Amitriptyline

[Eve]

Anyone know much about the side effects of this?

I've been on 40mg a day of citalopram for quite a while now. My rhumatologist had been trying to put me on amitriptyline for a while for chronic pain relief.

After a bad experience on it years before I refused for a long while until they convinced me the dosage was very different so I agreed to go on 10mg a day.

That was just over a year ago and co-incided with a very bad time for me and felt as if I was about to have a nervous breakdown.

Turned out they had accidentially put me on 50mg a day, pressed the wrong button apparently. Once I'd come off it things improved a lot.

I eventually was talked back on to 10mg a day and been ok on it.

Saw my GP and due to pain being worse and other things she upped it to 20mg a day. Been on that since Friday and am now feeling all jumpy and ridiculously stressed and nauseous and thinking it's the drug messing me about again.

Will get back and see my GP asap but any ideas in the meantime appreciated, similar experiences etc....

Have got a hospital appointment and really important meeting tomorrow and later in the week and need to focus!

[dizmouk2009]

I've been on Amitriptyline 10mgs now for probably 3 weeks. I'm also taking them with Solpadol (30mgs codeine/500mg paracetamol). If you want my honest answer, which I'm sure you do, I feel like sh*t. I feel depressed, which isn't helping because Amitriptyline is a antidepressant although it can also cause someone to get depressed - strange eh?

What you need to understand about that specific drug is that if the dose is increased or decreased it can take weeks, even a month or so to actually start working or take affect.

I just hope that your GP is better at his/her job than mine is because quite frankly I'm at the end of my tether. I wish you good luck Jenna because personally I think you're going to need it. I'm 24, I'm heathly (or was) and I'm plowing through 100 painkillers every 3-4 weeks and I'm not knocking back Amytriptyline - which like you are, for pain and not due to depression.

[weeal]

Horrible drug, turned me into a complete zombie in 1987, I actually think someone tried to ban it at one point. I wish they had.
They also dont tell you not to just 'stop' taking it, I went from 5-a-night to zero and thought i was dying.

[dizmouk2009]

Additional: I've told my doctor I'm sick of having to take so many tablets a day, to which he actually lost his temper with me - "A young lad like you shouldn't be taking so many tablets, your body will get addicted to them". 'My body will get addicted to them? more like it aready has'. If I don't take the drugs I have been everyday I'm all over the place, I can't sleep, I'm in constant pain and on top of that I feel mentally messed up.

[dizmouk2009]

weeal: They do tell you to stop taking them now, even the instructions on the packet say that you must not stop taking the dose unless advised by your doctor, even then you are advised to slowly bring yourself off the drug.

[dizmouk2009]

*"They do tell you NOT to stop taking them now"...

[weeal]

Glad they fixed that bit then, but its still a horrible horrible drug.

[dizmouk2009]

Tell me about it, I'm only on 20mgs, no wonder Jenna is all over the shop, 50mgs is a dose that you would give someone who is mentally depressed (I think, I've read a few forums in the past about dosage - either way it's still alot to be taking).

[Eve]

It is horrible! I had a similar experience Weeal, put me off it big time.

I have to say 10mg has seemed to be ok and helped with sleeping with the pain and as an aside has really helped my migraines :)

The pain has really been getting me down esp as been having problems tolerating the immunosuppressants they have me on for the arthritis and tummy issues (they think maybe arthritis caused by inflammatory bowel) but keep getting infections so they keep taking me off them and on prescription supplements as have a vitamin D deficiency causing additional bone pain.

I had a medication review with my doctor and mentioned had been feeling more down and sleeping not as good etc... so she upped the amitripyline to 20mg.

She said that 10mg is not an anti-depressant dose hence the chronic pain relief dosage. They give me codeine but try and limit it so I don't get hooked on it esp as it's a long term thing.

Have a gastro appointment tomorrow and no idea what that will bring. Part of me is scared it will be something like crohns though, if it is then at least i get some more help, well, hopefully. Part of me is scared they still don't know and I have to carry on suffering, one of those rock and hard place things I guess!

Hopefully we will get there in the end!

[dizmouk2009]

The tablets I'm taking are 10mg amounts but the label on the front advises 1-2 before bed time. I've found 10mg doesn't always work. Although I've only been prescribed 28 tablets, so I do have to go back for a review :S

[weeal]

I was given FIVE x 25mg per night and I - literally - couldnt live like that.
Zombie was an understatement, completely glazed, almost a knee hugger in corner effect. Never again. I dont understand how they can still prescribe them.
I heard at the time that some politician's daughter had taken 5 by accident and died !
I never looked up who that was, I was out of it. Only remembered that now.

[dizmouk2009]

Well if she took 5 x 50mg then there could be a serious problem. I've been on them before and I was on about 40mg and like you, I was all over the place.

[weeal]

Its extremely poisonous.

[weeal]

Read this Jenna, its about the use of it for pain specifically...
http://www.painconcern.org.uk/pages/page95.php

[dizmouk2009]

I think I should read that as well thanks weeal!

[weeal]

Sorry dizmouk2009, I didnt mean to miss you out, hadnt read why you were taking the drug.
Mine wasnt for pain, was post trauma.

[dizmouk2009]

It's no problem :) I'm just glad to talk to people in the same/or past drug boat as me.

[brucie1996]

I have been on it for 4 years just take 10mg for fibromyalgie been lucky had no problems