Medication

[babebatista]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to let you know about an experience I had this week that may help you if you on the same meds. I'm currently on Sertrilene for depression and taking Amytriptyline to sleep of a night time. Now I started on 50g of anti depressant and stayed on 4 (200mg) amitriptyline, then the antidepressants got raised to 100 and the amitriptyline came down to 3 (150g). Now I recently ended up going to 150g for the antidepressant and the amytriptiline was reduced to 2 (100g). I found out however that I couldn't sleep with just 2 amytrip. So I saw my gp on Monday and she seemed to think that I could still have 3 amytrip with the antidepressant. BIG MISTAKE. I have been sick since Tuesday. I can't have 150g of the antidepressant and 150g of amytrip so I (actually my husband and carer) decided to only take 100g of the antidepressant and keep the 3 amytrip. It just goes to show how important it is to get dosages correct. I have informed my gp of the situation. It was just far too much for my body to take. I've been ill with Fibro and M.E. since 2010 and steadily seen my meds increase. I just wanted to post and let you know of my experience and if it helps you out that's wonderful. I probably won't post now until after Christmas so I'm wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and I hope that you aren't in too much pain over the festive season.

xxxx

P.S. I know I may not have spelt the meds right, sorry.

[desquinn Partner Volunteer FMAUK Trustee]

Sertraline and amitriptyline are known to be used together but they are cautioned against it being done without supervision and there are risks if done unintentionally. They can enhance they therapeutic effect of each other. This is often desired but can need to be adjusted as people react differently.

more info can be found here: drugs.com/drug-interactions...

but also the BNF interaction information is a lot clearer: bnf.nice.org.uk/interaction...

[babebatista in reply to desquinn]

Thank you so much for your help xx

[Midori]

Its good to chat to your local pharmacist about drug interactions; they know far more about the drugs themselves than doctors do.

[babebatista in reply to Midori]

Thank you very much for your help. xx

[Hidden]

Hi babebatista, oh no how awful for you, I take Amitriptyline and the docs tried me on Setraline with it but that made my anxiety much worse and I was extremely sick. I stopped the Setraline and they increased my dose of Amitriptyline. I am coping much better with just the one, both these meds are antidepressants. Hugs Misty xx

[babebatista in reply to Hidden]

Hi Misty, thank you so much for your post. It's definitely worth posting on here because you get so much support and help. I've been sleeping so much better with the 3 Amitriptyline and thankfully not been sick anymore. I think that's one of the hardest things for us sufferers because being sick takes so much energy out of you it's quite exhausting. Sending you gentle hugs xx

[Hidden in reply to babebatista]

Aww that's good to hear you are sleeping better with the Amitriptyline. I have had chest infection after chest infection since Nov and feel pretty grotty at the moment. I had my gallbladder removed in September and since then my immune system and recovery has been awful, I have been quite sick too with it all which really drains you when you have fibro. Glad you are feeling a bit brighter. Merry Christmas and gentle hugs to you xx

[babebatista]

Hi Zoonie,

Thank you for your post. I can't take Tramadol because I'm allergic to it. Thankfully my pharmacist is great and if I have problems then I do ask them, but this was just an experience I had to warn others who are in a similar position to me. I'd love to be off my meds too. I have to take so many. I'm on 17 tablets a day! That's meds for Fibro, M.E. and my type 2 diabetes. I'm wondering why I don't rattle lol. That must have been so scary for you. I'm sorry that you had that experience. Sending you gentle hugs, xxx

[Hidden]

Hi,

I've been taking Setraline (or similar) for 25 years. I was put on it after having my daughter and just kept taking it without doctors noticing.

Since having Fibro, I felt I was constantly taking more and more and still felt poorly. I was so low which seemed daft as I was on an antidepressant??

I made the decision a month ago to come off the Sertraline. I mentioned it to the doctor who didnt seem particularly interested which amazed me but made me even more determined.

I did a lot of research and came off very slowly, cutting it down by 25mgs every two weeks. I've now reached 25mgs a day from 100mgs a day and to be perfectly honest, I feel much better. ??

I'm on a bit of a short fuse occasionally but I'm sure that's just the brain adjusting.

I'm definately not advocating stopping all your drugs but for me personally, I feel better. (In a Fibro kind of way).

I'm still taking my Amitriptyline at night to help me sleep.

I've also started taking CBD oil and paracetamol which helps ease my daily pain and I'm sure it's a better way for me.

I wish you luck with whatever you decide to take and hope you feel better soon.

Merry Christmas to everyone on this site. You have helped me so much with understanding Fibro. I was lost before I found you.

Big hugs to all

Sue x

[babebatista in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your post Sue. I agree too that everyone is so helpful on here it's amazing. I'll let you know how it goes. Take care and gentle hugs to you too. xxx

[Cas513]

Thanks for the info, I completely agree about getting the doses right. It’s all very well the doctors switching and changing meds but it’s the patient’s that have to live with the consequences. I’m glad you listened to your body over the doctor. Merry Christmas to you. Have a wonderful (and hopefully pain free) festive season. All the best 😊

[babebatista in reply to Cas513]

Hi Cas,

Thank you so much for your post. Merry Christmas to you also and hopefully a pain free one too. xxx