Experiences of Amitryptiline welcome! - Fibromyalgia Acti...

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Experiences of Amitryptiline welcome!

Kirby profile image
22 Replies

I know everyone is different but I am only on Paroxetine (Seroxat) at the moment. But when I was diagnosed with fibro the rheumo told me that Amitryptiline helps a lot of people with fibro and can be taken with Paroxetine. Not being one to take any more pills than I have to, I have never taken Amitryptiline but as the Paroxetine has added a lot of weight I thought maybe Amitryptiline would be better, so mentioned to my GP and she prescribed Amitryptiline to take as well as Paroxetine. She wasn't sure if I would lose weight but she said it would help with my migraines and sleep problems. However, needless to say I've not taken it yet. I read the list of side-effects (always fatal!) and haven't taken any. I don't want to add on any more weight (I want to lose it) and I don't want any scary side-effects.

Thanks

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Kirby profile image
Kirby
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22 Replies
Vi-twink profile image
Vi-twink

I had Amitryptiline, when first diagnosed with fibro, i am sorry to say i piled on the pounds. Am no longer on them.

Vi-twink

PickledCookie profile image
PickledCookie

Me 2 I piled them on bumped my appetite right up and made me a zombie I stuck it out for a month but the side affects didn't get any better. My dad has taken it for about 15 years with no problem though.

hammeratte profile image
hammeratte

I tried the amitrypaline and piled on so much weight and was weird like a fog all the time and not with it and so so sleepy all the time so i stopped taking them. And tried 5HTP from holland and barrett they have the same affect with helping with the sleep but do help with weight loss if taken before food ... are supposed to be short term but does help me when i have bad times i myself think they are better as herbal ..

I've taken 50mg Amitriptyline for over two years with no real side effects. I have put on a bit of weight but whereas I used to be so active, I am completely inactive now, so I assumed it was that. I sleep a bit better than before I took them. It's interesting hammeratte what you said about 5HTP, I might try it. It would help me psychologically if my weight was the same as before I was diagnosed. I would of course consult my GP first as it's not wise to come off Amitriptyline or similar medications all at once, but safer to reduce dose slowly. :)

miakenzi profile image
miakenzi in reply to

i take 200mg of amitriptyline ive put on some weight but still dont sleep to good do you know wot else i could try my doctor just keep saying there is not anything else i could try x

floozy profile image
floozy

hi kirby , i took amitryptyline before i was diagnosed with fm for pain in my jaw and couldnt open my mouth wide enough to eat . i took the first dose before i went to bed and should have known something was wrong when i was laying awake at 4 in the morning feeling "happy" got into work that morning and felt overwhelming nausea , sweating anything but happy . had to come home early by bus and had to wear sunglasses and keep my eyes closed felt like all the oncoming traffic was driving straight at me , i rang my gps surgery before climbing into bed with the duvet over my head , he rang me back and advised me not to take anymore lol mmmmm no danger of that . but everyone reacts differently and you might find that it works for you , good luck

Brujah81 profile image
Brujah81

When i was put on amitryptaline i put ALOT of weight on, as in several stone within a couple of months and it also turned me virtually into a zombie, it was the first medication i was put on for my fibromyalgia but the doctors did put me on a VERY high dosage, they put me on 175mg i know most people with fibromyalgia end up with dosages of about 10-75mgs and i still dont know to this day why i was put on this high! I was on this high for about a year or so and i was pretty much useless for this time! I asked to be weened off and was put on gabapentin which helped a bit but it took a long time to be weened off.

gandalf profile image
gandalf

I was on Amititryptaline and I could not tollerate them they made me sick..But not everyone is the same..Give them a go.they are good and help you sleep.I had to stop taking them after three weeks.

Plumcake profile image
Plumcake

I was given amitriptylene and didn't find it helped at all. I stayed on it for one month and then stopped. no pain relief and no better sleep. I did find it made me have a hungry sensation all the time.

I don't like taking anti depressants at all, they tend not to agree with me.

nuttybabez profile image
nuttybabez

Ah thats interesting! I am on Amitriptyline and I have found little pain relief and no better sleep. But I am hungry ALL the time which is not good when I need to lose weight. Some days I could just eat the whole contents of the fridge. Is Gabapentin better for weight than Amitriptyline?

retiredpharm profile image
retiredpharm

I have had fibro for 14yrs and taken Amitriptyline for 7 years. Started on 50mg at night but after a really bad few months the pain clinic (Dr Collet) upped it to 75mg at night and also started me on pregabalin which I had to stop because of side affects. Mostly I sleep well with the amitriptyline but at my worst have a job to get going in the morning..

