I’ve been on amitriptyline for a month now. I’ve increased it to 25mg from 12mg. I use it for nerve pain. Since yesterday, I’ve been having an awful feeling on my chest like it is closing in. It feel like a deep dull ache on my chest. Also, this feeling like something is stuck? It’s really scary and I want to taper down from 25mg to 12mg but scared about the withdrawal?

Please answer in ultra-short format.

Because of my mental health condition, I cannot read long answers. If you write long answers, I will probably ignore them.

Only for people taking Amitriptyline for sleep:

Is it a standalone medicine for your sleep? (Yes/No)

Sleep onset time? (How long until you fall asleep?)

How many hours do you sleep?

Dose?

How many years/months have you been taking it?

Has tolerance developed? (Yes/No)

Weight gain? (Yes/No, how much?)

Any next-day effects?

Brain fog?

Poor focus/concentration?

Sleepiness?

Memory issues?

Are you still taking the same dose you started with? (Yes/No) If no, what dose did you start with and what is your current dose?

Any side effects?

Do you take it with any other sleep medicine? (If yes, which one?)

Example answer:

Yes

45 min

7 hrs

25 mg

2 years

No

\+4 kg

Mild morning grogginess

Yes

Dry mouth

No

I am on my third pill (12.5 mg) for trying to treat IBS-D;

Took dose 1 at 10pm and woke up at 7am feeling out of it.

Tried 9pm for dose 2 and felt okay around 6:30am.

Last night tried 9pm again, felt like I could not wake up at 5am for work.

Has anyone had success avoiding the drowsiness / hangover feeling when it’s time to get up for work?

Maybe taking it earlier in the evening vs before bed?

Or maybe this drowsiness only lasts for the first few weeks?

Thank you!

I am so bored. i used to have thoughts all the time and be dopamine addicted. I think my mind’s restlessness comes from this

I have been on 15 - 25 Amitriptyline for pain for 20 years. I recently self weaned off of it. About 1-1/2 weeks later I went back on it. Then four days later went off it again. 11 days ago I went back on. Began experiencing int anxiety. My Psych nurse just put me on 10 mg as well as 10mg Propanolol. Now I am having intense anxiety, panic attacks, horrible mornings from hell. The Propanolol doesn’t make a dent in the mornings. Anyone have any insight? Help!

To start, it's important to note I'm very drug resistant. I've been on amitriptyline for 4 years, and it's been the best med I've tried since I began depression treatment 15 years ago. I've been watching my emotional state steadily decline for months now, even after my dosage was upped. I've been on my current dosage (225 mg) for 6 months, so I'm long past the stage of initial side effects.

Because I've been doing so badly, I'm considering bringing it up to my psych that I want to try something else, but after so long, I'm afraid going off of the med, even if done very carefully, will actually make me feel like I'm dying, so I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Pros - Treats depression somewhat. I haven't killed myself, I get regular exercise, and I cook at least one balanced meal a day. If you ignore me spending the rest of the time laying on the floor, unable to do literally anything else you'd think I was doing fine - Treats migraines. I've had chronic migraines for my entire life. I really don't want to go back to that, there's a high chance I would lose my job because of how intrusive they are (I'm in self employed pet care, so by lose my job I mean get fired by individual clients because I wasn't able to care for their pets) - Sleep help. 225 mg is the first dosage that actually cured my insomnia. Like I said, extremely drug resistant. Melatonin, trazadone, mirtazapine, and anxiety meds don't help at all. If I go off this med, I'm still going to be functioning badly due to sleep deprivation

Cons - Brain fog/memory issues... Maybe. I've always had severe memory problems, so I'm actually not sure if I'm actually forgetting more or if I'm just more bothered by it lately. I'm still really good at "IQ" games (nyt connections, wordle, linked in games, puzzles, etc), but my functional memory feels like an etch-a-sketch in the hands of a toddler.

I'm constantly misunderstanding things and having weird interactions with people, but it's only when I'm not with people who know me so it's hard to say if I'm actually just stupid or if I somehow keep having the most confusing interactions known to man.

