Help amitriptaline advise needed!!!!

Help i think i done something really stupid doc put me down on amitrip from 50 to 25 on mondau took it 4 three nights and had three rls nights so in desperation stopped taking it so for 2 or 3 nights had nothing feel terrable all the withdrawl symptons that go with stopping it quickly espesically insomnia confusion anxiety etc had a terrible night not woth rls with withdrawl symptons dont know what to do should i start taking it again and,come off slower. I only stopped it caise im pretty sure it was bringing on rls. But dont want to feel like this either i know it was stupid but what should i do?????

[Hidden]

It probably is causing your RLS, but i would go back to the dose your doctor has advised you to take, then phone your doctor tomorrow and ask how long you should be on that dose before you drop that med altogether. Alternatively, phone NHS Direct and explain what you have done etc. they could advise you until you can phone your doctor tomorrow...

[nightdancer]

Never, ever stop a drug without asking your doctor how to do it. Amitriptyline needs to be weaned off slowly, and it probably is causing your RLS. It is #1 on the "no-no" list for RLSer's, and/or SSRI antidepressants (prozac and Paxil) Both classes of these should be avoided whenever possible for 99.9% of people with RLS. the "Ami", from personal experience what was actualy drove me to get a diagnosis years ago, after getting my first computer. My RLS was so bad, that is when I will say I was actually suicidal from the sleep deprivation, and the 24/7 RLS. I had RLS before that, but it really went full power on the wrong meds. And It was being given to me for migraine prevention, which it did not do, and it really woke up and triggered my RLS. My doctor did not know what it was, and I had to tell HIM that the meds he was trying were just absolutely wrong. Of course, there were no meds approved for RLS back in 1997, so we were all just floundering around.

Knowledge is power, and I am pretty sure you are right about the ":Ami" making your RLS worse. how is your doctor with RLS? have you been officially diagnosed. If he/she is giving you "AMI", not much I presume. Go to rlshelp.org You can ask the doc any questions, read about hundreds of rLS patients and their experiences. On the treatment page scroll to "Drugs and Foods to Avoid",. This site is maintained by a neurologist (RLS is neurological and is strongly genetic) who is an advisor for the RLS Foundation in the US, and he will answer any and all questions, plus you can read about other's experiences with the same med you are having trouble with. And, watch out for over the counter meds, especially the PM ones and allergy/cold meds. Diphenhydramine (Benedryl, for example) is almost as bad as taking the bad antidepressants. If you need to be on an anti-d, Wellbutrin and Remeron are 2 that are in a class all their own, and do not bother RLS 99% of the time. there are always exceptions, but these things I mentioned are pretty universal for RLS "rules". But, really check out that web site. It is non profit, so no one is trying to sell anything there on the doctor's web site.

[jumpylegs]

What was the doc thinking of to drop a dose of amitryptiline from 50 down to 25 !!! Of course, why give it to an RLSer in the first place.

(Having said that I can cope with 20mg of it daily without ill effect.)

Perplexed is dealing with major rls symptoms probably worsened by the amitryptiline. So then doc halves the dose..... Perplexed is now dealing with rls going mad and also withdrawal from the amitr. In desperation Perplexed then cuts out the amitr completely... and has even bigger withdrawal.

To get me over the weekend until a Monday emergency doc appt I'd be hunting my medicine cabinet for anything containing codeine, or head for my nearest pharmacy. I agree that over the counter co-codomol would be low dose but it just might take the edge off it.

"""""""I hasten to add that this is what I would do and is not by any means a general recommendation. """""""""

[nightdancer in reply to jumpylegs]

That is exactly what I would do. Hunt thru the house for anything on a bad weekend. I got stuck one Thanksgving weekend, because my doctor;s office was closed the WED before, and my pain meds were due that day. In the US, when on regular pain meds every day, it is mostly done on a 28 day basis when prescribed every month. And, do not try to get them one day early. They did not tell me the doctor's office was going to be closed, so I went 5 days without any meds, except a couple of Vicodin, which lasted exactly an hr. I agree, the whole thing with Perplexed is a mess, and am glad you (jumpylegs) can tolerate a small dose of it, unlike most of us.Whatever happens with Perplexed's meds, it is not being handled correctly now. I certainly hope he/she is calling the doctor today and get this straightened out. We are not lu cky enough to have over the counter anything with narcotics in the US, so we cannot get codeine OTC. That would solve a lot of my problems and other people's problems, too.

[jumpylegs]

Here in the UK we can get OTC co-codomol which has 8mg codeine/500 paracaetamol. To take enough codeine would mean ingesting an awful lot of unwelcome paracaetamol. Especially as the paracaetamol is serving no useful purpose. And to take only 2 pills = 16mg codeine isn't generally going to be of much use -v- RLS.

