Amitriptyline HELP please!

[VickiKat]

Hi, I have been prescribed Amitriptyline for migraine induced dizziness and I have GAD too. I started on 5mg as couldn't take the side effects on 10mg. I got used to it after a week but had a dizzy spell on Friday so decided to go up to 10mg but after 2 nights I feel SO groggy and so dizzy I can hardly walk in a straight line and terrified I am going to pass out at any moment. I dont know if to go back to 5mg or just stop (but that would waste the pain I went through last week with the side effects. Or do I keep going with the 10mg and hope I get used to it. I didn't take 1 last night and feel just as dizzy today. Feel totally stuck - help please....thank you x

I’d consult your GP - it’s normal to feel a bit groggy on them but dizzy and unable to walk in a straight line is very extreme.

How is your blood pressure normally? I was on amitriptyline for fibro and I had to come off it as my blood pressure was dropping so low I was having dizzy spells like that.

I'd definitely go back to your GP to discuss it.

I was the same OP, an absolute zombie. I slammed into the bedroom wall the first morning after I started them and had to call in sick to work as I crawled to the bathroom. No way I was safe to work or drive.

However, if you're getting dizzy with migraine etc anyway, it's surely worth ploughing on. Also take them as early in the evening as you can so you're fitter in the morning. Over time you will find the effects lessening.

Call the gp this sounds grim. I was on Ami for years it didn't do this!
Have you tried beta blockers for migraines? Honestly the side effects are so minimal in comparison x

Hi op get vestibular migraines and was originally prescribed this for the dizziness. It's tough at first. I definitely felt worse before it improved. I'd take mine about 6/7 pm so the worst if the grogginess had gone by 9am next day. I started on 5mg but take 35mg. Works very well for me but yeah it took a few months to feel the benefit x

I'd go back to your GP.

Being a bit sleepy is normal with amitriptylline. What I got was being asleep for 23 hours a day. Tried for 3 days before realised I'd have to be off sick and honestly I was never going to get used to it.

It just wasn't for me.

However I've cheerfully prescribed it before and since and no-one has ever reported side effects as bad as I had!

There are many many other choices for migraine.

Vidflex did you find the dizziness worse when you started the Amitriptyline before it got better? Thanks

Thank you everyone - very helpful comments - eek!

I think you need to go back to your GP. If your primary reason for taking it is dizziness then it’s not helping. There are other medications that work in similar ways and if your GP can’t help they need to refer you to either a neurologist or pain clinic.

I started on amitriptyline for nerve pain a few months ago and have been ok so far, one thing I did read before I started was that it was best taken a few hours before your bedtime to avoid grogginess the next day. So I take it at 7pm getting up around 6am.

I'm on 30mg for vestibular migraines, it took my body a while adjust and increase the dose to take the vertigo away and I take them early evening. I now no longer get the dry mouth but also know it on the rare occasion I forget a dose, vertigo starts to return. They have been a life saver for me but you might need something different, there are other triptilines I think that can be alterative. Vestibular migraines are horrible.

Yes definitely worse before it settled x

Thanks so much everyone. So I went to the GP and was told to stop the amitriptyline and switch to sertraline for anxiety and something to get me through the vertigo/dizziness - I hate taking pills but I am desperate as a bit stuck at home with terrible vertigo! I am no longer like a zombie and now can't sleep!! Here goes - thanks all xx

I hope the new medication works well for you @VickiKat

Thank you 😊

I had issues when I first started and had a break to try other medication. In end went back to ami and started of 5 mg, once was ok on that I took 10 mg every 3rd/4th day then every 2nd/3rd day till I was on 10mg then went through process again until I was on 40mg which was right for me. Hit menopause and found had no more migraines so slowly came off them. Now on hrt but no migraine

Mean every 3rd or 4th day then 2nd or 3rd

Thank you so much, I haven't thought of that. Did you get similar symptoms? How long did they take to go? My sister has recommended hrt instead but I don't know if that would work! Thanks

i was a zombie on amitriptyline so my doctor changed it to nortriptyline and it's much much much better

It took me about a month to get through the side effects.

Yes I had similar symptoms, I use to black out but learnt when it was going to happen. This was only the first time, the 2nd time I went on them I went really slow and they did improve my migraines, still suffered occasional and still got headaches but not as bad, which is when I started to wean myself off.
It's took me awhile to find the right hrt medication but at the moment it seems to be working. I'm nearly 50 now so not sure how long I'll be on hrt for but would imagine several more years. The hrt medication has helped with the hot flushes, brain fog, anxiety (75% of time) and low mood