Remeron and Increased Appetite: What Users Say

• Kim...
• February 17, 2013

For Depression "I have ADHD, OCD, and depression. The moment I took this medication, my intrusive thoughts from OCD went away. I am no longer depressed, even when life should be getting me down. Everything seems bearable. I just feel like things are okay, I can make it. I've never felt like this before, really. Most of the time I get overwhelmed with life, but I think this medication has pulled me out of the dark hole I was in before. It does make me very hungry and sleepy. I take it in the evenings. It's hard to get up in the morning, but coffee fixes that for me. I don't recommend this to someone who cannot control their eating habits and gains weight easily."

• sam...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 13, 2013

For Insomnia "I have been on Remeron for 3.5 years. I started out on 15 mg and now currently on 30 mg. I have tried every sleep medication available. This is by far the best medication I have ever been on for sleep. Yes, I get the ravenous hunger, and it takes about 2 hours to make me sleepy. An hour after I take it is when the hunger kicks in, and I eat for the entire day before bed. I have gained about 30 lbs over the time being on it, but it has now tapered off, I hope! However, for me, sleep is so important, so it's a matter of what's more important, the perfect body or being so tired and depressed due to lack of sleep. If you start watching what you eat prior to bed, which I do now and wish I knew or realized this early on, you can help keep the weight."

• ste...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 20, 2014

For Major Depressive Disorder "I was on Remeron for about 2 years before. Helped very much with my depression. But although I often felt very sleepy near the beginning of the treatment, the massive fatigue eventually subsided to an acceptable level. 20 mins after taking it, I'm ready for bed. I can't keep my eyes open no matter what. I just restarted Remeron two days ago after more than a year being on it. As I type this, I feel fogged over, sort of sleepy, and immensely 'munchie'. As before when I took it, I'd find myself waking up several times a night going to raid the fridge and cabinets for munchie or sweet foods (and meats! definitely craved meat all the time). So again, on Remeron: eating again, sleeping some, more relaxed, less sad."

• Pre...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• March 24, 2023

For Major Depressive Disorder "I read about Remeron somewhere online and asked my doctor for it. I take 30 mg daily. It helps with depression and helps me sleep. Take it right before you go to sleep. If you take it earlier, you might get hungry. Because this medicine makes food indescribably delicious. Get this drug. It will help you immensely. Good luck!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 1, 2019

For Depression "I've been on Remeron for several years now. Primarily for insomnia but also for anxiety and depression. This medication helps me tremendously like no others I've tried. No side effects besides hunger and weight gain. Highly recommend"

• K_T...
• September 12, 2009

For Depression "This antidepressant has been a blessing in my life. I was 25 lbs underweight due to depression, and also had sporadic sleeping. The side effects are a benefit for me. It makes you hungry, especially after you take it at night. I crave lots of carbs, and have been eating like I have never before. I have gained 11 lbs in just 1 month on Remeron. It also has a nice sedation effect to help with sleep. When I take my 30mg dose at night, I have everything ready because after 45 minutes I can barely keep my eyes open, and then get a great night's sleep. Side effects are worse during the first week, and then everything balances out! If you suffer from sleep and/or eating, then Remeron could be the biggest blessing in your life also. It gave me hope."

• Kha...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 10, 2019

For Major Depressive Disorder "I have MDD, anxiety disorder, panic attacks, and ASD (autism spectrum disorder). I was put on a combination of 7.5 mg Remeron and 100 mg of Pristiq. Within a few weeks, I stopped having panic attacks and I had no more depression. I am so grateful my doctor tried these drugs, it literally saved my life. Before, my life was hell, and I literally wanted to die. Now I am happy 99% of the time, and I can't remember the last time I cried. The only problem is I am constantly hungry, and I have gained 40 pounds in less than a year."

• xyz...
• September 16, 2014

For Major Depressive Disorder "I had been taking Restoril for sleep for several years. I found that my level of depression was worsening over time, and I had to take more and more to sleep. Finally, I decided that I needed to get off of Restoril. My doctor prescribed Remeron. I have been taking it for several weeks now and find that my mood has improved as well as my sleep. I am down to half of the Restoril I was taking before and hopefully may be able to discontinue it. The only downside of Remeron is that my appetite has increased, which is not good for me. Otherwise, I would have rated this as a 10."

