has Amitriptyline ever made your pain worse?

[JoLouise88]

right my fellow Fibro friends, I need some advice!

so was taking Baclofen, but came off it as I didn’t see any help…. That week I was given Amitriptyline, we fast forward 6 weeks & for the love of god the pain has amplified & I’m exhausted. Now i knew id be tired throughout the mornings, that’s absolutely fine!

But the pain in my hips & muscles has just gone off the radar and I’m at a12 out of ten daily for the pain! I’m only taking 20mg of an evening, tried going upto 30 mg & I can’t physically get out of bed in the mornings. It’s like my body is stuck!

Mornings are the very worst, so I set an alarm an hour & half before I have to get up to take the pain meds (tramadol & gabapentin) but these are making absolutely no difference to the pain?

I can’t take Baclofen either Amitriptyline so that’s out the question…. I mean part of me is thinking, clearly the Baclofen were doing more than I thought? Or is the amtriptylin making the pain? Is this even possible?

Either way I feel I have given this 6 week trial a good shot…. But has anyone else had this? Am I doing something wrong?

[BJDEVINE93]

I found it made my skin hurt a hell of a lot more when taking it so i stopped it, not enough benefits to warrant the side effects

[JoLouise88 in reply to BJDEVINE93]

Yes! Yes it absolutely feels like my skin is literally hurting to even put a jumper on! I get this & didn’t even put it down to the amtriptylin! My skins always felt ‘sore’ but again the feelings amplified!

[Welshcatlady]

I have no problem at all with the Amitriptyline, if fact if I forget to take it one night I'm in agony the next day, it really does help me with the pain, and thankfully I have no side effects from it. We are all different and meds react differently in different people. If I were you I'd phone my GP and tell him how you feel. Hope you manage to get something that will help.

[JoLouise88 in reply to Welshcatlady]

That is fab that it helps, this is the exact reason I wanted to try it because I’ve heard amazing things!

I just wanted to check people didn’t advise to trial longer then 6 weeks, or any advise with the whole Amitriptyline trial before I called my gp. Another commenter has advised trailing for a course of 3 months, so I may just trial for a bit longer & push out my best before my gp takes me off it!

The sleep is absolutely amazing! I’ve suffered with my sleep for years, so was lovely to get a full night sleep in, but does the sleep outweigh the pain I have to live with? Such a hard choice! X

[Iamthemedicalmystery]

I was taking Baclofen and swore it wasn't doing anything so gp stopped it and put me on Amitriptyline.

The pain started to increase in my legs and I was so stiff.

I then had a heart attack and the Cardiologist stopped the Amitriptyline straight away because you can't take it with cardiac problems.

Then I went back on Baclofen 20mgs and realised how much Baclofen made a difference.

In September last year I had leg cramp in one leg from the knee downwards. This cramp didn't let up for 3 entire weeks. Omg I thought I was dying as nothing stopped it until the gp put me on 90mgs daily of Baclofen and it gradually over a few days calmed the muscles from spasming. I've now gone back to 20mgs daily maintenance dose. The drs think it's caused by peripheral neuropathy.

[JoLouise88 in reply to Iamthemedicalmystery]

Wow, you’ve had a rollercoaster with it all!?

I really do question fibromyalgia sometimes as so many other conditions run along side it! Sorry you’ve had such a rubbish time, but now we see the relief some meds supply, maybe we just need to accept that, that’s the best we are going to get! I feel like I’ve taken 20 steps backwards! But we can only trial & error to see if we can find a lifeline!

I’m hoping you continue to find the relief on Baclofen, I feel I may be choosing the Baclofen again very soon! X

[Sasha007]

hello sending gentle hugs i’ve been taking amitriptyline for years and if I’m honest, it doesn’t stop my pain. I take it for restless legs and it helps me sleep. I don’t think it’s for pain hope this helps.☀️

[JoLouise88 in reply to Sasha007]

Oh yes, the sleep was amazing! Haven’t slept for years, so was such a relief to get a full nights sleep! It’s just along with an amazing nights sleep, come a morning of extreme pain! But I’m wondering if I should keep pushing with the amtriptylin & see if the pain eases over time, or wether the 6 weeks would have provided the finale & the only thing it helps with is sleep? I don’t want to give up too easy if that makes sense? X

[Sasha007 in reply to JoLouise88]

Yes definitely if that’s what you want to do,they work for me but like you said you still have pain in the morning I take my gabapentin and zap pain in the mornings and just pray basically hope you feel better soon. Sending gentle hugs.☀️

[Ellenindigo]

Amitriptyline was a nightmare - made me seize up so much more and my god the weight gain. A lot of patience and Duloxetine worked (took 6 weeks for it to happen but it just switched off overnight).

Hope you work this out x

[JoLouise88 in reply to Ellenindigo]

Oh ok that’s amazing you have found something. It’s actually quite strange reading others time on Amitriptyline. I’m not ‘glad’ it’s not just me, but it’s making more sense that others had this issue too x

[Ellenindigo in reply to JoLouise88]

I did say to the GP that all my family had a bad time with it… but as everyone is so different we tried it anyway. It’s so hit and miss with these meds but I do hope you find one that helps you as it makes an enormous difference !

[JoLouise88 in reply to Ellenindigo]

Oh absolutely, we won’t find our miracle unless we try all the options!

[Ellenindigo in reply to JoLouise88]

Yep KraziekLou’s made the point well tho - you have to give them all the full time to see if the switch clicks off - frustrating, until it does!

[KraziekLou]

Hi,

Sounds like you are having a tough time.I’ve been on Amitriptyline 20mgs for four years and although I understand that your pain may have increased the advice usually from health professionals is that it takes upto three months to really get into the system and give any sense of relief, so sadly bear with for a bit longer. We all want any pain to stop immediately but reality is even a slight reduction is the best we can ever ask for,

Amitriptyline allows me to sleep if it offers anything else I have no idea! I’m on Pregablin 100mgs and that helps too. I don’t take anything else.

Take a deep breath and bare with. If it doesn’t work talk to your GP and see if they have any other suggestions.

Best of luck

[JoLouise88 in reply to KraziekLou]

So this has answered my question! I was told to see how the 6 weeks went, but in reality I wondered wether I should push abit longer & see if it does relieve pain, or wether after 6 weeks would have been the result I had from the medication. So in reality open the window time frame quite a lot before making the final decision x