Benefits of Amitriptyline

What are the pros and cons of Amitriptyline tabs for pain? I have been taking them (10mg) for only three days and already I've found them helpful.

[teetree]

hi I am on it myself and what I find is that they good for pain .Also sleep they help me with that can't fault it as it works for me

Glad it's helpful to you

[Bananas5]

Hello Iain25

You are on a nice low dose which is good. They work as a muscle relaxant which obviously reduces pain.

As a med their true use is an anti depressant but you need to be on at least 75 mg for that.

Good to have a happy story! Well happyish when suffering chronic pain

Pat x

[Hidden]

Have just taken mine now and I have taken them now or quite a few years. They are an antidepressant and I take 75mg a night, if you take them in the daytime live can be one big yawn. Mind 10mg is a very low dose.

I suffer from Depression and I also take another antidepressant for that condition

Your contraindications at that dose you are on should not be that noticeable.

Good Luck

BOB

[earthwitch]

They are proven to be useful for modifying chronic pain, and especially neuropathic pain. Pain management doses can be as low as 10 mg a day, or as high as 50 mg a day whereas antidepressant doses are much higher.

If it works, that is really great, and no reason why you cant stay on it long term. Amitryptylline has a lot less potential side effects than some of the other types of antidepressants that seem to be being used more often now for chronic pain (the SSRI group and the SNRI group), and has a lot less risk of nasty withdrawal effects, though you would still need to come off them slowly if you did come off them. I've also read some recent research that suggests that amitryptylline is much more effective on most types of pain than SSRIs or SNRIs. Some folk do find they feel a bit knocked out the morning after for a week or two, but you do get used to them fairly quickly and that effect disappears.

[kath_80]

A low dose is better for pain. 10mg. Higher doses are better for anti depressant. The pain clinic explained this to me.

[Hidden]

Hi I am on 200mgs a day and they don't work for me

[Bananas5 in reply to Hidden]

I think that strength Peter is regarded as an anti depressant. Think how you would be if you didn't have them

Special hugs?

Pat x

[Hidden in reply to Bananas5]

Hi pat I don't need to be on that high dose any more so I have asked the specialist to take me of them I know it will take time to do that

[Bananas5 in reply to Hidden]

Brilliant news. Make sure you do it very slowly though. David was only on 75mg and GP said drop 10mg per week. He got down fairly well until around 50mg then went into melt down and was very poorly. Suggestions are a lot lot slower.

But your specialist will advise and monitor you.

Another hug!

x

[Hidden in reply to Bananas5]

Hi pat I will take it slow thanks so u got a pup so have I my son loves him to bits and it's good for me to he loves the wheelchair it was one of my cares who thought it would be good to have something

[Bananas5 in reply to Hidden]

Oh how fabulous. Animals need lots of looking fter which is good. Makes you get up and feed them even if you don't want too. Years of love from them in return.

x

[Barnclown]

Have been on it for 4 years daily. I take 20mg at night. I started on 10mg, and, after a few weeks, increased to 20mg.

This takes the edge of some aspects of my chronic multisystem pain (I have systemic lupus) and also helps me sleep. I've heard even such a low dose can damp depression down...am certainly feeling less prone to depression now...but my feeling is that it's easier to look on the bright side cause my heavy duty daily lupus meds are helping me feel better than I have since my 30s (am 62). It's thought amitrip gives dry mouth etc, but my mouth is no drier than it was before I started amitrip (I also have sjogrens, so I'm v dry all over my bod even without amitrip)

I think it's a great prescription med and I'm glad it's helping you

[Rosepetal60]

I took one 10mg late evening a few nights ago after a gap of many years I found I had an improved nights sleep but the following day, I was very tired and dozed off on a couple of occasions. Not taken one since but when I do try one again, I will take it much earlier in the evening and go to bed earlier to see how that works.

[KymLadybear]

I have chronic migraine and use Ami as a way to induce sleep when an attack happens to make me sleep and relax muscles instead of taking lots of pain killers. Much easier on my liver and its a form of'management' of the pain rather than a removal, so its a way of life for me. I also take the 25mg at night to aid sleep if my body/muscles have been badly painful during the day. I don't take every night but as needed 2 hours before bed. Again its a 'management' of pain thing. I have been doing this for 20 years and it works for me. Only side effect is, as has been said before, a bit of a hangover after a dose and also weight gain as (it says on the leaflet) the Ami 'stores' fat in a different way than the body usually does. Apparently they give them to Anorexic patients because they increase appertite and store fat. So I think its a drug to help you manage pain (if you dont have depression) and that actually puts you back in charge in a good way. Hope this is helpful.

