Hey guys has anyone used amitriptyline for the treatment of headaches and had some good results ? I was prescribed it for lack of sleep but curious as to whether anyone has used it for migraines/tension headaches and how long did it take to come into effect
I currently have been prescribed 10mg but I'm a little skeptical to use it at the moment
Cheers!
Hi Curtis I have 10mg to help with lack of sleep, it does help but I'm quite groggy in the morning . I don't want any stronger, don't think I'd be able to get up 😟 .
I don't take it all the time, just when I'm shattered. I know some people take it to prevent / calm migraines but I'd rather try feverfew and other alternatives .
I'm currently waiting on 2nd Op on my Jaw which is causing most of my migraines so trying to stay away from meds.
Someone will let you know if it helps control them hopefully 😀
I was v sceptical that amitryptyline might help me when it was initially prescribed a few years ago, particularly because I knew it to be an anti-depressant , which wasnt what I wanted to be on as I was suffering from migraines , not some form of " mild middle-class misery" !! .Tabs prescribed were 25mg , I took them around 9pm nightly but had to stop after couple of weeks as I woke up everyday v groggy , (similar feeling to a really bad hangover altho I wasn't drinking alcohol ) and "pre- migrainey", which actually BECAME a full-blown migraine most mornings . I still HAD to get up to go into work daily despite feeling so ill most of day , so I gave up on amitrytyline .
This January my GP suggested I try amitrytyline again on a smaller dose , prescribed 10 mg tabs and advised taking the tabs much earlier in evening . I ( quite sceptically) started taking the 10 mgs tab about 6.30pm in evening and found myself becoming irresistibly sleepy about 9pm and really needing to go to bed soon after .
Although all my life Ive been a bad sleeper, finding it difficult to go to sleep and frequently waking in the night, I found I was getting to sleep much quicker and having fewer wakeful periods in the night but was still v sleepy in the morning for several hours ... but definitely having far fewer migraines !!! As I retired a couple of years ago the morning "over-sleeping " wasnt a problem any more , but I resented "losing" so many hours in mornings, especially in spring .. so I now cut the 10 mgs tabs in half , taking just 5 mgs EARLY in evenings .. and Im really happy with result! Far fewer migraines , far less groggy in mornings . I get to sleep more easily , sleep far better than I have done for most of my life and generally only wake once in night .
I think for each of us migraineurs our metabolism etc is so very different , you just have to experiment to find what helps , and also accept that as body chemistry changes over time what might work for you at one stage in life might cease to work at another time ... maybe my metabolism is just v sensitive to amitryptyline and only needs 5mgs at this stage in my life, but Im happy with results for now .
I took it for two weeks then stopped. Made me feel like a zombie and didn't help my migraines at all
Hi Curtis33
Yes I am on Amitriptyline 50 mgs taken daily 3 hours before I go to bed, as recommended by the National Migraine Centre. I increased the dose gradually and my migraines have almost disappeared! It makes me sleep very well but no other side effects.
Good luck!
It didn't help with the headaches but I was sleeping 10 hours a day. I'm taking topiramate now for the headaches and that works for the most part.
When I get a cluster of migraines, I take 10mg a day and it breaks the sequence. I then stop taking it. It makes me very sleepy so I take it at night. It also makes my mouth dry.
Hi hun..I suffer from hypersensitivity migraines( I also have a an aneurysm which does not help )which on a bad day is like having a stroke. I have been on amitriptyline for 6 months .I take a daily dose of 50mg and also take naproxen which my dose is 500mg am and pm. These have helped a lot as I only suffer a severe case about every 6 weeks now. I also have to use a 10mg imagran injection when I have my attacks. I found at first that I was very sleepy with these meds and I started taking them straight after dinner (5pm) after a few weeks I became accustomed to the side effects.
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