Don't know about anyone else, but I have an emergency stash!!

I certainly hope that Perplexed is at present with an understanding doc and a print out of some relevant documentation.

[Hidden]

Hiya been bk to the docs today i started taking the amitrip again sunday just to c if i could reduce the withdrawl been docter todau she said that cause ialready had a three day break off the amitrip then i could now go one dau on one day off 4 a week then i can stop them all together. I had ferrotin level results back todau mine was 8 !!!!!! So now on iron tablets to c if that helps back in a month for another bloodtest. Got no meds as such for the rls i think she reckons that if i take the,iron it will sort itslef out. She did sau that if that dosnt work she wants to look into chrons diesease and a few others caise i get such bad problems with my belly. Ive deffo got the best doctor i had so far and i have seen alot and i thought she was getting it then she said to me 'yeah so i think this is whats causing the rls cause i just didnt understand i talked to another doctor about it cause rls is only sonething old people get!!!!!!!!!! ' so maybe she hasnt quite got it!!!!???? Anyway i took my last zopiclone on sunday which only helps me sleep if i havnt got the rls on and thankfully it wasnt last night so i actually got some sleep!!!!! So no rls meds she just gave me a few more zopiclone. But im so glad i asked for a ferritin level test.At least now i feel like the ball is rolling!!!!!

[jumpylegs]

I don't understand why doc didn't give you something for your RLS symptoms. What did doc say when you asked for something to help the RLS.

What did you say when she commented that it is only something that old people get ??

[Hidden]

i actually went in with a list of meds that people had suggested on here she looked at that them and said that she would have to go and look some of them up cause she hadnt heard of them before!!!! as for the old people comment i told her that theres alot of evidense to proof that that is wrong i keep telling her about this site but she dosnt seem that intrested in checking it out....

[nightdancer in reply to Hidden]

Send her to a site like Web MD that doctors will actually go to. If she had to look up any med that has been discussed on this site, then she does NOT know about RLS. We do not discuss anything that any doctor should not know alreadyw hen it comes to meds. And, we ususally cover all the basice RLS meds here, so she needs some educational material. What is easier, instead of giving the doctor a web site to look on, print out info from a reputable wen site like wEBMD. Doctors like that site, I have been told, and "they" feel the info is accurate on that site and some others. And, you can tell her there are studies that have been done and are veing done on children and RLS. Mine stated when I was 14. that also tells me that while she may be your favorite doctor so far, she knows next to nothing about RLS;get a referrral to a neurologist or sleep doctor. Then the ball will really be rolling. keep in mind that by taking oral iron supplements to get your Ferritin up, can take months. Mine was at11, I had 3 iron infusions a wk apart ( a little controversal to some docs) and I got my Ferritin up to 152. For ME, personally, It did not do a thing for my RLS, though, so remember that. That may not be the cause of your RLS, but it is one of the only things we actualy have a test for to rule things out. RLS is progressive. The people in my family who have RLS are myself, both my sisters, both my nieces, plus my niece's kids, who are 5 and 7. RLS is not an "old person's" disease. It can hit at any age!! Tell your doctor that. Good luck. You are going to need it, unless you see a specialist tha KNOWS RLS.

Cheers!

Donna/56

[Hidden]

MY DOCTOR SUGGESTED I TAKE AMITRIP BUT I REFUSED BECAUSE IT'S AN ANTI -DEPRESSANT...IM ON PRAMIPEXSOL SO TRY IT..ITS SPECIFICALLY FOR RLS..GOOD LUCK

[nightdancer in reply to Hidden]

Then to be brutally honest, your doctor does not know much about RLS if he is suggestng AMitrip. there are some antidepressants that we can take; just mostly the SSRI's (paxil, Prozac, Lexapro and tricyclics (Ami). I take Mirtazapine with no problems. Ami literaly made me suicidal my RLS got so bad. Toatl nightmare.

Cheers!

Donna/56

[Hidden in reply to nightdancer]

My doctor knew nothing at all about RLS.....she had to look it up to find the meds for it. I WILL NOT TAKE ANY ANTI DEPPS..MY LEGS ARE NOT DEPRESSED !!! WHO SUGGESTED SSR'S PROZAC ETC, ARE GOOD FOR RLS? I AM WONDERING IF CANABIS COULD HELP RLS, IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD FOR ARTHRITIS....

[nightdancer in reply to Hidden]

The Pramipexole is specifically for Parkinson's disease, but now is also an RLS drug. And, it does not work for everyone. There are a ton of RLSer's that the P meds do not work for at all, including me.