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Original poster

amitriptyline hydrochloride 10mg

21 replies

gr8kids · 29/10/2009 12:24

Doc has just put me on this tablet. Haven't exactly taken it yet because I'm worried about the side effects. I've been suffering with headaches for over a month now but, have never had migraines. What I know is it used to be some sort of antidepressant but not its used for tension headaches etc. Could anyone please let me know if they've ever had to use it and how they got on please??? Sick and tired of these headaches. Doc also recommended I have a break away from the kids ha ha ha thats funny!!! My dh is in the army which obviously means he's never home and all I have then are my parents in law...they a great help but they both work. If only it were that easy to take time out!! And now my body decides it's had enough and my head hurts everyday!! Anybody please have some advice for me...

OP posts:
alypaly · 29/10/2009 12:50

i have taken 25 mg amitrirtyline ,had a dry moth for a few days ,they used it for pain and anxiety for me but i am a pharmacy dispenser and it is used as a routine for headaches. funnily enough it made my sleep pattern worse.

StripeyKnickersSpottySocks · 29/10/2009 12:52

I used to use it at 10mg for nerve pain, very effective but I had to stop using it. Made me like a zombie in the morning. I used to take it at bedtime, sleep like a log, struggle to get up and then be spaced out at work all morning.

Original poster
gr8kids · 29/10/2009 12:54

thank you for replying. in what way did it make your sleep pattern worse?

OP posts:
Original poster
gr8kids · 29/10/2009 12:57

thank you stripey. oh dear, thats not what i need honestly!!! trying to decide which would be better the headaches all the time or being useless to my kids....the kids have to come first. as it is i don't like early morning starts with my ds he's 2.

OP posts:
BrigitBigKnickers · 29/10/2009 12:58

DD (13)takes this sometimes SHe suffers from mild fybromyalgia. It helps with the pain and helps her achieve good quality sleep too.

She is on 10mg and the paed said it was a very low dose. SHe hasn't had any problems feeling spaced out at all.

Apparently it used to be used as an antidepressent but widely used for pain relief now. It's non addictive and doesn't seem to be a problem coming on and off it as necessary.

alypaly · 29/10/2009 13:00

gr*kids....it made me stay awake alot more and a little bit jittery...so it didnt really work for me. But we dispense it for alot of patients for migraine headaches and pain...with few complaints. it might take a week to get used to the drowsy side effects if thats the way it affects you. but 10mg is a low dose.

StripeyKnickersSpottySocks · 29/10/2009 13:02

I think I probably didn't take it enough to see if I got used to it. My GP told me to take it every day so I got used to it. But I only wanted to take it when the pain was bad - maybe once a fortnight.

They've put me on tramadol now instead.

Original poster
gr8kids · 29/10/2009 13:04

thank you all for your help. i'm still in doubt but maybe best if i start it and see how i get on after a week.

OP posts:
Milliways · 29/10/2009 19:51

I used it successfully a few years ago for Trigeminal Neuralgia Headaches - it made me a bit spaced out, sleep like a log AND cured the Neuralgia.

Tried it again last year for a different nerve pain, 10mg didn't work so told to double it & My Goodness, I was on planet Zog! Had to stop and get something else.

Glad to see you will give it a go, it can't hurt and a lot of people swear by it.

Nelly121212 · 09/11/2012 19:23

Hi I'm going on Amitriptyline as the neighbors are harassing me and I'm really depressed about it all

Nelly121212 · 09/11/2012 19:24

Bit worried as I have 2 teens with special needs to cope with I'm supposed to take 2x10mg every evening

RuckAndRoll · 09/11/2012 19:37

Hi Nelly,
This thread is 3 years old, it might be worth starting your own thread specific to your circumstances.
I take amitriptyline and after the first week or two all I notice is I sleep really well most nights and a slightly dry mough.

mumtoaandj · 09/11/2012 21:12

i take it and it does knock me out- if i don't have it i don't sleep.Although it knocks me out, i still can wake to check on my 3 year old who cosleeps with me and has a bad chest and i still hear my 6 year old when he night wakes. i take 2 x 10 mg but sometimes if i feel like my son might have a bad night i only take 1 tablet so i am more responsive.

sausagesandwich34 · 09/11/2012 21:18

I used to take it and only stopped because I didn't need the pain relief anymore

I was side effect free at 10mg, only got symptoms on 25 so my regular dose was 20

dry mouth but that was it

oh and my cluster headaches disappeared completely Grin

DoubleDoubleTwigletTrouble · 09/11/2012 21:59

My DH takes it for headaches and isn't zombiefied at all. He gets nightmares with it though and does have trouble sleeping sometimes.

penguin1967 · 11/11/2012 10:10

I have just been pescribed amitriptyline 2 x 10mg at night by my gp. gp said they are to help me sleep as I have been suffering from an emotional upheaval since end of september. I only started taking them on 2nd november I have had one night unbroken sleep since taking them I have a dry mouth all the time suffer from migrains. anyone know when I will get to sleep al night?

RuckAndRoll · 11/11/2012 17:33

Penguin, give it at least 2 weeks to settle down, if it doesn't work go back and speak to your GP, everyone is different.

suburbandream · 11/11/2012 17:44

I was prescribed it for nerve pain, GP said it would help me sleep at night too. Sadly it didn't help with either but at least I didn't get any side effects!

magso · 11/11/2012 20:28

I use 10mg Ami for nerve pain (ME) which stopped me sleeping. I started for the first week with 5mg ( half a tablet) taken about 2 hours before bed to reduce the morning zombie effect whilst I got used to it (I have a sn child so must be on the ball). The side effects initially were morning heaviness and increased dry mouth and eyes, but I don't get that so much now. The dry mouth can be helped by sips of water ( or a spray from Boots) , the dry eyes if needed by artficial tear drops or just a few good long blinks when you remember. It took a while for the better sleep - the improvement was gradual, but after a couple of months it was certainly helping - not massively but enough!10mg is a low dose. Hope it helps for you.

penguin1967 · 11/11/2012 21:36

Thank you for the advice i'm just finding things hard at the moment. Still going to carry on taking them, i'll let you know how i get on.

Jilly591 · 24/07/2016 23:18

I had a couple sinus surgeries to help open my basalt passages so that I could breathe easier. A few months after the last surgery, I began experience atypical facial pain which is also called trigeminal neuralgia 2. It feels like a warm burning pressure. I went on nortriptyline about one and a half years ago which took away the constant pressure and pain. During times of stress or lack of sleep, the burning sensation comes back. One doctor said he believes the pain will go away with time but it's almost been 2 years and I'm still experiencing flare ups. Overall the pain has improved but I'm wondering how long it could take for this sensation to fully go away?! Has anyone else gone through this?? Any success stories please? Everything I read online about atypical facial pain is negative.

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