• Anonymous
• February 17, 2011

For Depression "Remeron is a unique medicine, since its side effects are sometimes as useful as its antidepressant effects. This medicine literally saved my life. For many years, I was around 90 pounds, and never slept. Now, I'm a healthy 120 and I sleep about 8 or 9 hours per night. It did take a long time to get to this point. When I first started taking it, I was tired all the time and very worried about the ravenous hunger! But now that I've been on it 2 years, I no longer gain weight, I'm no longer tearful and miserable, and I've honestly never been happier. God bless the people who made this drug. It literally saved my life."

• amo...
• April 10, 2015

For Depression "Doctor prescribed me Remeron. I've been taking 15mg for about a month now. I've noticed an increase in hunger and I get great sleep with this medication. However, it hasn't helped with my anxiety attacks or depression. I also noticed that I'm becoming more and more forgetful, often find myself staring at nothing in a daze, and it's hard to articulate what I'm thinking or feeling."

• kay...
• March 17, 2009

For Depression "Although I can't take tricyclics, I can take Remeron. I have treatment-resistant depression, and this is the only antidepressant I can tolerate (I have been on every type of antidepressant except Wellbutrin). I don't know why it works so well on me, but it saved my life. My weight had gotten down to 112 lbs (I'm 5'7) and I looked like a corpse. I've been on it for a good 8 years or so, and it still helps me sleep. The hunger side effect subsided for the most part, a good thing because I gained too much weight back at first, then leveled out at 130 lbs. Some of my family have tried it and it knocks them out for the night and the next day. Also, they've complained of a 'hangover feeling' after they wake up. Many doctors told me it's a good medicine."

• hip...
• March 18, 2014

For Depression "After trying these for about 5 weeks, I had to go back to the doctor to change. I felt worse than I'd ever felt in my life. I was so angry all the time for no reason. I cried more than I did before taking medicines. For the first time ever, I was thinking about suicide. It also gave me a massive appetite and I gained about ten pounds, which I didn't need. So, these definitely do not work for me. Fingers crossed my new ones will."

• 123...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 24, 2020

For Major Depressive Disorder "I gained 25 lbs in 6 weeks on Remeron. I was 125 lbs when I started the medication and now I’m bordering on overweight. Luckily, when I stopped the medication, the weight gain stopped. It helped slightly with my chronic migraines and did not make me sleepy. I feel it did improve my quality of sleep somewhat, but not enough to continue gaining weight at that rate. I did exercise and watch what I ate, but it just made me too hungry. It had no effect on my depression, unfortunately, and I feel much worse about myself after gaining all that weight. Ketamine therapy has been the only antidepressant to work for me yet."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 29, 2015

For Major Depressive Disorder "Having failed most SSRIs, Remeron was a real surprise. It calmed me, helped me sleep, helped me focus, but most importantly had almost no side effects. My appetite went crazy the first week but mellowed out afterwards. I get pretty drowsy about an hour after taking it, so I only take it at bedtime. I had to drop from 45 mg to 30 mg due to it amping me up rather than sedating. Works fine, no tolerance type effects unlike Z-drugs."

• Anonymous
• April 15, 2012

For Depression "I've been on Remeron for nearly two weeks now, and I can feel my mood elevating and depression decreasing already. Also, I'm now getting full nights of sleep, which is also an amazing feeling. The only downsides I've seen so far are some grogginess in the morning (though that has been less and less noticeable) and ravenous hunger (this has not gotten less). Luckily, because now I'm starting to actually want to leave the house and do stuff, I've been able to work out pretty consistently this past week, and hopefully that will counteract the effects of me eating the weight of a horse every day. I've tried more antidepressants than I can count on one hand, and this is the first time in a long time I've started to feel better."

• Swe...
• January 17, 2016

For Major Depressive Disorder "My experience with Remeron is short. It worked wonders for me, but I stopped it as it causes awful weight gain. 21 pounds in 4 weeks. I looked pregnant. It made me more depressed. I would just eat. It does something to your brain that makes you feel as though you are never full. At night, I would sneak food. I could not stop. I was at 30mg. I've heard 15 mg is worse for weight gain. Also, this drug is also given to elderly patients who are undergoing chemotherapy and also given to people with eating disorders (bulimia and anorexia). As I said, in one respect, it did wonders for me with anxiety and depression and stopped the voices in my head and helped me sleep. But I couldn't go through gaining any more weight."

