Hi,I just got prescribed Amitriptyline 10 mg for insomnia...took just 3 tablets...I'm scared to take all the time,so I don't get hooked ...I wonder does anybody else have problem w/insomnia..and addiction forming...thx
It definitely makes me less anxious, which took me by surprise because I began taking it only to help me sleep!Hi everyone..I joined this group because I am always looking for something to help my severe anxiety..I wanted to see if it helped you all with anxiety too
Are you seeing a doctor or awaiting any tests? I take it you haven't been diagnosed with Crohn's yet?I've been taking Amitriptalyne for nine months now and it definitely works. I take 25mg at night. I have one question, is it covering symptoms that may need to be checked out. I mean I'm grateful that it relieves the cramping but I feel like it may be keeping me from having a true diagnoses. Does this make sense?
I guess you know all about diagnosis taking a long time then. I went undiagnosed for many years. I think if it were me I'd continue taking the ami. if it's helping. I hope it continues working for you.UnXmas, I am undiagnosed, and have been for almost two years. I have seen three different docs including the IBD clinic in Vanderbilt. They are the ones that prescribed the amitriptalyne. It works fine 80% of the time. I will have pain break through at times.
I don't really take it for pain. I don't have that much pain, and when I do I take codeine for it. I take it for insomnia and anxiety, and although I've not had a day when either of those were anywhere near as bad as they were before I was on ami., there is still some variation in how deeply I sleep and my anxiety levels.It's defiantly not working today or the past two days to be exact. Do you have days that the pain comes through the ami? Along with the nausea, indigestion and gas and bloating.
That makes sense. Everything seems to be better this morning, that would be such a welcome relief. I do have hydros, in fact I took 2 1/2 pills yesterday along with zofran, bentyl and tums. Did it take them along to find yours if so how long? I just don't understand why they can't find it, :ybatty::ybatty:this has to be more than IBS.I don't really take it for pain. I don't have that much pain, and when I do I take codeine for it. I take it for insomnia and anxiety, and although I've not had a day when either of those were anywhere near as bad as they were before I was on ami., there is still some variation in how deeply I sleep and my anxiety levels.
Perhaps you're having particularly bad pain at the moment, so that even with the ami. the pain is noticable, rather than the ami. no longer working?
Do you mean how long did it take me to be diagnosed? Over ten years! :yfaint: But I was a very complicated case for a number of reasons. It's a long story.That makes sense. Everything seems to be better this morning, that would be such a welcome relief. I do have hydros, in fact I took 2 1/2 pills yesterday along with zofran, bentyl and tums. Did it take them along to find yours if so how long? I just don't understand why they can't find it, :ybatty::ybatty:this has to be more than IBS.
In May 2011 I was awakened in the middle of the night with abdominal pain and what felt like gas that I couldn't pass. It got increasingly worse and I went to the er. They did a ct with contrast and the er doc came in said you have crohns go to a gi doc here is some pain pills along with cipro. Needless to say I was back the next day. My stomach was so dissented I looked like I was 9 months pregnant. They admitted me, I was there for 9 days during that time they did an upper and lower scopes, of course they did them both seperatley so i got to do two clean outs, ct endography, numerous X-rays. When I got out the same doc did an MRI endography and a pill cam. The MRI showed a gallstone and the doc didn't want to do anything with it. The doc lost my pictures for the pill cam and then he miraculously found them and he said that didn't show anything. But I'm not sure he really found my pictures. Needless to say that s when I changed doctors. The new doc removed my gallbladde, did a breath tet to check for bacteria over growth- negative, did a promethious test- negative, checked my poop, did another ct endography and then they sent me to Vanderbilt. Let me back up after the ct at the hospital the radiologist said it was crohns and the hospitalist sent me home with pantesa and steroids. When I went for the follow up is when the other doc said no crohns. Vandy scoped me again up and down and it came back negative. The doc at Vandy said that I had a major insult to my small intestines and that has caused me to have IBS. She wanted to do a pill cam I Said I quit. She put on ami and here I am.Do you mean how long did it take me to be diagnosed? Over ten years! :yfaint: But I was a very complicated case for a number of reasons. It's a long story.
What other symptoms do you have besides pain? What tests have you had?
Is the amitriptyline working again now?
