Amitriptyline experiences anyone

I was prescribed Amitriptyline 10mg at bedtime to help with back and shoulder pain and improve my quality of sleep.Have only taken it one night and slept (if you can call it that ) horrible,I felt like I tossed and turned all night until the alarm went off and spent another couple of hours in and out of sleep until I finally got up.
Anyone else had this reaction? Is this an adjustment period as I am being told by my Doc as well as my pharmacist.I am more than a little nervous about taking this stuff again.

I was prescribed amitriptyline before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. My first sleep study was about 10 years ago and at that time the doc said I didn't make the "threshold" for being treated for sleep apnea. I do not recall if the threshold for treatment was higher back then but I think I was having around 7 or so apneas a hour with tons of snoring. The doc told me I was not getting enough deep sleep which is why I was so tired all of the time. He said amitriptyline would help me get back into a normal sleep pattern again. He gave me a prescription and told me to see him in 6 months. I felt a lot better and after the six months he told me to continue for another 6 months and then go off when I felt comfortable doing so.

A couple of years and pounds later I again felt terrible and the doc told me to try it again but after being on amitriptyline for a couple of months I was getting even worse fatigue during the day than before restarting it. After consulting with the doc he wanted another sleep study and the rest is history.

So basically the only problem I had was on the second go around when it made me so dead to the world I could barely function at work. After stopping I returned to my normal stupor at that time which was not all that good to begin with.

Dale

Several years ago I suffered from migraines daily. I saw a neurologist that prescribed Amitriptyline 10mg every 6 hours around the clock (yes I was told to set my alarm clock and take it even at night). Another neurologist told me that at such a low dose (40 mg daily according to the dosing schedule) probably was more of a placebo than anything else and took me off from it after a period of several months. It did seem to help my headaches and a friend of mine is now taking it for her migraines (different doctor). She too feels that it has helped her. I never experienced any bad side effects and as far as I know she hasn't either.

Check with your doctor. Could you have had a bad night regardless of the meds?

I once had a customer who took amitriptylene for a long time.

She was a bubbly nice looking lady who did not seem to have problems.

She usually came in with her sister and one day the sister giggled about her "boobs meds"

She then told me she read that it caused her breasts to engorge and get bigger.

Whatever works for her.

They were nice though.

Check with your doctor. Could you have had a bad night regardless of the meds?

I agree.Just trying to get up in the A.M. was the red flag for me, even pre cpap treatment wasn't that tough and I took it expecting great things.I cut it in half and gave it a go last night with no ill effects, in a week I'll jump back up to a full dose(if you can call 10mg a full dose) and see how it goes.

Another neurologist told me that at such a low dose (40 mg daily according to the dosing schedule) probably was more of a placebo

I'll even accept that if it will help me feel rested again, although it has been a long time since I've been accused of having anything in my head.

She usually came in with her sister and one day the sister giggled about her "boobs meds"

She then told me she read that it caused her breasts to engorge and get bigger.

I'll break this one to my wife slowly!

I like your attitude!!

I know medicine is a double edge sword -- on one hand it can be a tremendous help but there are always exceptions and when you happen to be "the" exception it isn't fun!!

I know I carry Benadryl due to severe allergies and don't like carrying an epi-pen cause it won't fit into my pockets (I loose purses and so don't carry one ). If I take only one and infrequently I am fine with the Benadryl but if I need to take it close to bedtime it makes me hyper and I end up pacing the floor most of the night.

Some meds I simply won't take because of the side effects -- although each of us has to make an individual choice based on our wishes and bodies.

Hope you find the answers and get a good nights rest!!!

been on amitriptyline about 10 yrs for deppression and pain but not for sleep apena can cause headaches and mostly weight problems please do some more research on this drug can have lots of side effects.... regards bearsasleep

I have been taking this med for several years at 50mg. I was having tension headaches and my doc said that research has shown that this med can help with this. It has for me and I take it nightly. No side effects for me.

Hi. I have been taking Amitriptyline for a number of years now. As you may know, it's used for a number of things and can have varying effects on an individual. I myself persisted,as it can make you feel awful, and found that it has been very useful in relaxing my muscles and aiding my sleep. I have sleep Apnoea. An extra 25mg at night has made all the difference in getting some sleep. When first starting a new medication it can seem a bad idea. I am now on 75mg per night. Sleeping tablets would make you feel MUCH WORSE. Have another try,but remember to see you doctor first. I hope this helps. It certainly made all the difference to me.

