AMITRIPTYLINE.

RosieGlow

I have read that many people here take Amitriptyline, and would like some advice please.

I have been taking 25mgs for over three weeks now, and they certainly help me to sleep. Too much! If I don`t set my alarm, I will sleep until 11.30/12 noon. When I do get up at my normal time, I am still sleepy, and driving is dangerous. I started out taking them at nine o`clock in the evening, then worked backwards until I am now taking them at six. I have tried taking just half a tablet, but that doesn`t seem to work at all. I am just about ready to throw in the towel with them, although the memory of disturbed sleep through pain, makes me want to keep trying.

I suppose what I`m asking is if anyone else has had this experience with them, and if I persevere, will I get used to the eventually? Thanks.Rosie.

villier

RosieGlow wrote:

I have read that many people here take Amitriptyline, and would like some advice please.

I have been taking 25mgs for over three weeks now, and they certainly help me to sleep. Too much! If I don`t set my alarm, I will sleep until 11.30/12 noon. When I do get up at my normal time, I am still sleepy, and driving is dangerous. I started out taking them at nine o`clock in the evening, then worked backwards until I am now taking them at six. I have tried taking just half a tablet, but that doesn`t seem to work at all. I am just about ready to throw in the towel with them, although the memory of disturbed sleep through pain, makes me want to keep trying.

I suppose what I`m asking is if anyone else has had this experience with them, and if I persevere, will I get used to the eventually? Thanks.Rosie.

Hi RosieGlow, I am sorry to hear you are having problems, I'm afraid I can't really help, when I was on amitrip I was taking some nocturnal walks to myself and had to come off them , hopefully some of the others will be along soon to give their input..........Marie x

barbara12

Hi Rosie
I now take 50mg....and take them at 7..ready for bed at ten...and get up around 8..7 oclock if I have my Grandchildren, I do think that 3 weeks is a little early to get used to them,must say I started on 10mg.
Maybe they are a bit much for you. some days I do sleep over but not very often
Hope this helps .x

frogmella

I took 20mg and found that I needed to take them 13-14 hours before I wanted to get up. I think that three weeks is pretty early days, give them a bit longer and take them a bit earlier maybe?

A word of warning - when I swapped to gabapentin my GP said it was fine to just stop the ami and swap. Well, I had awful withdrawal, a headache that just wouldn't quit. So I think if you do stop them don't just stop, wean off gradually!

kentishlady

Hi. I had same problem with Amitrip and had to come offer them. Think, like some of the others have suggested, try taking them earlier in the evening and see if that helps. I felt like a complete and utter zombie (more so than usual!!) so just had to give up with them. Hope you can get it sorted but if not, do come off them gradually so you don't get any horrible symptoms.

Beryl

wall1409

They do make you drowsy no matter what time you take them as I tried taking them earlier my GP swapped them for anoher , now I am on sleeping tablets so cant win sometimes hun, mostly its hit and miss with meds but they will get there in the end. Good luck hun

Wendy x

RosieGlow

Thanks everyone. I`ll carry on for another couple of weeks, because they are helping me sleep. Just a bit more than I need unfortunately. I would happily take sleeping tablets, but my GP just refuses to give them.

I`m taking the Ami`s at six o clock, but will now try five. I`ll get there!!Thanks again.....Rosie.x

frogmella

Yes, I think with all meds it is like swings and roundabouts (whatever that means!). You either live with the side effects or (all) the pain/lack of sleep etc. I think it is hard to get the balance right and I wish you luck.

elnafinn

Would 20mgs suits you better than 25mgs perhaps? You could take two lots of 10mgs each night......

Elna x

YellowFish

My GP prescribed me 10mgs - I found they did help me sleep better through the night but were very gentle - didn't really notice any side effects. Joints have improved recently and I've stopped taking them - didn't have any problems when I stopped.

sugarbuttie

I take 25mg and have to take it at 5pm otherwise I struggle getting up! I find they help me getva good nights sleep x

constable

My gp has in the past put me on amatrip but it didn't do to much for me. Now she has put me on Nortriptyline apparently its's a newer version with less side effects. Mark you, still doesn't do great. But you should it more time.

lupin15

10mg was all i was taking and it wiped me out until the next evening... there are other drugs that can be used ask your gp about them..

Sarah69

I've been on these and they never affected me like that but then again they didn't do anything for the pain either!

stickywicket

I hope you can find a method that works for you. It does seem a very individual thing and a matter of trial and error.

bubbadog

Hi Rosie, I started on a low dose of Amitriptyline around 10mg I think and now I'm on 70mg as I've been on them a very long time! I would sugest you go back and see your G.P and tell them that's been happening and see if you can reduce down 5-10mgs and see if that helps. Or you may need to try another med as they are a few others that maybe better suited to you. Hope that helps you.

acheyaudball

I take 20 at night and they wipe me out. Doc has changed mine, can't remember what to. Lol. I'll check later. x

knuckleduster

Hello Rosie

Obviously I can't advise you about dosage as that is between you and your doctor.