I see you were recently dx, how long did it take them to find yours?So at the moment Apparently i have inflamation of the TI . I have constant LRQ pain and headaches , sore joints , weird intermittent skin things on my knuckles. A red eye every couple of weeks and now Im enjoying hip pain that would put a toothache to shame !
Amitriptyline is the only thing so far to help with the pain ( head aches and it helps me go to sleep ) for that Im grateful. As ive been on Asacol now for 2 years and it works for me to a point . But both are not doing a bad job at all , or beast of a bad job.
I had to go up to 50mg for it to be effective and it took a while but I get blissfull sleep with it , so I can put up with most stuff during the day .
Peter
I am on my third doc, and yea I could change again but I have been to the IBD clinic at Vandy and they even dismissed me as to having IBS. The doc at Vandy said I had a "major insult to my small intestine". Someone really needs to explain that to me because I can't find out anything about that. She even did a scope on me, she was the one that found the skin tags on my hiney and said that the fact that had a gallstone and I had to have my gallbladder removed and liver enzymes were up and down during my attack were signs of crohns but she does not think I have it. Go figure. And yes the steroids helped. When I was in the hospital I had a partial blockage and the steroids reduced it. My first ct without drinking the gooy stuff just the contrast through my veins showed swelling in my small intestine and in my ti. Then I had a ct endography done and that really showed the blockage and swelling in three different places in my small intestines not to mention my ti. And that was after 4 or 5 days on steroids. I went to see my gp on Monday, I had a low grade fever and my sed rate was elevated. But the rest of the blood work was good even my liver enzymes. I go see my gi this Monday. We will see what they say, it's been a while since I have been. Over the testing.Do you have the option of seeing any more doctors? I had to go through several before I found ones who took me seriously. Being dismissed with an IBS diagonsis seems to be something many people experience before going on to be diagnosed with Crohn's. So many things can cause the same digestive symptoms, so diagnosis can be difficult. Getting back negative or inconclusive test results seems to cause some doctors to assume there's nothing wrong.
Did the steroids help you at all? If they did, that would support a diagnosis of Crohn's or similar conditions. Do you have copies of the CT results which showed Crohn's? It might be worthwhile seeing if you can get copies so you can show them to new doctors without having to go through more testing.
There are some good doctors out there. I found you have to find a balance between pursuing a diagnosis and giving yourself time off from having to deal with doctors.
Well it took almost three years of phoning ,argueing and basically not giving up in the hope of finding something that would explain why my life changed.I see you were recently dx, how long did it take them to find yours?
Hi, like I think I said in my previous posts, I didn't start taking amitriptyline for its antidepressant effects, but it does make me feel calm and puts me in a better mood than I'd be in normally.Hi everyone, I'm taking amitriptyline to slow down my ileostomy. I can now get through the night without having a leak! I'm only taking 20mg cos I'm on other antidepressants and there could be a problem with serotonin syndrome. I'd like to take more because it also helps with pain and I like the idea of less anxiety - I could ditch the xanax. Is anyone else taking it with an antidepressant and if so how much are you taking and do you have any side effects? Thanks.
I can't offer much help I'm afraid,hi, I'm on amitriptaline due to migraines. I am on 25 mg but I find that I wake up extremely groggy for most of the day and can't function. I cld the neurologist at the headache clinic and he said for me to cut the tablet in half--12.5 for 3 days and then bump it back up to 1 tablet.
I did that and I'm still groggy and can't even drive for fear of getting into an accident so I wind up rescheduling my medial appointments.
Does anybody else face this issue..the grogginess and does it go away if you are on it for a certain period of time? how does it take for the grogginess to go away so you can get on with your day of work, chores, driving, etc.thanks. oh, I have had Crohn's for a long time but I'm on Entocort to keep it in check.
I get a little bit of sedation at bedtime though not much and it doesn't affect me during the day - but then very few drugs do affect me in this way. You could try just taking a quarter of a tablet for a week then slowly up it as your body adjusts. Hope this helps,hi, I'm on amitriptaline due to migraines. I am on 25 mg but I find that I wake up extremely groggy for most of the day and can't function. I cld the neurologist at the headache clinic and he said for me to cut the tablet in half--12.5 for 3 days and then bump it back up to 1 tablet.
I did that and I'm still groggy and can't even drive for fear of getting into an accident so I wind up rescheduling my medial appointments.
