Mirtazapine.

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I've been taking Mirtazapine for about a year now - 30mg each evening (and 30mg Citalopram in the morning). That was prescribed for severe depression, anxiety and insomnia (I'm from a long line of poor sleepers!). I find it hard to be sure whether it had much impact on the depression/anxiety, though I did find it more effective than any of the sedatives/hypnotics that I'd previously taken for the insomnia, which was a very pleasant surprise!

And the dreams!... I have to confess, I rather enjoyed that side-effect! I'm 45 now, and don't recall having such involving, vivid, almost-lucid dreams since my pre-adolescent years - always peaceful, and never nightmares. That's tailed off over the months, but I do still get them occasionally on days where there's no pressure to be up early.

I wish I could be more certain how effective it's been for the depression. The trouble is, that during the time I've been on it, life decided to get all "interesting" on me. Pretty much every aspect of my life has had some kind of shake-up over the last year - not least of which has been the assessment that led to my ASD diagnosis a few weeks ago. With all that's been going on, I really can't pick out whether the pills have helped or not. My mood has improved considerably since my diagnosis - would I have reacted differently had I not been medicated? I haven't a clue.

I've known for quite a while that any kind of sedative (including alcohol) makes "passing" for NT much more tiring and stressful - the world seems to go too fast for me at the best of times, and med's that make me feel like I'm 'under water' all the time really don't help! I'm not quite comfortable yet letting friends and family in on the secret little world I inhabit when I'm alone, and I still feel the need to have my wits about me, so that my social deficits don't frighten the horses too much! (I was aware that that's what I was doing long, long before suspecting I might be autistic.)

Just because of the sedation, I am strongly considering asking to reduce my doses when I next see the doctor. I'm fortunate that I'm seeing good counsellor at the moment, who has tailored the CBT to suit my autistic traits - so now is a good time, as I know I'm in good hands if changing my med's does cause any problems.