i hope you members of the forum can help me with some information.
I have been prescribed Àmitryptalin for my painful curvature of the spine. At first i was reluctant to try it as its also an anti depressant. I understand now that it also works for nerve pain in the back.
If anyone has experience of this drug I would be grateful to know how you find it. Does it work for you and do you get any side effects from taking it? As I am unable to take some of the other pain killers (i have other health problems) I'm hoping you can give me some advice how to control the pain. Thank you.
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RoadRunner44
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Really? Thats interesting. I've only been taking it for a short time and I believe it takes a few weeks to kick in. I do hope it will help with the pain which is becoming difficult.
From what I've been told by a general practitioner and a specialist within the uk, Amitriptyline was initially brought out as an anti-depressant, but when it was discovered/realised it worked better for pain relief, it was taken off the market for a short time and re-branded as a pain killer. That said, there are likely some doctors who do prescribe this medication for both.
While I know many people do react differently to the same medication, my experience of it certainly wasn't pleasant. I found that it affected my co-ordination, balance and reaction time quite badly. I was a short distance from my house, I hadn't even reached the end of the street. The kerb/pavement/sidewalk (country dependant) dipped slightly as it was also the entrance to someone's driveway. It wasn't even a steep drop, and though my street was up a hill, even that wasn't overly steep, and I'd walked it so many times.
My hands were by my side, I walked down the dip slightly but as the pavement went up again (past the driveway entrance) I lost all balance and co-ordination. Honestly it was like it was happening in slow motion, but I just couldn't get my arms and hands out in front of me in time to protect or support myself as I lost my balance and fell. I ended up in casualty at the hospital with a broken nose.
That was the worst of it, but other minor things, at first I thought I was just being clumsy, not paying attention or watching what I was doing and kept having minor accidents around the house.. it's also that strange feeling of "falling over your own feet" when you stumble for no apparent reason, I kept doing that a lot. It was very bizarre at first, but as it went on, and lead to my broken nose, I had to ask my doctor to take me off them, purely because the accidents (and possibilities of worse accidents) scared me.
You may not even experience the loss of balance, loss of co-ordination and being slow to react (physically), I really hope you don't, it's something to be aware of though. On the positive side, as I said, everyone reacts differently so you may not get any of the side effects I had.
I truly wish I had a better experience of them to share, and do hope they work, minus side effects for you.
Thank you for your honest reply. I really appreciate it. So far the only side effect has been diarrhoea which is improving. I assume you are off these pills now so what are you taking for your pain?
I've been on various since. I was Amitriptyline toward the end of 2015. I'm currently on Oramorph (liquid morphine) for my arthritis, and diazepam for severe spinal spasms. I've lost count how many different types of pain killers and anti-inflammatories I've been given to try since 2010 when my health worsened drastically. I started on Tramadol in the late 80's for my arthritis as it got so bad in my hands... it's spread dramatically since then though, so it often feels like my doctor is trying so many varieties to try and get one step ahead of the pain to try and manage it.
I was prescribed this demon ... 10 mg .... and it had the same effect on me - diarrhoea !! I just stopped taking the stuff. I might be an old git but I still work 3 or 4 days a week driving buses and so it wasn't even a case of giving it time to improve. It was a case of this side effect being totally unacceptable. I managed a phone consultation with my GP and told her what I was going to do ... her comment was that she didn't know about this side effect. Well it bloody says so on the paper in the packet.
It was prescribed for left shoulder pain relief at night in order that I could get some sleep.
I just went back to CoCodomol 30/500 for pain relief.
What a shame there was this side effect. In your job it is vital you dont get THAT kind of side effect. For me I' m hoping it will settle down as it appears to help many people with pain issues. Thanks for replying and hopefully you get the help you need.
