Amitriptyline

I was given 25 mg of amitriptyline to help with sleep disturbance during a bout with shingles. Now, 6 months later, I have tried 3 times to stop taking it and have had all of the symptoms you describe--in spades. The worst is chronic, debilitating migraines. Is there any protocol for gradual withdrawal? I am told that I "shouldn't be having problems" with such a small dose. How does one withdraw gradually from such a small dose?

To Laura: Some people are very sensitive to elavil. I have a very severe form of panic disorder and have been on it a couple of times. Though most people require about 150 mg to block panic attacks, I only required 15 mg. Each time I had to step down the dose by 5 mg to ease withdrawal. Try cutting your tablet in half. Also, it comes in 10 mg tablets so see if your doctor will prescribe those to help you ease down. You are paying him; he should listen to you! Fortunately, I have a great psychiatrist who helped me through it.

ive been taking 50 mg of amitriptyline for 3 months for my depression, but have very bad suicidal thoughts and attempted to kill my self

i was admitted to hospital and psychiatric treatment but the doctor still told me to stay on these tablets knowing they are making me worse? i dont understand why? he says they are the best for me as the older anti depressants are more of a sedative to calm my mood but they just make me feel terrible

I've been on Amtriptiline for years. I have chronic insomnia due to a major panic disorder. I also take a low dose of Clonazepam and I've slept great for the past 8 years. (I should probably note I take zoloft low dose each morning too.) I've had to increase the amptritiline and even the clonazepam little by little to sleep better, but lately I feel horrible and the adjustments do not seem to make a difference. I'm going to bed the same time and even increased the clonazepam (which usually works), but for almost a week I feel like I haven't gotten any sleep at all. It's horrible... I have no energy... I can't concentrate at work and the workday seems like it will never end.

Can anyone relate? Every time I explain it to a family member or friend... they dismiss how awful not sleeping makes one feel and pretty much act like it's not a big deal. My husband knows otherwise, he has first-hand knowledge just by watching what I'm going thru. My doctor is away for the next few days and I'm going to try to increase the amptriptiline some tonight. I left work early and I think they think I'm slacking or being irresponsible. Nobody knows the low energy and tiredness I go thru day after day and I'm so over-tired, I can't just take a nap or go to sleep right away... it actually takes longer to fall asleep being so overtired.

(Only people in the same situation understand what I mean by that.) Speaking of same situations, I feel so ALONE with this disorder, can anyone relate?? Thank you for listening and I look forward to any feedback.
Diane

I have taken amitriptyline for irritable bowel syndrome for over 10 years. I started with 25 mg and have experimented with various doses. I have taken 75 mg for the last two years. In the last few years I have noticed a particular type of disorientation. But when I am driving I sometimes have trouble deciding whether I need to turn right or left to get to some destination.

I frequently make the wrong choice. If I park the car I can easily sketch an accurate diagram of the streets needed for a particular route, but I have trouble multitasking and making the correct choices while I am driving. I have lived in the same place for 27 years and I am very familiar with the streets in my town.

I wonder if this problem could be due to the amitriptyline. Before I started taking amitriptyline I rarely had to think about navigating while driving. It just seemed to happen automatically (subconsciously I suppose). Has anyone else had a similar experience?

My DR. put me on Amitriptylin 100mg. I did not start them yet. I'm on lexapro 20 mg have been for two weeks. I have no ENERGY!!!!! I feel so tired and feel like i can't get organized.I also feel I'M in a fog and can't function. If Amitriptylin causes drowsiness how can it help with energy? This is a major problem for me.I have no energy,no mood.

i have been taking 100mg of amiltriptyline for about a year for nerve pain. i have just spent a weekend by the sea (england) and after sitting on the beach for an hour followed by an hour in the garden, i have suffered extreme sunburn on my face, arms and legs.

i am quite dark skinned and have never burnt in the sun before. the side effects on the drug leaflet mention sensitivity to light but not severe sunburn. i have since looked on the net and most info advises sunblock. i wish someone had told me about this as i am feeling very sore and unwell.

My22 yr old daughter was recently put on a graduated dose of 10mg Elavil increasing to 30mg per day over a span of 9 weeks. This is for chronic diarrhea/gastroparesis. She had been diagnosed with epilepsy in January, 2008. She had been seizure free since April, but since her dose of the Elavil increased to 20mg she has had 2 seizures. I asked every doctor BEFORE she started this if it would be ok with the seizures and all of them, Primary, GI, and neurologist said it was such a low dose she would be fine. Well, it seems to me it's increasing seizure activity. Any thoughts? Thanks

Hi everyone,
I was diagnosed with neuropothy 2 years ago, I was put on Elavil, Dr. put me on 50 mg, but it had some side effect, so got 10 mg pills, and adjusted them, 30 mg held the leg pain away. I have other health issues, and after several iron anemia, ( I'm a male) and several scans showing no problems, ( had several infusions) I decided to study myself, the Dr. did not seem to have my best interest at stake, gastrolgist said I would have to have iron infusions rest of my life, I did not like or accept that answer.

I read about gluten allergy (wheat) I had several of the symptoms. I requested a blood test, and VIOLA, i WAS HIGHLY ALLERGIC, ( $120,000 in scans later) in researching gluten allergies, nerve pain (neuropothy) was a symptom).

I started going off Elavil 30 mg, to 20, 10 later, to 5mg, and 3 days ago off. The leg pain has not returned, (off wheat for 3 months) the allergy was causing nerve pain) the Elavil gave me rapid heart beat, and heart Dr. told me to try to go off, normal heart beat has returned.

But have had major stomach pain for 3 days (withdrawal symptom). Elavil has too many side effects and warnings, I believe it should be avoided. The gluten allergy caused much of my discomfort, and that simple diet change, corrected many, have a simple blood test, or google gluten allergy. good luck

I took Elavil in October 2008 and after 6weeks of being on the medicine I was feeling great. I was provided the drug for chronic back pain and depression. And after 6 weeks of taking the medicine, mentally I was fine. I had no pain in my back, but I started having palpitations. I had 17 PVC's in 15 minutes. So I immediately stopped taking the drug. So here now in February 2009 I am still having palpitations and now I am wondering could I have heart problems from this medicine? I have an appointment to go and talk with my Dr. soon.

I've been on the generic Elavil for almost 2 months now for Fibromyalgia sleep problems. I get really drowsy when I take it, so I only take it at night, and as of so far, I'm loving it. It's been working wonders for my sleep disorder and I'm very pleased with it.

I'm on 25mg amitrip at night, I would like to withdraw, but I'm scared I'll get withdraw symptoms. Has anyone else gotten some advice about withdrawing safely?

I took elavil for many yrs for fibromyalgia, migraine headaches & insomnia and it worked excellently. Unfortunately I had to go off of it because of the dryness it was causing my nose. I am very sensitive to meds and I had to cut the 10mg tablets into 4ths and go down 1/4 at a time, giving it a couple weeks at each dose, in order to avoid the withdrawal.

I still have had a very hard time getting used to life without it, migraines are back, fibro pain is back, etc. I have had no appetite since going off it and have lost a lot of weight. Anyway, for weaning off of it, I suggest you be creative with cutting the tablets up. They are hard to cut, I used a razor blade, and only tried to get one good piece out of each tablet. Only cut the dose as fast as your body can deal with it, you are the one who has to live with it.

I wish I had a dollar for every person who said "you shouldn't have any problems stopping such a small dose." Hah.

Hi,

I have been taking 10mg of Amitriptyline for years for a constant,cronic headache and I feel it helped me not wake up with such a bad headache in the morning and reduced my migraine attacks a lot. Due to wanting to start a family with my fiance, soon to be husband I have to go on Amitriptyline. I have talked to my doctor and he said it just a matter of stop taking it because of the low dose.

Well last night was the first time not taking it and I feel sick to my stomache and weird feeling in my head, kind of spacey feeling! Will this go away in time and I just have to ride it out? Anyone else on a 10mg and went off it and felt okay after a bit of being off it?

