New to amitriptyline

[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!

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