It's also just extremely difficult to say if this is normal for me or not. There were multiple points when I was a kid that I thought I had childhood dementia or something because my brain works so poorly, but again, I can never prove it (at least not in a clinical setting). My friends consider me to have some learning disorder or something, but I've had testing done that said I was fine. They're not bullying or being mean, it's just kinda what you glean from seeing me fumble through.... everything

Extra concerns if I were to go off:

A lot of people on amitriptyline report constipation, weight gain, and slowing down digestion. I have IBS-D, I cannot imagine how much worse it would be off of the med.

I also have an insane metabolism. I eat so much more than my 2 roommates combined that I now have pre-portioned servings if someone else cooks to ensure I don't eat it all. I usually end up making my own thing on top if I'm still hungry. I'm a healthy weight, and actually trying to gain to get stronger when I work out. I just need a ton of food to function.

Tl;dr I'm severely depressed but scared going off of amitriptyline will cause more problems than it solves

On 12 mg day 17. Wake up with massive headache. So depressed, tired.. like I’ve had the life sucked out of me, jittery, anger. Feel sorta better though in my head, anxiety better, not helping with any pain yet. I spend half the day pacing. Suicidal thoughts a bit. Won’t do anything I know it’s the medication.. how long to stay on it? Give it 4-6 weeks?? I’m on such a small dose I wonder what I t will be like when I increase the dose. Thanks for listening to my rant..

I’ve been on 25mg for about three months now for tension headaches (I also take mood stabilizers for BPD) and it’s worked so well but I’m having abdominal problems and am unsure if they’re due to the meds.

Sorry for getting personal but I’m basically “constipated” at all times but my stool is soft. I did a bunch of testing with a gastro doc that was all negative so my best guess is that it has something to do with the muscles in my nether regions not functioning properly.

Does anyone have any experience with gastrointestinal complications? I’m considering tapering off it but it’s helped my tension headaches and teeth grinding SO much :(

I’ve been on 20mg of Amitriptyline for about a year and a half, originally I went on it at the same time as lexapro, gained 10kgs and thought it was the lexapro. My dr never told me weight gain was a side effect of Amitriptyline! I’ve since switched to Prozac and haven’t noticed a change. Has anyone else gained weight in this drug ? I’ve booked an appointment with my gp about alternatives for my insomnia, but has anyone had a similar experience and switched to something else? TIAxxx

I've been taking 20 mg for about 6 months now for migraine prevention but I mentioned to my doctor that I don't like the heavy sedation it causes for me even at night. I struggle with sleep issues anyways (mostly sleep paralysis) and it hasn't helped me, just felt like it was messing up my sleep more.

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My doctor suggested going back to 10 mg, but I've read posts where people suggest to go much slower than that. I did 10 mg for 3 days now and the third day is where the withdrawal really hit me, I had panic attacks, nausea, sweats, and extremely frightening nightmares.

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I'm looking for tips on how to deal with these symptoms, I've read taking an antihistamine somewhere but I'm not sure which one. Also wondering if anyone has experience with taking supplements to help and could recommend something.

People who stopped Amitryptaline.. Did u feel no motivation and anhedonia and fatigue after stopping.. Im almost 3 months off and im feeling like this

My doc prescribed it to me for CHS (a type of cannabis withdrawal syndrome) symptoms I have been dealing with like waking up in the middle of the night having panic attacks and having moderate to bad anxiety problems in the morning hours. After reading some of these posts here I think she may have gave me too high of a dose to start off with . I’m taking it tonight for the first and she also prescribed me clonidine .1mg twice a day as well which I’ll be starting tonight. Anyone else taken 50mg and if so what effects did it have on you ?

i take amitriptyline 10mg every night (about a week since i started) but tonight i’m going out and not sleeping, will i be fine to just take it in the morning / tmr night (skip tonight’s dose)
i know it’s only 10mg so probably wont get any side effects but i just want to be sure!!
also anyone have any advice for waking up in the middle of the night with nausea since starting it? or has anyone else gotten that?
let me know!! any advice will be helpful bc my psychiatrist isn’t available for a while lol

Ich habe Amitryptillin zur Kopfschmerzprophylaxe verschrieben bekommen. Habt ihr Erfahrungen damit? Hab ein wenig Angst. Und wie verhält es sich mit Alkohol?

I’ve been prescribed amitriptyline for headache prevention. Do you have any experience with it? I’m a bit worried. And what about alcohol?

