Help with Amitriptyline or medication?

[reddevil]

Hi all,

After seeing my doctor last week, I asked about trying a different kind of medication because my anxiety has got worse of late.

The doctor said it is best to stay on my Amitriptyline as the other medications, which I tried gave me horrid side effects, which he took me off them.

He said I'm on a low dose of Amitriptyline (50mg), which I was on for headaches, caused from anxiety, which the starting dose for anxiety on these is around 70mg to 150mg.

We talked and he said I could go from 50mg to 70mg then to 90mg and gave me a choice of splitting them up through the day or carry on taking them in the evening.

I tried 20mg in the morning, 20mg in the afternoon and 50mg in the evening, which I got tired on them and decided to take them in the evening. like I have for the past year.

The two questions I have:

1) How long would it take for 70mg to kick-in, even though I have been on 50mg for a year?

2) Taking them in the evening, does it stay in your system the next day and l help me get through the next day?

Thank you,

Red

[CJH86]

Hi,

Technically it will take the higher dose to reach a steady state in the blood in about a week...so it should kick in about that time. As the half life of amitryptyline is about a day it is fairly long acting and as you are taking them all at night is should carry you through the next day and the tiredness should not be as bad as stringing the doses through the day