Hi there
I was wondering if anyone new what amitriptyline is like, what side effects it has.I have taken gabapentin for five years or more and now I get heartburn and acid every time I take it,it doesn't seem to help now.I have gained a lot of weight with it to.Im not sure if I should take amitriptyline as I read it has a lot of side effects including weight gain.
Please help as I am a newby 
Have been taking this for many years. It`s really good for me in order to get to sleep and helps a little with joint pain too. Only drawback is that it leaves my mouth feeling really dry, but a small price to pay to have a good night`s sleep!!!
Hello Sweetpee,
Welcome to the FibroAction community!
Hope you find the community helpful as we've many members who share their experiences in the hope it will help others.
Please can I provide information from our mother site fibroaction.org - Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are often the first medication tried in the treatment of Fibro. They include amitriptyline, nortriptyline and dosulepin. TCAs are an old class of anti-depressant, but for Fibro they have the advantage that they work on both serotonin and norepinephrine levels as well as having pain relief and muscle relaxant effects. TCAs can also help with sleep.
However, the risk of problematic side effects increases as the dose increases and some people have a problem with the effectiveness of these drugs wearing off over time. TCAs are usually used for Fibro at lower doses than would be used for depression. Research suggests that amitriptyline should only be used as a treatment for Fibro at low doses and for relatively short periods of time (Lindsey Middlemiss Founder & Chair of FibroAction 2009)
fibroaction-public.sharepoi...
I hope this helps, please do see our website if you wish to read about other recommended treatments
See you around the forum
Best Wishes
Emma 
FibroAction Administrator
Hi, yes, thanks for info. I asked my GP today for amitriptyline but instead he prescribed Duloxetine. Now I have read that this med isn't first treatment of choice because of the potential serious side effects. I did say that I was concerned abut side effects and that's why I haven't taken drugs for fibro before. Now I feel really angry as having taken one tablet already I discovered I have been prescribed the wrong form of Duloxetine - the one for urinary incontinence. So already feeling concerned about the drug I have to return to the GP (when I can get another appointment) in order to get the correct form. I am furious. I find repeatedly that it is impossible to be allowed to have any control over the treatments I am given, instead I am offered treatments despite them being exactly the ones I would not want to have because having read about them I have concerns or feel they would not be appropriate for the symptoms I experience. It is soooo frustrating.
Hi Sweetpee
I sincerely hope that you are feeling as well as you possibly can be today? Welcome to the forum and it is wonderful to make your acquaintance. I genuinely hope that you find the forum useful, informative and loads of fun!
I can see that Emma (Mdaisy) has given you some useful information to your question, so I will just wish you all the best of luck.
All my hopes and dreams for you
Ken x
I have been Taking Amitriptyline for about four months now and like Jacwhit, i too sleep better but have a very dry throat in the morning, it feels like i have a ball of cotton wool in my throat
Hello there
I'm on pregabalin v similar to gabapetin I'm told I have good effect with pain relief but I have gained weight on a huge scale
Previously I was on amitrptyline started on 10mg then 25 mg then 50 mg I think 50 mg is the target dose to achieve max pain relief with few ist side effects . I slept v well no problem but my breasts leaked milk so I was told must come off amitrptyline however it never improved now on duloxetine they think that is the cause . The dry mouth was my a problem I would gladly go back on amitriptyline today never had much weight gain I was on it years with no problems except at first bit sleepy in the morning till I got use to it . The worst problem was coming off it and if I missed a dose I felt very ill I do think though we are all individuals and it may be different for you my problems are quite rare . If your worried speak to DR again but I know despite everything I miss the sleep it gave me . Hope I have nt confused you more
Best wishes squeak xxx
Hi.
I've been taking amitriptyline for about 8 months now. Started off at 10mg and am now on 30mg! Needed to increase as I felt it wasn't helping! I do get a really good nights sleep on it however, I wake up so incredibly stiff and sore and it takes at least a good hour to come round and be able to move. Weight gain is ridiculous! I've gained over half a stone and now been on a diet of a 1000 calories a day and it still won't shift. I am seriously considering coming off them as they are no miracle cure for me! The only real thing I can say amitriptyline has helped stop my headaches and my fatigue during the day! Sorry for rambling!
Jo
Hi, Amitriptylene affects all of us very differently. As a teenager I couldn't tolerate it at all, it gave me nightmares. However as a significantly older person (about 20 years added) I take 25mg in the morning and 75mg at night and the only side effect I have is a tendancy for my mouth to get very dry. Others however find even a tiny dose affects them terribly. I hope you find it works for you.
Hi there. I halved the recommended dose of pregabalin and only take in the morning now and it really does help with morning pain while I have lost the heartburn etc. I take amitryptilene at night and have done for about three years, one or two 10mg tablets depending on how I'm feeling, and it has been a real miracle in terms of less pain and a bit more sleep! Makes it hard for me to wake up quickly but definitely worth it for me. Hope that helps!
I have taken Amitripyline after being diagnosed in 2005 no side effects at all.You need try it and find what doasage you need. Mine 60. It helps me sleep coukd not do without it. Please ignore my Fibro typing!!!