I think I might have picked bad timing going off it as wedding is coming up in just over a month. Hope I don't feel crappy for too long! Can't go back on it cause we are now not using a condom as of last night and who knows if I could become pregnant and I can't take this medication while trying or if I become pregnant.

Wish I had of seen this website before last night as i had no idea you could get as low as 5mg of this medication or cut my pill in half. That may have helped me go off it instead of cold turkey!!

Since my earlier post about going off Amitriptyline 10mg well it's not good. I feel sick to my stomache and bad headache. Now today I have woken up with diareaha to top it all off. I also can't stop crying cause I feel like crap.

My fiance and I have decided I must go back on medication at least until after the wedding and honeymoon. Now it's just a matter of waiting to see if I am pregnant which will be a good 3-4 weeks and then I can go back on it.

May be by some miracle in this time I feel better and can stay off it or better yet I am pregnant. Being pregnant would be worth this pain! Also of course we have to start having sex with a condom again. Darnit cause we really want children but I guess this wasn't a good time to try and this was a learning lesson!

I have been on this for 2+ months for fibro. and PLMD---I CAN'T SLEEP ANYMORE!!!!!! I have trouble w/ meds--I'm very sensitive to everything. This is having the opposite effect that is is supposed to have. It's torture! Is anyone else having this problem? I'm hoping to try Savella when it becomes available mid-year.

Do not stop taking the amytripyline. I have currently tried to do so and I feel terrible, I was given it for sleep disorder and severe anxiety at night and have been on it for 5 months.

I figured if I got myself a job and was more mentally active I would be fine, but boy was I wrong. If I don't take it my head is in a right mess, I feel like I can't concentrate and don't feel myself, so I would recommend carrying on taking the meds and I'm going to talk to my GP to see what he can do for me!

I have been on 75 mg of elavil for the past years for my fibro and problems sleeping. I have discontinued it with my doctors help by taking 25mg for 2 weeks and the last week of 25 a night. I have not been able to sleep since I started the withdrawal, cramping, bowels problems restless legs. I am trying to get in touch with my Dr to see if theses symptoms will eventually go away. I am sorry I ever started the drug I am 68 yrs old and I feel like heck.

Has anyone experience leg and calves pain from taking the medicine?I take 20mg a night. I was experiencing pain so bad I couldn't walk for very long.

Hi everyone, I've read most of the comments left on this website, I've been on amitriptyline for several months now and have been prescribed it for chronic headaches. Recently I started feeling severe chest pains in the middle of my chest. I went to my doctor about it and he said that it was because I had an inflamed joint connecting my sternum and rib cage, has anyone else had heart or chest problems as a result of being on the drug?

I'm on 20 mg for 4 months. I started noticing urination problems almost immediately as well as an insatiable appetite. Since it helped excruciating pain, I continued. The last week, I have tinnitus. A nightmare. I'm going to wean myself off. The drug is a miracle drug for pain and for sleep but the weight gain, urinating problems and not tinnitus- not worth it!! I will ask my dr. tomorrow but am wondering how any of you weaned off. I know I must be slow, but how slow is slow? Have you ever heard of someone going from 20mg, down to 10mg and then wean from that? Thanks.

I have had a bad back for the past year and am now only taking 20mg of amytripyline. It is great for my sciatic pain however I too am finding hard knowing how and when to stop taking it. I have tried but each time the pain comes back and I have trouble dropping off the sleep. I will try the suggestions made regarding cutting down by a quarter of a 10mg per 2 weeks. How long have some of you out there been on these drugs?

Doctor put me on Elavil in 1986 for nervous condition after having surgery and blood clots. Have taken the lowest dose for all these years. Wanted to quit taking it about 7 years ago. Gradually reduced the pill into halves for weeks, than quarters for a few more weeks and then only a quarter of a pill every other night. After another week, I quit and - - - - - - - - -couldn't sleep for days. I was a zombie. I started taking 1/2 pill nightly and slept like a log.

I have tried to wean myself off of these pills about 6 times since then, but each time I get totally off of them, NO SLEEP!!!! I am now trying again and am in my 2nd week. If I get to the point of NO SLEEP, what do I do, except go back on them. Help!

I've been on ELavil for 6 Months & love it but yesterday my OBGYN switched me to Prozac. It was a huge mistake & I only took one pill. The side effects of the Prozac were terrible & I've never been so afraid in my life. I ended up flushing all the rest of the Prozac pills down the toilet & I'll never, ever take that again. I'd like to know how long I have to wait before going back to taking my 10 mg of Elavil? I'm afraid of there still being prozac in my system??? Can I take the ELavil tonight?

Diane, I know EXACTLY how you feel. I've had chronic, severe insomnia all my life. All I get from well-meaning people, is "stop drinking coffee." All I get from doctors are more and more drugs, which work for a while, then quit. I go a week at a time without sleep, and often spend the nights hallucinating. I am going to try massage therapy next. My brain is so fried...

Started taking amytriplyline for fybromyalgia after suffering 5 years with no help. It seemed like a miracle to me.

Pain was gone in a week and I finally had the first good night sleep in years. However I started on 10mg and had to increase 10mg per year to keep the same effect. I gained 10 pounds with each 10mg. After 50mg I said "no more" and my doctor put me on paxil and neurontin. In time it helped and I have lost the weight and the fibromyalgia is under control.

The only problem I could find with the amytriplyline was: 1. I had to be sure to take it 12 hours before getting up in the morning so I wouldn't be groggy. 2. I never had a fondness for sweets, but that all changed with the amytriplyine. I started craving sweets and still do. I've lost the weight but still have to really fight the cravings that have never gone away.

I was put on amitryptaline 8 years ago for my headaches - I am now 31. They stopped the full on migraines/pass out headaches I got but not the daily headaches that I have been getting for years. I decided 4 weeks ago to come off the drug as the dry mouth it gives me has caused various dental fillings and I also want to start a family. Coming off it has been HELL.

I was on 50mg and for one week did 25mg then after a week came off it altogether. I cannot sleep for love nor money and I am exhausted. I am trying all kinds of herbal sleeping aids but no joy. Interesting my heart rate has already gone down from 90 beats per minute to 64 beats per minute so I am VERY happy about that as I was always worried about that. Also I started having botox in the back of my head 5 weeks ago to see if that worked on my headaches and it has cut them down by 80% so I am also very happy about that.

I just wish I never had taken amitryptaline as it has so many bad things we don't know about in it and as the botox has shown there are alternatives!! Now I am just hoping the insomnia won't last forever........

Hi, About 15 years ago, I had a serious problem with alcohol. (sp) I tried
one on one therapy, AA,and group therapy. I just was not ready for these
kinds of therapies. My Psychitrist, put me on Elavil. I took this for
one year. I have never had the desire to drink again. I had been
drinking for 8 years, starting in high school. For my issue it was
the best medicine which got me through a difficult time.

My 17 y/o daughter has been on amitriptiline for almost a year for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (2, 100 mg pills a night). After gaining 50 pounds and not feeling any better, we have asked the doctor about going off of it and seeing a gastro doctor. The doc said tapering off would really mess with her head. What types of things might we see in the next two weeks while she is slowly coming off the meds?

I have been reading your comments about Amitriptyline. I have been on them for 14 years and I am now on 150mg. They do help me sleep but I feel like a zombie in the morning. I tried getting off them but once I stopped I just couldn't sleep, I recently lost my mum in Jan 2010 and I am finding it hard to cope without her. I have felt suicidal, but then think of my son.

How are you doing these days? I take both drugs and find they help with sleep. I'm actually trying to wean off the clonazepam & we brought in amit to help me with the shooting nerve pain I get as a withdrawal symptom as I wean off the clon. I take only 0.06mg clon and 2.5mg amit. The doctors dismiss it as 'such a small dose' but the withdrawal insomnia continues to be problematic. I hope I can wean off the rest soon, but worry about whether I'm any further ahead with replacing clon with amit.
Thanks,
SU

I started taking elavil last night for the first time. I have severe insomnia due to anxiety and nothing has helped me get to sleep. I finally slept last night but have been feeling kind of funny all day and a little disoriented. I have trouble keeping my train of thought. I am wondering if this feeling will go away soon and if it is because it is only day one. I start a new job Monday and don't want to feel this way then. My Dr is gone for the weekend so can't even ask him if this is normal.