[oldgrumps in reply to KymLadybear]

I was informed that you have to take them every day for them to have an effect! The neuroligist I saw seemed to know what he was talking about! I stopped taking them as I was tired all day. Still not sleeping!

[Hidden in reply to oldgrumps]

I agree with your Neurologist oldgrumps. I have now been taking one 10mg amitriptyline at night for a while now and sleeping better. At first I would be tired during the day but given time the tiredness during the day eventually wore off. I was able to get a decent nights sleep thereafter. I'm still sleeping ok.👍

[Ruth_lderry]

Hi I take 30mg a night, I would be lost now without these meds. They help me sleep, my body 2 calm down with restless legs and hands/arms.. They say this drug can put on weight, I for one have done but unsure if it's this drug or another as I have lupus and a number of other things. I can't fault this med good thing is starting low they said this drug can always go up in doses depending on how u get and need it I started of on 10mg a night. I've always taken mine at night so don't get no strange after feelings with this. All the very best.

Ruth

[Hidden]

I could write a book on the pros and cons of amitriptyline

its been a life saver for me as ive said before in my post on here and other sites a lot of people give up because they said its not working for me takes around 4-6 weeks for the full effect of the drug to work 10 mg is what most gp give then increase the dose i found after more than a year i take mine the same time every night 8pm takes me around 3-4 hours for the med to work sometimes its more only had 2-3 bad nights on the drug in a year which is very good found if i take hot chocolate the drug keeps me awake buzzing all night.

The next morning has been the same for a year a hangover effect is still there but does go in a few hours had massive chocolate cravings and for sweets too. i've put on weight since i started over a year ago.

30-40 mgs per night

[Frustated]

I take just 6mg of amitriptyline at night as I am very sensitive to its effects, and even then I sleep of 10 hours! It is a great pain reliever. I only take it as needed, now I have had my operation to fuse the arthritic bones in my foot together as I am not in much pain, but sleeping with a cast on is difficult and I do have spasms in that foot, so the amitriptyline helps with that too!

Good Luck, hope it continues to work for you!

[Hidden]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Great feedback. Its good to hear so many positives as I was a bit wary at first because I thought amitriptyline is generally for depressive purposes. Just hope I continue to benefit from their use.

[johnsmith]

There have been many answers from those on this forum who already who have taken low dosage for a long time.

At the moment the tablets are helpful because they have reduced pain and discomfort. However they do not tackle the cause of the problem you have. They mask certain symptoms. If the cause, which has not been diagnosed or investigated, decides to to get worse the tablets are not going to continue to mask the pain symptoms.

I know of people who were given pain depressants when they had a spinal tumour. Pain killer good at the early stage. Pain killer failed when the tumour increased in size. When the tumour was eventually discovered it was too late to do anything.

You need to try and find the cause of the need for the pain depressants.

Hope I have been helpful.

[Hidden in reply to johnsmith]

I believe they are still investigating the cause John. In the meantime I feel better and living a more comfortable life.

[Bananas5]

Lovely ideal world John where all patients at Pain Clinic have a diagnosis treatment plan and the live virtually pain free for ever"

I can't remember off the top of my head what the percentages are but those who actually get a diagnosis of why they suffer cronic pain are extremely low.

In my David;s case we are lucky and now what happened when and why and he is their ideal patient. Well from the treatment side.

As you say pain relief masks the injury or condition and one of the biggest problems is prople fee good ish - do things which may continue to damage the injury unknowingly and when pain relief wears off....a flair up.

This why we always say pace yoursel. Do a little if you can. That way you are less likely yo do more damage to whatever you injury is.

Right that is all the text book teachings.

Now young iain...take the meds, ddo what you enjoy and worry what's next tomorrow!!

Keep afe

Pat x

[broski]

I was prescribed these as they wanted to change my anti depressant ....and after a month I noticed a MASSIVE drop in my spinal pain. I have had 2 operations already and awaiting a third at mo- and its always been bad-but when i took this it was a fabulous pain killer- perfect dual purpose!

THEN....after a few weks the dizziness I had had throughout with them got troublesome-to the point of getting profound and so so regretably, I had to give them up. But if you get no side effects from them Iain, I ca fully recommend them!

[Danslatete]

I had to give them up due to the dizziness, they changed them to nortriptiline instead but I still struggled. I was very sad to have to give them up. I'm not sure if it is because I have a brain injury that I'm sensitive to it tho.

[Hidden]

The initial pain I was having was severe stomach and chest pain. After being prescribed different tabs for this for a few months doctor decided then to give me amitriptyline. A previous stomach/chest endoscopy and scan showed signs of a lot of inflamation. Only now after taking amitriptyline do I feel much better (so far).