Anyone take Amitriptyline for pain?

[DizzyBumble]

DH has been prescribed Amitriptyline for back pain but currently undecided whether to take it as we don't like the idea of it being an anti depressant and having to wean off it gradually if you stop taking it. He will be having an injection (wait list) in his spine so wondering whether we just wait until after that & start taking it if the injection hasn't helped.

Interested in pros/cons, experience of anyone taking or previously taken it please.

I tried it.
i don’t think you should worry about what other uses it has .
it works for pain.

it did work for me.

I've had two injections in my spine (they don't last forever unfortunately). Amytriptaline does help me and it isn't an anti depressant in small doses. I take mine at night as they have a sedative effect.

Don't worry about it's other uses, just see if it works for the pain and if it does then that's great news.

I take a similar for nerve pain (nortriptyline) I would say the first 2 weeks of side effects can be pretty tough going and the full pain effect hasn't built up in early days. But it works for me.

Would also say start on a low dose see how he gets on then increase by 10mg increments. The dosage for anti depressant level is way way higher (like 120 mg but I have no idea how anyone can function on that dose).
Would also take about an hour before bed, I found I was way too groggy in the mornings taking at bedtime.

Anti-depressants have been found to treat a large range of conditions at lower doses from stomach issues to pain. Don't take the overall type of medication as the reason not to like it. The doses are very different (it works as a pain med to 70mg for nortriptyline). It's more about does it benefit him as a pain medication and that takes about 2-3 weeks to know the answer!

Thank you all, very helpful answers

My daughter takes a really low preventative dose for migraine

I was prescribed this (not for depression), took it once, and stopped. It made me feel like a zombie. Hopefully your DH has a better time of it.

It's a very small dose and makes such a difference to my ability to fall and stay asleep at night. It takes a few weeks to be fully effective and any side effects to ease off though - I had weird trippy dreams for the first couple of weeks.

I took it, in a low dose, for bad headaches I was having on a short term basis. I didn't know it was also an antidepressant, I just know that when I took one at night I had no pain and was finally able to sleep. Headaches went away eventually and I had no problems coming off the medication and didn't suffer any side effects. I'd have no hesitation in taking it again if needed.

I've found it easy to come off. I was given it for sleep and mood after dh died. I was on 10 mg for a while. Stopped taking it and felt mildly dodgy for a day then fine. After a year off it I had a bad patch and went back on 20mg. Was on it for a while. Then stopped. (No weaning off just stopped.) Felt a bit peaky for one day only, then fine.

I take it for nerve pain and it’s worked well.
I came off it cold turkey a few months back to see if I still needed to be on it. Turns out I very much do need to be on it but I had zero side effects from coming off it. Back on it now and very appreciative of its effects!

Just to add I found it very good for sleep and mood. It didn't knock me out of make me feel groggy though

I took it for about six years. It made me very groggy so I took it in the evcening.

Really helped my sleep and my pain.

I took the tablet version for migraine pain and it worked well. I only stopped because I was gaining weight rather quickly.

I'm currently on 40mg of Amitriptyline to help severe pain from spinal stenosis and nerves that are trapped between my discs.
It definitely helps me and it also helps me to get a decent night's sleep by taking the edge off the pain for long enough for me to get through most of the night.

However, my BIL also had Amitriptyline for back issues and he felt that it did nothing for him, so I'd advise to give it a try to see if it helps.

I also get excruciating pain in my lower back which actually stops me from walking when it gets so bad and I sometimes use a gel called Piroxicam (something like that - it's basically an ibuprofen gel) and I find that helps me a lot too on my most painful days.

I have had it prescribed twice. First time it didn't help at all. This time it does! Go figure.

But there is nothing to worry about - it is prescribed in much lower doses and does not require "weaning" off. In fact it isn't used as an anti-depressant (in higher doses) much now as they have found it less effective than other drugs - the impact on pain was an unexpected bonus!

I take 50mg for back pain.

I am not 100% sure that it stops the pain but it does help me go to sleep and stay asleep which stops the tossing and turning all night to get comfortable which makes the pain worse.

I also think that I can cope with the pain better during the day if I have had a good sleep and not tired and irritable.

I was prescribed it (tablets) for sciatic pain.

Did nothing to reduce the pain and it made me feel like a zombie that just wanted to sit and stare at the wall.

Maybe an injection would be different.

I take 20mg for a Chiari Malformation and Parkinson's pain. I had to start on half a 10mg tablet and build up as it really affected me at first (not unpleasant sort of 3 G&T ish) but now I take it about 6pm and apart from helping with the pain, no issues. I am rubbish at ordering my repeat prescriptions so sometimes run out and no withdrawal.

My dh got it in March for back pain and it really didn't agree with him. Made him feel really depressed and coming off it he was suicidal and had horrific vivid nightmare for weeks and was twitching and waking repeatedly all night long. He now takes tramadol as its the only thing that seems to work for him.

I hate it and when i found out it was an anti-depressant, i was furious.

I take it for pain, works for me. I’ve had no issues coming off it (went on 2 holidays where I forgot to pack meds). Don’t expect it to work immediately though, it needs a few weeks to fully take effect. Also, don’t think that side-effects to start with will necessarily stay, as with many meds, it has quite transitory side-effects to begin with, and while unpleasant to start with, most disappear over the first few weeks and then you are in the sweet spot of good efficacy and you’ve past most of the annoying side-effects if you give it a chance.

DH is the same as Oblomov25 & was furious when he found out. He hasn't taken any & currently waiting to have an injection & see where we'll go from there