Can anyone give me some ideas? should I continue to take them because they did help me sleep and I don't feel that anxious. Am a little anxious about feeling like this all the time though so hope it goes away!

I have been taking amitriptyline on and off for three or four days then stop for a couple of days then start again, as when I was on it permanently I felt very distant and not myself, flat in my mood. I take between 20 and 30 mg, but have anxiety from time to time. Does anyone else do this and have they noticed any problems with anxiety?

I've been taking amitriptyline for about 30 years but have gained a lot of weight so my doc started me on cymbalta about a month ago. I've been trying to reduce my amitriptyline, because the plan is to get off it completely, and I am down to one half of a 75mg tablet. I'm having a lot of dizziness and such a weird feeling in my head--it feels tight and big and awful--and I'm starting to think I'll never get off the amitriptyline or feel better. I didn't sleep well with the cymbalta at first but now I take it (40mg.) in the morning and I take an anti-nausea drug at night that helps me sleep. Oh what I wouldn't give for a nice clear head.

I started taking amitriptyline about 3 weeks ago for of all things, hypersensitivity to swallowing foods. I had an endoscopy performed and had my esophagus dilated due to severe acid reflux. Gastro doc said that this med has frequently been used to desensitize the nerves in esophagus. Every time I swallowed, I would feel the food tracks as it went down and sometimes it felt like food was stuck in the back of my throat. At first, I was on 10mg and did get sleepy, that went away and now I am at 20mg.

I fall asleep quickly at night, but in the daytime I have not noticed as severe side effects as some of the postings had indicated. I will be a lot more cautious now. I have noticed some palpitations that just come on and then go away. I am concerned about the palps and I guess if they get more severe, I will stop the amitrip. Thanks to all of you for the postings and the heads-up.

Has the amitriptyline helped with the swallowing problem?

I have been on Amitriptyline for 9 months due to having trapped nerves in my groin and thigh, I have had this for 4 years. I have been in terrible pain since 2006, its taken this amount of time to get a diagnoses had two exploratory operations, which they found two trapped nerves each time. I am currently taking Tramadol and paracetamol tablets as well as the Amtriptyline and using the TEMS machine.

I was on 45mg and slowly trying to reduce it 5mg a week as I have gained 2 stone in weight, bad skin, currently on 25mg but are having side effects of nausea, headache, light headiness, tiredness all due to slow reduction, has anyone else had these symptoms? I'm going into hospital again for 5 days for monitoring and rehab, they think I still have another trapped nerve lower down the thigh, probably another op!

I find everyone's comments very helpful. I was put on 30mg for depression and Interstitial cystitis about 2 years ago. I gained a ton of weight because of it. Had I known it was THIS much weight I'd have rather stayed depressed to be honest. Losing the weight has been horrible. I gained 30 lbs from it (and I was skinny before it!!!) It took me 2 years to lose 20 lbs. This last 10 won't budge.
Anyway, I weened off 20 of those mgs. I tried to ween all 30 but I got VERY angry, mean, I had NO filter on what I said, anything. The anger was bad!!!!!

I am now trying to again ween off the last 10 and praying I don't have issues again. My doc said take 10 every 2 days but that is soooo not what to do. So with the combination of acupuncture and herbs, I am weening off with 5 mgs a day for a week, then 5mg every other day, and so on. Will report on how it worked out soon!

Hi all. I was researching elavil as I started it for nerve pain associated with a disk but I have to get off. I wanted to comment for people with FM. I was diagnosed 15 years ago. 3 years ago I changed my diet to vegan. I lost 20 lbs, got off 7, SEVEN chronic meds, and have no more FM symptoms. Start by reading "eat to live" by DR FURMAN. You do have control over this!!! Everyone else on here will benefit greatly as well.

I have been taking Amitriptyline since 4 years now. My doc increased the dose to 150 MG initially felt very good because it got rid of my migraine headaches, but now I am facing the extreme side effects: hearing loss, no concentration, trouble sleeping for days now, loss of balance control, my head seems like heavy and stupid dreams.. I don't know what worse gonna happen... I am losing confidence on myself... Does anyone has a remedy? Only people going through this pain can understand. I feel terrible..

Looking for help.

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR PROMPTLY TO HAVE HIM OR HER RULE OUT A PROBLEM UNRELATED TO THE MEDICINE THAT MIGHT CAUSE HEARING AND BALANCE PROBLEMS.

I have been on Amitriptyline for almost 15 years for muscles spasms all over my body. I must admit the spasms slowed down but it did very little to improve my sleeping. As time went on I was given an additional drug called tizanidine (4mg) because the Amitriptyline wan`t doing what its suppose to, and the tizanadine was supposed be a "kicker" and help.

Anyway-- I was taking 75 mg at night, two hours before I regularly retire for the night. Some nights I would wake up a minimum of three times due to the spasms that this drug was supposed to eliminate. I would have to kneel beside the bed and stretch the muscles, I found out that if I stayed in the kneeling position I would sleep until my knees were sore and woke me.

This process happened so many times that eventually I would wake up kneeling by the bed or the couch, not remembering going to the living room. As of July 9th of this year I have taken myself off of Amitriptaline, Tizanidine, and Clonazepan ( suppose to also help the amitrip ).

I have never felt so good as I do now, in the last 15 yrs I have been on the meds. I have no problems sleeping the whole night, and I don`t wake up with a hangover. My spasms have virtually stopped. Did I do the right thing stopping my medication. I guess time will tell.

I am on 50mg of Amitrip and have been for 8 months due to violent migraine headaches. I suffered for 10 years. The headaches have gone away but I have noticed my blood pressure is way up 95/150 (it used to be 110/64). I have not been eating any more than I ever have, and I have been exercising a lot. My weight has increased by 15 lbs. My doc wants to put me on high blood pressure medicine now.

Maybe I should go off of amitrip slowly, then go on another drug called zimelidine? The weight gain apparently is much less on that drug. Hopefully zimelidine will be as effective as amitrip was for me in curbing my migraines.

I was on effexor 300mg for 4 years, gained 25kg in that time. When I withdrew I had unbearable uncontrollable withdrawal symptoms. Both mental and neurological. It took me 2 years of reducing dose fortnightly, sometimes having to increase dose again after dropping it 'cos the symptoms got too hard to handle. I dropped exactly 2kg every time I dropped 37.5mg. My doctor has just prescribed Endep 10mg/night to reduce chronic back pain but I am afraid to start it given my terrible experiences withdrawing from Effexor and prior to that Aropax.

If I only take Endep for 10 days or so at 10mg, what are the chances of having to go through all that withdrawal nightmare all over again? I didn't function in society for nearly 2 years last time. I need the pain relief but am so scared about this option.
Can anyone help?

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: ENDEP IS AMITRIPTYLINE. ALTHOUGH EFFEXOR IS MUCH MORE WELL-KNOWN FOR CAUSING WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS, NAUSEA, MALAISE AND HEADACHE CAN OCCUR UPON STOPPING ENDEP SUDDENLY.

My daughter is 13. The doctor just put her on amitriptline for migraine headaches. She takes 20 mg at night. Last night was her first night. I am worried after reading all the comments. They knocked her out. Do you think it will get rid of her migraines? She starts school next week. I don't want her head to be screwed up. Please comment if it helped migraines.

I have also started on 10mg of elavil for about 3 weeks now and I felt like it has worked a lot for sleep and chronic pain, but I do feel nervous and hyper sometimes, I think because I'm also a teenager still 19, but I want to stop taking it since I have read a lot about bad side effects with long term use of elavil, but I'm also in 10mg I don't know why the side effects kick in when it's such a low dose.

