Low dose of amytriptyline for migraine prevention. Effective? Weight gain?

[parrotonthesofa]

Hi all,
I've been prescribed 15mg / day of amytriptyline for migraine prevention. Id be interested to hear people's experiences with it. Is it effective? Did it cause you to gain weight? Not sure whether to take it or not.

It seems to have worked for me. It didn't stop them completely but reduced frequency, duration and intensity by about 50%.
They also help me sleep which is great, as I've had sleep issues in the past.
Make sure you take it a couple of hours before you go to bed. You may be a bit groggy in the morning.
I'm on 10mg as 20mg made me too sleepy.

Thanks Arcadia! Glad it's worked for you!
Have you gained weight?

Worked absolute wonders, my quality of life was hugely improved!

Also went from a lifelong size 8 to a size 18. Within three months of stopping them I was back down to a size 10/12.

My neurologist transferred me to Nortriptyline as it's the (more expensive) sister drug that gives the same benefits without the weight gain.

I was on them for a while, 10mg then 20mg. Didn't help, made me groggy as hell though. Took absolutely ages to get off them properly as it totally stopped me sleeping once I lowered the dose & then stopped taking them, I had to start taking them again for a while at 10mg/day as I just wasn't coping with the withdrawal. Sorry, I know it's probably not what you want to hear. To be fair, from what I've read they are more likely to be helpful than fail like they did with me.

This was a long time ago but it transformed my mum's life. She was debilitated daily and it massively reduced them. Not sure about the weight as she had other health issues which affected that.

Hope you're feeling better soon

I don't remember any weight change though.

I never gained weight on it!

I didnt gain weight but they absolutely wiped me out to the point where I couldnt function properly, I came off them as I couldnt deal with feeling like I did.

I was started on it for sciatica. As a side effect it really helped with my migraines.

Thanks so much for sharing everybody, this is really useful, the good and the bad!

They turned me
into a zombie and had no effect whatsoever on my migraines.
yet my daughter they seem to work for her. She takes 20mg daily and have severely reduced her migraines, and don’t affect her sleep at all.

I think it’s a case of test and see

Yes I should probably just take the plunge and see what effect they have on me. It seems to be so different for everyone.

My mum is on it for nerve pain and if anything has lost weight.

Same. Sounds like you need to give it a try OP... some very positive stories here. I'm surprised, as I came away muttering 'Bloody useless...'!

I started two weeks ago to try and ward off the vile meno/oestrogen headaches which make me feel like shit at least 8 days/month (you name it, I've tried it - HRT/triptans).

I'm only on 10mg and will be watching my weight like a hawk, as my arse is happy to expand alarmingly given half a chance.

So far, the only side effect is feeling a bit hungover when I wake up. Strong cup of tea and a shower and I'm good to go. Have noticed no negative effect on focus/concentration at work (although I am on the lowest dose TBF).

Haven't had a migraine yet but it's early days. The pharmacist did warn me it's not a magic bullet and there may be some breakthrough. But if I can reclaim a few days per month back, I'll be happy. It's worth a punt, as nothing else has worked so far!

Ok thanks for your replies guys, it's really useful to have your experiences.
What dose are you on falifornia? I also get terrible migraines and headaches when on my period and ovulating.
Fingers crossed!!! I'm gonna start it tonight

It worked for me & no weight gain. However it did make me very tired the next morning and I slept longer than usual eg 9 hours a night.

I couldn't stay awake on them. You're advised to take them at night which I did. But was still wanting to fall alseep early afternoon.

Hmmm the sleepiness thing is off putting especially since one of my kids still wakes occasionally in the night.
Did people drink alcohol on it? The neurologist said none at all but the pharmacist said you can drink a bit. I hardly drink anyway (migraines!) but I may have had a couple of drinks at some point over the summer. Not bothered by not drinking though obvs as I tend to have long periods of not doing so anyway.

I take 10mg or 20mg depending how I feel. I haven’t gained weight, if anything I’ve lost a bit as I’m not losing time to migraines so can exercise a bit more and make the effort to cook/eat properly, rather than junk.

I can’t drink with them at all. It makes me feel really ill and I’ll end up with a migraine the day after.

Absolutely do not drink on it is my advice.

No I've lost weight. Not lost due to the medication, but eating less sugar and processed foods which helps the migraines too.

I can drink on them but not a heavy drinker anyway, so usually only one or two glasses of something a week if that.
I got drunk the other night at a party and forgot to take it anyway that evening. Missing a dose doesn't seem to matter.

I take 70mg a day for nerve pain and no weight gain.

I took 20mg in drop form and although I didn't gain weight, my hands started trembling so much that I couldn't do my job. I took duloxetine after (can't remember dose) and it completely changed my life, it reduced the frequency migraines, to the point where I get maybe five a year now (as opposed to six or more a month). Been off it for five years now. I changed other aspects of my life too to deal with the migraines.