Hi…. I have taken this medication on and off over the years, as an antidepressant and now for migraine/pain relief. I have never had any side affects and and say it works great for me. I had a continuous migraine for 18 months and within 2 weeks of taking this drug my migraine was under control…. I now have episodes of migraines that can last up to 7 days…. I just up it by 10mg (I’m on 60mg) then once my migraine is back under control I put it back down to my normal dosage. Amitriptyline has been my life saver. The only thing I would say to someone that’s using it for the first time is take is at least 1-2 hours before bed otherwise it can make you feel drowsy the following day. Depending on what your taking the drug for depends on how quickly it works…. For pain relief it can take up to 2 weeks to take affect.
That information is so helpful so many thanks for replying. I'm crossing my fingers it will help with lower back pain and pain associated with my scoliosis (curvature of the spine.
Your very welcome. I will keep everything crossed for you. I also have many medical conditions so I’m on lots of medications but as I said Amitriptyline has been my life saver! Keep in touch and let me know how your getting on. 🙂
I take Amitriptyline 50mg 2 hours before bed to help with pain and getting a good night sleep. I have no side effects with the drug. Initially it takes about 2 weeks to kick in.i
I have lower back disc issues and have been taking it for 10 days. First week 10mg at night now upped to 20mg Sleeping better than I was but the hangover feeling on a morning for a couple of hours is not pleasant. Also sometimes wake during the night with a raging thirst.
Have been told to also carry on with naproxen and co-codomol with a omeprazole to aid the stomach.
Will give it another week but if side affects continue I will come off it.
Yes, it is always a problem as medication does have side effects. Hopefully i will be one of the lucky ones who will benefit from taking it. I'm not looking forward to the morning after when I up the dose though. Thanks for replying and hopefully you get the support you need from your doctor.
I had this prescribed for osteoporosis of the spine as my spine is crumbling and I'm in a lot of pain ..it didn't work for me and I got horrid side effects plus I couldn't drive as it made me drowsy so no good for me ..but while in hospital I had lidocaine patches that just stick on your back and they r very good it might b worth asking about these if u find u can't get on with the meds ...I'm actually on a lot of morphine now plus codeine but still doesn't completely get rid of pain ..hope the meds work for u but for me it was too many side effects...x
Thanks for your honest answer. Yes what suits one person doesn't suit everyone unfortunately. I will keep a record of lidocaine patches as its good to know should I need an alternative way of managing my pain.
Yes they r very good obviously I don't know where your from but I'm in UK so if u r anywhere else things ..meds etc could be different but the patches have a local anesthetic in and really help for upto 8 hours
I’ve been taking it on and off for 10 years or so to help me sleep better. I’m not sure how well it works for me atm but no side effects to report. You do have to be a bit careful as it can react with some over the counter meds. (cold remedies ring a bell) though not common RA ones. Btw it’s also prescribed for children to stop bed wetting.
The pain clinic prescribed me amithryptilin to bridge the time of the effect of a PRF-treatment (nerve blocking) in my shoulder. I had nightly shoulderpain for 1,5 years which did not react to painkillers like naproxen or paracetamol. The nerve blocking effect should kick in after about 5 weeks. When I read the paper included with the amithryptilin I also had a huge resistance because of the severe side effects. I have some other conditions and was afraid to worsen these. Looking for alternatives without side effects I found the options of CBD-oil and PEA-capsules (palmitoylethanolamide; do not mix up with palmoil or similar names). I decided for the latter and, which also have a kick-in delay of about 2 weeks, it started to work. First very limited, but it got a bit better after some time. Because I did not want to be on painkillers for the rest of my life, and hoped to find the real cause, I also made an appointment with an osteopath about 2 months after being on the PEA. After 3 appointments I was totally painfree! And I still am (half a year further). I visit the osteopath every two months now and feel very very relieved. My shoulder still is a bit stiff, but I can sleep again! The sad thing is that both the PEA and the osteopath are not covered by our health insurance (no possibilities at all) and with limited income due to all the physical problems that is frustrating. But it certainly has improved my life! Maybe this way is an option for you or others here to try. I wish you good luck in your search!
Thank you for your helpful and detailed reply. You certainly have had a lot of pain problems but fortunately have found some answers that help to give you some quality of life. You have given me a lot to think about. Thanks so much and I hope your chosen method of help continues to help you.
