Had a bad fall a couple of weeks ago and still experiencing back pain. Have been prescribed Amytryptiline as none of the other pain suppressants seem to work.
I take Levo and lio and thyroid drug reaction s are mentioned on leaflet.
Anyone else had any problems.
di
In 2022 I took amitriptyline for a while - fairly low dose, for pain.
I didn't notice any specific interaction with thyroid. But I did find the tiredness and dry mouth very unpleasant and stopped when I could. Some days I'd oversleep by about four hours or so. And still felt tired when I did get up.
However, I was lucky enough to find something else that helped me.
Thank you so much. Did tell him I might never wake up. Will start with 10 and see how I get on rather than rush to increase it.
Di
I did mean to wish you well in recovering. (And what I found for neuralgia would not be appropriate for your problem.)
Also, we are all different. You might find it much better than I did!
What helped your neuralgia? I've been put on Amitriptyline for neuropathy and it's not yet helped (I've a lot of muscle pain/tightness/squeezing but I can't tell if it's nerves). Not upped dose yet though, am taking 10mg at night.
helvella - Capsaicin Cream
A brief set of notes mainly about how I use capsaicin cream for neuralgia.
I took Amytriptyline for Fibro years ago and more recently tried it as a migraine preventative, like Helvella said it can be very sedating and this groggy, walking through treacle feeling can persist into the next day.
I found taking it early evening was best as it had a chance to wear off before morning. You do get used to it in time but side effects can be annoying.
Oh lor. Perhaps stick with the paracetamol
Or Cbd oil... Fab 
Paracetamol isn't without its side effects either...especially if taken long-term. Worth reading the patient leaflet closely. My physio advises I drink plenty of water to help flush it out (I assume in urine). Just thought I'd mention. Also, have you had an X ray and DEXA scan to look at your bones? ( I'd ask for both!) Good luck with finding a solution and getting better soon, 🙂
Did it help your pain? Have had chronic back pain for 2 years that nothing much seems to help apart from Co-Codamol (yikes). I take a prescribed muscle relaxant which takes the edge off a wee bit, but am always looking for something that will work! Thanks, helvella.
Difficult to answer. It helped me to sleep through whatever was happening. But I felt pretty dreadful regardless. Topical anaesthetic creams (e.g. lidocaine) helped but I needed a lot. Co-codamol might have helped a little - always difficult to be sure when looking back.
However, shingles and post-herpetic neuralgia is very different to back pain.
As the acute shingles faded, post-herpetic neuralgia really got going. But I desperately wanted to be off amitriptyline. CBD oil has a small effect when applied topically - but I didn't notice much from taking any orally.
I am lucky, I use capsaicin cream which helps enormously and avoids all systemic medicines. I rarely take even a single paracetamol. But whilst that could be tried for other things, it isn't recognised for back pain.
Hi Helvella,
I take cocodomol for shoulder pain but I'm also experiencing burning pain in my feet after foot surgery. My consultant told me to look on Amazon for some capiscan cream so I'm wondering if you would mind sharing the one that you use and is it helping?
Many thanks 🙂
Mrscat12,
Am happy to let you know!
This article is still a bit ragged but has the basic information
helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...
I am NOT convinced it will work for your purpose but the only way to find out it to try!
I also have this specifically regarding burning feet.
helvella - Burning Feet
This is my blog page about Burning Feet. You might find something helpful there. It links to a comprehensive (though fairly short) article about burning feet. And a couple of other relevant articles. Plus a couple of links to some products which might help.
helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...
Feel free to ask any questions you might have.
Bear in mind it can take a while to work (could be weeks rather than half an hour) but once it does it’s very effective. Don’t take it at bedtime cos you’ll have a hangover (tired) effect, maybe take around 9pm if possible. As you said, start at lowish dose until you get used to it.
Thank you will persevere.
I was prescribed it years ago for Fibro. Took for a few nights, very low dose, but stopped as it gave me a nose bleed every night!
Depending on the sort of injury you have, you could try asking about temazapam. It’s brilliant for anything that causes spasms of pain. My husband was recommended it by an American osteopath. It’s not used in the UK much but is very effective on some kinds of pain. Only a little sedating too.
I've been taking it for migraine management and it did slightly down-regulate my thyroid so my thyroid medication had to increase. I'm now tapering off the amitriptyline after two years and my FT4 and FT3 are both rising as a result. As a word of caution - as someone currently withdrawing from this drug I can tell you that it is not easy to come off it. I hope you can get your pain under control, all the best with your recovery.
Thank you. At 80 it seems to me like taking a sledgehammer to crack a walnut.
After reading these posts I’m thinking of lowering my dose. Can I ask why you found it difficult? What symptoms did it cause? I always feel horrendous in the morning till about 11am when I finally pull round. I never associated it with Ammi.
I had a hard time going on it. I was like a zombie for weeks but it helped manage the intensity of disabling migraines. Reducing my dose over these last 4 months went ok until I dropped from 5mg to 2.5mg last week and that has been horrible: insomnia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, chills, allergic skin response.