• med...
• September 7, 2018

For Major Depressive Disorder "I have taken this med for over 2 years. I've been suffering from insomnia, anxiety, and depression my whole life. I found that nothing could help. Every night I tossed and turned, waking up every 2 hours. The first night I took this, like magic, I slept a whole night without waking up. And every night since then it has worked. However, BEWARE, it will make you binge eat. You have NO control over it. Studies say weight gain from this med only affects like 15% of people. Use look at the reviews on here and across the internet–it's more like 90%. I've always been skinny, and I put on 14 pounds within a month of starting it. I quit for a week, which made me extremely depressed and unable to sleep, but I immediately lost all the weight. But I was so depressed, it hurt, so I got back on it. That's why I give this a 7, it's a conundrum, it helps so much with insomnia/depression/anxiety, but it makes you FAT. Don't try this med unless you've tried ALL other SSRIs and sleep meds."

• fai...
• November 18, 2015

For Major Depressive Disorder "Just started taking this med again. I've been on more than I can count over the years. The only downfall I've had is the daytime foggy feeling which I'm hoping will subside over time. I've only been taking this less than a week and my depression symptoms have greatly improved as well as I sleep well every night. Appetite has gone up for me as well but not a concern for me at this point. Very happy overall. I will post again in a few weeks to give another update"

• cjo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 6, 2015

For Major Depressive Disorder "No matter how much sleep I got, I was constantly tired. I could barely function during the day. And when I was functioning, I wanted to eat everything. In 2 months, I ended up gaining 15 lbs, which definitely did not help with the depression."

• Med...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 27, 2012

"I was having a very hard time with the anxiety of thinking something was wrong with my heart (which turned out to be nothing), when I was put on Remeron. I had virtually stopped eating, and just felt very anxious and not myself. It helped a good bit with the anxiety, but it turbocharged my appetite. Would not recommend this to anyone who is overweight, but it's great for anxiety sufferers who lose their appetite when they get anxious. It does make you very sleepy the first week or so you take it, so I would take it before bed. I didn't notice any sexual side effects though, which was another big selling point. The sedation seems stronger at lower doses, and I had some bizarre dreams at lower doses as well."

• -Ca...
• April 22, 2012

For Anxiety "After 10 years on SSRIs, my doctor switched me to Remeron. It works well for me for anxiety and depression. It does give me ridiculous levels of restless leg syndrome about an hour after I take it, but that's really the only bad side effect. It does not kill libido or cause delayed orgasm like Lexapro did for me. I think it's a good medicine and surprised that it isn't more of a first-line medication. It does make you want to eat everything in sight, so you have to have willpower to control that urge, but I am able to keep that in check."

• la ...
• July 29, 2009

For Depression "Taking this medicine in conjunction with Lamictal. Doctor gave it to me because I wasn't eating/had no desire to eat for a week and I wasn't sleeping at all, and also for depression. This drug gives me crazy hunger cravings. I have been on it for about 2 1/2 weeks now. When I first started it, I was eating everything. Buttered toast is still my favorite. I notice I crave salty and sweet foods. I am sleeping all the time, and I am on 15mg at bedtime. I have to drink coffee so I can get up and function, if I have nothing particularly important, I sleep until 3 or 4 o'clock. So it definitely has helped with the insomnia and the not eating, but it makes me feel high."

• cat...
• January 19, 2012

For Anxiety "Been on it 2 weeks for anxiety, insomnia, and depression, 30mg at night. Love it. Sleep like a baby, wake up refreshed and energy levels have risen, feel so happy, not feeling high or anything, just seem to feel normal, which I haven't felt in 10 years. Only kind of downside is that I can't stop eating! And not sugars and carbs! I eat almost anything that is available to me, if there is only a bag of salad in the fridge I will eat the whole thing! The last time I had an appetite like this I was a very active teenager. I've already gained half a stone in 2 weeks and I was 11 stone to start with. My family are all overweight and I'm just a little worried I won't be able to control it! Help please."

• Anonymous
• June 14, 2010

For Depression "Had a deep depression combined with insomnia. I was helped from the first day with Remeron, it was an incredible feeling! The side effect is increased appetite. But since I know it's a side effect, I can control it. It's better to feel hungry than to feel like the end is near... Have been on it for a month now and still fall asleep like a baby after less than 30 minutes when taking the pill. My doctor recommends that I continue with it for approximately 4 more months and then lower the dose (from 30 to 15 mg) and phase it out after a month or so. Let's see what happens, but it's really great now!"

• xby...
• October 25, 2009

For Anxiety "I have a panic disorder and my doctor put me on Remeron. I thought it was great at first. It caused my panic attacks to slow down and my anxiety to die down. Then the side effects started. I had an increased appetite and put on nearly 30 lbs. I didn't mind that, but then it also began causing me to become very irritable. I started feeling like I was going into blind rages. I immediately contacted my doctor and switched medicines. Use caution."