New to amitriptyline

[mum to three]

Hi

Just looking for a push in the right direction. Have had a prescription of 10mg amitrip in my drawer for 3 weeks and too scared to start on them. The story is i was on citalopram 2 yrs ago for depression and had a horrendous time, stuck with them for 6 months then decided enough was enough and came off them, definitely felt better without them in my system which totally defeats the purpose. Anyway although i have been med free for 18 mths i have never felt back to my old self and over the last few months have increasingly been feeling depressed, low and anxious, i have developed psorasis which i have never had in my life before and my gp seems to think its stress related so prescribed me 10mg amitrip but after my last experience with citalopram i am so scared to take them but at the same time i am desperate to get some balance back in my life, any advice would be appreciated xx

[Hazel B]

I have 10mg of Ami at night, to help with pain and sleeping and slight anxiety. I have no side effects and sleep well.

It's a very low dose, you have nothing to lose.

[mum to three]

Thanks for your reply, i decided to take half a tab last night and lay awake half the night panicing i know this was just me being stupid and nothing to do with the meds so going to try 10mg tonight xx

[Hazel B]

It really is a low dose, I'm sure you will be OK. Let us know how you get on. Take care.

[Earthworm]

Hi, I have been on Amitriptyline for a year now at 10mg and my experience has been mostly positive (although not all). I had never had meds before in my life but have suffered with generalised anxiety & panic attacks for about 13 years. when I finaly plucked up the courage to go to my GP he put me on 10mg Ami. The first 2-3 weeks were a bit scary as I had a few side effects such as dizzyness and headaches but then followed a sustained period of calm and complete respite from symptoms, it was wonderful.

About 2 months ago I decided to try and come off them and I have to say that didn't go well for me but I am still not sure if this was withdrawal from the meds or just coincided with me being stressed & anxious at work / home. Anyway I am back on 10mg (see my thread on here "my Ami withdrawal") and feel ok (ish).

Hope you get on ok and post or PM if you have any more questions.

[Hazel B]

Just to add to the "withdrawal" idea; I saw my GP last week and she advised me that my 10mg is too low to have a bad reaction if I stop taking them. I'm 5ft 3" and under 9 stone, so 10mg is the lowest dose for a small person like me. I have missed a tablet on 2 separate occasions when I'm really tired at night and have been fine. It was harder for me to come off caffeine and nicotine and they were both self-inflicted.

I guess everyone reacts their own way but Ami has only been helpful for me with no noticable issues.

[mum to three]

Hi
Thanks u both so much for your reassurance, im on day 3 now and so far so good, fingers crossed it continues. I plucked up the courage to take 10mg last night and intend to continue on this dose for the time being. The one thing i would mention is the headache i had today was severe but managed to shift it with a couple of anadin extras, anyway thanks again it really does help knowing there is support on here, take care xx

[gaaron]

Hi, I take 20mg at night for pain...no probs....been told I can go to 30mg if needed. x

[Earthworm]

I'm glad things are going well Mum to Three, long may it continue and I hope the Ami works out for you. As I said it worked very well for me for almost the whole of last year. Hazel, you're probably right, the more I think about it my issues on withdrawal were prob down to me not the meds. 10mg is v low dose and I am 6ft 4" and 13 stone so it probably doesn't even touch the sides LOL.

[Hazel B]

Well done!:yesyes:

[mum to three]

Hi

Earthworm did you stay on 10mg for the whole time or did you increase it?
Its just a have been told the 10mg is not enough for depression/anxiety which is my main problem, how long do you think i should give the 10mg to see if its working before thinking about increasing it, take care xx

[Earthworm]

I stayed on 10mg the whole time and am still on it at that dose. I have now heard a few people say that it is too low a dose for Anxiety & Depression and that it should be increased but my GP never has done for some reason.

As it worked so well for me last year I never questioned it and I am now hoping to come off sometime soon so wouldn't consider upping it now anyway. I guess just be guided by your GP.

Does it seem to be working so far? I hope so ...

[mum to three]

Hi

Thats great that such a low dose has worked for you and good luck on coming off them. To be honest i think im a bit more anxious and moods are quite low but that could be just down to the fact that i hate taking tablets and always convince myself im going to get all the side effects, its still early days so i will give it another week or 2 on 10mg and take it from there, thanks again, take care xx

[Hazel B]

Give it a couple of weeks, it takes time.

[mum to three]

Thanks again i will let you know how i get on, take care xx

[Belleblue]

Hi Earthworm - I'm new to this forum:)
I suffer predominantly from anxiety with some panic and depression thrown in now and again. Having tried quite a few SSRIs and finding the side effects too much, my GP eventually prescribed 10mg Amitriptyline earlier in the year.

