Amitriptyline thread

[Trina]

Hi Liney,

I took Amitriptyline for 2 years to prevent muscle tension headaches. (Caused by muscle spasms) They took about 6 weeks to work but once they did, I felt they really helped. I did have some side-effects including a metal taste in my mouth and weight gain. I also lost my libido.

I have recently stopped taking them as my Chiropractor is trying to stop the headaches by treatment instead. This is the first month I haven't had a headache after my monthlys. (I suffer with migraines & headaches which normally lasts up to 2-3 weeks).

I think if Amitriptyline works for you ... Go for it!!

Trina

[CutiePie]

Hi again, I have been given Amitripline to take and I've had them for a couple of months now and still haven't taken them, I don't know why I'm so scared to take them, I just don't like taking new tablets and scared I'll take a bad reaction to them, I'm feeling really sick and just don't want to make it worse in the slightest. I know I will have to take them, just keep putting it off! Has anyone had any bad reactions to it (it's a very low dose)!

[sanguine_emma]

No bad reaction. The worst side effect (for me) is that I tend to be really sleepy in the morning, but I can cheerfully put up with that because the benefits are fab - good night's sleep, reduced sciatica and nerve-type pain, improvements with chronic pain. It really does help me sleep, but it's not at all like being sedated - you aren't knocked out, you just go to sleep naturally. I wouldn't be without it, it's made a huge difference to my quality of life. But, we're all different. It's possible you might not get on with it. But it's not addictive or anything, and at your low dose, you can easily come off it again if you don't like it. At the end of the day, it is your body, and if you don't want to take the drugs, you don't have to.

Good luck!

Emma xx

[Sue New]

Hi Cutiepie,

I was put on a low dose of Amytriptiline for a short while but had to come off it quite quickly as it was making me too tired. It was great for getting to sleep at night but I really had to struggle with my body to wake up in the mornings. It may have been as I was on so many other meds at the time and my body couldn't cope with this as well, so my experience may be the exception. I do tend to have funny reactions to pain meds. I can't remmber exactly how long I was on it for, but my Doctor took me off it fairly quickly at the time.

At the end of the day, every individual has to make an informed decision based on what's right for them and their own medical circumstances. Just because they did not work out for me does not mean they won't work out for you.

Have you had a chance to discuss your concerns with your GP?

All the best,

Sue.

[wendle]

Hi I was put on amitriptyline a few years ago and got on really well, after the first couple of weeks of it getting into the system, felt really tired during the day at first, kept nodding off all the time, after about a year and a half of being on them I was having to steadily increase them for the effects to work, so decided to come off them, if they are for life I did not want to be on such a high dose early on (hopefully I have at least another 20 years in me yet ) I now find I can take a low dose for a few months to help with the sleeplessness and nerve damage and they are brilliant, after the first 2 weeks and when things are going getting better and my sleep pattern has returned (if only temperarily) I then slowly wean off them again. This does not work for my mother *also HMS, she is on them continually but is also at the ripe old age of 67!!!! Spoke with my GP and he has said if it works do it but I always check anything with him first because it is the safest way of doing anything with regard to lotions and potions.

[emjsaunders]

Hey, Amitriptyline is used to change the way your brain percieves brain signals. Its meant to alter it. When the doctor first gave it to me she said "do you sleep through the night" and i said "no", and she prescribed it and said "take it when u are bad, you dont sleep coz ur anxious"...
I found out 3 months later when i went to my local, instead of the specialist, that your are meant to take it every day for it to work and that she gave it to me not to help me sleep but to change the way my brain see's pain. That was how it was meant to help me sleep. First time i got prescribed it and when ever my dosage has changed i get SO tired! I slept for like 17 hours a day when i first got it. My sister however (also got HMS) was fine and didnt get at all tired

[Enigma]

I currently take Amitriptyline for chronic depression, naturally that means i am on a higher dose than for pain relief. When i was prescribed it i was not aware of the pain relief atrubutes and have only been hearing about that recently, it certainly explains why my pain seems to be more under control.

About a year ago my doctor agreed with my desire to try and reduce my dose and the side affects of coming down were not something i could stick with. I can only assume they were part of what classifies it as becoming depentant forming. The first thing i noticed was that i slept almost constantly, which was the opposite to what we were expecting for the same resons most of you seem to be on it. Naturally this affected my moods and as the sleep did not seem to improve we decided to abort the attempt and go back to my 'normal' dose.

I know that for the depression i have it has become a dependancy issue, and the questions over it during pregnancy have resulted in my having to reduce dose untill baby is born for that reason (the affects of suddenly comming off the amitriptyline that crosses the placenta (sp?) have been dangerous to babys health).
I hope this helps a little.

[sanguine_emma]

Hello enigma

I have a question regarding amitriptyline and pregnancy that you may have some insight into.

