I've recently been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and was given Amitriptyline 10mg by my GP a couple of weeks ago.
I have 2 children under 2 and I'm recently single so was advised not to take them until someone could stay overnight with me.
So, I arranged for help last night and tonight and popped my first dose around 7 pm.
I slept in the same room as the baby, didn't hear her waking once and it turned out her dad was in soothing her 5 times. Woke up this morning feeling like a zombie, spaced out and like I was carrying a tonne of bricks.
So, went back to bed, slept another 3 hrs, woke up in tears feeling even worse and had to call my mum to come and help me snap out of it. Ended up sleeping another 3 hours on the sofa and only started to feel reasonably normal again about 6.30 this evening.
So, sorry for rambling on, I still don't feel very with it...
Has anyone else had a similar experience?
And maybe found that these effects improved with perseverance?
Needless to say I've decided not to take it again this evening, couldn't face it and wouldn't be able to look after my girls tomorrow if I was in the same state.
Thanks in advance x
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Isitlupus
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When my back pain started 2 years ago it was the first thing the GP prescribed me. I was taking 10mg in the morning (which I now know should not be done). After the first few days I felt like a zombie, I started having panic attacks & feeling really depressed. I stopped taking it after my partner insisted a few weeks later. I didn't realise until after I stopped taking it how bad it actualy made me feel! I haven't tried it since although I have heard with other people it had helped them so I think it just depends on the person x
Thanks LeviBarnes! It seems to be the go to for fibromyalgia and it seems a lot of people get great relief. Probably if I didn't have the girls I would ride it out for a couple of weeks to see if it improvedbut I just couldn't function at the moment if it was going to be like that for a protracted period of time! I also stopped taking antidepressants about 4 months ago and I've felt great. Feeling like that today felt like a real setback x
I feel the same with all of the medications I have tried. If I didn't have my 2 young children I could probably cope with side effects more easily, im not sure. But because of how much pain i feel anyway the side effects seem to tip me over the edge! I hope you find something that works soon x
Hi isitlupus years ago when I was an achcholic was given this amitriptyline. and I could make my brain use it like a sleeping pill. People say it is only an antedepressantxx but with some people in can be quite dangerous in that respect, and I refused it time and time again when I was offered it, to the annoyance of some health proffesionals.
I'm not on this forum very much as I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism but before that when I was given the FND and possibly fibro diagnosis I took 10mg amitriptyline and had similar experience to you. I think I was actually hallucinating and having panic attacks and then really couldn't function or wake up for a few days. I hope you manage to wake up ok tomorrow morning. Just doesn't seem to agree with some people x
People react in different ways to medication. I have been on this medication for 20 yrs. Between half or a whole 10mg tablet daily depending on how things are.
I had lost my mum,dad and suffered a miscarriage within a few weeks and had a really bad time coping with it all.
My doc gave me amitriptylene but boy never again!
I used to take it just before bed time around 9.30 ish.Slept really heavy all night ,woke late morning.My hubby was working and he told me not to try to come down stairs until he got home to help me.
That was sensible as I had double vision till late afternoon and was unsteady in my feet,so I would have been dangerous on the stairs on my own.
I was so affected by this drug I would sit on the sofa and not know if I had eaten,used the bathroom or what was happening.I really couldnt function at all.
This drug was not for me and I would never consider it again but I am sure some folks find it does the trick for them.
I sincerely hope that you are feeling as well as you possibly can be today? I am so gneuinely sorry to read that it had such an effect on you, and I did not get on with it all. As the others have said, we are all different so we all respond and react differently to these medications. There is an alternative that you could discuss with your doctor, and it is called Nortriptyline, and has less side effects on the whole.
I want to sincerely wish you all the best of luck and please take care of yourself my friend.