Hi needsleep
The last 12 months I've had big problems with balance and hearing tending to veer off to the right and feeling vague. I was on Lansoprazole (a proton pump inhibitor) for excess acid and came off it recently thinking this may be the cause. But the moment I went back on paroxitine 10mg after a 3 week break (SSRI) the problems returned big time within 3 days. After just 2 days of 10mg of amitryptaline for functional gut disorder the same thing is happening.

I also have an irregular fast heart beat and am on a beta blocker for this. Today, my head felt heavy as yours does.

I've mentioned this balance /hearing/ drunken feeling many times to the doctor and he took little notice for a year until I mentioned the symptoms went once I missed doses of the antidepressant paroxitine. Naturally he was skeptical, this week. Yet after just 2 doses of 10mg amitryptaline the problem is instantly back and I`m trying 5mg tonight. As the Forum says, please see your doctor because many antidepressants can cause heart problems and strokes and I really felt as if I was about to die on occasion. Will update this if have to stop ami. Due to see doctor in 2 weeks. I'm in England.

I have been on elavil, 50mgs at night, for one month now. NOTHING else has taken the burning pain and heat from my hands and feet like this drug. I have some arthritis problems in the spine, bulging discs., etc., but my worst problem has been fibromyalgia and insomnia and some depression and anxiety over the state of my health. I still have issues, but never thought I would live the day that this burning sensation in my feet and hands would go away. It was so bad I would sometimes sit my feet on frozen ice packs at night to try to get the red and burning to go away. Now it's gone. So, if I gain 10 pounds, I don't even care. I have had my hands restored and no more burning...

I've been on amitriptline for 16years at one point I was up to 75ml but couldn't function. Well always tired so I dropped the amount myself first to 50 then to 25 and I try to stay at that amount. This past week I've been running out before I see my Dr so I'm now on 12 and a half. I just find it hard to sleep but I am a lot more alert. Mine is for pain.

This exact thing has happened to me since I've been on amiltryptalene, could it be the drug I could be taking this drug to reduce the pain it is causing mad!

I was on 50mg of amitriptyline per day for about 5 years for migraines. The negative side effects (especially constipation) began to outweigh the benefits and I decided to wean myself off. I dropped the dose by 10 mg per month and started feeling better each time. I would usually have a couple of difficult days when I first dropped the dose (I didn't sleep as well and felt a bit anxious or irritable), but this passed and I persevered. As of February 1, I am off of the drug completely. My migraines are no worse; if anything they seem to be less frequent. And the drug side effects are gone. I'm feeling much better (more alert, optimistic). I would encourage others to consider this gradual regimen.

As others have suggested in their comments, the body becomes dependent on the drug, and it needs to slowly go back to normal functioning. Expect some bumps in the road, but it is worth persevering. There's a temptation when you start feeling better to just stop, but I think it's better to keep to the gradual regimen.

Hello All,

Has anyone had a problem, or heard of a problem of a very profuse runny nose when stopping Elavil? I have been on it at 100-150 mg for nearly 18 years. I weaned myself off it about 2 months ago, and I still have such a drippy runny nose I have to take anti-cholinergic drugs like Bentyl and Atrovent nasal to deal with it. Sometimes those don't work and I am debilitated to my bedroom. I had to stop the Amitriptyline because of the side effects, especially dry mouth, runny nose and watery eyes.

If I increase the dose, those symptoms ease, so I guess that means I am too tolerant to it now, and withdrawal was my only choice to get rid of the side/withdrawal/tolerance effect once and for all. But it has been 2 months now and I have not had any improvement with the withdrawal symptoms and as such I am thinking of going back on it with the thought that maybe the Amitriptyline is not the cause of these sinus symptoms after all... but I want to be sure before I go back on it. Thanks for any info. RSC

Female. Age 51. I currently take amitriptyline at night 3 ea 25mg = 75mg per night. Several yrs ago I took amitriptyline for the first time for insomnia, depression, severe muscle pain. I only took 25mg per night. Took for a few months that first time. In about 3 wks had tremendous lifting of mood. Very noticeable. Very Very bad constipation caused me to go off.

I have since gone back on and have learned how to manage the constipation very well. Very little problem now - since I EXPECTED it this time and made special efforts to stay ahead of it. Have now been back on ami for close to three yrs dose of 3 small 25mg tabs per night tot 75mg. For the last yr have off and on infrequent but VERY SCARY severe pain in center of chest. Not too often but never know when it will occur. Have felt like I was having a heart attack.

I take a crushed 75mg tab of wellbutrin in the morning. Previously was on 150mg per day wellbutrin (75mg twice a day). I learned that I should be sure to space the wellbutrin doses at least 8 hrs apart. So I became very careful about that and also it seemed to IMPROVE MY CHEST CRUSHING PAIN when I kept the wellbutrin at least 8 hrs before (or more) the amitriptyline.

Now I only take wb only 1x per day in morning due to that concern. I still can get the chest pain periodically. At times I have taken 1 81 mg baby aspirin (non-coated) and very quickly the pain will ease up and go away. It gives me a panic attack when the pain starts. Lots of pressure in CENTER of high up rib cage. Like an elephant. I am able to not only get to sleep routinely within 1 hr of taking the 75mg ami, but I CAN STAY ASLEEP very well all night.

Last night for first time ever I was woken up from a deep good sleep with the chest pain. Got up. Urinated. Went back to bed and pain stopped. No aspirin. I have not asked MD but am searching internet to see if this WONDERFULLY HELPFUL RX has any known reports of causing heart problems, heart attacks etc. I hope there is no problem with long term use. I get bad side effects - several - all terrible when I go off it for 3-4 days. 4th day very bad. I don't want to go off as it works so beautifully but I am getting nervous about the heart issue. This drug has been around for 40-50 yrs I understand. Will appreciate any feedback and others research notes.

Female age 51. Is there any data on long term use of amitriptyline (Elavil) correlated with heart problems or pain? I have been on it for a few yrs now and am experiencing periodic crushing chest pain - middle of my sternum area. I take 75 mg a night (3 x 25mg small pills - easy to swallow and not stick). I began to notice the chest pain after taking wellbutrin 150mg per day for anxiety that I started taking in addition to the amitriptyline which helps my insomnia (extremely well), depression, and fibro like symptoms, as well as migraines. I began to experiment by being sure that I took the final dose of wellbutrin at least 8 OR MORE hours prior to taking the amitriptyline. That seemed to make a difference. Now I only take 1 dose in the morning of wellbutrin 75mg and then at night (12+ hrs later) I take the 75 mg amitriptyline.

Very scary when the chest pain occurs. Hate to go off Ami as it helps pain and insomnia SO much. When I have tried to go off it by 4th day I'm in agony with fibro like pain and headaches, nausea, insomnia - absolute misery. Don't want to EVER go off but am very very worried about the chest pain. The chest pain is periodic - not frequent but it woke me up from a deep comfortable sleep last night. After groggily getting up, urinating, was able to go back to sleep with no pain. Very weird. Maybe it's the drug interaction rather than the ami itsself? Very interested in good feedback!

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: YOU SHOULD DISCUSS THIS WITH YOUR DOCTOR. HEART-RELATED REACTIONS ARE UNCOMMON BUT CAN BE SERIOUS.

Hi - I have been taking Amitriptyline 10mg this time for about 8 months for dizzy migraine. Have taken it before but thought I was better so "weaned" myself of it. The benefits are great - sleep well - feel in control (if it's taken at 6pm)... but I think it is making my liver ache - I have now put about 12lbs on and have been told that I have a "fatty liver".... never had this before... but had my gallbladder out 2.5 years ago and don't really know if this is partly to blame?

The drug sedates and therefore makes you less active and more hungry. Having read all your comments and the weight increase some of you have experienced - I am now thinking that the Amitriptyline is responsible. I have stopped taking it for a week and sleep ok but don't have the same enthusiasm and also feel stuffy in my head as if I am spinning... but my liver is not hurting as much!

