Amitriptyline - Can anybody help?

[RichTeaAreCrap]

I am suffering from what my GP thinks is MAV ? Migraine Associated Vertigo. I have been on beta blockers for a while now and although they help it hasn?t controlled the dizziness I get. He has now prescribed me Amitriptyline to take with them and is hoping that will help.

I am to start on 10mg at night and slowly build up to 50mg if I can tolerate that.

I am a really nervous about taking them because the GP told me a lot of people don?t stick with them because of the side effects ? apparently they will make me really tired and groggy the next morning, but I should persevere. However, I have a job that is quite full on and I am worried about how I will feel everyday at work ? I can?t afford to be feeling spaced out every morning!

Also, he mentioned weight gain ? this is something else that worries me ? I really don?t want to put weight on.

Has anybody had any experience with taking this drug? I know everyone reacts differently but it would be good to hear if they worked for you and what side effects you suffered with and how long this lasted.

DH takes them.

They wipe him out sleep wise. If I don't wake him then he will sleep til noon at weekends, and during the week he just about manages a days work - teaching in the construction industry so quite full on. He usually has a short sleep when he comes home after work, and then 8 hours at night during the week.

If his symptoms aren't too bad then he doesn't take them because that is when he really feels the side effects badly, whereas when the symptoms are bad then he doesn't IYSWIM.

He hasn't put on weight due to them, but does have weight problems linked to poor mobility

From personal experience; approach with caution and increase very slowly. Do not ignore any side effects however minor - i had a grand mal seizure as an effect of it. Im sure its a highly effective medication (my story is the same as yours- migraine,beta blockers etc) just make sure youre being monitored.

Thanks both for your responses. Tory, its good to hear that they help your DH. I don't think I can stop and start them, GP told me to take them everyday and build up the dose slowly. Hopefully I will manage to work - if I can cope with that then I am ok - I can sleep when I get home if I really need to.

Giraffe....that sounds awful. Are you ok now you are off them? Did that happen as soon as you started on them or had you been taking them for sometime? Did you get any warnings with side effects? What dosage were you on? I am starting on 10mg and building up. What do you use now for your migraine? So sorry for all the questions....your post has made me even more nervous now!!

I took them with no effect, never mind side effects! So yes it really is true that it will affect some and not others and you won't know till you try them really.

Not everyone has bad effects. If i take the higher does which my rheumy advised (75mg) then i get nightmares, and they keep me awake which defeats the point of taking them. I take 10mg, about 7/8/9 at night, at least an hour if not more before I go to bed. The only other effects I've had are dry mouth,a nd increased appetite/weight gain, but lowering the dose has again helped. I would give it a go (the 10mg) and try taking it earlier than bedtime

i've taken them on and off for about 5years, stopping for pregnancy.

i took/take 25mg to help me sleep at night. never had any side effects, didn't feel groggy or drowsy next day, no weight gain.

had no idea they could help with vertigo, that would explain why i haven't had a dizzy spell for years!

agree with others, increase slowly and monitor side effects.

Thanks again, its great to see some positive experiences of it. I will try it, anything is better than being dizzy all the time.

I guess any weight gain is due to increased appetite so I will just have to be really careful with what I eat if I do get that side effect. I didn't know about dry mouth being one, but thats easily managed.

Bamboo - I dont know if they help with vertigo, my dizziness is a result of migraines and apparently they prevent migraines. If your dizziness was due to migraines they will help but not sure about any other reasons for it - glad it helped get rid of yours!

Also meant to ask are you not supposed to have any alcohol if you are taking them?

I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you at all. Everyone reacts differently to medication - some people take penicillin as standard while others are highly allergic.

I was on 50mg a day for a while. It was a one off, my migraines were stress related so I attacked them from that direction. As for other side effects; dry mouth and bad nights but those are common and don't indicate anything more sinister at all.

Like I said, I'm sure it can be very effective (and I hope it is for you). Just follow any doctors advice, increase slowly (and if it doesn't agree with you decrease slowly too).
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I still have alcohol with them, however if I am going out for the night and know I'll be having more than a couple of glasses then I don't take one that night.

However, I've been taking them for years now so know my limits, I know what I can and cannot have, how much etc.

Like with the side effects, the reaction to alcohol can differ with each person

Giraffe, I am glad you told me - its good to know the good and the bad if you know what I mean! I have been told that I will have the opposite on the lower dose and will sleep like a log - I am looking forward to that happening. Did they confirm that your seizure was definately caused by the tablets?

I will start on 10mg and stick at that a couple of weeks before increasing at all.

Saltire, I am not a huge drinker so it won't bother me too much, but I have a birthday and a holiday coming up and know I will be having a couple of glasses each night - maybe an idea for me not to take them on those nights.

