Patient/caregiver was educated on how to take Remeron as follows:
- Take this medication as ordered by your physician. Do not change the dose and frequency on this medication without consulting your doctor. Take the medication dose for the duration prescribed without fail.
- Take the medication dose at the same time, every day, to avoid forgetting the intake of medication.
- Taking the medication at regularly spaced intervals help maintain appropriate blood levels of Remeron needed to manage the chemicals in the brain, so as to derive the beneficial effects of controlling symptoms of depression and promoting feelings of comfort and happiness.
- This medication can induce some nausea and vomiting, when taken on empty stomach. Taking the medication with a glass of water and some food or snack can help avoid these unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms.
- Remeron can induce some dizziness and make one drowsy. Starting the medication at a low dose and gradually increasing the dose, to help optimum control of your symptoms, can contribute to reducing the risk for drowsiness and dizziness due to the medication.
- Take the Remeron regular tablet as a whole, using a glass of water. If you encounter difficulty swallowing the whole tablet, you may cut the tablet and swallow it in pieces with a glass of water. You can also crush the regular tablet and sprinkle the powder on a spoon of apple sauce or jello or pudding, to facilitate an easy swallow.
- Remeron is also available as an orally disintegrating tablet, which absorbs moisture from the atmosphere around rapidly and can start to dissolve. So, remove only one dose from the blister package at a time, just when it is time for intake of the dose. Make sure the hands are dry before getting the tablet out of the package. This orally disintegrating tablet must be placed on the tongue, allowed to dissolve in the mouth for one minute, before swallowing the remnants in the mouth with saliva or using a small amount of water. Do not chew on this tablet and do not swallow it as a whole, which can compromise the therapeutic benefit of the medication.
- Remeron takes some time to fairly balance the chemicals in the brain, before any improvement in mood and behavior are noted. It could take about 3 – 6 weeks to see this change in mood. So, do not discontinue taking the medication without your physician’s consult, as you failed to see the improvement with the depressive symptoms immediately after taking the medication.
- Remeron only helps with managing the depressive symptoms, by influencing the activity of various chemical neurotransmitters in the brain and is not a permanent cure. So, continue taking Remeron, even if your mood feels better. Discontinuing the medication abruptly can result in disruption of this chemical balance in the brain, resulting in worsening of mood disorder.
- As the activity of various chemical neurotransmitters in the brain has to be finely regulated to help relieve the depressive symptoms and experience feelings of well-being, the dose of Remeron also needs to be finely regulated, in order to accomplish this goal.
- Your physician could change the dose of Remeron, based on the response and side-effects developed. Maintain compliance with follow-up physician appointments and be accommodative to the plan of dose changes, until you show an optimum response.
- Notify your doctor of any unresolved and worsening depressive symptoms, such as, feeling low, anxiety, panic attacks, trouble sleeping, poor appetite, impulsiveness, agitation, aggression, and suicidal thoughts or continuing unpleasant side-effects of Remeron, so that, your dosage on the medication could be revised.
- Sudden discontinuation of Remeron intake, after prolonged use, can result in onset of severe withdrawal symptoms, such as, exacerbation of depressive symptoms, hallucinations, anxiety, aggressive behavior, and mania. Discontinuation on Remeron use must be slow and gradual, using tapering doses, and only on your physician’s recommendation.
- If you miss a dose, try taking it at the earliest notice of noncompliance. If it is time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and take the dose scheduled. Do not take an extra dose to try making up for the missed dose. Notify your doctor and other health care personnel regarding your dose noncompliance.
