Amitriptyline

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Does anyone have any experience with amitriptyline? I've been on it for maybe 18 months and it's been good for relieving pain, but recently I've really struggled with my memory. I can forget something important, like who is picking my DC up from school, an hour after I've made the arrangements. I was wondering if I need to try something else to help manage my chronic pain. I also take gabapentin and cocodamol. I've got some kind of neurological condition (not MS) that causes nerve pain and weakness on one side of my body.

When did you start the gabapentin? I thought DH had dementia when he was on that.

Ask to trade to Nortriptyline. It’s similar but less dopey. I miss the sleep I used to get on Ami, but like having a functioning memory again!

I was prescribed a low dose for chronic pain, two weeks in the doctors wanted me to double the dose. The sleep I got for the first 10 days was great, didn’t find it did anything for my pain. Then within a few days of double dosing it still didn’t relieve my pain, couldn’t sleep and I had the most awful anxiety and panic attacks that didn’t stop until I’d been off it for 2 months. Doctors tried to get me to persevere through the anxiety and keep taking it but I just couldn’t cope with the panic attacks :(

I've been on the gabapentin a long time. Probably three years. I take 900mg at night because otherwise I'm a zombie. I wonder if it is that. Argh. I'm such a mess. I don't know which way to turn.
My GP isn't much help. She will prescribe me what I suggest usually, providing it's within guidelines because she recognises I'm living with the pain.

I'm going to research nortriptyline now. Thank you. I don't think I've read anything about that drug, but who knows! I could have read about it this morning.

Sorry to hear you are suffering OP. Just wondering if you are under a community chronic pain team? If you feel your pain/symptoms from pain meds aren’t well managed and you GP as you say tends to go with what you suggest, they may be able to advise you better. Difficult as services are so stretched but may be worth asking for a referral and trying something different like nortriptyline while you wait? Hope you’re able to find something that works for you

Hi @Lw00f. I didn't even know that a chronic pain team exists. I think my symptoms don't fit into a clear diagnosis bucket so sometimes people don't know what to do with me. I'll certainly discuss that with my GP. Thank you.

I take Amitriptyline for phantom limb pain. My right leg was amputated by trauma 50 years ago. I take it at night to help me sleep. I also have RA, OA and Osteoarthritis. Plus a few other RA issues. C’est la vie 😊

I am more able to ignore it during the day but at night, it’s quite horrible, been on it for about 12 years, as before, my doctor just told me that no one as PLP so long after amputation and I was imagining it! New GP fixed it.edited for spelling errors

You need to be looking at the combination - that's quite a cocktail you are on!

I am in a similar situation and the pain is eye-watering sometimes, but there is nothing I can take that does not conflict with my heart problems.

It’s the gabapentin that causes memory loss. I’ve been on Amitriptyline for years and not had a problem with memory.
However my mum has been on gabapentin for years, and now has severe memory loss, to the point where she had a brain scan to check for dementia, but it was confirmed the gabapentin caused the decline. Might be worth you researching an alternative to gabapentin. Good luck x