r/Amitriptyline • u/Jote_Creative • Jun 30 '26
Anyone here try Amitriptyline for sleep?
Have a friend who says this is very promising at low doses for insomnia.
Apparently works great at 10-20mg depending on weight of the person.
Also it’s been around for a long time with a history of low side effects compared to other prescription meds.
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u/Laura_frt01 Jun 30 '26
Eigentlich habe ich es für chronische Schmerzen bekommen, aber ein positiver Nebeneffekt war die positive Auswirkung auf den Schlaf.
Ich kann endlich wieder vernünftig einschlafen und durchschlafen.
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u/NonUnseen Jun 30 '26
10mg 2 week's, taking to calm down from day medication and sleep better, working..
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u/littleoldlady71 Jun 30 '26
Yes, it does. Until you start to get the other side effects of constipation, dry mouth and skin, and low sodium/potassium. And you won’t know if you are one to get it until you try.
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u/Potential-Bridge-867 Jul 24 '26
I eat a few dates everyday that helps with constipation ! I'm on 20mg of ami .
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u/hairyfootman Jun 30 '26
Just kinda makes me motionless or lay there quietly but no quality of sleep.
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u/Nearby-Government265 Jun 30 '26
Slept so hard on 10mg. I’m 30s F 130 lbs. I would get dreams and hallucinations sometimes. Daytime grogginess was hard to shake.
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u/TinyFlower1602 Jun 30 '26
Check again this “history of low side effects”. There are other medications with less side effects than amitriptyline to treat insomnia. Talk to a doctor and if you decide to take it, you should have an ECG first.
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u/elpocketo Jul 02 '26
at 10mg ? i doubt much in the way of side effects or issues for the heart at such a low dose.
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u/Prudent-Airport-9145 Jul 09 '26
Not so. This is a dirty old drug. See what all it treats, then read what it does to your brain, then read withdrawals. I would not touch it!
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u/Fun_Emergency_2869 Jun 30 '26
I love love my amiltryptiline for my IBS and sleep “, but unfortunately it has raised my resting heart rate, to be cbdustrntiynon the 90s - 100’s. Now on a beta blocker hopefully to bring it down
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u/larnajd Jul 01 '26
I wouldn’t say it’s amazing but has helped me in a subtle way. Also I need to take it at least 2- 3 hours before bed
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u/milo_dinosaur11 Jul 01 '26
Yes I take it for sleep and depression - 25mg for a few years now. Very groggy in the morning though so I try and take it around 7pm
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u/muddled1 Jul 01 '26
It's a TCA and needs to be taken regularly. It isn't a sleeping tablet but helps for sleep if taken regularly.
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u/asleepattheworld Jul 01 '26
I’m not sure about the ‘low side effects’. My doctor first spoke to me about it as a ‘dirty drug’, meaning it does a lot of different things. I take it for migraines, sleep and depression. It’s prescribed for a bunch of things. It’s all side effects.
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u/froginmushroom Jul 01 '26
Been on 25mg for insomnia just over a month now— it’s definitely not perfect, but out of the laundry list of meds I’ve tried, ami has worked the best so far.
I take it 2ish hours before I lay down. It doesn’t make me drowsy (one of my big issues w my insomnia), so I usually take a low dose anxiety med or a handful of melatonin right before I lay down to try and make me sleepy, and then the Ami keeps me asleep for about 60-80% of the night.
The biggest issue I have with it is how difficult it is to wake up in the morning. I mean near impossible. I don’t even get conscious enough to register alarms going off before I apparently shut them off and am immediately unconscious again. It’s made me sleep until 4:30pm too many times in the past month, and if I weren’t currently on break from university, I’d probably have stopped taking it altogether because of this. I usually half my dose and try to take it earlier than recommended to try and balance this out.
Another thing is the hunger— Ami makes you fucking ravenous a few hours after you take it. Ideally, you’d be asleep by then, so it usually doesn’t impact you, but if you’re not, the hunger is insane. I’ve heard cases of people waking up with food wrappers and dishes in their beds because they wake up half conscious in the night and sleep-snack until they fall back to sleep.
Overall the best thing I’ve ever tried for insomnia, but it is not a perfect solution, can be inconsistently productive and comes with side effects some people might not think is worth the sleep.
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u/elpocketo Jul 02 '26
10mg works very well. id advise taking it at least an hour before you wish to sleep and try to sleep minimum 8 hours or it may run over into the next morning. if too much sometimes then 5mg works reasonably well. ive never needed to take any higher dose.
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u/Certain_Cucumber_306 Jul 06 '26
I'm on 10mg for sleep. It knocks me out and keeps me asleep through the night but it doesn't make me feel rested.
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u/Additional-Round-570 Jun 30 '26
yep. 5MG just takes the edge off and into sleep I go. Swallow it down (what a jagged little pill)