Amitriptyline in pregnancy

[MoonminMama123]

Just wondering has anyone been prescribed amitriptyline in pregnancy? I'm currently 35weeks and have been experiencing dental pain for the past 16 weeks(!). Dentist is unsure if the issue is dental/nerve damage, but she is certan that I have tmj disorder. Spoke with psychiatric team today (as pain is getting me down so much) and the doctor has prescribed 10mg amitriptyline. I know all medicines come with a risk, but would like to hear any experiences of others having taken it for pain. Thanks for reading

I can’t really help as I haven’t taken it during pregnancy but I also take amitriptyline for TMJ disorder (a higher dosage from what I remember) and I know that the TMJ dosage is so low compared to what it can be used at, for depression for example.
Saying that, my midwife did double check with me if I was still taking it early on in my pregnancy so maybe check with your midwife if you’re worried.
For my TMJ disorder I’ve used a mouth guard, had Botox, had physio and used amitriptyline. I find my chiropractor is the best person to treat it though!

@MoonminMama123 I took amitriptyline (30mg per night) for 2 years up until January of this year for a chronic pain disorder. When I got my BFP I made an appointment with my GP to discuss if I should stay on it or not. He advised as it wasn't something that had been tested on pregnant women (but then very little is for obvious reasons) it could be okay or it might not, he told me I had to weigh up the benefits the amitriptyline was bringing me vs the potential unknown risks. In my case I wanted off it, esp as so early into pregnancy as I was mainly using the ami to help me sleep more and pregnancy hormones have been known to help my condition in some cases. He was pleased with this choice and advised I could go back to him for codeine instead if I was really struggling instead.

Toothache is absolute torture, so I would say if it's getting you down seriously consider it. I will say that amitryp can take 3-4 weeks to get into your system and actually start making a difference pain-wise so it might not notice any benefit until after baby here anyway.

I was on 20mg of amitryptaline for fibromyalgia throughout pregnancy (pre and post pregnancy dose normally 50mg) with no side effects to me or baby. I saw a specialist midwife to discuss it, who said it's the most commonly prescribed antidepressant to pregnant women for nerve pain, and essentially the risk to baby was minimal, and equal to the risk of the mother being in constant pain/stressed/sleep deprived throughout her pregnancy.

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences. I had googled looking for more info, but think it's always good to hear from real people also. @Sls668 did you find the tablets helped at all? I have been looking into seeing a chiropractor but the ones local to me still aren't back at work unfortunately. @Quiffy that's what the doctor basically said to me also about needing to weigh up the benefits vs the risks. I'm allergic to codeine (just to make things more complicated!) or else that might have been a better option. Part of me thinks I've put up with the pain for so long I should just muddle on through but then another part thinks I'm being overly risk adverse. @sohypnotic that's really reassuring to know that you were on it with no ill effects. I didn't know that it was a commonly prescribed drug. I guess its a matter of trying to think objectively what is best to do. I think part of the issue is that no one is entirely sure what is causing the pain so it's really difficult to treat. My dentist is sick of the sight of me at this point!!

Amitryptaline allows me to function relatively normally most of the time, I've found it very effective as a muscle relaxant for nerve pain, and helping with sleep. I also have suffered with TMJ in the past, had a particularly bad flare causing facial migraines in a time of stress. I had a mouth guard made at the dentist to wear at night, it was a hideous thing (and not cheap!) but it worked. I wore it for a few months and then was able to stop, with only minimal flare ups since.