I have been taking 10mg amitriptyline for two months and luckily without any side effects, apart from a rise in blood pressure which has now settled. My doctor prescribed them for me as I was having difficulty sleeping with various aches and pains. I take it at 9pm and find I am fully awake by 7am without being drowsy, which is very different to many of the previous posts. But I have always been an alert early riser, so perhaps that is my norm.

Good luck with it, but if in doubt then consult your doctor.

Janet xx

RosieGlow

Thanks so much to all of you. It`s really helpful to hear about the different reactions to this med.

I didn`t have to go anywhere today, so decided to go with the flow. Ha, some flow! I took the 25mgs at 5.30 last night, and I woke at 12.15 today!!! I was very shaky for an hour or so, and felt quite depressed too. Obviously I can`t carry on like that, so will do as you have all suggested, and see my GP. That could take a while though, if I`m to see the one I want to. Tonight, I`ll cut one in half, and see what happens at that dosage. I did try that last week, and didn`t sleep at all. That could be due to the fact that the pain was really chronic. Also, I think maybe I had convinced myself that it would not be enough, if that makes sense. What a minefield.

It`s so hard though, to give up something that appears to work isn`t it? Anyway, thanks again. I feel less alone with it all now.......Rosie x.

dreamdaisy

I think going to see the GP is the best plan and I hope you can get to see the one you want very soon. This is something that you need to talk over with him because I am sure there is an answer somewhere for you. Amitryp doesn't seem to be the one for you, does it? Take care and please let us know how you get on. DD

Mat48

My GP gave them to me about 18 months ago and I've taken them on and off ever since - depending on whether I'm in pain and whether I am sleeping well or not. He did say when he first prescribed them (before my RA diagnosis) that they don't suit everyone - it's an old fashioned drug that used to be used in the One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest period :shock: in much higher doses for severe depression. He said some people just get too tired from them and can't function and if I didn't find them helpful then I should stop taking them. They are now used at almost homeopathic doses for kids with bed wetting problems and neuropathic pain. Pre Methotrexate I used to take 2 per night or eve 3 but now I just take one 10mg tablet at around 9.30 about 3 or 4 nights a week. I am tired often the next day but then I get tired anyway and they do help me relax at night. Amitriptyline is actually my favourite drug believe it or not but then I don't take any pain relief unless I absolutely have to . Mat

sugarbuttie

I must add that i would sleep until 12pm the next day if I let myself! The amitriptyline is a good 'knock out drug' but i HAVE to get up to take the children to school so i set the alarm clock for 8am. If it wasn't for kids, I WOULD literally sleep til lunch. At weekends i allow myself to do this simply because I can and i feel better for it. I have tried lower doses like 10mg but they did zero for me. I find 25mg very good for sleeping but i HAVE to set the alarm and force myself up. No happy medium it seems!!

rockchick

From personal experience, I would advise anyone to be vigilant with this drug. It can affect blood pressure, raising it or lowering it, and it can cause weight gain and affect blood sugar levels. Not a good combo for people with existing mobility problems. If you have to use it, start with the lowest dose, and preferably not long term. Of course it won't affect everyone the same way, but my advice is to be aware that it can cause these problems in certain individuals.

RosieGlow

I seem to be singing from the same hymn sheet as Sugarbuttie. Absolutely no happy medium. Last night I took half of the 25mg tablet, and......nowt, zilch, nada. My simple mind thought that if 25mgs was sending me to the Land of Nod for eighteen hours, then 12.5mgs would give me nine. Wrong.

Reading rockchicks post has also made me very wary. My BP is finally normal, with the right meds, and I have managed to lose three and a half stone in weight. I don`t want to risk either of these things for a drug that doesn`t seem to suit me anyway.

So, as everyone has suggested, I will see my GP just as soon as possible to ask if there is anything else he can give me. Thanks again everyone........Rosie x

TeaBag

I had the same bother and i also stopped taking them ,i found it so hard to get my eyes open in fact they were basically stuck together then wheni got up i felt awful and so sleepy it was like the return of the living dead :-(

Mat48

Well Rockchick's put the wind up me good and proper - now wondering if that's why my blood pressure was up last year despite lots of healthy exercise and feeling fine and dandy otherwise. Also wondering if it's stopping me from losing the weight I've been struggling to shift for the past year so hard. So am on second night off and as long as my puppy doesn't wake me all through the night as she did yesterday I think I'll be fine. Mat x