Does amitryptaline work?

[Montykat]

For ibs-d. And also for back pain? Gp is telling me it will start working from the first pill taken but im sure i remember trying this before & being told i didnt give it enough time to work.

[jagstang]

Hi amitryptaline does work for back pain, but my consultant advised it would take a while to work fully I'm sure it was a few weeks. If it is nerve back pain he advised that normal pain killers wouldn't work. It was like a miracle drug for me once it kicked in. My husband was also offered it for UC but with me it did stop me wanting to pee for long periods,( Consultant then decreased amount ) and because of other issues my husband decided not to take it. Once I stopped taking it I was peeing as normal. It was a long time ago though so can't remember how long it took, just that it did work well for the pain.

[Nerissa]

Hi it definitely works for Ibsd but does take a couple of weeks. I remember taking Imodium when days were bad and had to go out for a couple of weeks but then the tablets kicked in. Been on it for 19 years every time I try to come off it the diahorrhea and cramps start. I've lowered it to 25mg but can never get lower. Sometimes in the past have up to 35mg but then lower to 25 when better but slowly reduce if you feel like in future. Hope it helps

[ivesy in reply to Nerissa]

Hi nerissa, have you noticed any side effects relating to loss of memory?

[Eternity78 in reply to ivesy]

@ivesy sorry to intrude ..but yes definitely I noticed short term loss of memory..that had a negative effect on my daily life ..for example I give money to my teenage boy ..I take a nap in the afternoon and wake up forgotting that I give him and I call him to give him money and he says mom you've already gave me in the morning!! same with my daughter when she has a fever ..I almost gave her double dose of panadol and an antihistamin when she had the flu ..thank God she talked and said that i've already given her the Meds !!

so yeah I have to write down how much i spend , when and other things that I need to remember 😩😩😳

[ivesy in reply to Eternity78]

That's interesting. I've noticed the same though not to the same degree. I've seen some studies that show it can cause dementia when you get older.

[Nerissa in reply to Nerissa]

No not that I've noticed. I did notice when trying to come off them some days was hard to concentrate but I think that was just the withdrawal symptoms and probably would have gone if I continued to stop taking them but ibs symptoms were so bad went back to 25mg. When I took more I become constipated which you think would be great for us but that was just as bad!! 25 is best for me. I did put weight on but again that could have been because I was so ill before.

[Hippylongstocking]

Hi Montykat, I'm not a doctor or anyone in the medical profession, so this is just my own experience. I was prescribed amitriptyline a few years ago and was told that although I would notice certain effects straight away it takes between 3-6 weeks for the full benefit of the medication to take effect. I think I'm right in saying that amitriityline belongs to a group called tricyclics. Drugs such as fluoxetine and citalopram are also tricyclics. All it means in my understanding is that it takes at least 3 weeks for them to take full effect. Anyway I found that when I took amitriptyline it made me feel very groggy when I woke up in the morning and it didn't wear off quickly. I don't think that happens to everyone so don't let that put you off just maybe take your first tablet when you're not going to work the next day!

I hope some of my info might be of use to you and good luck!

[treez]

Hi,it does take a while to work up to a month it depends on the dose for side effects it definitely made me sluggish to start with but I was off work so by the time I was back at work I was used to it and not too groggy I started on 10mg and have gradually increased it up to 30mg (I've been on it nearly 6 months )I hope it works for you

Treez

[Montykat]

Thanks everyone for your replies. The gp has told me to try 10mg every night a few hours before bedtime as it will make me feel sleepy so i will definately try it ill go for a fri or sat night see what happens!

[MsRivet]

I tried 10mg for pain but it made me feel so out if it I almost shoplifted so I stopped taking it as didn't have enough effect to make the side effects worth it. I do have ulcerative colitis as well as secondary IBS though.

[Nickibmibile]

I take 20mg as an anti anxiety "remedy" and can't say I've noticed any memory problems that I didn't already have!! My 17 year old has recently started taking it for chronic pain relief, she takes 30mg at night and 10mg in the morning. She is so much better since she started on it and I've not noticed any memory lapses in her either. Good luck 🍀