Hi I have been on amitriptyline for over a year. Some people say it makes them sleepy straight away but I have gone from 20mg to 60mg which I take an hour before I go to bed. I get about 4 hours sleep but this is far better than none at all which is why I take it. I am afraid of trying without it as I was terrible without sleep. I have no side affects other than the panic of making sure I get them and don't run out and making sure if I'm away overnight that I have them with me. I have not met anyone who has taken amitriptyline and has side affects but then I'm sure some must , its what suits you individually I only keno that I cannot go without them and my pain killers. Wish you the best Loraine x
Hi Sweetpee
I have been on Amitrypteline for 5 years now. I started on 25mg a night and went up to 50mg about 2 years ago. I haven't really had any side effects. Occasionally a dry mouth, but not that noticeable. It has helped me hugely. I have on 2 occasions run out and not been able to get more for a few days. My body literally screamed with pain over those few days, so I make a concerted effort not to run out now. If I have a Fibro flare up, my GP ups my dose temporarily, rather than giving me stronger pain killers, as she says getting good sleep is key. It has also had a great side effect in that I don't get up 3-4 times a night to go to the loo.
I'm sure your GP will advise you. As others have said, different medications affect us all differently, but for me, Amitrypteline has been a life saver.
Good luck xx
Janet
Hi there
I have just recently stopped taking amitriptyline, I started to get really bad side effects. I was on 30mg and that was great as I could finally go to bed and sleep but after about three months I started with a very funny head,I have had fuzzy head times before with fibro but this was really awful,I couldn't see properly everything was blurred.I kept dropping things and didn't feel like I was walking straight. After I had been feeling like this for about five weeks and no let up I went to my doctor,my partner took me as I was in such a state,I couldn't trust my own judgement and that made me scared to go outside,I felt very detatched from everything like I was in a bubble and not part of the real world. At this time I did not know it was a side effect of the tablets and my doctor increased the dose, he said it would help to clear my head and thought I was getting agraphobia, he didn't understand I was not scared of the outside but scared of being outside because I didn't trust my own judgement. He also put me off sick from work for one month( I only manage 1 day a week now but the money helps to pay some of the bills) He also referred me to the well being team. I started on the higher dose and one day I looked at the side effects paper in the packet and under brain and nervous system side effects were all my symptoms I stopped taking the tablets and within a week my head felt so much clearer,my eye sight was not blurred and generally feeling a lot better in my head.When I saw the person from the well being team she agreed that how I was feeling was very likely a side effect of the tablets.
I have read all the other reply's and most people seem ok on amitriptyline I think I was just unlucky.
Sorry I have gone on but once I started typing couldn't stop, it was just such a horrible experience I think it was good to get it written down.
I have only quite recently joined this site and not really said hello and introduced myself, so "hello everyone" its a wonderful site and very comforting to know that other people know how you are feeling,also full of good advice. Forgive any silly mistakes in the typing as back to not sleeping again (you know the feeling)
Love and hugs to you all xxx
Hello there bessylooloo
nice to meet you
Can I ask did you just stop amitriptyline ?
Or did you have a reducing dose ?
I had real trouble reducing the dose slowly enough not to have side effects
Hope your enjoying the site
they really are a lovely supportive bunch of people
Best wishes squeak xx
Hi squeak,
I know it was probably not the best thing to do but I felt so terrible that I just stopped taking them.My head feels so much better now but I am back to only sleeping about three hours in any one go.
What side effects were you getting? hope you don't mind me asking.
Lovely to hear from you
Bessylooloo xx
Hello love sorry you felt so bad . The only little problem I felt was dry mouth I thought they were great and was on 50 mg for years . I then noticed in the shower my breast was leaking milk that was a shock anyway the Dr I saw tested my prolactin which was v high and said the obvious cause is amtriptyline so I had to come off it . That was a big problem cause if I missed a dose on accident I felt terrible so after many attempts I reduced it v v slowly I had to cut tablets into tiny bits and take a tiny bit each night until I could stop . I am on duloxitine now and my prolactin is over 1,000 which is worse so apparently need blood test next week to double check and then need to see endocrinologist ..
When on amtriptyline I slept through night and it was before I had FIBRO . Now like you I sleep few hours if lucky but at least by having short sleeps I'm not stiff and in agony from not moving lol
Glad you found the site and that your enjoying it best wishes squeak xxx
I'm very glad to have read all these comments which are all different and contradict one another, which shows how individual people's responses are to meds. I have always refused drugs for fibro but hit an all-time low in terms of coping with constant pain recently while also having a virus which knocked me right down - and so went to the GP today and have taken my first table of Duloxetine. Now I discover the GP (or chemist) have given me the form of Duloxetine that is for urinary incontinence and that the form meant for depression and fibro symptoms comes under another name. So I have to go back to the GP and sort that out. Meanwhile I have had palpitations, a headache and felt very over-aroused. I have been started on 20mg twice daily, but think for me even that dose is too high. For the moment I have decided not to take any more and to go back onto my very low (5mg) dose of Citalopram which seemed to make all the difference, had no side effects but which I came off a couple of months ago. I have had intense fibro pain since then and so am hoping maybe that very low dose med will shift the pain again. Anyone else tried Citalopram to help them deal with fibro pain?
Suex
Amitriptyline and pregabalin
Change of meds 
Thinking of stopping all treatment/ meds. I give up
Restless feet