I’ve been taking this for pain relief (multiple health issues) for some years. I take it between 6&7pm & it relaxes the muscles & helps me to get off to sleep. Recently my dose was increased as I’m in fairly constant pain & I suffered from violent nightmares! It’s the only side effect I’ve found. I didn’t think it was recommended to take during the day, & if you are prescribed for night use the above problems shouldn’t occur, I hope! But if I forgot & took it later at night, say 9 or 10pm then I wouldn’t drive early the next morning, I don’t think. For me it does wear off about 3-4am, but that’s partly why the dosage was increased. My understanding is that it was used as an anti depressant many years ago...it put me off at the start, but I read up about it & it usage is nearly always pain relief now, it seems!
Hello and thanks for replying. Like you I was reluctant to take this medication at first. However, after talking to friend who has a medical background I decided to give it a try.So far so good I'm pleased to say. Still its early days and time will tell.
You sound as if you have a lot on your plate too but managing to deal with the pain and sleep issues. I take a low dose of Amitriptylin (10mg) at around 8 O'clock in the evening and will be increasing to two tablets soon. What strength do you take?
I take 10mg. Generally I live on 4 or 5 hours sleep per night. It makes life a real effort, tbh, and I’m wiped out by 4pm...! I have fibromyalgia, polymyalgia, arthritis which has spread & worsened over this year, a benign tumour on my spine & residual car crash injuries. I spent four hours gardening yesterday & can barely walk this morning & pain is lousy. But we moved the plants that I wanted to move before tomorrow’s rain & repotted a few & clipped some shrubs, so I’m happy with it! We do more walking than anything, it seems to be advised for most of my ills & we enjoy it! Good luck!
I take it for arthritis and chronic pain. It is part of a combination of drugs my consultant has me on. Personally, it is effective but does make me drowsy. I take 35 mg every day along with a whole lot of other stuff, many of which also make me tired
Hi, I've been taking amitriptyline for years. It was initially prescribed because worrying dreams were waking me up. I also need it now for pain relief during the night although I sometimes need to take OTC painkillers during the night. I have had no side effects apart from weight gain
I have PAF and Nueropathic Pain . Doc reluctantly prescribed Amitriptaline twice, Worked really well but kicked my heart off both times so told to stop. So it's back to Co Codamol , it the only choice I have now as I'm Asthmatic as well so my choice of meds is limited. We aren't all the same Roadrunner so you may well be OK with it . Good luck. Pain as well as AF is a double whammy.
I have been on Cocodamol up until now but it doesn't seem to help with my back pain. Im hoping Amitriptylin will help as it seems to help the majority of the members on here. who have replied to me.
My apologies Road Runner. I'm on 2 Healthunlocked forums. One is for a Heart Condition AF and the one that your on for my Nueropathic pain so I shouldn't have sent the message that I did . I do suffer extreme pain though and the Amitriptaline doesn't suit my AF. It works though so good luck.
Hi I take this medicine for muscle cramps in my legs and neuropathy in my feet from diabetes. It's definitely a relaxant. It does the job for me, I take it at 9pm and have a restful sleep taking it 🙂
Thanks for replying. This medication appears to be good for a number of complaints. I am already sleeping better. I has some sort of neuropathy in my feet and legs last year so it may be useful for that too.
I was prescribed it some time ago and it helped as a muscle relaxant for me, also dried my mouth and having sjogrens a rheumatologist stopped it and gave me gabapentis instead, also useful for nerve pain.
I am a member of Arthritis Action and one of their registered volunteers, besides helping on line. I don't just have arthritis Roadrunner44, I used to be on British Lung Foundation forum before Healthunlocked took over, and a member of the Arthritis Action local face to face group in Coventry. Now like most of us I am stuck behind a screen as the meeting groups are gone. My GP surgery says they want me to walk for thirty minutes a day no running, to get fresh air and eliminate risk of stroke (ha ha). I would like to go out socially , on holidays ect ect but no chance this year. To spite multi joint pain I I did used to be active at a slow pace before replacement knee operation. So I wish you good luck with easing your pain. Have a nice day but weather does not look nice out there.
