Amytriptyline

[PigPatrol]

I've heard this is good for migraine prevention and anxiety. I need help with both! Just wondering what others experiences with it are? Many thanks

Against the grain here but my appetite increased and I gained weight but I was quite thin before and used to feel full v quickly. So it's just that I want to eat more now

It increased my appetite too and I was underweight at the time so it was a welcome side effect at the time but I quickly went past my healthy weight zone while on it and stayed past it even after stopping though not sure how much that was too do with the medicine and how much to do with just getting nearer middle age.

OP it made me drowsy and groggy for half the next day for the first few weeks and then it was OK in that respect. The doctor never mentioned anything about cancer risks increasing (or anything actually, he didn't even mention weight gain being a side effect, he just said it would make me sleep better and reduce pain, pretty annoyed about not being warned about the side effects)

Just reviving this to ask one more q : did any of you find that taking this helped with pms at all? Not mood as such but other physical symptoms? In addition to migraine I'm really suffering with abdominal pain and bloating, dodgy bowels etc .

What dosage have you been prescribed?

My experience - given it for headaches as it's supposed to help muscles relax. (That's not migraine though - migraine is something else, not every bad headache is a migraine, bla bla). It did nothing. Chiropractic and massage have done much more. As an antidepressant - well it's what my sister took an overdose of to end her life, so that tells you how effective it is....

Take it occasionally for insomnia. Took a bit if getting used to but fine niw and GP says better than trad sleeping pills - buys me 8 hours once a week. 10mg

@Lynda07 10mg

So sorry to hear @RedSheep73

I was prescribed 10mg 3 weeks ago for migraines and it’s already changed my life.

No idea about weight gain, but if I don’t take it at 6pm I really struggle to get up the next morning. I have recently started drinking a coffee when I get up (having previously given up caffeine) which helps a little, but I wouldn’t say I’m on full power until after 10am. On the positive side, despite taking it at 6pm, I can function perfectly normally until it kicks in at around 9:30pm.

I’ve just had my first period on it and cramps don’t seem as bad. Still got the usual sore boobs though.

I've been prescribed nortriptyline which is related and it has been life changing for me. I sleep better, if my sleep is disturbed I get back to sleep and my migraines have greatly reduced, which is why it was prescribed. Typically the dosage for migraine is much lower than when used as an antidepressant. Propranolol did absolutely nothing for me.

It’s sometimes prescribed in IBS and can have a good effect, so may well help you with that too. I take it as a migraine prophylaxis and it has really cut them down. I increased by 10mg every few weeks and found that on 30mg I’d cut out the majority of migraines.

I was on nortriptyline and amyltriptyline for migraines, fibromyalgia and insomnia. I increased slowly from 10mg to 90mg and I'm decreasing again as it hasn't stopped the migraines and I'm suffering with the side effects- dry mouth, weight gain, zombie feeling.

It totally cured me of anxiety on just 10mg.
Don’t know if it was psychological or not but it works.
The first week I felt a bit tired and spaced out like I’d slept too long and it made me angry for a couple of weeks which was a bit weird. Then all was great. I can’t drink alcohol with it but I never really had a taste for alcohol anyway.
It also gives you a dry mouth at first.
I’ve been on it for four years now. If I miss one, I don’t sleep very well.
I would recommend it, it’s really helped me and I had terrible anxiety. I could hardly leave the house I was so unwell. It was a last ditch attempt as I can’t tolerate ssri’s.
I haven’t had any weight gain on it either.

@Realitea I'm pretty anxious too so that would be an amazing bonus

That’s horrific @RedSheep73

Sorry, I missed that before posting earlier. Puts everything else into perspective

It's worth trying at 10mg.

It was an awesome bonus for me. It was prescribed for IBS but seemed to cure everything in the end!

Was put on ten mg and this stuff messed me up

It knocked me out almost as soon as I took it

I felt groggy the next day and couldn't function

I'm not sure how the 10 mg effected me so badly

Also side not I know two people who have became addicted to these

I guess I'll just have to take it and see! Such a mixed bag of responses, some sound amazing and exactly what I need and others a bit terrifying! Really appreciate all the info, it's been really helpful, thank you

O got prescribed it for shingles. Only took 10mg for two weeks. Slept so well, would kind of like to have it again...

Bit late to this but thought I'd add my experience. I got prescribed it for constant headaches and as I have anxiety/IBS and back pain too, the GP thought it would help all those in the one go.

I had to stop taking it after 2 weeks as I was constantly biting my tongue in my sleep. Sometimes nipping at it but other times full on chomping at it causing bleeding.

I need to go back to the GP for something else as the headaches persist but I'm guessing she won't be too happy to hear I just stopped taking this and didn't consult her.

I had it for neuropathic pain, then tried it as an adjunct to antidepressant, then for migraines. I stopped each time due to the drowsiness the next day - I wouldn't have been able to drive. And weirdly - I started getting up in the night & had zero memory of it. I only realised when my son mentioned me talking to him while I made a sandwich. I did give it a good try, but it wasn't for me.

Gosh, the drowsiness element is really putting me off. I have to be on the ball early in the morning

I take 10mg before bed (I think... one tablet) for migraines, so I don't suffer any side effects - but in the first few weeks I probably was a bit groggy on a morning so I started taking it slightly earlier. I was having 2 migraines a month and now I've had one migraine in 12 months since starting.

I recently went for my annual review and the doctor made me feel like it was a placebo the way she said "oh it's such a low dose"...

@juneybean That's so helpful, thank you. I might just delay starting until I'm at a point where a temporary grogginess wouldn't matter so much; I think the comments on this thread go to show that there is no way 10mg is just a placebo!

I was having 3-4 migraines a week - some were the same attack lasting 2-3 days. My sleep was up the wall as my migraines always kick in in the early hours and the pain wakes me up. Sometimes rousing yourself enough in order to take a triptan takes ages and I often wouldn't get to sleep again or only once the headache had eased off significantly. Anyway, taking 10mg of nortriptyline before bed has made a huge difference. I had a dry mouth for about two days, but other than that it's been brilliant. I feel so much better in myself.