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Amiltriptyline

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rstep04
rstep04

I'm on this medication for panic disorder have been on 20mg for 5 days then 30mg for 5 days and so on until I get to 50mg I wanted to know the dosage that works for panics disorder as at the minute I'm really struggling with stomach problems blurrynes dizziness and panic 24/7 can anyone reassure me that this one will work as ive tried allsorts in the past 6 months

1 like, 19 replies

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  • nick34171
    nick34171 rstep04

    Posted

    Everybody is an individual rstep04, so it'll work differenly with others, so you've been on it for ten days yeah? I take it that your 'upping' system is down to drs advice? You've got to give some time i would think. Did you get stomach problems as a result of being on these or does that come with the panic attcks? You need to give them time i would think also , how many different meds have you taken in the last 6 months? You can sometimes get quite an effect if you don't come off of meds properly and give your body time for it to be out of the system. Try not panic. Are you at home? Put the kettle on, take a moment to try and calm down, Nick.
    • rstep04
      rstep04 nick34171

      Posted

      Yea it was doctors advice to go up this way ive been on mirtazapine gave me sleep apnea sertraline made me feel sick and wasn't eating reboxetine made me loose too much weight and made me manic citlopram made me feel too ill came off them with docs advice so done properly but feel like I'm hitting a brick wall they have worked in the past so why not now feel like ive been ill for so long
    • nick34171
      nick34171 rstep04

      Posted

      Oh my God, that many tablets in 6 months? Well just wow, i think my Dr would do his nut reading that. Ok, i myself have had to take on board things i am not overly comfortable with, you have panic attacks, i get moments of where i have to kick my backside into gear because i think about what kind of crap/ disagreement/ etc i am going to get outside and i'm half wondering just what is going to happen and who i might wrap my hands around if that occurs, see they're not the same, our issues but similar. Are you under a mental health team? Can you suggest counselling with your Dr, and ask about CBT? I've read on here a few times that has helped alot of people in managing their anxiety. Nick.
    • rstep04
      rstep04 nick34171

      Posted

      Tried CBT in past not worked I am under mental health team but feel my GP is better as can only get into see my psych every 3 months
    • nick34171
      nick34171 rstep04

      Posted

      Ok CBT was a no go, do you think you can apply for a support case worker? I'm pretty sure they don't have you waiting on an appointment for 3 months. Do you exercise? I do that, and no i'm nowhere near 'cured' just trying to suggest a few things that you may want to think about, some people find that music helps them relax, is it possible you can have some of that on your phone/ ipod gizmo to break the pattern of anxiety? Trying learning about a completely different subject and when anxiety comes question yourself on what you have learned about it so far, as to reset your focus.
    • rstep04
      rstep04 nick34171

      Posted

      I will bear all that in mind and I will see about a support worker who do I see about that is it my doc thx for all ur advice
    • nick34171
      nick34171 rstep04

      Posted

      Not a problem. Support worker is mainly through pysch team but book appointment with gp and tell him a) you are not coping and b) finding day to day things a complete struggle with the panic attacks. You need a support system set up, good luck, keep in touch ok, Nick.
  • gpgp
    gpgp rstep04

    Posted

    Sounds like a difficult problem for you and your family. It's a shame that CBT has not helped. You obviously want some relief from this distress. Amitriptyline many years ago was used for depression but I have not heard of it being used for anxiety. These days it is used for sleep disorders, neuralgias,chronic pain and migraine prevention. It is one of the tricyclics  and its sister drug, clomipramine is more often used for anxiety. If you are not making progress ask your doctor if is worth a try with clomipramine.

    Non of these things work immediately and can take 3-4 weeks to have any good effect, and usually the bad effects can wear off over the first 2-3 weeks.

    • nick34171
      nick34171 rstep04

      Posted

      That was an excellent answer, so much better than mine! I was wondering why you were using it for anxiety actually, i had diazepam for that until the reason behind why i was getting 'anxiety' symptoms was clearly worked out. You should definitely follow gpgps advice rstep04, write what gpgps posted above and take it to your dr, the info about clomipramine. Good luck.
    • rstep04
      rstep04 nick34171

      Posted

      It's just the thought of weaning off and starting on something else when this could work it's prescribed off label for panic disorder although I think it's causing stomach pain as I didn't have this before or it could be anxiety just don't know what to do so fed up
    • rstep04
      rstep04

      Posted

      I had diazapam but become reliant on it and felt it started to bring on the anxiety so I stopped it gradually 6 weeks ago
    • nick34171
      nick34171 rstep04

      Posted

      Didn't know that about panic disorder, i'm interested though so i shall look it up. I couldn't even recall i'd been on diazepam actually, just went through some old prescriptions, yesterday night, wanted to check something out, anyway it's strange how i've read on here that the anxiety meds are actually bringing on anxiety, perhaps another avenue to look into is you've become 'immune' to that medication and you psychologically thought it was bringing on the attacks when it was not working?
    • rstep04
      rstep04 nick34171

      Posted

      That could be the case diazapam did work at first I'm just hoping amatruptyline works as I just cannot function
    • gpgp
      gpgp nick34171

      Posted

      Nick, you are spot on. Unfortunately all meds can have unwanted effects and weirdly the antidepressants can sometimes cause anxiety symptoms and worse - suicidal ideas(in a minority of users), so they have to be carefully monitored by the prescriber. A lot of other symptoms like dry mouth and muzzy head will gradually improve if you persist with treatment, but sometimes they are too bad to tolerate them. I am lucky not to get any side effects from Amitrip except blurred vision and xs dreams and in the early stage sleeplessness! 
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