You’ve had lots of replies, I hope they were helpful.I don’t take Ami myself, but I have pain partly caused by arthritis and partly by a drug whose known side effects are pain in joints and or muscles. It’s to stop recurrence of cancer.
I had lots of different pain relief and as my doc has an extra degree in pain relief I trust him. Nothing much worked until we tried Butec (look it up). Gradually the dose has had to be increased to cope with the pain. When I eventually come off there will be a degree of cold turkey, so I’ve got that to look forward to.
Thanks for replying Happy rosie, You certainly know about pain like many other members on this forum. But you have a very positive approach and are making the best of things. There is always a possibility of side effects when taking any medication but Amitriptylin on the whole seems to help many people so I will continue using it and see if it helps me too. I haven't had such a good night's sleep in many years since starting on them.Take care and thanks again.
I have been on Amitriptyline for around 2 years for pain caused by nerve damage. I have 2 friends and a daughter prescribed it for migraine. None of us have had any side effects. It makes us all sleepy so we all take in the evening. Good luck xx
I used amytripiline for many years with no issues at all. It was the only things that allowed me to sleep at night. It can leave you a little groggy in the mornings, but it's tolerable.
In a lot of ways amitriptyline has given me my life back, i was lucky if i was sleeping an hour at a time because i couldn't lie down any longer than that due to pain, i now sleep reasonably well. It does make me a little drowsy in the morning so i take it at 8pm and just get up half an hour early the drowsiness passes in that half hour. I'm still in pain don't get me wrong but I'm unwilling to up the dose in case it increases the sleepiness, what I'm taking is enough to get me a half decent sleep and that's really all i was looking for.
As for it being an antidepressant, actually most nerve pain medications weren't initially for nerve pain, lots of them were intended as epilepsy or anxiety medications and it's not at all uncommon for drugs to have more than one use. In smaller doses amitriptyline is great for nerve pain but some people do have awful side effects my other half became very aggressive on them years ago which stopped as soon as they were out of his system. It's one of those things where they tend to work well if you can tolerate them.
Yeah it was really strange, he is so non aggressive it's unbelievable but he was like a totally different person when he was taking it but he does seem to be very prone to side effects from medication. I've had no issues other than the extra tiredness which is nothing compared to being tired all day when i wasn't sleeping it's pretty extreme tiredness like i can't even bring myself to make a coffee but after about half an hour I'm totally fine
Hi I have been on Amitriptyline for 3 years now for nerve pain in my back and hips . I take 4 10mg before I go to bed at night they help me sleep as well I suffer from depression and anxiety and they don't interfere with my other antidepressants. The pills at night help relax my muscles as I suffered with numbness in my legs due to nerve pain . If I didn't take the Amitriptyline I wouldn't be able to move in the morning . I am like a walking chemist with all the pain meds I'm taking but couldn't move without them
Thanks for replying. On the whole Amitriptylin seems to work well for most people. I have only been on 10mg for a week and supposed to increase the dose to two at night for back pain. I am already having a better night's sleep so I don't think I should increase the dose as yet.
I remember after I had a TOTAL hysterectomy, I developed the worst headache and vertigo I could ever wish on anyone, not even my enemy.
The doctor prescribed Amitryp which I took but had no results. It felt like the dizziness was either increasing or not listening to the medication. It didn't work for me till I went from ENT surgeon to a , had Scans, MRIs, and what do they call these head guys? Yes,,a neuro specialist. This guy gave me a combi of 3drugs that eased the crazy headache and vertigo I had.
Then I remembered there's one physician above all. Jesus. See, the headache hadn't cleared completely but it had atleast subsided.
I talked to God to deal with it, to help me live with it till the body adjusts. I had plenty of meds which were incomplete, recall after a week I could go back for review with the headache on another level of pounding. New fresh meds were prescribed. I couldn't sleep on my left lest something threw me off balance from the bed. That was the feeling, the bed and house were reeling. To date I hardly sleep on my left side for long. I keep tossing trying to find a comfortable sport to lie my head.
I was told it had something to do with damaged nerves during surgery.