I have taken a large dose 75mg about 14 years for back pain , not every night just as and when . I do get the dreadful dry mouth but that is the only problem I experience. The thought of over sleeping to me is fantastic I am lucky if I get 4 hours sleep . When my back is really bad nothing else works for me , hope your back recovers soon
I was prescribed amitriptyline but when I read the paper inside stating it can affect the doseage of both thyroid meds and amitriptyline I refused it as i didn't want it to alter levo dose. When I told the New young Dr. who prescribed it she came back with "well it's not in the BNF that says that" i said the leaflet inside says it, backed up by google and I know it's not in BNF I've already looked. (Some Dr's hate google yet they use it themselves.
That worried me too as I’ve only half told them about the T3 I’ve added
Hi Hylda2 - I’ve been taking Levo and Amitriptyline for years and never have any problems as long as I have TEVA amitriptyline. If they change the company I get weird dreams and my sleep is disturbed. I also take TEVA levo so if you have any issues you might ask the pharmacist to change brands - I have nerve damage which is why I’ve been on it for years.
All the best
Yes I had a bad experience 2.5 yrs ago. Prescribed for chronic fatigue (AZ vaccine nerve damage)
Started on 10/night. I couldn’t wake up/think/physically function during the day. After a week Dr said break in half for 5 dose. Still couldn’t mentally/physically function. After another week it felt like it had poisoned/inflamed my whole system and haven’t touched it since.
3yrs on I manage to potter round the garden/listen to podcasts & have Thai massages regularly to continue to clear the inflammation & lymph system. Tragic at 52yrs old, from being extremely mentally &physically fit.
…if it doesn’t feel okay in your body, your body is right!
Hi,
I'm taking Amitriptyline and on 150mgs of Levo. If I take the Amitriptyline after 6pm at night, I’m groggy the next day, but sticking to 6pm I’m fine. These are things GP’s don’t tell us unfortunately.
Thank you. I was told to take an hour before bed
Hi I think I was told to take early evening but I don’t. I take it around 9pm. Personally I don’t think it does much for me. As others have said I’m groggy for a few hours almost every morning & also get a dry mouth. I’m also on Thyroxine & T3 & didn’t know about any interaction however I have been having Thyroid issues. I’ve been on it for many years.
Ask your local physio department if you can try a TEN's machine. Ideal for back pain.
Do you use a TENS machine for back pain? A physio suggested I might buy one and try it but I haven't as yet. My pain is mid to upper back every day.
Yes, but don't get one with a timer as you just have to keep switching it back on. Do not use it if you have a pacemaker, or while driving. If you get one DM me and I'll tell you how to get the best from it ( I used to tach the use of TEN's machines for pain relief) Try something like this, and claim the VAT on it for chronic back pain f you can! amazon.co.uk/Med-Fit-Channe... or
I had them for nerve pain after a dental procedure. My worst side effect was dreadful constipation which is bad enough with hypo anyway! I think the pain in my guts was as bad as the nerve pain. Also, they made me very drowsy even on the lowest dose. I hope they work for you.
Going to cut a 10 mg in half tonight and see what happens. Can’t stop itching
You could even try a quarter of a tablet. There are dry mouth gels you can buy - Biotene, Bioxtra and TePe, though I'm not sure they do a lot.
I couldn't get on with it myself, but some people are ok with it. Good luck.
Thanks. Do you think .25 would do anything?
I'm not sure, but it would be a way of starting and perhaps getting used to it. I can understand your hesitancy.
I was prescribed amitriptyline a couple of years ago for 'chronic daily headache'. It worked for a week and then things spiralled down hill quite quickly. My GP kept saying 'take 2 a day, then 3 a day, up to 7 a day!'' etc. I felt like a zombie. It took me a few months (due to mental zone-out) to work out I needed to stop taking it, which I did, carefully over several weeks, as it is not safe to go cold turkey. Incidentally, this drug is also often prescribed for depression. To put it politely, I call it a 'naff-off' drug. It may, of course, work well for others, but I would say be cautious.
Despite being regularly prescribed, the evidence for antidepressants helping chronic pain is poor at best. One of the issues being chronic pain is poorly understood and researched despite being extremely common. I agree 100% about the "naff off" comment.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/371..., a meta analysis of antidepressant use for chronic pain.
Yes, you're right, and the implication is that you must be depressed to be complaining of hard to explain chronic pain, which infuriates me. Also, this drug is prescribed more to women than to men, in my experience, which is a whole other hornets nest, designed to raise your blood pressure.
Good luck to everyone negotiating the medical merry-go-round.
As someone who was diagnosed with Fibro nearly 20 years ago I'm all too familiar with chronic pain and the pretty poor selection of pharmaceuticals on offer, if its not anti D's they are pushing then its anti epileptics like Pregablin, which again have very modest benefits against pain, as well as having a raft of unplesasnt side effects and being very addictive. We deserve better.
