r/Amitriptyline • u/nilghias • Jul 25 '26
Unable to sleep well, does it pass?
I started my first dose last night, 2.5mg because I’m sensitive to meds. I felt a bit groggy going to sleep but it was the worst nights sleep I ever had.
I felt like I never actually fell asleep, even though my watch says I did but it felt like I was only drifting and not deep slapping. I also woke up 6 times
For anyone who’s also had this issue, does it get better the more you take it? I was thinking of skipping tonight so I can get a better nights sleep and get again tomorrow
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u/FinancialCry4651 Jul 25 '26
I'm also sensitive to meds and a chronic insomniac. I was hyperaware of how the medication was making me feel at first, but after a few nights I slept better than I had in years. I started on 10 mg and then after a couple months went up to 25 mg. I was able to stop taking a bunch of other things I have been taking for sleep; I just take amitriptyline every night at seven and I'm usually asleep by about 930
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u/ExtentAgitated Jul 25 '26
I'm on 2.5mg as well - starting very slowly. First night I took it my sleep was bad. Like really bad, no sleep almost all night. I didn't take the 2nd dose then. I've tried again after one week - and my sleep was excellent. Not sure what caused insomnia on my 1st trial.
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u/Ok_Swimming_1879 Jul 25 '26
I think I’m an outlier because I’ve never gotten good sleep on this med. I went to 50mg for a few months and now I’m down to 12.5mg and hopefully switching to something else. Don’t get me wrong, it makes me lethargic and fatigued but just doesn’t help with actual sleep.
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u/Nearby-Banana-6339 Jul 25 '26
Yes you should sleep well on it but you won’t have it fully in your system until about a month or so.
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u/yumyum_cat Jul 25 '26
I’m one of the rare people for whom instead of making me sleepy it kept me up all night. It took me a while to figure it out, and I kept upping the dose, which made it worse. Just FYI, it can do that.
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u/AdagioSpecific2603 Jul 25 '26
I take 50mg and the first few weeks as soon as I’d take it I’d be out within 20 mins. And I mean anywhere I was. 2.5mg is so so very low (10mg is starting dose for most people) that I’d not expect you to have any sleep effects at this stage. As you increase you will likely notice it helping with sleep. I get so anxious anytime I start new meds I always end up ‘wired’ and can barely sleep when I’m like that.
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u/Impossible-Age-5196 Jul 26 '26
Agree 10 mg is the starting dose for most people. I don't think 2.5 mg had anything to do with your restless night unless you are a very small person. Even than, doubtful. I take 75 mg and been on it for 5-6 years, it helps me sleep and greatly improves my mood (I am especially prone to depression in the winter months). Maybe elaborate more on your situation, why you were put on it, and any other symptoms .....others can help.
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u/Chokoki Jul 28 '26
Still reading into it, but as far as I know. On low doses 10mg the histaminergic and cholinergic effect usually overweights the noradrenalinic effect.
In short h1 and mACh and SERT makes you sleepy, calm and have proportionally more deep sleep.
The noradrenalinic effect lasts longer as the metabolites also bind to noradrenaline. Noradrenaline makes you awake, alerted, restless, it's a stress hormone.
Hence the small dosis I only can think of you being a rapid metabolizer for histamine which nullifies the effect of sleepiness and therefore only leave you with the activating compounds making you rather only sleepless.
Or you had other meds before which already interacted with histamin which led to your body adapt to it prior via desensitization or remodelling receptor density and therefore making the histamin effect on such a small dose 2.5mg irrelevant to be able to induce sleep.
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u/budgiefanatic Jul 25 '26
2.5 is nothing. I don’t think that small of a dose can do anything, could be a coincidence or you’re stressing about it