Amitriptyline

[PVYXAAEI]

My doctor has prescribed Amitripyline to help with my Fibromyalgia, sleep and anxiety. I started taking 1 tablet per night 10mg and it definitely helps with my sleep which is fantastic. After a month I had a review with doctor and although it was helping me nod off at night it wasn't really helping my anxiety & Fibro pain , so the doctor advise 2 tablets per night so now I'm am taking 20mg .The doctor said don't take the tablets any later than 8pm so i usually take them around 8 and i am dosing off around 10pm as i can feel the tablets working .The problem I am having is I work full time and I feel so tired until late afternoon. It's like the tablets are still in my system . I don't want to take the tablets any earlier than 8pm because I don't want to be going bed to early every night .

I have been taking Amitripyline for 7 weeks and just wondering if I just need to give them time to settle and my body to get used to them

What's other people's experiences?

[Yassytina FMA UK Volunteer]

Hello, I am glad too read the medication is helping, I suppose everybody s reactions are different when starting new meds , can always ask your doctor for advice, working full time must be very hard and I am glad your sleep has improved xx

[Africanmonkey]

I am on the same tablets and I have found them very good but gradually I have got used to them and have had to up the dose. So now I am on 75 mg at night. So I know what you mean about being tired in the morning as I also have to work. But I do get a good night's sleep most nights.

[Cat00]

I take 90mg at 8.30, have you been at the higher dose for 7 weeks or just started them 7 weeks ago?Generally the zombie morning effect wears off but I would have thought 7 weeks would be enough for that unless you changed dose very recently...

[PVYXAAEI in reply to Cat00]

I've only been on the higher dose taking 2 tablets at night for 2 weeks so maybe I need to get used to the higher dose .Zombie morning effect is a good description lol

Thanks for all your replys

[Cat00 in reply to PVYXAAEI]

Yes I think give it a bit more time. Every time I upped my dose I would have difficult mornings until my body got used to it, 6 weeks is a good test though. Longer than that and I would worry you are one of the people that are very sensitive to Amitriptyline. I have heard of people trying liquid doses in the 1 to 2 mg category but I suspect there is something more psychosomatic going on there. I am not that sensitive and have been on 150mg for quite a few years at my peak, however if you are not better in 6 weeks I would ask for an alternative like Nortriptyline, its younger cousin, I haven't tried it myself but have heard good things.

[Hidden in reply to Cat00]

Arrrgh, Me too cat00,

I'm on 100mg a night and I still can't get to sleep,🙄🙄

I've tried taking them earlier or later and don't have much luck, I've been taking the 100mg for about 5 years, I have taken them at 7pm before as I had a hospital appointment at 10am,

Thought I knew better, dozed off around 8.30 😴🛌😴and woke up at 11pm wide awake until 5am and then zonked until 1pm 💤💤💤💤💤💤💤

I don't work unfortunately, I feel really 💩💩💩 when I miss an appointment because I've slept in so to speak,

I worry not getting enough sleep has, as well as many other things has a risk of stroke and I've already had two, You have to find what's right for you at the end of the day, You know what your body is telling you,

Good luck and take care

Debs

[Cat00 in reply to Hidden]

Yes I have increased risk of stroke bc of chronic migraines, and increased risk of dvt's bc of a gene mutation. 🙄 I am however on a new sleep drug which I take aswell as Amitriptyline, its called Quiviq. I'm a terrible insomniac, its really helping at the moment. I have ADHD (recently diagnosed) and this drug works on the part of the brain that controls alertness, which is a big problem for me, I'm highly strung 😁 I would definitely recommend it.

[moo196]

If I haven't taken my 10mg by 7pm I don't take it at all. Often take it around 6pm Try earlier

[25rosclare]

I have been taking Amitripyline for about 15 years plus. After a few years the effect wore off I took 2 tablets but it meant I was 'zombified'. When I asked my doctor she said to take 1 and a half tablets - I never knew that there was such a thing as a 'tablet cutter' but 1 and a half is great for me. I hope you get it to work for you as it helps me

[JoRommell]

Hi, I have been taking 100mg of Amatriptaline for over 20 years - so long now I can't really remember what dose I started on etc. But I also worked full time and had hobbies etc.It is correct in that you should take the tablets one or two hours before bed, but I cannot remember ever having a problem rising in the morning. Indeed I have always been an early riser and when my husband worked he was on shifts, I got up before him at 5am to do his pack up and see him of to work.

Are you sure you are not mistaking your symptoms for fybro fog or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - two other symtoms of Fibromyalgia. These are the two things that I have found most affected my ability to concentrate at work.

I wish you well for your future health

Jo

[Tisme72]

If it helps then it’s worth carrying on, it won’t be properly in your system for a couple of weeks or sometimes a bit longer. The ‘zombie’ effect is quite common with any drug that helps really because your body is more relaxed.

I have chosen to avoid taking any drugs unless I really can’t cope, it’s not easy but I always feel the ‘real me ‘ but the one that has pain. I don’t like having my senses numbed, it’s very much a personal thing and most people can’t cope with it. When I found out, by extensive research, that the pain was partly a brain malfunction rather than being a physical condition it got easier to live with. There’s research in progress now that substantiates that but also says that there is also a release of antibodies that actually cause the pain it goes further to explain it. The research is going in the direction of finding how to block the release of those antibodies, if it goes to fruition we could have a solution to Fibromyalgia pain.

[Janeshelley]

Amitriptyline for Fibro at night plus Propranolol (a betablocker) for migraine prevention. One thing extra when in bed at night, a few minutes of slow deep breathing, followed by meditation, followed by Reiki healing. I start by asking for healing for myself, followed by healing for others - friends, family, neighbours etc … I seldom get to the end, before I have fallen asleep 💤. Give it a try. You never know if you don’t try it. Good luck.

[PVYXAAEI]

Thankyou all for your helpful replies and suggestions. I am quite recently new to being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. I had never heard of it until I was diagnosed and started to read about it . I was amazed and kind of relieved that what I had , had a name . I thought maybe I had a form of arthritis although I did not have typical arthritis symptoms.