Amitriptyline

[Gizmo6]

Hi all, I've had ibs -c for many years. Last year I was in so much pain in my hips my doc sent me for an xray it turned out to be an impingement. My doc gave me amitriptyline as a painkiller. Oh my word they worked wonders. I was regular as clockwork no bloating. I had been on a diet with no weight loss, these meds was helping with weight loss , these wonder meds seemed to be helping me all round. The weight loss was steadily coming off I felt great. So this year I had covid in April and these wonder meds stopping helping. I'm struggling to lose weight I'm bloated , Constipated on and off back to square one. I'm now coming of amitriptyline. Sorry after a long story I just wanted to mention these meds to see if anyone else has been on them and if the same happened to them or is it just me or has covid messed me up. I'm so disappointed I thought amitriptyline had cured me.

[GracieGroo]

I know of this. I've read that it's taken over a year for people's IBS to be under control again after catching that virus!

[JimmyJackson]

Amitrityline

I took this for about 15 years for insomnia I then had a very dry cough for some years which was caused by this med 15 years later I still am suffering the results of withdrawel In my experience the med should be a last resort drug

[Gizmo6 in reply to JimmyJackson]

Hi. Jimmy sorry you're still suffering. I was on 20 mg once a day for 12 months ish. I found it helpful with hip pain to start with also seemed to help ibs. Then this year I started with weight gain I've been on a good healthy diet that would usually help me to lose weight for almost 3 months , I've lost a pound. So unusual for me. So re searched it , it commonly caused constipation and weight gain for some people. So for me weight gain isn't helpful to my hips. So I'm now weaning of them. Can I ask what are your side effects. So far I'm not too bad apart from my digestion playing up more than usual. I do hope you get some relief soon Jimmy..

[Pollyboo]

Hi, I was on Amitriptyline for about 5/6 mths, I have just taken myself off, I must admit I was a bit naughty and just stopped my 10mg. I am not boasting about this but I had got to the point with my restless legs that I was walking round the house all evening, as I couldn't keep still. After a bit of research found out that they can make restless legs worse. The first couple of months were good on Amitriptyline, but after a while I didn't think they were helping that much and I was starting to take Imodium again.

I have not taken any Amitriptyline for 3weeks now, and my legs are so much better. I think the second week withdrawal was worse than the first. My tummy was quite upset, and I had trouble sleeping, also felt a bit sickly and lost my appetite,( losing my appetite was not a bad thing as the Amitriptyline had made me put on about 7lb.)

I am lucky in the fact that I am a 70 yr old lady, and didn't have to go out to work , so I could take my time and rest at home as and when I needed.

I wish you luck and hope things work out well for you. We must all try to be positive where we can I know it is not easy.

I have had IBS for 20yrs and my gallbladder removed 10yrs ago.

I have tried so many things over the years and the decision to take Amitriptyline was not taken lightly.

I am glad I took the decision to take myself off.

Sorry to go on a bit.

Take care

Pollyboo

.

[Gizmo6 in reply to Pollyboo]

Pollyboo thank for replying. I had gained about 10lb my usual diet of healthy eating just wasn't working. I can loose weight pretty easily once set my mind to it. I had been on amitriptyline for over 6months noticed my weight had crept up I couldn't believe it. I don't gain easily, half stone then its off again but not now. I'm in my early 60s and taken early retirement so expected a slower loss but not 3 months of losing a pound. I thought it was my imagination until I re searched it, Its crazy. I've come down to 10mg every other day I've got a icky tummy but nothing too much. I'm so pleased you replied , it's not in my head. I hope you feel much better soon , this is my 3rd week too.

Take care of yourself pollyboo

[Fergie53 in reply to Pollyboo]

Oh this is interesting, I’ve been taking Amitriptyline 10mg on and off for several months and find I still have problems with my IBS tho to start with it helped…

It does help with pain I feel but maybe the benefit wears off?

[Bluecheesefan in reply to Fergie53]

Sorry should read bile acid malabsorption

[Bluecheesefan in reply to Pollyboo]

50% of IBS is bike acid absorption especially after ball bladder removal. A sehcat scan would confirm this , it's not offered very often and not many hospitals have the facilities, also it's extremely expensive. I'm now on one tablet a day of colesevelum, my life is almost back to normal after years of IBS, no more accidents , no more running to the toilet every 10 minutes. Please Google it and see if the symptoms apply to you . I also took psyllium husk ( from health shops ) before I got my diagnosis and this helped enormously. Hope this helps you and anyone suffering the misery of IBS.