right one. Both my shoulders feel like the are freezing up and painful to not move and to move about. I could barely hold a carton of milk in my hands. It became difficult to raise my legs just to put on a pair of socks. It is too bad this happened because the medication worked very well for the reasons I started taking it. I weaned myself off of the drug after a few days. I told my doctor about it and all he could say was that the drug has been around 25 years and this is the first time he has heard of this and asked to see him in a month. I hear this often from doctors. How am I always the first one.
Even if we are in the minority on being adversely effected by this drug they should at least inform people just how much pain one can experience with this medication Mirtazapine. To this date I am still having serious problems with both my shoulders, hands and right knee.
I certainly don’t expect the company to modify their product just for us. Always go with your instincts. I hope things are better for you now. Good luck.
I was diagnosed with joint reaction from Mirtazapine , frozen shoulders. Along with other problems listed above. I am currently battling the terrible side effects of Mirtazapine with frozen shoulders. I was prescribed prednisone and I also received shots in both shoulders. The approach is helping but I still have a lot of pain and limited range of motion with pain. I’m trying gentle exercises by rotating my arms and shoulders as best I can, not without pain and the pain lingers for hours after each exercise. I may request more shots in my shoulders. Mirtazapine attacked my joints terribly, everyone please be careful with Mirtazapine, it’s major side effects took me to a dark place. Good luck everyone.
I am reading all the pains associated with mirtazapine. I too have been on mirtazapine (remeron) and once I got to 30 mg I started have terrible pain in my hands and knuckles, knees and hips. I told my primary doctor and she made it sound like it's my age and now I am getting arthritis. I called my Psych doctor he is having me wean off of the mirtazapine and I'm actually trying wellbutrin. (I have taken effexor for years and am continuing on that as well). I am down to 7.5 mg of the mirt and already pain is subsiding in my knuckles, I don't feel like the walking dead, and feel more energetic in just 4 days. If you are having pain and taking mirt., I would suggest tapering down to at least 7.5 mg to see if your pain subsides and talk to your doctor and insist that the pain could in fact be due to mirt.
Hello... I have been on Remeron for about 5 years now... started at 30mg per day..now take 15mg... mainly for insomnia... I too have huge weakness in shoulders and legs... very difficult to get up after kneeling or bending to pick something up... like getting pots out of low kitchen cabinets... or reaching up for something... I am pretty certain its from the Remeron... but at this point I am staying on it... I sleep good and it reduces my anxiety... I just hope there is no long term damage..I am 53
I went off of it and all of the pains that I described in my earlier comment went away. Then I tested it by going back on it and they came back. So I conclude that for at least some people these muscle and joint problems are associated with this drug. It is really too bad because the drug works well for insomnia and mood. But those pains were unbearable so I prefer the insomnia. If anyone knows any other drug that works as well without that type of side effect, I would be interested!
I, too, am interested to note that Mirtazapine may be guilty of causing leg pain. I'm an active 64 year old & recently my dosage of Mirtazapine was increased from 15mg to 30mg per day. Just a week later, I noticed pain in the backs of my knees, but more significantly in my left leg. Three weeks on, I'm now getting pains in various places, while at rest, in that leg. This hasn't affected my mobility though. Also, I now have over-active bladder & something that seems like cystitis--- both afflictions that I've never suffered from before. But that's a whole other story!
I have experienced the symptoms you describe on my legs. I have peripheral neuropathy from Diabetes type 2 and chemo from many years ago. I thought one of my other drugs was casing this and was surprised to see someone mental these symptoms due to mirtazapine. I like to bike for exercise due to less stress on legs than walking. I am in my 60s and only take 22.5 mg per night. Now I will be watching for more posts mentioning this. Real problems for me were created with Neurontin and Keppra. Do you take either of those?
Hello djchurn, I don't take medications other than an anti-inflammatory or panadol for the pain. It is very disappointing to me that Mirtazapine has these awful side effects because they are working so well for my depression and anxiety. I take 45 at night before bed. I have to talk to the care team that I see as I do not like this awful heavy legs and to be restricted in my walking.It really affects my life very much. I have recently had an ultrasound done on my left thigh as that has been causing severe pain for sometime now. My Doctor thinks it's Bursistus. I read up on this and think it is that too. I have recently found these patches for treatment of Busistus called Osmopatch and I think I will be buying them to treat it. I am in my 60's too and have not suffered so much pain in my body before so it is tough to cope with. I wish you well and keep in touch .
PJC, thanks for your comment. It is great to see this dialog people can have because of the net. My leg issues are not identical to yours but I would be remiss if it did not share something that works a bit for me in overcoming this. I am an avid bicyclist and in winter go to the gym (free with "silver sneakers" for retirees) and exercise on a stationery bike. While I have difficulty with pain in walking I do not have those issues peddling a bike. The side benefits are many; endorphin production due to exertion helps my depression, burning off sugar helps my diabetes and weight control is always a good thing. Don't know if you doctors would approve of this though. The improvement in my leg muscles seem to be offsetting some of my leg pain. Hope this helps.
Yes ! I have been on the drug for about 2 months, recommended for sleep problem. After being on it, my right shoulder and my left hip were in such bad pain that I could not do my usual sports, which are tennis and working out and golf. And, it was painful to sleep on either side or on my back. Painful in general on any side. Even typing on my computer hurt. Then it got worse. I got sciatica on both sides. Knee pain on both sides and bilateral plantar fasciitis. All of these coincidentally at the same time while taking the drug. So, I am obviously going to stop it , and see if I can get rid of all of these problems, that I never had before going on the drug. I would really like to know if anyone else has had so many injuries concurrently and while taking the drug.
Hello RobinRR, I feel for you with all the pain etc that you are going through. Please let us know how you go and if your aches n pains get better once you have gotten off Mirtazapine. I too have sore arms and aches all over my body. I am in my 60;s and have been fortunate not to have these health problems until I started the Mirtazapine back in July 2017. I will see how I go and if I do not get any improvement in these problems then I shall talk to the psychiatrist about getting off this medication. a sister of mine in the UK takes it, so I shall ask her if she has any problems with her body on this medication. Take care. pjc1151.
Absolutely. Although mirtazapine helped me tremendously with sleep, I'm tapering off of it right now due to inexplicable, chronic knee pain. I used to be a very active weightlifter, but stopped last year due to aches and pains. I ascribed the pain to, perhaps, too much weightlifting, but as I'm tapering off of it, I'm certain that the aches and pains have decreased. I'll continue with the taper, of course, and hope that I can get back to being as physicially active as I used to be - or at least close to it.
pjc1151; Yes your right and it does not really matter it may be rare but you might be the lucky one. call your doctor and ask if it is okay if you take 1/2 pill for a week or so and see if all this joint pain and muscle pains could be from the medications. or that you want her to change the medication before it gets any worse. There are other medications that can be used for this. good luck and call her Monday.
Hello Chuck1957, thank you for taking the time to reply to my questions. I have now had an ultrasound and other tests to investigate my legs/ walking problems. My Dr. is currently
investigating Trochanteric Bursitis which is severe numbness and pain on one thigh at this stage.The heavy legs have eased a bit but it returns on a weekly basis. I will speak with my treating team about the side effects.
Related topics
depression, anxiety, mirtazapine, side effect, knee, sores
Further information
- Mirtazapine uses and safety info
- Mirtazapine prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Mirtazapine (detailed)
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