Hi my DS 13 has been taking Amitriptyline 25mgs twice/day for 5 months for neuropathic pain. We have seen a marked improvement in the last month, but as he is deaf/blind he still is a bit sleepy but no mare pain Btw he also takes propanolol.

I took Amitriptyline successfully once for Trigeminal Neuralgia, but the next time I was given it for other nerve pain & headaches, 10mg did nothing but 20mg made me a zombie and I was not coping at work! Maybe if I had persevered it would have improved?

Anyway, I was put on Pregabalin (Lyrica) which also takes some getting used to, but that worked for me!

Just saying that if the one drug is too bad it may be worth asking the GP for an alternative.

Good luck :)

I was a giver up until I was given some good advice - stick it out for 2 weeks. Day 2-5 you will feel like a zombie, gradually you will feel more normal.

After two weeks you will be back to your old self - just without the migraine

I agree with sashh, for me the key thing is giving yourself time to get used to them

I am currently taking 60mg but I have to keep varying the dose and it takes me a good couple of weeks for the side effects to settle down

When I started I did find I had an increased appetite, but I've been actively trying to lose weight since I've been on them and have lost almost four stone so they haven't hindered me at all

For me they have been a godsend, I have gone from hardly sleeping at all to sleeping deeply most of the night

I had a condition involving nerve endings in my head causing odd pain I can't remember what it was called...

Anyway I took amitriptyline when I was 16/17 and didn't get any side effects it did fix my pain tho.

But then again I don't normally find drugs work unless they're strong...it takes diclofenac to hit a normal headache for me.

Just read miiliways that's what I had lol.

Thanks to everyone for all your replies, they are all really useful. I have decided to start them on Friday and then I have the weekend to sleep if they make me like a zombie, although reading the reply from sashh maybe I should start them tonight so day 2-5 is over the weekend.

I guess until I start I won't know how they will make me feel, but its good to see how helpful they have been for most people. I'm not sure if any of you were suffering dizziness with migraine/headaches but I am really hoping that they help to stop this for me.

I have also been told to avoid anything with codeine it in as it affects breathing, I had no idea so this is good to know.

I already have an increased appetits on the beta propronalol so I am hoping that I don't get the same with these too.

Maytheoddsbeeverinyourfavour - well done on your weight loss - I need to start trying to get rid of some soon too.

My ds, 13, is on 20mg a day as he has TMJD (basically a problem with facial pain due to his jaw joint being inflamed). He's OK on it - not sleepy or putting on weight.

Still eats like a horse - but is suffering from a very dry mouth which interferes with his sleep.

I take amytriptelene, ime it takes about 2-3 weeks before the awful groggy feeling in the morning is more manageable. I'm glad I perservered with them though as the pain is better.

I'm also presecribed codeine based painkillers and noone has ever said I shouldn't take the 2 together - not even when I've been in hospital.

I also take oramorph and pregablin. Proper pill popper me.

blue, sorry your ds suffers with TMJD, I have heard it is very painful. Dry mouth seems to be a common side effect from it.

Viva, interesting about the codeine, I hope its ok for me too, I take painkillers with codeine in them.

When you all say it makes you groggy in the morning - how groggy does it make you? Will I be able to function properly at work? This is my worry with them!

I take co-codamol 30/500mg up to 4 times a day and have never been told it could interact with the amitryptiline

I too was on prescribed co-codamol and prescribed amitryptyline at the same time. The only thing I remember having read about breathing is alcohol - if you are too deep under with the ami and have had alcohol too then it can interrupt your breathing as you sleep you'll "forget" to breathe.

I take 40mg for fibro. I get quite a dry mouth but compensate with drinking lots of water during the day and chewing gum if it gets bad.

I started on 20 mg a few years ago but my fibro got worse so the GP upped it to 50mg. At 50mg, I ate everything in sight and put on 10 pounds in a month. I dropped back to 40 and my appetite went back to normal and I lost the 10 pounds in about 6 weeks.

Thank you rich, I've still got more to lose though

I'm also taking codeine with them, no problems so far (and oramorph and diclofenic and butrans patches and more, am a walking pharmacy)

Hope they work well for you

I also have suspected MAV and took Ami for about 6 months at 10mg, then up to 20mg. I am VERY sensitive to drugs and found Ami to be one of easiest to take with few side effects. The only effect initially was drowsiness but this was just an hour after taking. I was fine the next day. I did take mine at 8pm though and a had a couple of early nights. There was a slight increase in appetite, especially for sugary food which I dont normally crave. I stopped taking it about 2 months ago and although I still get 'grumbling' migraines with assocaited symptons, they are currently manageable. This is the third time in about 12 years that Amitryptiline has helped me out of a prolonged chronic migraine cycle so I love it