Lucasthomas wrote:Hi. I have been taking Amitriptyline for a number of years now. As you may know, it's used for a number of things and can have varying effects on an individual. I myself persisted,as it can make you feel awful, and found that it has been very useful in relaxing my muscles and aiding my sleep. I have sleep Apnoea. An extra 25mg at night has made all the difference in getting some sleep. When first starting a new medication it can seem a bad idea. I am now on 75mg per night. Sleeping tablets would make you feel MUCH WORSE. Have another try,but remember to see you doctor first. I hope this helps. It certainly made all the difference to me.

This is an old post, but, I feel that I have experience that may be helpful to some. I have used Amitriptyline for sleep occasionally. I was prescribed a 10 mg tablet. I tried it and found that it was too strong for me. I had a hard time getting up in the morning. My Medicare Advantage plan considers it a dangerous medication for seniors and will not cover it, but it is generally a cheap drug to purchase. When I feel I need a sleep aid I occasionally use half of the 10 mg and find that it does work. I personally don't see how anyone could use 75mg a night and function normally the next day.

10 mg is a lot and it's good that you only took half... I know neurologists who felt that patients prescribed Elavil (ami..) for pain became depressed on it and prescribed something else when possible.

I have taken amitriptyline for both sleep, and more recently, to reduce chronic nerve pain. Several years ago I took 10 mg at night for sleep and it worked great; no noticeable side effects at all. A few years later a new doctor got the great idea that one of the new sleep medications (Ambien, Lunesta, etc.) would work better. Well sure they cost a whole lot more (brand only at the time). As with the low dose amitriptyline (10 mg), Ambien CR 12.5 mg got so it did not work. My current doctor starting asking me if I had ever used other sleep meds and I mentioned amitriptyline. He exploded; "why did they take you off of amitriptyline instead of just increasing the dosage?". Got me. I guess the other doctors believed in the old crap saying that "newer is better". He switched me from Ambien CR 12.5 mg to 25 mg of amitriptyline, and I asked about any withdrawals issues with stopping Ambien and starting the amitriptyline since they are totally different drugs. He said nope; no withdrawal issues with the Ambien even though I had been on it for years. He was right, made the switch from one night to the next without any problems. (I have stopped low dose amitriptyline also without any issues.)

My doctor is also well aware of my chronic severe back pain problems (being treated by others), and when I was leaving he just happen to mention that some doctors prescribe low dose amitriptyline for nerve pain. He added that it helps some, but not others. Well. I am one of the lucky ones, it really help reduce my pain considerably. Now I am taking 37.5 mg (1 1/2 of 25 mg pills) that works best for sleep and pain reduction. 50 mg no additional help, if I go down to 25 mg the nerve pain shoots up. So I found my "sweet spot."

As for costs: 10 mg and 25 mg are both available for $10 for 90 days at several retail outlets. Since I am on 1 1/2 pills per night (135 for 90 days) the $10 plans are no longer available. My Medicare Part D does pay for amitriptyline so I end up paying about 50% of the costs for 135 25mg pills, or about $20.

To sum up, amitriptyline for me:
1. Works great for both sleep and nerve pain.
2. No side effects
3. Dirt cheap when compared to anything else.
4. No withdrawals issues for dosages that I am taking.

My husband had back problems and I had shoulder problems.
His was fixed by outpatient surgery; mine was helped by physical therapy.
[[[PITA, but totally worth it.]]]
IMHO, drugs should only be used as a last resort.
They open a Pandora's box of nasty things . . .

Julie wrote:10 mg is a lot and it's good that you only took half... I know neurologists who felt that patients prescribed Elavil (ami..) for pain became depressed on it and prescribed something else when possible.

10 mg is not a lot, it is the bare minimum. It was originally developed and prescribed as an antidepressant. When use to treat depression it is prescribed at levels of 100-150 mg per day. Amitriptyline when uses as a antidepressant had the undesired side effect (one of many) of making a person drowsy. Sometimes a "side effect" can be a good thing especially at very low doses, which is why it is very commonly used as a sleep aid instead of the much more dangerous newer sleep drugs.

If you find that even a low dosage of 10mg taken at bedtime causes you to feel groggy in the morning - the fix is to take it at 7pm. It isn't a sleeping med so you won't feel tired that evening but that groggy side effect should have worn by morning. Give it a try anyway.