Even at such a low dose (and I cut them in half to 5mg) I found some of the side effects very disagreeable. They were: being awakened by my heart palpitating furiously, slight tremor in my hands which made writing anything difficult and just a general down feeling. I only stayed on them for five days and wonder if I should have given them more time.

I was wondering if you or anyone had these side effects and if so, did they pass in time? The heart palpitations were the most worrisome.

I would be grateful for any feedback.

[Earthworm]

Hi Belleblue, firstly a big welcome to NMP, I'm sure you will find a wealth of advice and support here! :welcome:

I did have a hard time in the early days of Ami (for about two weeks I seem to remember). I didn't get hand tremmors but I did get palps, one or two major panic attacks (I'm talking the biggest EVER) and quite bad headaches & dizzyness were the main things but they did pass and I had a long period of success with this med.

I don't know much about meds other than my own experience but it seems everyone is different and they do different things for / to different people. If you can maybe try and hold out for a few weeks and see if the side affects subside you might be rewarded.

Good luck and let me know how you get on or PM me if you want to talk more on this subject!

[Belleblue]

Thank you so much Earthworm for reply and for welcome to NMP.

It's good to know that in your case the side effects went after a couple of weeks.

My GP said not to worry about the palps, however there was recent controversy surrounding tricyclics and heart problems, so that concerned me also. I felt I might be storing up future problems for myself.

I really don't know what to do for the best - but will let you know what I decide.

[mum to three]

Hi Belleblue

I too had horrendous side effects with SSRI's in the past, managed to stick them out for 6 months as recommended by my gp then threw the towel in. So like you my gp is trying me with amitrip, i started on 5mg(half tab) for the first couple of days as i was petrified i was going to suffer side effects, i had palps, dizziness and headaches for a few days but now 10 days on i can honestly say all i am suffering with is slight dizziness which i tend to suffer from anyway. I have to say though as far as my anxiety/depression goes i haven't felt much difference. Was at gp's today and he said its time to move up to 20mg as the recommended dose for anx/depression is 75 - 100mg, for now i am taking baby steps but given the choice over amitrip or citalopram it would be amitrip due to lack of side effects in my personal experience, good luck and take care xx

[Belleblue]

Hi mum to three,

Thank you for your encouraging post. I still haven't bitten the bullet as I have a very stressful situation going on at the moment and need to be fully alert to deal with it, and just couldn't cope with side effects at the moment. It's a bit of a vicious circle I'm afraid. I could do with something to help me cope with the huge anxiety this situation is causing, but I can't take the time to allow a drug to settle down. When things settle down a bit I will try to persevere with the Ami.

I hope the increase in dose works for you - I'd be interested to know how you get on. All the best x

[s11fyx]

im on these for fibro pain i started them yesterday and dont seem to have any side affects apart from feeling really really sleepy

i do get aderaline flushes which cause my heart to beat faster but have been having them long time beofe i started the tablets so cant blame the tablets for that

im really nervous about taking them but the pain i was having was so bad i had no choice reallyy x

[littlestar1981]

I'm on them also, but for depression. I am having bad side effects but you shouldn't get those if you're taking them for pain.

I find myself... not so much sleepy but I find it really difficult to wake up in the morning.

Do give them chance to work x

[Miliki]

Hi I am new in this group......

I suffer panic attacks when I find out stressful news, my heart starts pounding, heavy breathing, my hands gets cold. I suffer of low blood pressure so sometimes it triggers it. I can control it but is more difficult at night when I woke up with palpitations and everything is turned off (no light) I feel better at day time when I am with anxiety problems.

A couple of weeks ago I started suffering from vertigo due to vascular migrane. Its not fading away but some days are good and some bad. I just had a vertigo episode at night and it trigger an ugly panic attack, because I was tired of having this vertigo and also because it made me stay awake and I was exhausted....

My Dr prescribed me Amitrip. 10 mg for 1 month until the vertigo fades, but I am affraid to take it because I hate drugs, and I hate been drowsy.

I am planning on taking one dose of 5mg if I got a panic attack, but need to know if someone has done it (just 1 dose)

Also can anyone taking this small dose can tell me if you are knocked out completely or you can wake up easily at night if you have to? I dont feel confortable with the sensation of been completely knocked out, because I usually sleep well and never ever taken any sleep pill in my life (I only weight 113 pounds and my height is 165 cms)

Thanks in advance !!!

[elanna]

10mg is really really low. I’m on it now and was started at 25mg, then up to 50mg and will be going up to 75mg in a few weeks. It hasn’t done much for my anxiety and zip for panic attacks. But 50mg is still low for anxiety so I’m giving it time. I’m easily able to wake up if my child cries or something so don’t worry about being knocked out and not able to wake up.

I haven’t had any side effects other than being a little hungrier, thirstier and constipated for the first week...and that was on 25mg