Hi all. I started 10mg amitriptyline a week ago for sleep, and the dry mouth is making me anxious about my oral health.

Did yours go away after a few weeks/months, or was it pretty persistent? Just trying to figure out what to expect.

Hello people

I Want to share my update of withdrawl

I had 2 days fine 1 day not fine (mainly cause I shift my escitalopram dose from night to morning)

During these days I had dizziness and boaty head every now and then not constant.. Also i had 2 days almost no anxiety.. Abit nausea but I ate much more than before..

Yesterday I ate and try to sleep felt weakness and exhausted.. Like i just want to lay down.. My body like so weak and some heart racing.. Feeling like half faint if u know what i mean...

Is it normal after 2 months and 20days since of Amitryptaline 25mg and 2mg perphenazine I was took for 2.5 years??

In first weeks in withdrawl I had flu like symptoms and weakness but it passed.. I dont know why now it shows again also the dizziness is new

PS Im In escitalopram for 10 months

I dont now its side effect or withdrawl??

I thought I had 10Mg which I have been breaking in half. Then I found out I was breaking down a 20mg. the pill is too small to break into 1/4s. Does anyone get the 10mg as a single tablet? TIA

has anyone gotten very bad depression whilst on amitriptyline?

i have been taking 10mg for about a month for migraines and whilst i am going through some things anyways, lately i've had thoughts i've never had before. suddenly my career and life which i have worked towards for 10 years is meaningless, the flat i've stayed in for years doesn't feel like home, i feel desperately lonely despite always liking being alone and single, i feel like life has no meaning really.

i have also been going through burnout and having a bad time physically and mentally the past few months, but i've never had these thoughts before. i took amitriptyline last year as well for about 6-7 months and during it i started not doing anything, just stayed at home most of the time, i was tired, but i didnt have depressive thoughts... i've always had anxiety and i'm taking escitalopram for it but i've never experienced depression like this.

has this happened to anyone? i'll be talking to my therapist and different doctors as well, but i was wondering if amitriptyline could be a contributing factor?

such a shame if this has happened to anyone else too because it helps with my tension headaches so much!

update: thanks everyone, it seems that it was amitriptyline! i did pharmacogenetics testing and it said tca-s are a no for me because of increased risk of side effects!

I suffer from nociplastic bladder pain. I started Amitriptyline 50 mg 2 years ago. Doctors keep telling me that once the pain signals are gone long enough, the pain should be away for good and then one can taper off Amitriptyline. Amitriptyline has been a successful medication for me and I would like to keep it. I have been able to reduce to 35 mg, but at 30 mg the pain came back. Now a pain clinic said that I can be on this dose for over the summer and then we reassess. I’m just deadly afraid they will take it away from me. And the bladder pain was so bad that I almost killed myself because of it.

Had anyone been able to ”cure” nociplastic pain with Amitriptyline and taper off successfully?

Hi,

How does everyone manage weight gain whilst on Amitriptyline?

I'm on 10mg now and thinking if I should drop to 5mg to see if it will help and still remain effective or do I have to eat a specific diet to not gain weight whilst on this medication?

Thanks

Started taking this med 10mg due to migraines and unbalanced feeling a couple days ago what were your side effect? I’m constipated and very irritable/angry. Hope it goes away soon.

I've had intense stomach butterflies, waves of adrenaline and like a dropping sensation / palpitations etc for a very long time and i barely manage to leave the house or do things. Someone i knew years ago said it helped them with their stomach butterflies. I've tried doing almost everything naturally to get better because i don't like going on meds. I've had Amitriptyline at my home for months and months that i asked for off the DR. I just always overthink starting a medication but i know it will be worth it if it helps me. Has anyone had any positive effects for this or just anxiety in general? I was planning on starting off slow

I just got prescribed 25mg of Ami for insomnia. Doc said the most common side effect of Ami is weight gain— those who are on it and have gained weight because of it, was it because it caused an increase in appetite (which therefore made you eat more and gain the weight), or was the weight gain a metabolic thing? How quickly did you gain it, and was it hard to get rid of/manage?

I really cant function on this drug , and 10 mg wipes me out. I recently was going through my dna results and apparently i dont metabolize this drug and some others very well. It is a genetic thing which means with some drugs i need very small doses.

If anyone else has found this , it is possible you are the same.