Amitriptyline

[TheVolturi]

I have been given Amitriptyline for nerve pain (sciatica and back pain) should have started it years ago but always been hesitant.
Tried 10mg for the first time last night and I slept so well! Still woke up when ds was wandering but I got back to sleep easily which is amazing, so I'm sold on it for that reason alone. Feel fine this morning too, not groggy like I feared.
The thing I want to ask if, how long does it take to work for pain? The Dr told me yesterday that it should help pretty much right away but the leaflet says 2 weeks to see any difference. I don't know why she'd say that. Unless it can work faster 🤔
Has anyone taken Amitriptyline for pain?

@endofthelinefinally

OP, did nobody tell you that orthotics are to prevent sciatica?

Yes she just said that it may help with a lot of the pain I was getting, I think if I'd gone back and it had helped she would have had some more permanent ones made. But I had a young baby at the time and was hard keeping up with appointments so I stopped attending. I have actually rang up this afternoon to see if I can go again but I need the gp to refer me again 🤦‍♀️

That is such a pity. Do pursue it because it could make such a difference.

@endofthelinefinally

That is such a pity. Do pursue it because it could make such a difference.

I will ring gp tomorrow 👍

I built it up to 30mg to control horrendous knee pain which did not have a physical reason… it was a life saver as even the strongest painkillers had no effect at all. I was able to wean myself off it after about 9 months with no return of the pain. A few years later I developed a trapped nerve in my neck…. Never felt pain like it, totally resistant to strong painkillers so went back on amitriptyline again for a short while and it did the trick. Two things though. The first time I took it, I had about 2 weeks of side effect, random dizzy spells and horrendous nightmares (I actually woke my husband up to catch the rats I was convinced were jumping over me in bed) but I had researched it and knew that was a possibility so stuck with it as I was desperate for the pain relief and it all settled down within the two weeks. Not being a great sleeper, I was looking forward to the knockout effect after you took them, heeded all the warnings about taking them no later than 8pm so you could wake up in the morning. Well, they had the opposite effect on me, seemed to work as a stimulant… ended up taking them at 8 in the morning to stand a chance of being sleepy by the evening…. My doctor didn’t believe me I don’t think. I also liked the way you didn’t have to stay on them forever, that you could taper them off after a while to see if the pain came back. With my knee pain, it took a couple of attempts after about 9 months on them. Get the occasional twinge now and again but I think my brain has accepted there’s no reason to have pain there and it never develops. Found that whole concept of screwed up signals from the brain causing pain long after the physical cause of the pain had been dealt with absolutely fascinating. Felt so relieved that amitriptyline worked to sort it out for me. Might as well have been eating sweets for all the effect Tramadol had on the pain. Neuropathic pain I think they call it.

I took it for back pain. I had 10mg and slept all night and most of the morning! It really knocked me out at first.

@Backgroundnoises omg ! I had the exact same dream the 2nd night i was on them! About rats and i jumped out of bed pulling them off myself lol! Very very weird! How long would you say it took foe the amatriptyline to work? So when you kept upping ? X

[quote Starrr123]@Backgroundnoises omg ! I had the exact same dream the 2nd night i was on them! About rats and i jumped out of bed pulling them off myself lol! Very very weird! How long would you say it took foe the amatriptyline to work? So when you kept upping ? X[/quote]
I could feel a noticeable improvement within a week but to get to no pain, I upped it by 10mg gradually every 7 to10 days. Doc gave me 10 mg tablets so I could do that. No pain at all at 40mg. I think I was willing to persevere and give it time because I literally had no other option. Second time I went back on it a few years later, no side effects and worked within a few days at 30mg. Doc told me some of his patients were as high as 70mg for pain relief, some got complete relief at 5mg. It was a wonder drug for me. Got very frustrated when my elderly mum gave up after 3 days at the weird dreams stage and spent the rest of her life addicted to increasing doses of tramadol and cocodamol which had very little effect on her pain.

@TheVolturi I have a degenerative spine condition which is obviously a long-term and lifelong problem.

Right now, the diagnosis is Stenosis + Synovial Cysts at L4 and L5, putting pressure on the nerve roots.