Had bloods taken again and waiting for the results - going to doctors later in the week. I don't really want to say goodbye to the Amitriptyline because I felt secure with not having to be dizzy - but I also don't want to be overweight with liver problems. Is there anything else like Amitrptyline without the side effects and weight gain?

Hi I have been taking Ami for the last 4 months to help with my insomnia. At first it worked very well then the last month it hardly works at all. I now want to come off because I do not want to up the dose, also I am afraid of the withdrawal effects associated with this drug. Reading all the above I have also gained 5 pounds and I also noticed my hair has started to drop out.

I have read on other websites that leaving salt out your diet helps to eliminate the weight gain problems with this drug. I am taking a small amount only 10mg and sometimes I have only taken 5mg and still I have side effects so I can only imagine it must be a lot worse when you take higher doses of amitriptyline.

HI, I've been on amitriptyline for 4 years now at only 10mg a night to relieve tension headaches and sleep problems. It worked a treat for both of these and allowed me to live a normal life for a while, but now I'm experiencing the side effect of chronic constipation. I don't like this at all so have decided it's time to try stop taking the meds, I'm now on day 4, my bowels are more active than ever but my sleeping has slowly deteriorated to the point where I wake at 3 each morning and can't return back to sleep. I don't know what to do, if it wasn't for the constipation I would continue on the amitrip but is there anything else I can be taking or doing to ensure a full deep nights sleep?

Dr prescribed 75MG amitrip to help with my insomnia. My brain races and I either can't sleep at all or I wake up every 30 minutes to an hour all night. I am going to try this for the first time tonight but according to other posts my 75MG dose seems like a lot. Also the weight gain, constipation and the next day hangover (feeling out of it) seem all to be bad side effects. Should I start on this drug or are the risks not worth it.. I need some real sleep...

I take Elavil (generic for amitriptyline) 3 ea x 25mg = 75mg per night. 2 ea not enough. 4ea too much. I can fall asleep like clockwork now, have very few migraines anymore. Have headaches only very rarely now. I take 75mg wellbutrin (buproprion HCL generic) non-sustained release. Crushable so I float it on a thick drink of OJ w/ lots of pulp or applesauce etc. Wellbutrin gives a little energy lift.

I don't notice it because so subtle, however when I go without it for more than 3 days I start feeling withdrawal effects. I really notice when I don't have it that I have a real energy drain & exhaustion. Re amitriptyline - I have learned to take the full dose only if i know I'm going to have 8-12 hrs of sleep and I keep that kind of separation between ami & wellbutrin.

I noticed heart arrhythmia when I would take 2 doses of wellbutrin SR ea day and it was hard to have at least 8 hrs (discovered this need on my own) between the last wellbutrin dose and the nightly bedtime dose of ami. Now I only take 1 dose of wellbutrin and it is crushable and no longer SR (sustained release). If I am not going to have 8-12 hrs of sleep (went to bed too late) then I cut down the ami to only 2ea (25mg x 2) or even one each. That assures that I won't feel too groggy dragging all the next day.

If I do get any heart pain or pressure after taking the ami I immediately take a chewable baby aspirin (81mg). I hardly ever get the pain since I keep the distance carefully between the ami & the wellbutrin. The ami lets me stay asleep. Without it I'm awake half the night and exhausted and in fibro-lie pain.

Amitriptyline was the worst thing that happened to me in my life, until much later when I had an even worse brush with prozac. 35 years ago, when I was suffering acute (over-work related) depression, I was placed on a high dosage fairly quickly. Within a few hours I developed dryness and a thick brownish yellow coating in my mouth and in particular on my tongue.

This never stopped happening, and I had to physically scrape it off then brush frequently. I consistently greyed out (think bad B&W TV with snow), and if I didn't sit quickly, would faint. After an initial two weeks, I returned to work as a systems programmer, but didn't realize my output was rubbish, and that I was avoiding all social contact.

Basically there was a three month spaced-out hole in my life until I thought "stuff it, and stuff weaning off" and stopped abruptly. It took about 36 hours to go into a marvelous state of euphoria, when the tunnel vision vanished. This tapered, but lasted all of 20 days.

I was put on Amitriptyline for sinus/migraine headaches & insomnia....... which is helped tremendously (25 mg) at night. However, the past couple weeks, I have felt totally horrible, no energy, not caring, reverting inward, totally opposite of my norm. The palps are a little, after reading all of yours, I am going to wean off, I cannot stand not caring about anything.

I will continue with my nedi pot in the mornings, and for severe migraine folks, Botox has been my ticket. Ami does leave me with a dry mouth also. I take alprazolam 2mg at night and have for 10 yrs, so Ihope that will assist with my weaning off of ami. Thank all of you for your comments, I truly thought I was delusional, and the suicidal thoughts have been horrible! God Bless each of you

totally agree about the cutting in 1/2 & I also did 1/4, I bought a pill cutter at walgreens, any drugstore should have them, it did great cutting them in half and fourth. Mine were 25 mg. They helped with my cloggy headaches in the morning & insomnia, but as the weeks went on, I was simply numb about life. Best of luck to all of you!

I took amitriptyline for 8 years, starting with a 100mg dose every day, increasing ultimately to 200mg per day for about 5 years, and then I gradually weaned off, from 200 to 150 to 100, down to 50, then 25, then 12.5mg. After 3 months at 12.5 I thought to myself "this is ridiculous, get a grip on yourself and stop taking this medicine!"

Yes, I did experience withdrawal symptoms. I guess the difference is in how you deal with them. You can sit around wringing your hands about how awful it all is, or you can act like an adult and accept that there will be unpleasantness, but that unpleasantness is not harmful, not dangerous, and very temporary.

The person experiencing chest-pain, however, should go the Emergency Room IMMEDIATELY.

The drowsiness goes away with time.

I took elavil for 5 years for neuropathy caused by diabetes. It did knock me out, and the dosage was increased gradually to 500mg. I had to have emergency surgery at the VA hospital, and at that time they issued a message that the VA would no longer supply the drug. So I didn't get any.

I woke up several times a night, but was on a trip, being somewhere else in my mind while carrying on a conversation with my wife at the same time. It took several days of this for us to determine what the source of the problem was, because of the heavy pain medication. It did some good things for me, but the withdrawal makes me wonder if any of that was worth the price I eventually paid. If you need it, make sure someone is there to insure that you don't come off of it suddenly.

Wow! I talked w/ my doctor about stopping my 50mg and he told me that this was one that I could just stop taking. I am going to watch for odd symptoms but I am going to have to agree w/ Mike G. I was weaned off Lyrica a month ago and amazingly enough I did not have all the dramatic withdraw symptoms that everyone posted so I can't imagine 50mg of this is going to make a big difference. Thanks Mike G.

I can relate to chronic insomnia too, have it for years now and get really upset at people trying to help by saying that I should exercise, reduce caffeine and learn meditation, as if I had not tried these all! Most people I know get very grumpy when they don't sleep properly for one single night, I find it funny coz don't even remember when was the last time I actually slept through the night.

Pills only helped temporarily and my GP refused to prescribe more to avoid addiction. I got as a "desperate rescue" the Amitrip 25mg and hope they will help me sleep, at least for a while. I'll also do some hypnosis session as suggested by my doctor and hopefully they will help.

Amitriptyline really helped me. The side effects were bad in the beginning, but they eased up after close to 2 weeks.

Does anyone know if sandoz 10 mg. amitriptyline is made at the same or different factory from geneva/sandoz?

Thanks.

hi I have been on 50mg amitryptiline for 2 years now for chronic pain plus 20mg fluoxitine, oxynorm 5mg as and when I need it, omeprazole for hietus hernia and chronic gastritus, asthma meds, plus vesicare 5mg (just started on them). I am just so exhausted all day and feel a bit down tbh.

I tried stopping the ami and have been feeling sick with stomach cramps every morning.I didn't realize this could be because of the withdrawals till I read these posts, and have started taking them again. I am concerned about what the combination of ami and prozac is doing to me.