Tried to come off amitriptyline to check whether it did any good and ran into alsorts of problems so I just keep taking it.

i have many probs with my health one being i have steven johnstone syndrome which ive had for 26yrs i cant tollerate pain relief of any kind,10 yrs ago i had serious agraphobia my gp gave me amitrptyline 25mgs,i called it my miracle meds,now 10 yrs on i have cervical stenosis,collapsed vertabrae,osteoperosis,heart disease and i suffer alot of spasms 3 wks ago i was uped my amitriptyline to 150 mgs i now get a good nights sleep,im in a calmer way,but most importantly i get it as its used as a secondry use not depression but it is good for nerve damage which is good for me as i cant take pain relief but yes it has alot of side affects and everyone reacts differantly.

Chris-Dee profile image
Chris-Dee

I took Amitriptyline for about 10 years, my weight varied up & down sometimes as much as a stone....but the main side effect was feeling as though my brain was cotton wool all I did was sleep & it was midday before I could concentrate properly.

When I came off them it was bad, It took quite some time by reducing my dose by 5mg a week, I had hallucinations that were pretty fantastic ... because of my job I knew they were hallucinations & not real, I heard voices that weren't really there & as the months went on while reducing them by 5mg noises seemed loud, the whiteness of the sun seemed like it was positively glowing & colours of everything became much brighter....

They did work for me as to regards the neuropathic pain but I felt drugged up all the time just so that masked the pain.

I now take Gabapentin & Duloxetine & they really help.

WoollyMamath profile image
WoollyMamath

My doc tried me on Amytriptyline and it sent me totally off the planet! Even on the lowest dose possible I was totally spaced out and unable to function in any way shape or form.

I'm now on Gabapentin supplemented with Paracetamol & Tramodol

Kirby profile image
Kirby

Hi, thanks all for your help! It seems that most people who've replied have put on weight, though my GP said that sometimes it can suppress appetite! She is a good GP and I do trust her but trust my own instincts more! I think she's prescribed me a low dose but up to 3 a day!! Paroxetine has put on weight and like Amitryptiline, everyone has different reactions. It said about nausea but that hasn't been a problem. I was prescribed it initially for anxiety and phobias and it has taken the edge of that. But I get really tired in the day, I think that is the fibro though as the fatigue pre-dated the Paroxetine.

Interesting about 5HTP - I tried that before Paroxetine and didn't find it helpful at all, which is s shame as it is herbal. Maybe I was just impatient

renrobin profile image
renrobin

I use Amitriptyline a couple of hours before bed and find it stops me from waking up in the night. Before this was prescribed my sleep was pain filled and shallow and my days were spent in a permanent fog - I also take Solpadine for the pain.

As far as weight gain is concerned I have lost over a stone in weight through Slimming World and have managed to maintain for 3 months!

Try it for at least a month to get it into your system and hopefully you might have the best nights' sleep ever.

Kirby profile image
Kirby

Thanks renrobin. To help with sleep I occasionally use Zopiclone which does the job, or more frequently Diazepam. I don't have energy for exercise of that is what Slimming World is about! Also, do you take other antidepressants besides Amitriptyline? I don't like the idea of taking two. I really wanted something to help me lose weight and thought Amitriptline might not be such a weight-adder as Paroxetine, so I wanted one or the other, but my doctor advised me to stay on Paroxetine. I'm only on 10mg of Paroxetine too and so it's not even the amount you take that adds weight!!

gypsycrafter profile image
gypsycrafter

I stopped taking Amitriptyline because the cardiologist said it was a major contributor to the onset of a heart problem (thyroid being another) I had put on loads of weight, but put that down to thyroid and lack of mobility due to fibro and arthritis. now unable to lose the weight

Oboist profile image
Oboist

I've been on Amitriptyline now for three years - but a comparatively low dose (30 mg a day of which I take 20 mg at night and 10 mg in the morning). They do help my Fibro pain (and the associated IC symptoms I suffer) and they also keep the anxiety/depression under control. It took me a month or so to settle on them but now I'm content. However, they have certainly not helped me with my weight loss problems and that is the real down side of taking them. Otherwise, I'm content.

Kirby profile image
Kirby

Many thanks for your responses. Needless to say, I've not started mine as most people seem to have gained rather than lost weight

ichelle profile image
ichelle

I was on amipriptylene for a few months but took myself off as i was like a zombie during the day i have been on lofepramine for 3 weeks and are absolutely useless, going to try and get to see my gp tomorrow for a review

Kirby profile image
Kirby

Good luck, Ichelle and thanks for your feedback

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