Amitryptoline and RLS

[Lenilatt]

does amitrptolyne make RLS worse

[Jelbea]

I have severe RLS now but many years ago when RLS was not as severe a well-meaning GP prescribed amitriptyline. I took one tablet the first evening and suffered severe RLS for 24 hours non-stop. You will read on this site that most people with RLS cannot take this medication. Most antidepressants can cause RLS or make it worse. There are a couple that do not do this and someone with more knowledge will reply to you. I was with my GP on Friday and he offered me amitriptyline and was amazed when I told him that very few people with RLS can take it and that it actually makes them worse. Unfortunately many GPS are very lacking in knowledge about RLS.

[Bandit64 in reply to Jelbea]

I take amitriptyline & i take lyrica for my rls & dont get any side'efects " but everyone is different .

[Madlegs1]

YES.

[Pippins2]

Yes for the vast majority of us

[Joolsg]

Yes- I was prescribed it for my MS severe nerve pain and it sent my RLS ballistic. There are a few very rare individuals for whom it doesn’t make RLS worse.

[marsha2306 in reply to Joolsg]

Same here.

[Hidden]

I have taken amitriptyline for nerve pain and couldn't honestly say it had much of an effect on my RLS, but then, it didn't really do anything for the nerve pain either. There does seem to be a lot of people saying it does make RLS worse and I believe there are also studies that confirm it for some people.

It also depends on why you take it, as I say, I took it for nerve pain and it had little effect. Years ago I took it for depression and it had no effect.

I also once had a course of an SSRI antidepressant for an Acute Anxiety State which caused me to be off work for 6 months. It did work for my anxiety state. However, again (at least some) SSRIs are also known for making RLS worse.

I'd say, if you have RLS and take Amitriptyline and your RLS gets worse, then you need to get off the Amitriptyline.

If you're taking it for anxiety/depression best to find an alternative, SSRIs possibly not a good alternative. I recognise however, that it's difficult to find an antidepressant that is perfectly OK for RLS but is still efffective for anxiety or depression.

If you're taking Amitriptyline for nerve pain or neuropathy, if you're not already taking it, Gabapentin is an alternative. It will definitely NOT make your RLS worse.

[nightdancer]

in a word YES. for 99.9 % of us. You need to look up "Drugs to Avoid" for RLS. That is tops on the list and also SSRI antidepressants. There ARE always exceptions, but just the word Amitriptyline gives me RLS. I was looking for the highest window to jump out of, to be really honest.

[Jay48]

After advice from this forum I stopped taking Amitriptyline and last night I slept with no symptoms of RLS. I am on Gabapentin 300 tds. It’s the first time in a long time I have slept symptom free and hope this continues!! Thanks to all who gave advice xx

[martino]

I take a similar drug nortriptyline. It is a small dose 2.5mg. It has no discernible effect on RLS. Having said this we are all different.

[Oscarsaurus]

Yes i took amitriptyline for over 4 years to help as a relaxant for my chronic back pain. However i went cold turkey when i realised how much it aggravated my rls . I did have side effects going cold turkey but i was just glad to get the drug out of my system !!!

[Hidden]

Heck yes! It was horrible for me!