Amitriptyline insomnia

[Justwanttobeatpeace]

Morning all,

So i have posted before..i'm 43, possibly peri-menopausal but GP reckons not because levels are normal. However, am having all the usual signs - very short cycles, bleeding between periods, anxiety out of nowhere and the worst - insomnia which has been going on a year now.

I finally went to GP about six or seven weeks' ago and he prescribed Amitriptyline. Initially I took it every other night at 10 mg. This didn't work so I took 10 mg every night, and then after a couple of weeks this stopped working too. So now I'm up to 20 mg per night for the past three weeks and this has been working a treat. However, last night and the night before it stopped working. I found that I fell to sleep at 10 and then awake at 2 am and then on and off very light sleep after that.

I have seen a pattern that around the time of my period, the insomnia kicks in - Amitripytline or not.

Does anyone else find that although Amitriptyline works like a treat all other times, that there are nights when it just doesn't work?

I'm asking because I am debating whether or not to increase my dose or just accept that on some nights (for example around my period) it may not work?

Yes, same here. In addition to the side effects. I now take it only once a week or every other week or so when I reached the point of desperation. Saying that, it didn't even work last time I did take it, 20mg.

@vivainsomnia

Yes, same here. In addition to the side effects. I now take it only once a week or every other week or so when I reached the point of desperation. Saying that, it didn't even work last time I did take it, 20mg.

Hi Vivainsomnia, Did you find that it didn't work around the time of your period or that it just didn't work at all for you?

How often do you get insomnia and which side effects did you get from it?

So I’ve been on 10mg for years. Whilst it does help you relax, it doesn’t always work - I don’t think it can perform miracles if you are anxious or worried about something! So I just accept some nights I still can’t get to sleep. I wouldn’t go upping my dose. I think part of insomnia, and how to cope with it, is just to accept you will have some bad nights, but they won’t last forever. I do have my tablet about 2 hours before going to bed to give it time to kick in though.

This is really helpful info, Goingout - thank you. How often do you find that yours doesn’t work, if you don’t mind me asking?
I’m not particularly stressed but I do find for some reason around the time of my period, my insomnia reoccurs

After 30 years of awful insomnia I now take 30mg of amitriptyline a night and my ‘bad’ nights are down to 1-2 a month.

Amitripyline didn't work for me at all.

The only thing that's worked is intermittent fasting (e.g. not eating between 7pm-10am) - don't know why, but when I change to this I have no problems getting to sleep.

What time do you take the pills? Do you need it to get to sleep or to stay asleep?

I take the pills at around 6 pm to 7 pm. I don’t need any help falling asleep (usually out like a light) but when I’m having a bad night I awake at 2 am for the loo and it’s a very light restless sleep after that which in turn makes me feel crazy the next day with anxiety and unable to focus at work so make mistakes