I can cope with feeling a bit drowsy in my head but, the lack of energy (feet and legs ache just climbing the stairs) and the feelings of 'i just cant be bothered' is not helping. I have a toddler, 9 year old and 15 year old on my own, so can't go on like this. I am due to go for a hysterectomy sometime this year, and the thought of putting my body through more torture is killing me.

Hi all, well cut my dose of amitriptyline from 20mg to 10mg last week, as I'm feed up of being a zomby all day. Have been taking for three years for depression, this week hasn't been great, feel dizzy, pale, sick and heart rate, sweaty and panic attacks have returned, but no this is the first stage of getting this tablet out of my system once and for all, going to continue with 10 mg next week, then 1/2 tablet. Has anyone else had the same problems of coming off these pills and how long does these side effects of coming off take?

Hi Karen
Last week came off taking 2x 10mg to 1 x 10mg and this week day 6 I feel drowsy, hot, vomiting, and light headed, and have lack of energy and like you also legs feel like cement.
And that's just the lack of 1 tablet in my system for one week, next week no more tablets, and I really hope its not like this for too long.

Hello I do not understand what you are saying about how wonderful you felt after quitting elavil. I have been on elavil for 30 years if you can believe it for anxiety and depression. I went down to 200mg. a few years ago and now I am trying to go down 50mg. and I have the shakes and feel so anxious?? Did you experience any of this?
Thank you,
SM

SM, 200 is a lot of Amitriptyline. I was on 150 for about 30 years and I started gaining a lot of weight and couldn't lose it so I decided to cut it down. I asked my doctor about and he was agreeable. I started by cutting 75 mg tablets in half and then cut that in half and I started taking one 75 mg tablet and 3/4 of a tablet.

I kept the dose as this for about a month. Then I cut down to a 75mg and 1/2 of a tablet. And stayed there for about a month. At this point I felt a little withdrawal, but not bad. I went down to one tablet and a 1/4 tablet for about a month. And I felt a little withdrawal but really it wasn't bad at all.

So I went down to one 75 mg tablet for about a month. I got down to 50mg. and really didn't feel too bad, my sleeping wasn't the best but I started losing weight and I decided to stay at 50mg. because I have fibromyalgia and I need to be on at least some. But if not for that I have no doubt I could have kept going 1/4 of a tablet at a time and got off completely without a lot of withdrawal.

You were on a larger dose so it would take you some more time to slowly ween yourself off without the withdrawal symptoms (shakes, weakness, nausea, dizziness, headache.) Just go very, very slow and each time you go down wait for any symptoms to go away and for your system to stabilize before you go down again.

It's dangerous to go down too fast, especially if you have been taking it for a long time and at high doses. My doctor was all for going down like 75 mg at a time and I knew better. I tried that and it was awful. Just like what you've been experiencing. Go very slow, be patient, and if you need encouragement post here again.

It was a long time ago, and I had only been on it for 3 months, but felt the side effects to be worse than the depression. Against medical advice, I stopped cold turkey. Within hours, a couple of days at most the clouds lifted, I could see colour again, and felt that I had shed a huge weight and was positively euphoric for 2-3 weeks.

Eventually returned to normal with no knock-on problems at all. I know everyone is different, but there is real hope out there after weaning off. I wish you every luck every step of the way. From reading many of the comments, I begin to wonder if reducing frequency might be better than reducing dose in cutting withdrawal symptoms. In your case missing 1 day in 3 or 4 before eventually dropping to 250 every day, then if all well repeat the process

Female, 34 years old. I experienced my first anxiety and panic attack 3 weeks ago. Felt extreme heaviness pushing down on my chest, causing me to feel like I couldn't breath. The feeling was like if my lungs had closed up half way and weren't taking in all the air I was breathing. Had to take constant deep breaths every few seconds for 6 hours.

All kinds of tests were done on me at the hospital. All results were good. Nothing wrong with my heart, lungs, blood pressure or sugar. After getting the tests done at the hospital, 6 hours later, I was given a 10mg Xanax to calm down and was prescribed Zoloft. I refused to take Zoloft because I didn't feel I needed it. I knew I wasn't depressed, I simply got pissed off at something that happened and somehow that caused me to have an anxiety and panic attack at the same time.

I've had a pretty stressful life for many years now and I'm sure a break-down was bound to happen at some point if I didn't make some life style changes. This was my wake-up call. Which, perhaps we all need sometimes to slap us back into reality and allow us to have a second chance at life by making healthy changes.

The next day I noticed I had developed a "fear" of "fear." I know, that sounds silly and it's hard to explain to people. Now that I'm better, I think I can explain it by saying that I was afraid of developing "fear" because I knew that if I felt fear, I could possibly have another anxiety and panic attack. For about a week, I feared everything; walking outside, walking back inside, taking a shower, being home alone, getting in the car, driving away from home, etc., etc.

I went to the doctor the day after my trip to the hospital and he told me to take Xanax every 6 to 8 hours until I felt I didn't need them anymore. I stopped taking them 9 days later, but only with a "will to live" mentality because I had read that Xanax is very addictive with tough side affects. So I did my best to cope with my anxiety on my own rather than running to Xanax. Took about a day or two to master this, along with 2 mile walks everyday and changing my diet to a raw/uncooked vegetable and fruit diet. I haven't had to take another Xanax since and I'm so thankful I didn't become addicted.

When they say its "Mind over Matter," it truly is. Our mind is a powerful thing. When something feels wrong, you really have to follow your intuition. Xanax felt wrong to me, I felt my mind was playing tricks on me. I'm glad I'm not taking that anymore.

For the past 3 weeks I have been taking 10mg of amitryptiline. I was under the impression that I was taking a sleeping pill when I began taking it because my doctor said to take it an hour before bedtime. A week and a half later I did some research on it and found out it was an antidepressant. Something I refused to take in the beginning. So, 3 weeks after taking it, I went to my doctor and asked to be weened off of it. He suggested I take it for a total of 90 days and wrote me a new prescription for more. I don't want to take anymore, especially after reading about all the negative side affects of trying to come off of it.

I am a little afraid of stopping cold turkey because of what I've read regarding the withdrawals, but part of me tells me that I should try, that perhaps they won't be as bad since I've only been taking it for 3 weeks at 10mg a day. Another friend of mine stopped taking prozac cold turkey and he says it didn't cause any problems for him. He said that its all a mental thing (obviously), he said he didn't like the way he felt when he was on it, so one day (2 years later) he decided to stop cold turkey and learn to deal with life differently. He didn't let things upset him anymore. He used always be angry at everything, and he just learned to let things go. Negative emotions are controllable and definitely not worth being on meds for the rest of your life.

So, I think I'm just going to go for it. Stop taking the Ami 10mg cold turkey today. Wish me luck.

I have been off and on this drug for over 10 years now. When Maprotilyne was available, it worked much better than amitriptyline! But they discontinued this drug and the other pain med I used daily (codeine/aspirin). So I go back and forth with taking this med. I notice a huge increase in the reduction of pain when I take it, but also find my drive in life (just normal get up and do things drive) has taken a hard hit.

I take usually between 150mg-75mg at night. I feel the sun burns me easier, and I get "blood-sugar" shaky, but I have been on, and still am on many meds for chronic pain from a car hitting me while on bicycle. I have found after many "self" experiments with taking and dosage, and what drugs help with it, and what ones don't. The "best" thing about this drug is the relief of the constant back-pain I had. The "worst" thing about this drug is the way it makes me nap more, and feel like staying at home instead of doing things. But if you have the daily pain like myself, you are willing to handle these side-effects.

All in all I would give this drug a 8.5 for taking pain away. 7.0 for depression, and 7.5 for panic attacks, and daily anxiety. I can still drive an 18-wheeler, work as a CNA in hospitals and all other work I know how to do. But when the shift ends, so do I!.... But I still say it is worth it for "my" particular problems. And I have tried SCORES of the new anti-depressants and pain meds.

