I am going to be prescribed Imipramine because I cannot tolerate SSRIs, has anyone ever taken it before and how did you find it?
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I am going to be prescribed Imipramine because I cannot tolerate SSRIs, has anyone ever taken it before and how did you find it?
Hi ive not tried it myself but my sister has, she found it helped her sleep but unfortunatly she had to switch to sertraline as they just didnt lift her depression enough, dont think she suffered much side effects from them either, there one of the older style ad and only reason she tried it was because its safe in pregnancy and eventually she wanted another baby! Fingers crossed they work 4 you x x
HI Rocklover
Not been on Imipramine .........but one of the sister tricyclic meds called Lofepramine .
Took that with Dosulpin at night . I could not stand the ssris either . I had bad agitated anxiety /depression . could not keep still .
No bad effects other than dry mouth and spaced out feeling [which was relief to tell truth ] .Oh and body jerks when falling asleep .
I thank my doctor for his wisdom in putting me on these so called old fashioned meds . It got my life back .....so hope it will for you. less tummy effects I found
Give them a go .
:hugs:
Thanks, I will be giving them a go, just hope they work. I have panic disorder (I have multiple attaacks a day) and severe anxiety along with depression caused by these conditions.
I just cannot seem to tolerate the SSRIs (I'm a total wimp and give up easily), but I get extremely bad nausea, my anxiety is worse and I get worse panic attacks. I also tried mirtazapine, but that didn't help much so I was taken off it.
I am totally desperate now.
I suffer panic attacks and anxiety so know exactly what your going thro :hugs: its truly horrible, ive also tried dosulpin but unfortuantly had to go back on citalopram and have endured wks of horrific side effects, hope they work for you i really do :hugs: x x
Can people tell me what sort of doseages of this they are on please. I am on 25 mg but it doesnt touch the sides. I also cant take ssris either
My sisters phychatrist told her 25mg was like popping a smartie a day! Its a v low dose x x
I was on Imipramine this time last year whilst in a psychiatric ward. It was the first anti-depressant invented. I was titrated up to 50mg but unforunately it caused me to have low blood pressure, especially when standing from sitting (hypotension). I am very sensitive to meds and have only ever been on low doses of any anti-depressants. My psychiatrist wanted me to stay on 25mg as he said there is no such thing as a therapeatic dose, it depends on the patient, but I asked to be switched to sertraline as that is the only SSRI I hadn't been on. I'm now on 50mg Sertraline and diazepam and zopiclone. It is meant to be very effective in treating anxiety.
My psychiatrist is very experienced and he uses Imipramine a lot for patients with anxiety.
Before SSRI's, Imipramine was considered the "Gold Standard" treatment for anxiety.
Good Luck. x
Hi Rocklover,
I haven't taken Imipramine but I take another tricyclic, Lofepramine, at a pretty high dose and I find it works well. I couldn't tolerate the SSRIs either - made me agitated, blunted my emotions and killed my libido. I've done much better on the tricyclic.
Imipramine is a pretty strong inhibitor of serotonin re-uptake, so it's possible you may get some annoying side effects if you didn't do too well on the SSRIs, but from what I've heard it's a pretty effective medicine for anxiety and panic and you may tolerate it very well. No way to know except by trying right?
If you find the side effects overwhelming, you might want to ask your doctor about tricyclics that target noradrenaline more than serotonin (e.g. desipramine, lofepramine). I know a couple of others (and me) who generally don't tolerate serotonergic drugs (tricyclics and SSRIs) very well but seem to do just fine on meds that act more on noradrenaline.
Good luck!
Hi all I was just wandering if Amitriptyline is the same type of AD as the ones you have been talking about ie Imipramine and Lofepramine ? As I have just started taking it. As didn't like taking the citalopram.
Cathy xx
Hi Cathy,
It is in the same class of antidepressants, the tricyclics. It's more serotonin-focused than Lofepramine though. So closer to imipramine in mechanism of action. But they're all tricyclics :)
Yes. Amitriptyline and Imipramine are very similar. Often used for anxiety as they have sedating properties. Still widely prescribed today despite their age as they can be very effective.
Sorry, can't comment on the other drug mentioned. Never been on it.
Haz.x
Thanks for that I am on 25mg of amitriptyline gp has given me 50mg so may go up in a few days the drynes in the nose and mouth seem to be fading a bit.
Cathy xx
Thought I'd come back to this thread just to give some feed back on the Imipramine. I am now on 150mg a day and I'm tolerating it really well, the only side effects I get are dizziness on standing up to quickly or bending down and i get very sleepy for hour a few hours after taking it.
I have also stopped having panic attacks, although I still get anxious in the morning, but on the whole I feel that Imipramine is giving me my life back. :)
Hi rocklover :)
so pleased to hear that you are finding the Tricyclic meds helpful .
I could not tolerate the SSRIs ...and found Lofepramine and Dosulpin got my life back.
I know they are for depression usually and old fashioned .........but my main illness was anxiety based with depression as a result.
They may be old fashioned .........but they worked for me . Wish the docs today would look back on these tricyclics ........
The side effects are bearable. Nothing like my experience on Proxac.
The NICE guidelines say that they are dangerous in overdose ....eh ? and the docs are told to prescribe Ssris now . Blanket meds for all . Not the case x
keep well
hugs snow :hugs:
They are VERY dangerous in overdose. I know this from personal experience. I was VERY lucky and suffered no lasting effects. In my opinion this is the reason SSRI's are marketed as having less side effects. I don't think SSRI's have less side effects than the old tricylics - just different ones.
---------- Post added at 21:33 ---------- Previous post was at 21:31 ----------
That's great.:yesyes: As I said previously, Imipramine is meant to be very good for anxiety. Unfortunately, the hypotension you mention affected me quite badly at a much lower dose.
Agree Haz
But better than a med that does not work and drives you to such despair to overdose thoughts anyway . better you dont get that low I think .
And I do know about that. :weep:
Just think with careful planning and good care from GP who knows your history that these meds are overlooked . So many here on this forum suffering on Ssris .
just my thoughts though and get what you are saying .
They worked for me . .......just a suggestion for those who feel they have tried everything else and see what their doctors suggest next.
x
I have been prescribed Amitriptyline. Good to hear that they are effective against anxiety. I was on citalopram for 12 weeks, and the doc wanted to move me over to prozac which I refused. She said that Venaflaxine was a 3rd line choice.
Hi Belle, thanks for posting. Just as an example of how much I have improved, yesterday I took my daughter to school, then took my partner and son to Sainsbury's to do grocery shopping. I then picked my daughter up from school and then popped out to the local retail park to get some stuff my mum needed.
All of the above my mum was doing for me before, I hardly ever left the house and I panicked pretty much all day every day. I am even managing to sleep better and if I wake early (as I did constantly before) I don't panic and mostly I can get back to sleep.
I am now experimenting with taking my tablets at tea time rather than in the morning, so that I can veg out when I get really sleepy. :)
Hi Rocklover.I have been on Imipramine for about 15 years,at one point taking 300mg a day!!My anxiety was chronic,as well as depression.I weaned myself down to 200mg because I wanted to try and manage without them,but unfortunately I couldn't reduce any lower.I have recently been having horrendous PMT so my GP thought it might be better to try Sertraline which I started four days ago,whilst decreasing the Imipramine at 75mg a fortnight.Imipramine really is fantastic for anxiety,and I would imagine your GP will increase it gradually.I don't recall having any side effects when I started it.I think the normal therapeutic dose is 100 - 150mg,I was in hospital when they put me on such a high dose.Good luck with it and persevere,it really is brilliant.:)