Remeron

It makes you sleepy and fat...but works!

Mirtazapine (Trade Name: Remeron) is a weird drug. It has a different chemical structure than most other antidepressants and doesn't fit neatly into the classes usually sold to us as something we should “consider as another option for major depression.” This article builds on what paid subscribers learned in yesterday's article, so it’s worth a review!

It might not work any differently than any other drug when it comes to relieving depression. It's got different side effects, which are the chips we have to bargain with when we're evaluating oral medications for depression.

These different side effects are primarily mediated through its histamine effects. We talk about serotonin, epinephrine, and dopamine as neurotransmitters. They're flashy. Histamine is another neurotransmitter, and benefiting the mechanism, making you sleepy and hungry—it's not a been leading molecule in pharmacology marketing.

Antihistamines: you'll be tired. But…you'll want to snack.

In the brain, histamine does…