Amitriptyline. Earliest time to take in evening.

[RebelliousHoping]

Hi,

Just interested if there are any really early night time takers of amitriptyline?

I was nearly about to give it up but am reminded it can help with nerves and as locally there are no pain management clinics to be referred to, I’m thinking to give it another go as opposed to introduce anything else and see what is the earliest time I can possibly take.

The highest dose I can take is 20mg and it has always been a muscle relaxer rather then antidepressant to me.

Thank you.

Is there a reason why you want to take it particularly early? Standard advice is around 2 hours before you want to sleep. I take mine around 10pm and sleep around 11.30. It has worked wonders for my long term bladder issues. I take 10mg.

I find mine works best if I take it around 7pm - makes me sleepy enough that I’m ready for bed around 10/11, yet not groggy the next morning.

I take it at 6pm. No longer makes me sleepy. It’s also not as effective as it has been…

I was told the general rule is to take it 12 hours before you get up, to make sure it’s worn off. I take mine (60mg/day for nerve pain) at 6.30pm.

Ahhh thank you I have been on it a some time since January 2023.

It came up in hospital how it wasn’t working but I don’t know whether they thought they could give it to me 10pm or nearer 11 sometimes at night and expect it to work soonest like a sleeping tablet medication. Mind you I’m not sure if the ward I was on thought it was an actual anti depressant as depression appears on my discharge paperwork as a medical problem (only been treated with anxiety in 2019 short term)

I’d got into a routine of taking it around 8pm but had increasingly noticed prior to hospital admission that it wasn’t working so great and well would make me wake bolt up during night to the point I now wonder if I should have taken notice and could it have prevented what happened so I really don’t know if I ought to be reluctant to stop it. Nerve problem potentially with toes which may come good again from recent surgery.

Oh this is interesting. Thank you so much x

I take 7.30 or a bit later if I'm staying up later / out

Following as I’ve been on 10mg for about 4 weeks for nerve pain but think I’m taking it too late. I didn’t realise you could take it as early as 6 or 7pm. Think I’ll try that as I am very groggy some mornings as I’ve been taking it at 10 and getting up at 6.

I take mine when I go to bed! Otherwise, I anti socially start napping in my chair.

I do only take mine at weekends so being a bit groggy the next morning isn't that huge an issue.

When I first started, I obediently took it around 9pm, felt ridiculously tired straight away, nodded off , and then promptly felt wide awake at bed time.

On a work day when I need to get up at 6am I take it around 6pm the night before and fall asleep around 9.30pm
on a non work day when I’m not driving until later I take it around 8.30/9
I had to reduce my dosage as it was making me feel spaced out in the morning even though I was allowing the 12hrs

Hello beautiful people,

I took yesterday evening at 18:30 by 21:30 my eyes were starting to go, well improved sleep, admit did get get up for an hour early hours but I have slept through to 08:00 for the first time in a quite a while 😍

yes the side effects fuzzy head, sometimes a repeat after taking the medication in the windpipe are a bit weird. Sometimes can be fine and feel nothing.

It was issued it by the GP who I think saw it as a short term starting on 10mg then 20mg was eventually meant to go to 30mg and didn’t really direct me to take it other then at bedtime, then when I came out of hospital for the condition (back/neck condition) that was treated at that time, amitriptyline 20mg was then just listed as long-term medication.

My numb toes on trauma foot started jangling yesterday evening and I can wriggle them 🙂 now even before the rather longish course of antibiotics are stopping, I think I have sensation back as I can feel them as much this morning as I could last night. Think I may be better to persevere with this medication for now though I’m grateful to know to take it earlier.