I'm currently trying (rather unsuccessfully) for a baby. I noticed that the side effect list (which is extensive!) on the amitrip says that it can cause lactation without pregnancy, and some other anecdotal evidence I picked up from the web seems to suggest that amitrip can raise prolactin levels which can interfere with fertility. There is also another minor, rather side effect that I get which would deserve a mention in the sensitive section but not here! My GP told me it was OK to go on taking it, but I'm wondering whether it's causing problems, and I thought I might go and talk to a pharmacist for a pharmacological view (it's a bit much to expect GPs to know everything about all medical conditions and all drugs too!). Do you think I'm being mad and grasping at straws here? All suggestions welcome!

Emma

[LucyM]

Hi, I am sorry to hear you are having trouble conceiving. I am just letting you know that I fell pregnant on amitriptiline (Sp) and remianed on it through out my pregnancy and even while I was breastfeeding. There was no harm done to the baby. Please note there is always a risk when taking meds and having a baby and these really have to be weighed up carefully. Please consult your GP as it is a very important and may have some devastating effects if something did go wrong. Please let your GP know you are trying for a baby while on medication.

Take care
LucyM

[Enigma]

Same here, i fell pregnant while on my normal dose, the doctors gave me the impression that it is harder with the dose i was at but their only other concerns were for the baby having amitriptyline while i am carrying her then having to withdrawn after birth ( while it does pass into the placenta it does not pass into breastmilk in anywhere near sufficient to be a concern).
The only thing you can do is talk to your doctor, as Lucy said, make sure he is aware you are trying for a baby while on this. When you do fall pregnant your doctor will probably discuss with you all the implications for the baby and help you to decide if you need to reduce your dose or not. That is not a decision you should make yourself, as a mother (even at the expectant stage) your every instict is to protect the baby, but you will need to weigh up the risks for yourself against those to the baby. Looking after yourself is just as important to the well being of a baby as any direct action towards the baby.

I am fortunate with my doctor, he will happily reach for his interactions book whenever i have a question. It might take a bit of going back and forth but i would also suggest trying to see each of the doctors at your surgery, you may find one of them better equipped (experiance wise) to support you.

Good luck hun *hugs*

[sanguine_emma]

Hi Lucy

Thanks my love, that's very reassuring! I asked my GP before we started trying, and then again when we did start trying just to be on the safe side... She said "amitriptyline's been around for ages, and you're on a low dose, so there's no way that will cause a problem. I think you'll need to review the opioids though, as soon as you know you're pregnant, but not until then" or words to that effect. However, I also spoke to a different GP a couple of years ago who said I should come of absolutely all medication before trying for a baby. Hmmm. When you look at the PIL inside the packet, almost the first thing it says is not to take it if you are pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breast feeding without consulting a doctor. The in the side effects section, it lists some things that sound decidedly endocrine in origin. A poke around the net revealed that amitriptyline can stimulate the production of prolactin from the pituitary, the prolactin in turn suppresses progesterone in the second half of the cycle (and here's where I make a bit of a leap of imagination)leading to hypofertility. Whether it can have this sort of effect with the lowish dose I'm taking, who knows? I think it's just that when you've been trying for a baby for a while and nothing's happening, you start to obsess about what's causing the problem to be honest. I'm going to go back to my GP (who will probably think I'm bonkers), because I don't think I'll rest easy until I've tried coming off amitriptyline for a bit just to see if it helps.

That's the trouble with being a scientist really. A little bit of knowledge and I'm off theorizing, and I don't trust anything until proven empirically My poor GP...

Please don't anyone follow my example! I'd hate to think anyone had changed their meds on the basis of this, when frankly, it's probably a load of rubbish! I'll let you know what my GP and the pharmacist say, and what happens next though.

Emma x

[eilaroc]

Out of curiosity - when do you take yours?

I've found in order to be effective I need to take it about an hour and a half before I want to go to bed. By that time, I am feeling relaxed and as if I could sleep. If I take it any later, I fall asleep by myself, then the amitryptiline kicks in and I feel as if I have a head of porridge the next day.

[midnightangel]

I am on a very low dose of Amitriptyline at night too. I was a GP who was not my usual one when I was having neck pain, and she suggested it to relax my muscles and help me sleep. I take it along with all my other pills and potions, I cant say I have noticed a huge difference, but then again I have not tried not talking it for a while, so who knows maybe it helps!

[anna]

I agree with Nonya - always talk to a good pharmacist. I am not a medic, but I presume it's like all meds - it's an individual thing. Lotsa

[NeoMorph]

Out of curiosity - when do you take yours?

I've found in order to be effective I need to take it about an hour and a half before I want to go to bed. By that time, I am feeling relaxed and as if I could sleep. If I take it any later, I fall asleep by myself, then the amitryptiline kicks in and I feel as if I have a head of porridge the next day.

As someone who has only recently been diagnosed HMS I'm amazed that I'm on a lot of the drugs that HMS patients take and have been for some years... one that I have been on a LONG time is Amitriptylene and I have found that I have to take mine at 5pm to slow me down enough to sleep at 10pm... if I take it any later I don't wake up properly until after midday the next day.

One thing I do do with the drug to make it more effective over a long period is reduce the dosage during the summer months as much as possible so when winter returns I can increase to my normal dose and it is much more effective.