Just started amitriptyline

[greycloudysky]

I'm just wondering what to expect. I'm using it for anxiety and fibromyalgia. I understand that the doses are different and it's lower for pain relief than it is for anti depressants.

I've been prescribed 10mg which I've cut in half as I've sensitive to medication and am trying to build up the dose slowly.

I've read the side effects and haven't noticed it sending me to sleep which others have said. I'm feeling very hungry all the time. Haven't noticed a particularly dry mouth but that may come with higher doses.

Am I going about this the right way? I'm not sure what to expect. The Dr gave me a 10mg dose and told me to go up to 20mg and contact her in a month to see how I'm getting on. But like I said, I chose to start on a lower dose and build it up gradually to reduce side effects.

That seems reasonable. I found I felt a bit dopey and lightheaded the first few days. It evens out quickly though and I couldn't do without it now. I sleep properly (usually) and it really helps with pain.

I found I felt fuzzy headed / kind of hung over in the mornings when waking up for the first week or so. I never noticed any other side effects.

I didn’t get on with it at all, made me very sleepy which I really didn’t need as I’m bad enough as it is.

You're starting way too low. 10mg is a nothing dose as it is, there is no point in reducing it as it won't work then. 5mg isn't enough to even know you're on it and by the time you work up to a dose that is actually therapeutic you've wasted a week of your trial month.

My dad does this with antibiotics. Then he complains that he isn't feeling better. Of course he isn't because he's wasted half a course pissing about cutting them in half!

I take 5mg when I really need to sleep. I have to take it 12 hours before I plan to get up.

I’m on 50mg for pain relief, I used to be on 100mg at one point but I have worked down. The side effects I have are being constipated, and I used to have a dry mouth but not any more. It really helps my pain.

Agree that 5mg is too low to start with.

I've been on it for years. I took 50mg a night when my nerve pain was at its worst. Now I take 5mg a night to try and 'keep it in my system' so that if I have a flare up, I can up the dose and it works well.
It does give me a dry mouth and the fact that it helps me sleep is a happy bonus.
I agree that 5mg as a starting point is quite low and may not work.

I’m on 25 MG for pain relief
amitriptyline gave me horrific nightmares for about 3 months
As in I watched waking dead or some horror film and then in bed I would wake up sweating looking around for the dead bodies that I had just killed
I heard my dog snoring on the stairs once when I woke up and was sure it was some zombie coming to kill me
My dreams were crazy

I really struggled with it. Made me feel totally spaced out, like a zombie.

I've upped it to 20mg a day now as I haven't been experiencing side effects on it. I went from 10mg to 20mg. As I explained in my OP, I tend to be very sensitive to medication and have tried 7 other types of ADs. If there's a side effect listed, I have it.

With this, it's not making me sleepy at all! I'm having to take melatonin on it to help me sleep. My head feels a bit cotton wool in the day but apart from that, I haven't really noticed any side effects so I upped it to 20mg. It is causing my fibro to flare but I'm hoping that calms down in a few weeks.