can anyone give me advice on taking amitryptiline ive been putting off asking the dr for it but my pain is bad and getting worse my

[snowbird]

daughter has just been diagnosed and is on it and it has made a difference to her pain levels are there any side effects

[Lruk]

Hi Snowbird, amitriptyline can make you very tired and when you first start taking them you might have some vivid dreams but I certainly haven't had any other side effects. I take them 2-3 hours before I go to bed which I find makes it easier to wake up in the mornings. They have certainly reduced my pain. Good luck, Linda.

[snowbird]

thankyou linda for your advice off to the drs next wednesday fingers crossed

[Billysmini]

Hiya snowbird .I do also take amitriptyline and it works very well for me in conduction with my other meds. I take 50 mg , I am always tired with this awful fibro anyway so I don't see the difference their . I hope it works well for you also please enjoy the rest of you day x Billie

[Hidden]

Hi snowbird, I take amitriptylene a t night. I am not as tired as I was and definitely sleep better, but it has not helped my pains at all, in fact they are worse than they were. Just shows what suits 1 may not suit another. I am going to find out about staying in them but getting something for the pain. Good luck and hope you get sorted

[Julie63]

I take 50mg amit to help me sleep. Another gp tried to get me to try a newer modern anti depressant, but it didn't help with sleep. Don't think it has anything to do with pain though.

[lab-lover]

I am on it, it is not a painkiller, but it does enhance painkillers. It is usually used to help you get a correct sleep pattern, which it has done for me, which I take 2 hours before bed

[ladyyingtong]

Hello snowbird . So sorry your having so much pain but don't be nervous

of Amytriptoline. I have been taking it for years slowly building up from

10mgs to a maintenance dose of 50mg each night. It doesn't totally kill

the pain but it helps get a sleep which help coping. It does dry your mouth and

makes you a bit constipated but for me it's worth it. Good luck. Hope all goes well.

[snowbird]

Thank you everyone

[TheAuthor]

Hi snowbird

I am so sorry to read that you are suffering in this way at the present time, and I genuinely hope that you can find some resolution and relief to this issue.

One of the major factors that you will need to take into account with Amitryptiline is that it does takes a time to get working in your body, it is not a pain killer in the same vein as Paracetamol or Codeine. It was originally used as a antidepressant. More recently it has been used in a variety of ways to help treat anything from Migraines to Fibro.

I have pasted you the NHS Choices link below pertaining to Amitryptiline and I hope that you find it useful?

nhs.uk/medicine-guides/page...

I have also pasted you a link to the FibroAction pages on how Fibromyalgia is treated, so I hope that you find this useful also?

fibroaction.org/Pages/How-I...

I want to wish you the best of luck with finding a suitable treatment that works for you.

All my hopes and dreams for you

Ken x

[Lucyhobbit]

A lot of people react differently to amitriptyline, and get various side effects. I take quite a high dose - 75mg at night and 25mg in the morning. The only side effect I have is a very dry mouth all day, it helps lower the general level of pain, although nothing stops the stabby ones when they feel like stabbing (I'm sure there's a voodoo doll of me somewhere ) It's definitely worth a try.

[fenbadger in reply to Lucyhobbit]

Hi Lucy, I was going to mention you but not by name. I seem to remeber similar conversations. There's someone on 10mg who gets side effects and you on 10x as much without. Some of us (me included) are on 40mg and others vary. There's no one size fits all and Snowbird, you' have to give it time to settle down. I take mine at 6pm and dont have too much trouble waking up. GETTING UP hasd always been a problem vas I'm still a teenager inside.

[Lucyhobbit in reply to fenbadger]

That did make me laugh - I have a toddler - getting up early is my only option! I only take my night time tablets as I go to bed, but then I use an electric fan as white noise which helps me fall asleep.

[fenbadger in reply to Lucyhobbit]

Interesting. I use the radio, and I know I drop off as there are large gaps in the narrative.

[Sillybugs]

Yes indeed, I can give some advice and, hopefully, give you a way of tolerating them more easily. I was prescribed them after my Fibro diagnosis, starting on 10mg which is always the starting dose to step up from. I hated them & the feeling they gave you. Only took it for a couple of days then tried breaking them in half for a smaller dose. Don't bother trying to do this but go to your GP & ask for a 5mg suspension and use that as your start up dose. I went up by 5mg each week until I reached my maximum dose. I wish Drs were more imaginative & offer patients a way to take meds with the maximum ease as so many people find Amitryptaline hard to tolerate & give up. I was absolutely desperate for something to help so stuck with it. Don't expect a huge difference but they do help a little. Oh, also give them time, it took far longer than I expected for the noradrenalin to build up (that's the bit you need) in your system. Good luck, hope this is useful.

[Pands]

The first few days can be disheartening but please persist! The first time I tried I only managed a few days but I felt so woolly in the evenings I stopped taking the tablets. This time I persevered and I only felt woolly for the first two or three nights and it has made a big difference with the sleep I get each night now. I am only on 10mg and don't think I will make it to the 30mg the doctor prescribed but so far it is working well.

[Bonnie39]

I was started on ami to ease TMJ pain, which is what started me getting dx. I was started on 10mg with dinner, and then I was advised I could up the dose by 10mg/week until I felt relief. I found that I would find an acceptable level, but a few wweeks later I would need to up it again. It is important to me because, being on warfarin for APS I can no longer take NSAIDs. Currently I am on 85mg/night. I tried gabapentin briefly but it didnt help and I ended up with bad water retention (though could have been coincidence because my kidneys are packing up!).

Hope it helps you.