Does anybody else face this issue..the grogginess and does it go away if you are on it for a certain period of time? how does it take for the grogginess to go away so you can get on with your day of work, chores, driving, etc.
thanks. oh, I have had Crohn's for a long time but I'm on Entocort to keep it in check.
Not according to my side effects leaflet, 723crossroads. It can cause bladder problems - "problems passing urine, increased urine production" - I'm not sure whether that could lead to kidney problems, but it doesn't say so.Is there any risk of cancers with this drug??? Also kidney problems?
I haven't, but it is listed on my leaflet of Amitriptyline side effects.Has anyone experienced weird dreams with amitriptyline? I am still sleeping well, but my dreams have gotten really odd. Not necessarily scary, but on the borderline.
From this site: http://www.drugs.com/amitriptyline.htmlOral:
Initial dose: 25 to 100 mg per day in 3 to 4 divided doses or 50 to 100 mg at bedtime.
Maintenance dose: 25 to 150 mg per day in single or 3 to 4 divided doses. 25 mg per day at bedtime has been used for premenstrual depression. Dose increases should be made gradually. A small number of hospitalized patients may need as much as 300 mg per day. ECG, blood pressure, and heart rate monitoring is recommended for patients receiving high doses.
Higher doses are used for depression: 150 - 300mg a day. I take 150 and it helps my mood a lot. I tried taking more but above 150mg it doesn't seem to make any more of a difference than 150. This is true for insomnia too. Low doses are usually used for insomnia (like 10 or 20mg), but that didn't help me sleep. At 100mg it started helping me sleep; at 150mg (the dose I stuck with) I can sleep through anything. And as with the effects on my mood, the strength of the effects do not seem to increase for me if I take more than 150, i.e. I get the same strength of effects at 300mg as I get at 150mg.Cat, i have dreams like that too. Where you think something has happened but it didn't cos you only dreamt it. Very strange. And embarrassing if it concerns someone and you mention it..... Fortunately my family know all about it. This has occured for years though and isn't related to amitriptyline.
I'm on 50 mg to slow down the output from my stoma. I've reduced the dose of my other antidepressant and was wondering what dose of ami helps with anxiety and depression?
Generally I found the constipating effects of Amitriptyline exceptionally strong, but then for some reason I still have odd days with really severe diarrhoea. My doctors have suggested it's "overflow" diarrhoea - i.e. that I've been so constipated that liquid stool is all that can get past an impaction in the bowel, but I'm not convinced as sometimes it seems like a really large volume for that explanation - but you might want to consider it if you're still getting diarrhoea on Amitriptyline and Imodium. I gave up Imodium and Lomotil once I started Amytriptyline.It's not doing anything for my stomach at 25mg. My doc said I should come off because of the nightmares. I may ask to try it at 50mg and see how it works. I'm feeling bummed out because for a while I felt like I had some control over my D.
I was trying Amitriptyline and 1/2 imodium. The imodium just backed me up and the D just comes back. The Amitriptyline didn't stop the D. I am pretty sure it's some stuff in my diet I need to change. I was hoping these meds could allow me to eat more liberally without worrying. So depressed right now.
Yes a lot more. I didn't notice any constipating effects until I was up to about 100mg, and at 300mg I needed stool softeners.UnXmas, did you find the constipating effects of Amitriptyline more so at a higher dosage? I've been doing 25 mg the last few weeks. Thanks!
I was actually prescribed it for prednisone-induced insomnia. But first I noticed it was far far more constipating than any anti-diarrhoea drug I'd ever taken (Imodium and Lomotil) and then after quite a few weeks noticed it was also boosting my mood and my outlook on life. Now I don't have insomnia because I'm off pred, but am still taking it for my mood, and it also means that when I have a lot of stomach discomfort during the night, I can sleep through much more of it. When I had surgery, I slept SO much better than after any previous surgery, and I'm sure that was because Amitriptyline was knocking me out. I am on a high(ish) dose - 150mg.I'm sorry it hasn't helped your guts too. We need all the help we can get. Do you think it might just be because you are on a low dose?
I need an anti-diarrheal and wouldn't mind an anti-depressant too but the tricyclics scare me.
I do but not from Amitriptyline. I think that's one of the side effects that will gradually wear off (after weeks/months). I've been on Amitriptyline since last December and can finally say that it no longer gives me the bladder problems it did when I was first on it.Who else is getting dry mouth like crazy? It may be because I sometimes use bentyl at night with it. I need to pick up some biotene mouthwash today!
