Amitriptyline interaction with Levothyroxine

[Zing]

I have been taking Levothyroxine 100mg for an under active thyroid for years, a recent blood test now shows over replacement. I am now taking 75mg. I have also been prescribed Amitriptyline 10mg, which I am concerned will counteract the new reduction in my Levothyroxine mediation. Can anyone help? Thanks 😊

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

Welcome to the group.

In what way would Amitrypteline counteract your Levo reduction? It won't affect your blood numbers but it might make you feel sleepy.

How were you over replaced on Levo? Do you have the blood results?

[Zing in reply to Jaydee1507]

Hi Jaydee, thanks for replying, my blood results showed that I need to lower my Levo dose. Doc lowered it to 75mg. I was concerned that the Amitriptyline would interact with the Levo and make the Levo dose higher. If that makes sense? There is a lot of information on the internet that says that Amitriptyline can affect Levo but nothing say how it will affect it.

[crimple in reply to Zing]

Zing, so is you doctor only looking at you TSH result? That is not how we should be treated. My TSH is below the reference range at 0.05, but my T4 and T3 are within the range (the numbers in brackets. I feel perfectly well, using TSH to adjust your dose is not how to look after a hypothyroid patient. Please post your last blood results including T4 and T3.

[Zing in reply to crimple]

hi Jaydee, The result are TSH 0.07, T418.4, T6.4. I have the amitriptyline to help with Hip Arthritis as I cant take Naproxen or Codeine and this does help me sleep. I am waiting for hip replacement surgery but they wont do it until my Thyroid goes into the normal range. So yes I agreed to the reduction as it is too high for the operation at the moment and I need the op. ASAP. Thanks for your help

[Zing in reply to crimple]

Hi crimple. The result are TSH 0.07, T418.4, T6.4. I have the amitriptyline to help with Hip Arthritis as I cant take Naproxen or Codeine and this does help me sleep. I am waiting for hip replacement surgery but they wont do it until my Thyroid goes into the normal range. So yes I agreed to the reduction as it is too high for the operation at the moment and I need the op. ASAP. Thanks for your help

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to Zing]

It might put your mind at rest to discuss this with a pharmacist. They are very good to talk to about any concerns you have with medication interactions. The articles I looked at talked about side effects of the amitrypteline which can be not insignificant.

Did you agree with the Levo reduction? Can you share your latest blood results with us? Ask GPs receptionist for a copy and post your results here.

[Zing in reply to Jaydee1507]

HI Jaydee, Good idea about asking the pharmacist, but to be honest i feel that drowsy this morning i may not stay on the Amitriptyline it does seem to have a lot of side effects overall.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to Zing]

What was it prescribed for?

It certainly didn't suit me.

[Zing in reply to Jaydee1507]

Yes Jaydee, I am feeling it may not be worth taking either, thinking it might be good as a rescue drug. Just to get a good nights sleep if I don’t sleep for several nights. Thanks for your help 👍

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Zing]

Early last year I took amitriptyline for a while - to help with pain of shingles.

Found I was feeling more and more tired and sleeping too many hours. Plus dry mouth. Stopped - slowly though I was only on a modest dose. And hope never to take it again.

[Zing in reply to helvella]

thanks for taking the time to share this. Yes i am still inclined to not use it, I am not sure that I like the way it makes me feel. Maybe handy as a rescue drug, maybe only take it if I have several bad nights. 👍

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Zing]

It was a case of desperation. Had refused at least twice. But nothing else was on the table - and I certainly didn't want to go to pregabalin or gabapentin.

[tattybogle in reply to Zing]

an unscientific and biased survey of 1 (me)....

i had some once .. at bedtime ... sleep (Tick) yep it worked for that

3pm the following day , i drove get the kid from school in next village . she'd been at her dads the day before .

Crashed my van into the back of someone at a junction ...looked like they were pulling off , but they stopped again .

i've NEVER had a crash of ANY sort in the previous 20yrs

cost me 9 years no claims bonus .

