Amitriptilyne withdrawal

[Ttyellow]

I have been on amitriptilyne since end of May gradually stepping up from 10 - 40 mg. I have found I experience ringing/buzzing in the ears and floaters in the eyes( I've had checked by optician) which is annoying but better than anxiety. However, 2 months ago my HRT was changed which I think has made a huge difference so I decided to try to wean off ( I tried early Sept but some anxiety issues returned) I spent about 3 weeks alternating 30/40mg a day, then last week I stayed at 30mg. I have had increased ringing and headaches which seem to have eased but I'm not sleeping so well and feel a little anxious- can any one tell me if this is just withdrawal and I should grit my teeth as I don't want to be on them forever

[rabbits65]

Try and come off them if possible. What you have in your ears/head is called Tinnitus . You really don’t want that at all, it’s awful , I have tinnitus , meds are known to be the culprit of tinnitus. If you go on the NRAS Tinnitus site you will find out more . Your anxiety is getting your nervous system into a state. This also brings on tinnitus . Go to your GP for further advice.

[Ttyellow in reply to rabbits65]

Thank you ringing eased so fingers crossed

[Littleone88]

Omg I could of wrote this myself , been trying to come or amitriptyline for a while now’ I finally stopped October 24th, and since I’ve had painful headaches cold sweats feeling sick, Iv been sick once. Constant fatigue, I feel absolutely awful but I refuse to take it again, will follow for tips. Hope it passes and u manage to come off bless ya

[Ttyellow in reply to Littleone88]

I hate taking tablets and don't want to be on them forever, so I'm going to ride it out and stay on 30mg - how long did you take before you actually stopped completely?

[Littleone88 in reply to Ttyellow]

I took them for over a year, I got down to 10mg and then just stopped, and it made me feel awful but just couldn’t be dealing with it anymore wanted to be off them they made me so fatigued. Yes ride it out and slowly lower it, it should help make the withdrawal less awful

[Ttyellow in reply to Littleone88]

Thankyou I'll persevere and do it slowly

[Ttyellow in reply to Littleone88]

Just wondering how you are doing now, I'm now not sleeping dozing and waking up every hour, ringing is back in ears I've read it can take 1. -3 weeks so I guess I have to preserve but I'm scared I'm going back to my anxiety levels

[Littleone88 in reply to Ttyellow]

Hey; I’m still not sleeping either, waking up and just tossing and turning most the night, is there any thing else ur dr can prescribe for ur anxiety? I take sertraline for my anxiety and it’s helped me so so much, been on it over a year now. I had bad anxiety whilst coming of amitriptyline but it only lasted around two or three days and passed, xx

[Ttyellow in reply to Littleone88]

ok, just messaged the doctor he said hopefully symptoms will settle I tried setraline early in the year but it sent me to a horrible place

[Littleone88 in reply to Ttyellow]

Yeah they will settle just bare with it, aslong as u do it slowly the side effects should wear if Pretty Quick hopefully xx

[Arboclimber1]

I came off them due to other issues and suffered massive panic attacks which I battled as long as my sanity let me but now back on 25mg 2 nightly and one in morning. I strongly advise getting medical help if you want to reduce especially if you have been on them for a while best wishes

[Ttyellow in reply to Arboclimber1]

Oh dear! The doctor put me on these as he said they weren't addictive but I never realised how bad the withdrawal would be I hope you are feeling better

[Chleo11]

Hello Ttyellow. I'm sorry to read that you're struggling with coming off Amitriptyline. I took it for about 6 months and never managed to go higher than 50mg. Never made any difference to my migraines but bad side effects. For some reasons, I came off very easily and never had any issue. Maybe only because it was making me so sick that my body was relieved to get rid of it. I believe that all medication that are prescribed for migraines are addictive. You need to wean off them very slowly. When it comes to your tinnitus and your insomnia, best if you try to have a background soothing sound, day or night really. There are some apps out there and you can try to find the sound that matches your tinnitus frequency. This way it covers it somehow and you feel more relaxed. For myself it is the sound of rain or the sound of waves. You need to get your mind off the tinnitus sound and the backgroud sound will help. That is how I survived my sudden onset of 'debilitating' continuous tinnitus all these years back.

All the best to you!

[Ttyellow in reply to Chleo11]

thank you so much I will give it a go!