Spinal surgeon wants to do a disc decompression and remove the cysts. I'm seeing a neurosurgeon next month for a second opinion.

The amytriptaline has been a complete game changer for me - calms down my sciatica by about 80%, I would say. Definitely a gradual effect though, over weeks not days, for me.

@Backgroundnoises ooo so u had yo up
To 40mg? Did u have horrible side effects from the 40mg?
Gonna up to 30 mg this weekend. Feeling so low as on the 20mg im still with awful facial pain :( and then gonna go up to 40mg.
I just hope it helps :( feeling super low about it allz i dont wanna give up yet.
Was ur abit like netve pain or an ache ? Xxx

Glad to have found this thread. Have been taking 20mg of Amitryptiline for 1.5 weeks. No change yet to terrible sciatica. Having surgery in a month but it’s going to be a long month. And the dreams . . . Last night I dreamt I was marrying Prince William?! Poor him. Would definitely be a step down! Hoping pills will start to kick in soon.

[quote Luckingfovely]@TheVolturi I have a degenerative spine condition which is obviously a long-term and lifelong problem.

Right now, the diagnosis is Stenosis + Synovial Cysts at L4 and L5, putting pressure on the nerve roots.

Spinal surgeon wants to do a disc decompression and remove the cysts. I'm seeing a neurosurgeon next month for a second opinion.

The amytriptaline has been a complete game changer for me - calms down my sciatica by about 80%, I would say. Definitely a gradual effect though, over weeks not days, for me. [/quote]
Only just catching up on this thread sorry! Crikey I bet you can't wait for the op, pretty serious though! Hope it works for you.
I agree with the other pp about the dreams 😂.
I am actually 2 weeks in today and the pain has totally gone. But I have been having palpitations and actually feel exhausted today. My heart rate is right up as well. I mentioned to Dr and she's sending me for an ecg next week, but said I can keep taking it. I think I won't take it tonight though, not sure?

[quote Starrr123]@Backgroundnoises ooo so u had yo up
To 40mg? Did u have horrible side effects from the 40mg?
Gonna up to 30 mg this weekend. Feeling so low as on the 20mg im still with awful facial pain :( and then gonna go up to 40mg.
I just hope it helps :( feeling super low about it allz i dont wanna give up yet.
Was ur abit like netve pain or an ache ? Xxx[/quote]
Sorry Starr. Have only just looked back at the thread. First time I went on it was for what was inexplicable agonising stabbing pain in my right knee. While I was waiting for a knee replacement in my left knee for bone on bone, my right knee was doing all the work and ended up more painful than the left one. After the op the right knee pain cleared up for 3 months then randomly reappeared. It was worse at night in bed when my muscles were relaxed, I’d have to spend half the night walking around to ease the pain. X rays showed no physical reason for the pain, doc explained(in simple terms that made sense to me) that some pain can have no physical cause, that p ain messages along the nervesbetween the knee and the brain had been screwed up and my brain wasn’t accepting that there was no longer any pain there. Apparently Amitriptyline had a good reputation for that type of pain and I was so desperate from lack of sleep, and no other effective pain relief, that I was willing to try anything. I knew the side effects could be fierce but did disappear so I was willing to persevere for a month and yes they were the worst side effects I’ve ever had on a drug but after 2 weeks they wore off and didn’t comeback as I gradually upped he dose. The second time I used them was for a trapped nerve, with no side effects. So I’d say hang on in there, upping the dose gradually till pain free.

Increase in appetite and therefore weight gain is a well documented side effect of the older antidepressants like amitriptyline. When I took it for a while quite a few years ago it left me quite sedated and I put on at least a stone. I lost the extra weight when I stopped it.

I’ve just been prescribed this for horrendous leg pain from a spine problem & nerve pain following a fall. Is it true that you can’t have any alcohol, not even a glass of wine with a meal?

Could well be. Or could be any of the other tummy bugs doing the rounds. Gastroenteritis etc.
All recommend the same type of care. Rest and stay hydrated. Do you have any dioralyte (sp) in?
They are awful but usually short lived.
Feel better soon. dr sudha challa