So my friend, Amitryp may work for one person and not the other. But it's a very strong depressant used by even cancer patients. My late sister used 20mgs to ease the pain.
May you find relief for your pain in Jesus's name.
Hi roadrunner I've been taking a low dose for afew years now, firstly for my depression but my doctor increased it slightly for my back pain/arthritis and combined it with diazipam. I've had no side affects, its acting like a muscle relaxant and helps me to sleep too. As with anything different medication acts differently to different people but for me its worked well....no harm in giving it a try😊 good luck with it 😊
Hi, thanks for replying. I have been on just 10mg and working towards 20mg daily at night.. Is this what you are on for back pain? My back pain is in two places. Upper middle back where I have curvature of the spine and lower back arthritis.
Sorry for the late reply, I was put on it firstly to help me sleep for my anxiety and depression to calm me at night time, then my doctor increased it gradually to help with my hip, lower back pain and shoulder, when at its worst all my joints are agony and when combined with diazipam it acts as a muscle relaxant. I have psoriatic arthritis (rheumatoid) but in winter I need the dosage increased. I understand your pain believe me 🥺 X
I am on this drug and it has been a life saver. My friend suggested it to me as she could see that I was suffering the effects of trauma from an incident relating to a member of my family. I went to my gp and in conversation I told her that I have chronic back pain and although she was reluctant to prescribe it for anxiety she said it would help with my chronic pain.I then asked my chronic pain consultant ( ex-husband ) who said it was a drug that would help me and it is a very safe drug.
I have slept through the night on the lowest dose of this drug - it has transformed my life!
It certainly has helped. I have been taking it for a week and understand it will take a while to really kick in. Its already allowed me to have a good night's sleep but hasn't as yet helped with the back pain. It seems to have helped a lot of people so I'm crossing my fingers it works for me. Thanks for replying.
I've not read the.other comments as of yet, but I took this drug for about 5 years constantly for pain while sitting.
It's very affective for pain, and yes, it does have a anti depressant side to it, but it's not as strong as taking dedicated drugs for that, but it's does help with sooth the mind, as I like to describe it.
For pain, it's a lot better than anything else, with little side affects. The one thing you'll notice, is that it's difficult to wake up, you'll also feel sluggish and tired most the day until it wears off a little. It's good to know that amitriptyline has a 12 hour half life, I used to only take 10mg but it had a big affect on my own energy levels, I used to drink 2 coffees a day to counter it, but that's my own experience !! Don't let that scare you, some people it doesn't affect much at all, all depends on your on biochemistry
The only other thing is yes, it's good for sleep, I was prescribed it for both pain and sleep problems, and it worked very well.
However, for me, I finally cut it out as I relied on it solely to solve my issues, when I only need to work harder at my physio instead of being depressed and lazy, again, my own experience.
I hope you have as little side affects as possible and good luck with you treatments !!
Hello, and thank you for replying. You give an excellent picture as how this drug works for you which is very helpful. I've been on 10mg now for 10 days and i have found it useful for helping me sleep. As for the back pain I will have to wait a bit longer to see if it works for that too. The many replies I have had suggest it should help so I'm crossing my fingers!
I took this dig for years to combat (sucessfully) migraine. I suffered no adverse effects as the dose for neurological pain is lowe that that for depression. Fear not!
It can cause water retention. I work in social care and know of a teenager that was put on it to stop bed wetting, and an older person who had trouble passing urine while they were on it. There are side effects to everything. Best of luck.
Hello, Thats interesting, water retention! Im on just 10mg rising to 20mg; but haven't noticed this so far. I still have to get up twice in the night unfortunately. Thanks for replying as when I start taking 20mg i will be aware of this.
I was prescribed it for nerve pain in my face did nothing so they gave me noratriptline I now take 40 mg a day does nothing for my arthritis in my knees
I was prescribed Amitriptylin 10mg for back pain (arthritis and curvature of the spine). I am due to increase the dose to 20mg as so far it hasn't helped. Im hoping it works as the pain is so restricting. Thanks for replying and I hope you feel easier soon.
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