So for pain(acute/ chronic/ and body), anxiety dis-order, panic attacks I take this med with 2 mg of Klonopin, 3-4 doses of 7.5 vicoprofen tablets, Soma PRN, and Ativan PRN. This combo has worked for years. Yes, it has some very undesirable side-effects, but being a man of faith I try and pray for the best combo. More of this and that. New of this and that has been pushed on me. But I believe this is the best combination for me, and I would suggest that anyone who is getting a benefit from this drug to just suck up the side-effects and get used to it.

There are NO silver bullets out there, and you have not "lost your faith if you correctly take medicine. Don't let the wolves tell you otherwise! The only "silver bullet" I have found was drinking all day, and that is against my convictions and could cause others to stubble too.

I have reading all these comments on withdrawal from elavil. I have stopped taking evavil. I was taking 10 mg at night for sleep and pain and fibro. Not many are mentioning age. This is very important. Your body cannot handle drugs as well when you are over 60. I have found this out the hard way. I am having a lot of withdrawal symptoms just withdrawing from 10 mg.

It seems the older a person is the more drugs the doctors want them to take and this is not right! Please read up on this - All these drugs are making older people's lives worse. Best of luck to all of you and myself. This taking and with drawing from drugs - even small dosages- is very difficult and we are all to be commended for trying! Article in AARP magazine this past month listed 9 drugs an older person should not take and why. You are your own best researcher.

I have been taking this drug for neuropathy and it works great, but now I am taking it every 12 hours and it is making me feel high and very happy which is always a bad sign) I like it cause I can now sleep 12 hours at a time since my life is depressing I prefer sleeping it away wondering if this is a problem also I have the rapid speech ideal coming so quickly I don't have enough time to get them out things are kinda worst now but I don't seem to care much, this might be bad, so should I tell my Dr or just enjoy the ride? can't decide

I took a related drug, nortriptyline, for depression when I was 21. The drug totally changed my personality in a bad way. At first, I got a miraculous easing of the depression, but after a few weeks, I turned unbearably hostile. I had impulses to physically hurt people, which was a complete change in my way of thinking.

It also gave me severe PMS, which is probably part of the reason for the hostility. I also had milk discharge from my nipples.

Even after decades off the drug, I never quite returned to normal. I am far angrier and I don't think it was the depression, because I had battled depression for six years before taking the drug. Some people have very bad mental side effects from tricyclics and there is research on elavil and hostility.

My personality changed forever because of this drug and I regret taking it more than I can say.

By the way, what helped me with depression was to eat whole grains, cut sugar, dairy and wheat out of my diet. I also got tested for food allergies and have learned to avoid them. These steps helped almost as much as the drug--and without the side effects.

Wow. . . I cannot believe our similarities. I just started cutting my 50 mg. elavil in half and I cannot get it together. I can't sleep and I feel like a dang freak. I took elavil for about 3 years for chronic low back pain, fibromyalgia and depression. I have put on 30 pounds. I will be honest, that is the reason I wanted to go off of elavil. I am in my 6th night of 1/2 of a pill and I am seriously thinking of going back to a full one. I wish you the very best of luck and thank you for sharing your story. I don't feel like I am battling this problem alone!

I have been taking this medication for almost 1 1/2 years for fibromayalgia. I have gained close to 15lbs since taking. I had extreme thirst and excessive urination. I've tried diet & exercise without any results. I told my doctor I wanted to quit taking the medication he said since I was taking a low dose 25mg that I shouldn't have any issues coming off of it. Well I have stopped taking it now for 5 days I have been extremely tired, nausea, my face feels tingly like its feel asleep and is just waking up. I have lost 10 lbs already however. I don't know how long this med takes to get outta of your system I am trying to tough it out and get through this does anyone know how long this med takes to get outta of your system?

How exactly were you able to go off of Tryp and then feel so good? Everyone else seems unable to do this without unbearable side effects?

Hi Peeps,
I wonder if you can help me. I have been taking 50mg amitriptyline for nearly a year as pain relief and to help me sleep. I now think I may be pregnant.... which would be brilliant. I have been reading stuff on the internet saying you should not take amitriptyline in the first 3 months of pregnancy, so last night I didn't take any.

I will not know for sure if I am pregnant or not for a week or so and I am scared if I take the drug I could cause some damage. I would be truly grateful for any thoughts or advice on this matter. By the way, we have been trying to have a baby for 6 years and at 43yrs old this is possibly my last chance.
Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this.
Claire

Currently prescribed 75 mg daily, at bedtime. Depression, trouble sleeping, tired. I am not sure if I am having allergic reaction or, if itchy eyes is a side affect. Eyelids and around eye is very sensitive. Seems like my skin is burnt. I know the dry mouth that I have is from the Amitrip. but, at times, seem like I have very bad taste in my mouth. Any ideas?

Hang in there. I have had very suicidal (idealizing) at times (I am taking 150mg) for multiple problems. #1 Chronic pain- really helps! #2 Anxiety- (between 1-10 scale) 7 if taken regularly and not drinking ANY ALCOHOL! That just intensifies the anxiety and depression! #3 Depression (I have tested all the new SSRI's- Prozac/Effexor/Paxil/Cymbalta-"which I thought would be the magic bullet. But eventually my suicidal thoughts went away.

I am a spiritual man, and when I re-gained even a blip of "Hope" it helped tremendously!.... Try and find what gives you yourself "Hope" (for tomorrow or 2 years away)! That will be key. Your doctor is wise on his consult. Amitriptyline is a proven and "one of the most studied" anti-depressant.

What I do since I have been battling my demons for 30 years now, is supplement my Amitrip;- with a benzodiazepine (Not Diazepam though!) Ativan, Alprazolam, or the best for me Clonazepam!... Life sucks doesn't it when you are in the world of loneliness (even with lots of people around). And also remember your/my/others condition makes us feel sick and fatigued all the time, but when you can step outdoors and just find one of nature's Gems to be thankful for, it will help. Birds/ trees/ grass/ rain/ sun/ plants and flowers/ clouds..etc... Hope my input may help a bit. your brother, in life on earth!

My Dr has just prescribed me 25mg of amitriptyline for not being able to stay asleep /insomnia. I have sleep apnea and fall asleep with CPAP very easy, I just do not stay asleep all night.

I think I will say heck with the Amitriptyline and just get a prescription for MMJ.

Thanks everyone for the info!

I've been taking amitriptyline for aprox. 4 months and have just had a discectomy so no longer need it (was for nerve pain). I have found stopping it all together has been OK for me (was only on 20mg).

Maybe a suggestion to those having difficulty coming off of this drug especially if withdrawing from smaller doses, you could try cutting the tablets into 4 and taking a little bit of the tablet a couple of times a day. I used to do this with one of the 10mg tablets as most of my pain used to be throughout the day.

I would have half a tablet in the morning and half mid afternoon then a full tablet at night time. I think this may be why I coped better with the withdrawal as my body was only getting small amounts regularly.

Just a thought anyways. I'm also still on codeine 30/500mg TDS so this could also be keeping the symptoms away.

Hope those struggling with withdrawal soon manage to find relief from the effects of stopping/tapering off the drug. Will be praying for you all as I'm sure prayer has helped me a huge amount while I've been going through this process. That is probably the biggest reason why I have had an easier time of it. When the pain subsides though a bit more I have to tackle codeine withdrawal which I'm dreading!!

Try renting yoga for dummies. It works. The slow pace stretches you out you increase your strength, by the end there is a relaxing time for a few minutes that I have found myself asleep, drug free and pain free. It is awesome. Good luck.

Hi all - I was recently prescribed Amitrip, 25 mg., for insomnia. When I say "recently" as best I can recall, it was probably a month and a half ago while staying with my elderly mother in another state. I was already taking 1/2 to 1 mg. of Clonazepam for sleep (I can't shut my mind off--it races, right along with my heart) and Gabapentin for the neuropathic pain of Fibro. Also, while with my mother, I fell off a chair I was standing on and fractured my pelvis in two places.