I think I was still in the range deemed safe for use, but definitely at the upper end of it. I actually felt really good after my nice sleep!Wow, that's a lot. I'm glad you're ok. If I took that much, I'd probably hibernate through winter.
Cat - do you know what the difference is between Amitriptyline and Nortriptyline in terms of their effects? If you lacked the enzyme, wouldn't that mean you wouldn't have experienced benefits on Amitriptyline at all? I've never heard of Amitriptyline being used as a treatment/maintenance med for IBD. I've read it can help with general stomach pain and as it's constipating it can help with diarrhoea, but I can't see how it would help with bleeding? :confused2: Hope the Nortriptyline works for you anyway - if it's anything like Amitriptyline the effects may take a while to kick in, so it may be worth keeping going with it.I'm no longer in this club as of yesterday. Had a GI appointment, and I told him I've still been having some gut symptoms off & on, including passing blood. He's of the school of thought that amitriptyline can "calm" the guts and induce/maintain remission. I'm not of that school of thought and amitriptyline has never been enough to keep me in remission by itself. Anyway, my GI said that amitriptyline gets turned into nortriptyline in the body by an enzyme, but he said some people lack the enzyme and maybe I'm one of those and that's why it's not doing enough for my guts. So he said I should try nortriptyline itself as that might work better for me. I'm willing to give it a shot, but am not overly optimistic by any means and I'm pretty sure I need something more than nortriptyline and Pentasa to get me back into remission! But, I took my first nortriptyline last night (still 25 mg, same dose as the amitriptyline). It went well - I did have a lot of dreams, but otherwise no side effects or big difference so far.
Anybody else try nortriptyline after taking amitriptyline? Did you notice any difference/improvement between that & amitriptyline? I just mainly want to keep my migraines in check - amitriptyline did such a great job of preventing them, so I was hesitant to make the switch. If I get a migraine anytime soon, I'm going to go right back to amitriptyline.
Welcome back! Having had my dose reduced when I was in hospital, I know the feeling of how nice it is being back on it and able to sleep again!Well, I'm happy to say that I'm back in this club as of yesterday. I tried the nortriptyline stuff for 2 weeks, but it made no difference in my guts and I wasn't getting any sleep on it. I emailed my GI saying I wanted to go back on Amitriptyline, and yesterday he wrote me back saying that's fine with him. So I took my Amitriptyline last night before bed, and I slept so much better than I have been! I missed my Amitriptyline and am happy to be back on it, as it's apparently the only way I'm going to get any sleep.
It can cause withdrawal symptoms so it may well have been the ami. When I had to have a dramatically reduced dose following surgery (my bowel was paralysed and ami is constipating) I felt awful, but at first there was no way to know how much of this was due to the ami as I was on a load of new drugs and also going through a codeine withdrawal (for the same reason - codeine's constipating), but after going a couple of weeks hardly sleeping at all, when I got home and got back on amitriptyline I was not only able to sleep again, but also felt so much more well, mentally and physically after taking that first dose at the amount I'd been on prior to surgery.I missed a night last night because I ran out of Ami. I slept enough, but today I felt really stressed out. Has anyone felt that way after missing a night? I got my refill and can't wait to take it and sleep tonight!
No the complete opposite - it cured my (prednisone-induced) insomnia, and is prescribed as an insomnia treatment. However, strange as it sounds, insomnia is also a possible side effect, so it may well be that unfortunately it is having that effect on you. This does happen with some medications - they can cause complete opposite reactions in different people. I believe Amitriptyline can also cause both weight gain and weight loss, and I know there are meds than can cause constipation and diarrhoea.just wondering if anyone got insomnia from this stuff? I had a terrible sleep last night and felt so tired but kept tossing and turning and my mind couldn't shut off.. it was horrible, i'm going to try 5mg tonight, wondering about the constipation also, does it tend to fade away after a while?
I do. Nortriptyline makes me high. :ylol:just wondering if anyone got insomnia from this stuff? I had a terrible sleep last night and felt so tired but kept tossing and turning and my mind couldn't shut off.. it was horrible, i'm going to try 5mg tonight, wondering about the constipation also, does it tend to fade away after a while?