All my hopes and dreams for you
Ken
Been there Iv done that got the tea shirt and Vidio
Hi
I had a similar experience with amitriptyline took it for a month to see if it was just side affects and would calm down, but it made it even harder to get up in the morning and get to work, felt like I had been mashed into the mattress, so stopped taking it. Them last year I was given Cymbalta took first dose before bedtime, woke up at 2am shaking like I was frozen with the cold and feeling a massive pain in my stomach like I was going to be sick. Went downstairs so not to wake anybody up looked in the mirror my pupils were massive and my eyes looked wild and that was me for nearly 3 days. Never left the house incase anybody met me I knew. Never took another dose felt terrible and frightened. I've read that some people with fibro are sensitive to certain medicines so I won't be trying anything similar soon. Have gave up my job now so find it much easier to deal with the pain and sleepless nights as I dont have a schedule to keep to. You will probably find better ways of dealing with pain like realy hot baths and not overdoing it which will be hard for you with young kids. Take care x
Hi I take 75mg at night I started to take it about 6.30pm and for a couple of nights only managed to climb stairs to bed at 8.30..partner ended up in loft as I was snoring and couldn't be woken up. Back to normal now tho I take it around 7.30pm goto bed 10pm and sleep ok. I wake several times a night..either cats partner or pain wake me.I'm maybe a bit immune now been on them for a few years.off to pain management clinic this morning see what they suggest.having neck n shoulder injected for specific pain. But needs something other than gabapentin for m.e/fybro pain didn't work 4 me and gained a stone in 3wks.. there is alternative to amitriptylene - nortriptylene...maybe as gp to try that? Good luck b.m
Guess we are all different,but having two children under 2 back in the day made me feel like a zombie anyway.
My 10mg amitriptyline is really helpful to me since my cvst Oct 14 - I take it around 7/7.30 pm and it really helps me sleep well - though of course I wouldn't expect to be woken by anything overnight. I expect that's the confounding problem for your situation. Many drugs have unwanted side effects and I hope you find something to suit both the symptoms and your circumstances. Maybe something non pharmaceutial would be better ?
Amitriptyline is from the deadly nightshade family and can make you drilozy, especially when you have a young baby to look after. Preserve if you can. It does help. You will be feeling better after a few more days. If not, then id discuss with your gp about how long these symptoms should last.
Hi, it sounds like you had quite an adverse reaction to taking the medication. I don't think it is worth the risk for you to take anymore with having 2 small children. I was prescribed it by my doctor only to be told that it cannot be taken with my current medication by the pharmacist, the doctor didn't even check. But in the past I have taken it and can take it anytime of day and I'm fine. I currently take no meds, I don't like to. Maybe you should go see your g.p again and tell him about your reaction. Ask for an alternative like ken said if you need something for the sleep and pain. Hopefully they will get it sorted for you sooner rather than later. Xx
It does get better I promise but is awful whilst your getting there.In fact I have just had my dose upped and I have been the same .I have tried going without but it makes the little sleep I do get worse .xx
I was on them, after taking tgem for three days,that evening around2am I started shaking. My head felt like it wanted to explode. Had to get up and walk about untill 6 am.
I thought I was having a stroke as all my limbs felt weird, I was dribbling.
I can't take it either, makes me feel like a zombie and can't function . At the moment , I am drug free, using only paracetamol if I can't cope with pain, trying all the natural remedies and doing well so far. An osteopath has helped with migraines and pain in shoulder and back, taking magnesium daily, Epsom salts baths and walking more
Ah that's great! I take a great supplement that helps with my energy levels (unless I'm having a flare up, then I'm still pretty bad). Epsom salts are absolutely amazing aren't they?? I also plan to start juicing again next week and my neighbour is a yoga instructor so she's going to get me going with that. I'd love to be drug free and mostly I think I will be but when the flare ups come they are debilitating x
Hi isitlupus, I had severe reaction same as you. Gp changed it to nortriptyline instead, similar drug but nowhere near as strong an effect as amitriptyline. Hope you feel better soon
Hi Isitlupus, I'm sorry it had such an adverse effect on you. I'm not sure if it's different outside the states but I didn't know it came in 10mg pills. I started on 25mg and the next steps are 50mg, 75mg & 100mg. Yes, it certainly helped me sleep, which was a miracle in itself. I was instructed to wait a week between each increase and to stop when the pain was helped (not past 100mg). I only made it up to the 75mg and now am actually back down to 50mg. My little girl was 2 yr old at the time and still waking at night (she's now 3). I was really groggy when I had to wake up with her. And I was groggy at 5am when I woke for work, but usually after my morning shower I was fine. Now it's only been 10 months and it doesn't even help me sleep anymore. I guess my body has adjusted. I take it around 6pm and am up at 5am every morning. It still helps considerably w/ the pain so I'm not stopping just yet. I hope you find something that works for you. Everybody is different so unfortunately it seems to be trial and error when trying to find the right meds....
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