At first it was, "Oh, it's your tailbone. It'll heal itself." Until I couldn't walk, sit or sleep. Anyway... I was also put on a mild dose of Hydrocodone every 4 hours as needed. So, taking the Clonazepam, Gabapentin, Hydrocodone AND Amitrip at bedtime, you better believe I slept - like a baby - from say 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. unless and until my bladder woke me up. Now, I've come back to where I lived before - no doctor here anymore - and forgot to have my Clonazepam refilled before I left. Well, once that doctor realized I had come back here, he wouldn't refill my Clonazepam.

So, not having it, and going thru what I thought were withdrawal symptoms from the Hydrocodone (have gone off it before with not much of a problem) and the Clonazepam at the same time, I now find myself without any sleep for 2 weeks, typing this at about 3:30 a.m. I have had spasms in my legs before from going off Xanax (on my own) and that took me to the ER.

This time, the spasms are worse and seem to intensify after taking more than prescribed Amitrip, which I did right before I read a lot of the posts and the side effects of Amitrip above. I have been having some very weird neuro things going on - for example, today as I was trying to catch a nap - HA! - all at once it felt like a bomb had gone off in my head, my sinuses dried up as did my eyes. My taste was affected, too.

Needless to say, even if I have had no energy from not having had any sleep for so long and haven't felt like finding a doctor, I need to go to the closest "Urgent Care" tomorrow.

I don't think my body likes anti-depressants. I'm sure I've tried most, if not all, of them, and they've been rejected one by one. Of course I thought the Amitrip was wonderful when I started taking it. I was also taking something for two different kinds of pain as well as Clonazepam. Now that I haven't taken Clonazepam or Hydrocodone for a couple of weeks, I have found that I cannot, nor will I, take another Amitrip! It sure isn't helping me GO to sleep so I don't know if it would help me STAY asleep. If I'm going to be awake anyway, I don't want to be experiencing all of these weird side effects. They're just too much!!
Good luck to you all!

P.S. I forgot to mention a couple more fun side effects I've noticed that have to be from taking the Amitrip. One is a really weird metallic or tarrish? taste in my mouth and the other is one eye is kinda bulging out and the other is recessed. I look in the mirror and don't even believe it's me!

Goodbye Amitriptyline, hello no more seizures! What a relief. I felt at times that someone had hit me over the head or I'd gotten tased with a full-body seizure. Very scary! However, now I have a bunch of bees buzzing in my ears and sometimes a timpani orchestra, too, in the left. I just read an article that said Amitriptyline is prescribed for ringing in the ears. Anyone have experience with this from taking and then getting off Amitriptyline?

Barbara, probably a result of elevated blood pressure, in response to amitriptyline's hypotensive effects. Hopefully temporary and will tail off, but just to be sure, get it checked.

Thanks for your response, Rossu but get what checked? My b.p.? I'm already on Atenolol 100 mg./day for b.p. I'd like to get my ears checked and get rid of this constant hissing!

Yes Barbara, b.p. I am on a host of b.p. meds, and found that the calcium channel blocker Felodipine (Plendil, Renedil) had a reduction in tinnitus as an unexpected but pleasant side effect. Worth talking to your GP about it. Whatever, I suspect and hope that your problem will slowly fade. Best of luck.

To Jody: I have been taking amitriptyline for long time for a different reason. I tried also some different drugs in the same class. They are very very powerful. Although I heard helps with headaches I don't think it's worth it. My wife had powerful headaches for ten years, nothing helped... the pain went away after she bought and tried a 50 dollars head massage machine. Something simple that vibrates and massages your head skin. And no side effects. Good luck!

My sitch:

Panic Disorder
Mild Depression
Recovering Alcoholic

Meds: Paxil, Amytriptyline and Clonipin

The Ami's were prescribed for help w/sleep. I've had on-and-off insomnia since graduating high school - 20 years now. Usually it's initial insomnia, but I've had the terminal kind, too.
I wanted to lay off of the benzo's, due to their being highly addictive. I'd been sober for about 4-5 years and was taking Paxil for depression and Amy's for sleep. Then the panic came back - AND NOTHING WOULD WORK. Buspar, grounding/somatic experiencing, GABA gabba yada yada yada...

So finally I surrendered - went to my doc and he gave me some Xanax - FINALLY relief. And sent me on my way w/a scrip for Clonipin. Fortunately I've had no problem w/ Clon, and sometimes even a a quarter mili (generally considered sub-therapeutic) does the job. The 50 mgs of Ellaavil (Amy) stopped helping w/sleep. Doc took it up to 100. Even that doesn't do much sometimes. Sometimes I'll go with a quarter-mili of Clon and 50 milis of the AmY's...which I know are not heavy doses... but you know, sometimes you wish you could crash without pills! And I've read some stuff about Amy that made we wonder if I should stay on it...

I could go off perhaps and increase my clon to sleep - but I don't want my Clon. intake to exceed half a mili per day. Sometimes I figure "hell with it - I won't STAND for any more insomnia, I'll take whatever I have to to get to sleep (short of booze)."
I also had an experience w/going off Lexipro that was pretty lousy...even after my doc's wean, all my symptoms returned - insomnia, panic, depression, rage. And then I thought "gee - they say these drugs aren't addictive, so why the withdrawals?"

After a particularly bad temper tantrum (and right in front of my g-friend), I went back on the Lexapro dose of 20 mg, which is what I had been stable on for 2-3 years. But that didn't seem to be working as well, so doc upped it to 30 mg, which was better. (Later switched to Paxil 40 mg, since there was a generic that I could afford...the switch went smoothly.)

I guess I could get better educated... but I wanna engage in things I enjoy, too, not be reading about the complexities of pharmacological substances every day... and now I'm a grad student, training to become a therapist! :)

I'll admit, I got other nocturnal vices which probably interfere w/normal sleep, one of which is a serious sweet tooth that I feel I must satiate EVERY night.
...man, what a life...still, all in all, not too bad after all...
"nighty-night" 'Berg

I stopped amitriptyline now one month I b4r get 25g 3 year I stop suddenly but now I have cold and neck pain maybe I can start again.

Hi there, I have been taking amitriptyline for about 10yrs. I was originally placed on 75mg dose by my neurologist to try to control migraines and daily headache.

Over a period of about 18mths we worked the dosage down to 10mg (with a bit of trial and error), so for the past 8 yrs that has been enough to keep my migraines under control and the head pain at bay.

Over the past 6 weeks I have been trying to wean myself from the drug altogether. I did this by taking 10mg every other day for about 4 weeks and for the past 2 weeks I have been drug free. I am sorry to say even with being so deliberate and measured in weaning myself off amitrip I have still experienced withdrawal symptoms: Marked fatigue, anxiety and palpitations (I didnt have any anxiety symptoms prior to starting the meds), fogginess and aching neck muscles.

I dont expect the symptoms to last long and they're not incapacitating by any stretch, but they are very much there.... I guess whilst 10mg is a low dosage 10 years is a long time to take that sort of drug. Hope this helps.

Hi Barbara, weaning off amitrp after 10yrs and have the most annoying drum beat in my left ear the past two weeks med free. I'm fairly confident that over the next few weeks it will wane, it doesn't seem as prevalent the last couple of days as it was in the first week. hope this helps.

I am pretty sensitive to medication. But this is what I experienced.

Was prescribed amitriptyline 10mg for insomnia and mild daily migraines.
1.5 hour after taking it, I was feeling chilly and groggy.
Went to bed, put extra blankets on and waited for sleep.
Sleep did not come, I became so cold I was shivering quite badly...
Odd feeling it was like I was cold from the inside.
My husband put more blankets on me and snuggled into me trying to warm me without success.
This went on until the early hours of the morning, finally the shivering ceased but I was still unable to sleep.
I got out of bed at 8am and had the worse migraine I've had in months and was feeling quite groggy and out of it.
I drank a lot of water, trying to flush the amitriptyline out of my system.
Finally I was able to sleep around 11pm for a few hours.

Today is the day following this episode and I feel great. Mind you I did not take amitriptyline last night. :)

Needless to say I will not be taking amitriptyline. I can manage to mild migraines with Excedrine.
Insomnia is the battle. :-/