Amitriptyline

[louisele50]

Morning.. I'm suffering from daily headaches and my doctor has prescribed me Amitriptyline 10 mg to take at night, I've been taking them for the last couple of nights and not really notice any difference, I suppose it will take time to work.. has anyone else taken these to help with headaches?

[RogerCMerriman]

When I first came out of hospital, apprently they worked. though if i'm honest no memory if they did since I barely rember much about that month.

[louisele50 in reply to RogerCMerriman]

Are you still taking them? And do you suffer from headaches now?

[RogerCMerriman in reply to louisele50]

No they (hospital) only gave me a few weeks worth, I do still get headaches which doesn't respond to painkillers but normally while they may be persintant they are mild in nature. So I just ignore them.

[cat3]

Hi Louise. I took Amitriptyline for over 20 years for depression until the 'new wave' SSRi (Prozac type) drugs began to take over. I've nothing but praise for its efficiency in warding off depression and, also, for its lack of side-effects.

My sister-in-law recently used Amitriptyline to ease the pain of shingles which, as you may know, is a searing pain. She got great relief from the severe nerve pain and continued with the drug for 18 months 'til the condition eased.

You're right in assuming that it takes a while to take effect ; it could be two or three weeks before you start to feel the benefits.

Hope it's the answer to your headaches m'dear ; let us know how you get on. xx

[louisele50 in reply to cat3]

Thank you Cat I shall continue to take it and will let you know how I get on.

[cat3 in reply to louisele50]

Yes, please do. Taking them around 6pm-ish should also help you to sleep whilst giving time for the drowsiness to wear off before the morning. xx

[moo196]

Yes- I think they DO make a difference to me. I try to take mine early enough - 7-7,30 pm to avoid the following day drowsiness .... if I miss several days I think my headaches are worse .

x

[randomphantoms]

Hi Louise

Do keep taking them for at least 3 weeks minimum.

That is what I was told after I had spent a year only taking them when things were really bad.

It does take time and take them 15 minutes earlier in the evening and in stages until you find your time that avoids the drowsiness.

Love n hugs

Xoxo

[Blim]

Sorry to hear you have headaches. I was given a low dose like you were but when I saw the neurologist he put it up to 100mg (I think) although it took a long time to get to that dose. It really helps but I do still get terrible migraines if I over do it. I wasn't keen on taking the medication initially but it has helped.

Best wishes Blim

[Aelfwyn]

Hi, like others say I think that Amitriptyline takes a couple of weeks or so to make much difference, so probably worth sticking with it to see if it helps. My GP prescribed it for constant headache but it made me so groggy and sleepy that I couldn't tolerate it. My neurologist put me on Gabapentin instead, which also took a while to get used to but suited me much better in the end. So much so that 5 years on I'm still on a low dose. Everyone's different, but if you and your doctor find one that suits it will surely help your head pain. Good luck.

[louisele50 in reply to Aelfwyn]

Thank you.. I've been taking them for a week now and they are helping me with the headaches which is a relief!

[Hidden]

Hi in my other life I am also a pharmacist. 10mg is very low compared to dose for depression (50-100mg) and is typical for neuropathic (nerve) pain. Dose sometimes increased to 20mg after 4 weeks but no point increasing above that for migraine. Generally 2 month to 6 month trial recommended.

The way it works is older than Prozac (fluoxetine) and all the SSRIs ( citalopram, paroxetine, etc, etc and the newer SNRI combos e.g. Venlafaxine, reboxetine, mirtazapine, trazodone and duloxetine: side-effect profile includes:

dry mouth nausea drowsiness etc. As it will state on the leaflet. There will be a million other possible side-effects. Legally the drug company has to state all possible effects that have ever been reported or come up during trial. This does not mean everyone will get them but the mind can manifest symptoms if you believe before starting you are going to get dizzy- chances are you will!

Many side-effects generally gets better after the first week but it takes brain around 2 weeks to start buliding up the helpful brain chemicals that may help with headache. Make sure your bowels are moving- if you aren't consult your doctor or pharmacist right away as this can worsen all brain and migraine/ headache symptoms. Drink at least 2 litres of water/ non-dehydrating liquid per day unless other wise advised by your doctor. Sip throughout the day- dehydration will worsen pain experience and cause a lot of headaches.

Every single person will have a different personal experience of a medicine,

so if not helping after 1 month go back and review with GP/ pain consultant/ neurology.

The reason we don't use amitriptyline and tri cyclic antidepressants (tca)s is evidence based for depression. It can cause heart damage in larger doses for long periods of time and a lot of people in bigger doses find constipation, problems, dry mouth and the tiredness makes their depression harder to cope with.

Doctors get far, far less training in pharmacology than you could imagine.

Always ask for hospital pharmacist or GP pharmacist opinion if this is available. Your community pharmacist tends to be very busy checking prescriptions and not always the easiest place to discuss concerns as like GP only have minute amount of time to spend with you, although a medication review or chat with a community pharmacist you trust is extremely helpful.

Like all health care professionals there are bad, better and excellent pharmacists at varying levels of experience and expertise.

My brain injury precludes me from giving you specific advice at this time but I would widely advocate independent advice from a pharmacist as evidence based and more in depth than your typical doctor and unfortunately more often than not, your consultant because of the way we are trained; especially in the hospital sector where training is similar to consultant training Ie minimum 9 years training to be an 'expert'.

We do not "just stick a label on it"! Hope this helps and good luck

[hazeldjh]

I take amitriptyline - started about 6 months after operation for subdural heamatoma because paracetamol didn't work and I was having sleepless nights with bad headaches. They are still working well though still get pains and tinnitus in the evening. Perhaps I should take them earlier in the evening.

Hazel

[ClareO1986]

Hi Lou,

I was prescribed the same by a neurologist just under 4 weeks ago and just this week they are starting to take effect. I was told that because the intention of amitriptyline is to eventually reduce muscle tension (which is a contributing factor in my headaches) then it is a slow process. I've actually had a couple of days this week where, for the first time in a considerable amount of time, I've not had a headache.

Good luck with them.

Clare x