I'm sorry to hear that Fibro has been giving you a hard time. I was diagnosed with it a few years ago (still not so sure about the diagnosis, to be honest), and yes the anti depressants, anti seizure drugs have been offered to me too. I have rejected them because of the side effects, and because they are not effective. Also, I think there must logically be an explanation for severe pain and if the docs don't know what's causing it, they should not be gung-ho about prescribing heavy duty drugs. But, of course, that leaves us all with chronic pain.
Best wishes
I have Ehlers Danlos and tbh think my symptoms are more likely due to that than Fibro. But doctors love diagnosing these dustbin conditions as they know its incurable, poorly treated and gets you out of the door.
'Dustbin conditions'. Couldn't have put it better. Not only incurable and untreatable but un-testable and unprovable too. But as you say, gets you out the door.
Thank you for your comments. It's nice to know I'm not the only one, and a good rant occasionally is pretty good medicine.
Best wishes
⁹Have you had a diagnosis for your back pain ? Is it muscular or...
Having been diagnosed with a Spondylolithesis around 60 years ago I had surgery for spinal stenosis in 2007. The nerves are compressed at L5/S1 now and was recently accepted for a spinal fusion (too expensive) My legs are a problem - weak and with neuropathy from mid-calf down. My ability to stand/walk is limited.
So I work on the scaffolding (muscles) that support this older body with gentle and specific exercises. Done early before I go off the idea !
I have a massage therapist specialising in fascia release with some pilates thrown in - magic !
I also inject B12 weekly having read it can be used for pain relief in certain countries. B12 supports the Myelin sheath that protects all nerves. Also keeping gut inflammation down can help in some cases....when my gut is upset - so is my lower back !
Really hope you soon find answers without the pills in the long term... 🌻
hi, I have had loads of issues with thyroid since diagnosed, I was put on amitryptilline and had no effect or side effects with dose going up to max 100mg and I am on 175mg of levothyroxine, gabapentin however totally different story, had loads of side effects with that not very good, but guess it effects others in different ways just need to keep monitoring things
I've been taking Amitriptyline for ages b4 being diagnosed with UAT, not had any issues
thank you
Hello Hylda2, I had Amytriptylene prescribed to switch off bladder nerves causing pain and burning. I stopped when I developed bad palpitations and exacerbated GERD. Next Rx for Gabapentin, that had same detrimental effect on GERD, plus allergic reaction of purpura on lower legs. Both as I understand it are tricyclic antidepressants, and have interactions with Thyroxine. I won’t be trying anymore. When I had a bad crash onto my coccyx and could barely walk, I found a private physio who was brilliant, the exercise she gave me fixed the problem - I had previously not been a fan of physio after previous poor experiences. But she was excellent. Could this this be a drug free solution for you do you think. I hope you become pain free soon. All the very best.
I took amitrip (can't be bothered to keep typing the whole name) for a while, starting with a dose of 10mg per day, rising to 25mg per day.
From the start I had problems with my heart speeding up. Eventually I developed tachycardia and my heart rate was going up to 150 beats per minute. I gave up the amitrip but it took quite a while to slow my heart down. I ended up taking a low dose of a beta blocker (Bisoprolol) which so far has been helpful in preventing the tachycardia.
I was encouraged to try a different drug in the same family as the amitrip, called Nortriptyline, but it caused the same problems as the amitrip.
I discovered that tachycardia is a known side effect of the amitrip and the nortrip, listed on the Patient Information Leaflet in both cases. I would never take either drug again.
It is annoying that I developed tachycardia. I found that the amitrip did actually reduce my chronic pain.
I found the same with both Ami and Nort, I tried both in low doses for migraine. Just gave me a daily headache, rapid heartbeat and the shakes. Horrible things.
I'm also on both levo and lio. I have amitryptyline 25mg at night for severe neuropathy pain in a foot. I've not noticed anything and recent bloods are as usual. I now sleep at night.
beware the dopeyness ......i took it only once for back pain (can't remember what dose , probably only 10 ? ).... an hour or so before bed ..... the next day at 4pm i drove my van into the back of a car at a junction and lost 9 years no claims bonus.
so overall i found it ...... rather expensive .
(and frankly , it wasn't a lot of use for my back pain either, although i admit 'one tablet then spat my dummy out ' was hardly a fair trial)
from my past experiences with back pain , a few days worth of diazepam would have been much more effective , but of course they won't usually let you have that. (especially if you ask for it)
finding the right physio exercises to strengthen 'whatever other bits of your back / core are weak or incorrectly used' is usually the best way to fix the issue long term .
I know where you are coming from. I have been walking round in a fog all day. Will try 5mg tonight and if no better give up
No ,I've been taking amitripalene for years also levothyroxine , no side effects , maybe its different people , wish you well soon xx
hi I took Amytryptiline many years ago, only 10mg at night for fibro pain. Can’t say it helped much but I felt so tired and sedated every day I gave it up ultimately. I do take Pregabilin 75 early evening. Sadly was on it for 15 years, decided to go cold turkey and had a year of chronic insomnia so I went back on it..so what I’m saying for some people these types of sedatory drugs will hook you! And your body won’t function the same way. Hope you recover soon 💜
Thank you. Last night just took 5mg and dont feel quite so dopey. And the pain feels more blunted
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