Nortriptylene

[Zosie]

Hi all,

My fibro is worse and as I'm taking less than the therapeutic dose of amitriptyline my GP has recommended trying nortriptylene to see if I can handle it better. I'm trying to find out more about it but can't find much online that's useful.

Can anyone advise?

Thanks,

Zosie xoxo

[crop]

Have you tried patient.co.uk or webMD? They're good websites x

[Fibrofoggiest]

Hi Zosie,

Could I just ask why you are taking less of the amitriptyline ? Do you have a reaction to it, or doe you just feel it isn't working, I started off on a very low dose which I was gradually increased to a leave which means that I do get a reasonable amount of sleep most of the time, not all of it. Nortriptyline is generally used to treat depression , it doesn't appear to have the same benefits that amitriptyline does, with regards to help with sleep, it does also help lift mood. I would be interested to know how you get on with the Nortriptyline as opposed to the amitriptyline, but most importantly is to find what ever drug is most effective for you and for what you experience ! Mostly we all have much the same complaint here, but the way our body responds to medications and treatments can be so radically different in each case,

I really hope you get things sorted out very soon

Foggy x

[Hidden]

Hello

Amitriptylin and nortriptylin are the same drug really

Just that nortriptylin is a little bit kinder.

It's a drug that has been used for many many years

For me I found them both the same both make you

Feel tired, both help the pain a little.

Both seem to stop working after a while

Amitriptylin is good to start with then like lots of drugs

You need to up the doze as it seems not to work for

Me after it went up I had bad headaches

I found the same with nortriptylin.

So now I don't take either but that does not mean

It will not work for you.

[bluebell10]

nortriptylin helps me get a few hrs sleep & my feet are not quite so stiff in the morning but not enough to really help but if i increase the dose as gp suggested i feel like a zombie the next day,but as u say different drugs have different affects on each person x

[ladytelita]

I take Nortrityline as I couldn't take Amitriptyline due to a bad reaction. Nortriptyline is a newer drug than Amitriptyline. They have a fairly similar effect although Nortriptyline is less likely to give you an adverse reaction. the most common is feeling like you have a hangover the next day. In order to avoid this my rheumatologist suggested taking it earlier in the evening, not at bedtime or just before but after dinner/tea whatever you have as the evening meal.

The highest dose is 7x10mg per night. I currently take 4. I find that a pretty good number to ensure I get the sleep I need and not get a reaction. if I take them too late at night I will get a headache the next day, which is unpleasant. So definitely take them that bit earlier.

They do lift the mood to start with, but like so many things, this is a short term effect. I would imagine that these aren't really best for long term, chronic conditions like ours but while it works I shall continue to use it. It is generally increased once a fortnight by one tablet (10mg) to allow it to settle in your system. If you increase too quickly you will get a reaction. I speak from experience on that one!

Best of luck with it.

P.

[Zosie]

Hi everyone,

I picked up my nortriptylene today. I'm starting off on 10mgs a night and after one month increasing to 20mgs per night. I would agree with you guys, these drugs are better taken earlier in the evening! I didn't get on with amitriptyline Foggy because it made me too sleepy in the day but worse than that made me badly constipated. I'm going to give these a good effort though as I'm suffering a lot.

Thank you all, are you well? Having ok days? Xxx

[haribo36]

Hi zoisite,Iam so sorry to hear that your fibro is bad.Iam also having a bad time with fibro,ibs,migraines and depression.Iam going to try to see my g.p tomorrow as the depression is getting worse.Hope the med helps you,lots of soothing hugs xxx

[haribo36 in reply to haribo36]

Sorry,I got your name wrong,hehe

[Zosie]

That's ok Haribo read your post tonight, sorry you are feeling bad. Big gentle hugs to you xoxox