I blame the amytriptyline.

[crimple]

Zing what is the reason for prescribing amitriptyline?

[ladymaude52]

If you look at your paper in your levothyroxine. It says it can either not effect amitrityline enough or make your thyroid not suppressed enough

[Zing in reply to ladymaude52]

thanks for taking the time to share this, very helpful, although I did not see that on the enclosed paper in mine it just said not good if you have graves thyroid.

[MariLiz]

I take Amitriptyline alongside Levothyroxine and have never had any issues. That said, I am on a very low dose of Amitriptyline, to help with fibromyalgia pain.

It’s often a good idea to have a chat with your pharmacist, they will have more idea of any possible reactions between the two medications.

Very best wishes MariLiz

[Zing in reply to MariLiz]

thanks for taking the time to share this. 👍

[dylandolly]

Hi Zing for me Amitriptyline has been a life saver!After years of having really bad chronic migraines and having a really bad time going through the menopause I was prescribed Amitriptyline,I kid you not it was like a wonder drug for me.I was initially on 75mcg of Amitriptyline I'm now on 50mcg also take Levo have just been moved up 150mcg.from 125mcgI have had no issues with taking both those drugs.

[Zing in reply to dylandolly]

Thank you dylandolly I am glad you find amitriptyline helpful for migraines, thanks for sharing. 😊

[CDWRuby]

I have taken Amitriptylline for many years 150mg at night, this was for pa!in and insomnia as well as depression/anxiety. Although not too sure my thyroid replacement is affected as not quite right at the moment. Certainly there are the side effects from Amitripylline, mostly dry mouth and drowsiness, but they don't last long. If you need them for whatever reason please don't be frightened, I have had a similar accident to you, simply anticipating that someone would continue moving when they stopped, nothing to do with medication in most incidents. Good luck!

[Zing in reply to CDWRuby]

Thanks CDWRuby, its good to know some people have found amitriptyline helpful. Thanks for sharing 😀

[Rosy_Holly]

I took amitriptyline and levothyroxine daily at different times since 2008. It is only now that I have discovered the withdrawal problems that some of us have to endure . Firstly do not ever come off cold turkey. This applies to all antidepressants. Enlist the help of your GP. Recently I have read a book called "The Pill that steals lives " by Katinka Blackford Newman. It is in this book that I discovered that antidepressants are not for everyone and the author of the book found out the hard way, also the fact it is possible to be DNA tested to make sure it will not damage your body. I have had a lot of help from the Amitriptyline Withdrawal Group on Facebook.

[Zing in reply to Rosy_Holly]

thanks Rosy Holly. I have decided not to use it as I also have concerns.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

First, I do take levothyroxine.

I took amitriptyline when I was feeling terrible with severe shingles. In that context, it is extremely hard to be sure if anything is due to the illness or what you are taking. And how the illness interacts with thyroid hormones!

I did get up to 30 milligrams for a short while, then tapered off.

It helped - at the time I agreed to it I was avoiding other things like gabapentin and pregabalin - and trying to keep co-codamol down to a minimum.

But it ended up with me wanting to sleep about three hours longer than I usually do! That just got worse and worse. Even after the extra hours, I felt tired and sleepy. And had continuous dry mouth. So I decided to quit and did so, as I said, slowly.

Of course, many have had far, far worse!

From where I have now reached, I say thank goodness for chillis! I use capsaicin cream four times a day to keep the postherpetic neuralgia in check. And nothing else for that. I couldn't start capsaicin until may skin had calmed down.

I did have a handful of migraines over the years and used to feel dizzy and unwell. But nothing like as bad as a Vestibular Migraine.

Nowadays, I rarely get any migraines, though if I do, it's quite likely that I get several within a few days or weeks. And, thankfully, they are pretty much aura-only. Saying that because it seems quite common for the intensity of many migraines to reduce over the years.

In summary, I am not aware of any interactions.

And I hope it helps you.