Amitriptyline help 😔

[Foreverboymumma]

I have been on 10mg amitriptyline for around 5 years my prescription needs reviewing and I haven’t managed to get an appointment.
also I spoke with my GP about coming off and he said I could just stop.

has anybody done this and had any effects?
I feel like I’m having bad side effects from stopping abruptly.

achy
abdominal cramps
hightened anxiety
low mood

I recently came off 20mg after 2 years - only real side effect was (awful) insomnia!

I’ve tried a few different antidepressants and always found it tough to stop. Can you maybe take alternate rights? Or cut them in half?

My gp said it's non habit forming and more of a psychological issue when you come off it as im you might blame it for not sleeping etc. He implied there were mo side effects from coming off it.
I've been taking it for almost a year year due to pain from cancer. I will be coming off it quite soon and don't envisage it being an issue. I hope not anyway.
Hope you get help and feel better soon, Op.

The insomnia is definitely not psychological, it’s a well documented side effect of amitryptyline withdrawal. Severe side effects are rare which is probably what your GP means. Amitryptyline has sedative effects (hence it has to be taken at night) so a temporary inability to sleep without it is not surprising after long term use.

10mg is a really low dose, there wouldn't normally be any need to step that down rather than just stopping it. If you really wanted to could you see a different GP and can get a prescription then you could halve the tablets and do 5mg for a week, then do every second day on 5mg for another week, but at that dose Id just stop.

At that dose it's usually being taken for nerve pain rather than depression? The dose for depression is usually 50-100mg, but can up to 150mg, which is why 10mg is a very low dose. As an antidepressant if you are depressed or have anxiety it wouldn't be unusual to see an increase in anxiety or depression when stopping taking it. If you're on it for anxiety/depression and really want to come off it and its not having a big impact on your life currently Id wait 6-8 weeks to see if that levels out.

I'm aware it has a sedative effect became it was prescribed to me for pain and lack of sleep because due to the pain, i was unable to sleep. I ran out once or two but was able to get to sleep with no problem. Maybe it affects some people more than others. Must be horrible if coming off it does cause insomnia.

My symptoms are
waking up after a few hrs sweating and feel sick
headache
off balance/dizzy.

they’ve given them back so my question is.. when will these symptoms go away😔😥

Are you sure that you’re not just ill OP? That is a very extreme reaction for such a small dose. Did you talk the GP through your symptoms?

Feeling like this happened 3 days after no tablets, so I’m guessing it’s not having them.
my body must be so used to them after taking for 5 years. I think it is withdrawal symptoms

How long has it been since you had the amitryptyline? If only a week or two I’d be more convinced that you’ve just got something viral going on to be honest. The new Covid strain going around has produced similar symptoms in DD and is taking ages to go away. 22 days on average according to our GP!

I have just spoken with the pharmacy and explained everything and she said it’s perfectly normal to experience what I am experiencing because I’ve been taking it for 5 years everyday.
she said my symptoms are completely valid for just coming off it and not tampering off it even if such a small dose.

i asked about 10mg being used for mood as I noticed that change and she said many people are on 10mg for mood. Sometimes others need more but most the time 10mg works for mood.

im back on it now so hopefully symptoms start to subside.
Thankyou for your advice throughout this post 💐

Definitely don't just stop, dear God I despair of GPs sometimes 🙄

Cut back very slowly over a few months. Dh has done it over about 3 months, now he takes one every 4 days. Start with taking one every other day.

Thankyou for your reply.
luckily I am back on it took my first one again today, it’s probably been a week and half but my goodness don’t I feel it.

niggly headache, the light headed is awful. I mean, mild but annoying symptoms.

I was made to feel I shouldn’t be feeling what I’m feeling just on 10mg but I think it’s pretty normal.
i think I’m starting with one every other day. I’ve been told no matter the dose, it’s not a nice drug to wean off or come off cold turkey.

I'm prescribed 20-30 dose each day for pain. I've had to take them for almost 3 years now. When the weather's warmer I take 20 but in winter 30. In winter 30 does not feel enough as I still have nerve pain. I was told to start with 10 dose a day for 2 weeks then move up to 20, then if needed I could go up to 30 after a month. I was told if I wanted to stop taking them to drop back from 30 to 20 for 3 weeks then back to 10 for a month then stop.

Yeah. It’s definitely worth tapering off. Dont do what I did 😳 it didn’t make me feel good at all. I mean I’m not 100% still but symptoms are definitely easing up. The light headedness is still around and the headache. It’s only been 24hrs back on them x