Amitriptyline 10mg

Hi Fizzy, this is a two pronged sword. Yes, Amitriptyline can help with nerve pain and sleep. but, you need to know that to every drug there are side effects and withdrawals. This is a very 'old' drug in the sense that it has been on the market for over 30 years. It was originally given for depression until over time reports of pain relief became obvious also. That is why, now, it is given for nerve pain relief and to aid sleep, alongside depression also if needed. This drug alters your brain chemistry and the central nervous system and in time you can become very dependent on it. If, after time, you may decide to come off this drug please be aware that you must never go 'cold turkey' (the leaflet that accompanies your script should tell you this) - if you do you could experience rather nasty withdrawal symptoms which at this stage I will not go into. Just be aware that it can help you at a cost! Please research all you can about this before agreeing to take it. You may just start on a small dose, but that could go up and up before you get relief you need. There are other natural remedies you could research that may be helpful with your pain.I originally took Amitriptyline for a severely trapped sciatic nerve which had driven me close to madness for at least 7 months, and frankly I would have taken anything at that time that could have helped me. I did no research at all, something I regret daily! Anything man made is a chemical cosh with consequences as I found out to my cost. It triggered a very rare form of Glaucoma and I nearly went blind in my right eye - thankfully I got to hospital in time to have laser eye surgery which saved my sight albeit not completely. When you have done all the necessary research make your decision as it really is your choice at the end of the day. Information is power and I wish you well Fizzy

Fizzy, I did reply to you (don't want you to think that no-one did), but my reply is waiting to be moderated. I'm unsure as to why but hopefully they will allow the post when they get round to it. If not, I hope they tell me why and I will try to post again in a way that is acceptable to them.

I can't speak for benefits from Amitriptyline. I used it briefly for better sleep and relief of low back pain but it benefitted neither for me. Others have had success with it. We all differ greatly so trial and error I'm afraid.

I have gone another route for my back pain which strems from wear and tear as well as nerve exposure/entrapment in sacrum. OTC painkillers like Ibuprufen and Paracetemol have little benefit. Some topical pain relief creams/gels give temporary relief, but still worth trying.

For details of my new route to nerve pain relief you'll need to research and decide if worth trying. It works for me, far better than all the pain relief pills and creams I've tried.

It's not well known, it's not a drug and it's not expensive. It's not even properly understood how it works. It's called capsaicin or capsicum, derived from chilli plants. Here is just one quote from a medical source about it-

"Capsaicin helps relieve pain. It works by first stimulating and then decreasing the intensity of pain signals in the body. Although pain may at first increase, it usually decreases after the first use. Capsaicin stimulates the release of a compound believed to be involved in communicating pain between the nerves in the spinal cord and other parts of the body".

If you do decide to try it, most sources are online. Just search keywords capsaicin nerve pain. There are different strengths so try the low or medium first. Follow its instructions, use only a little, because a little really does go a long way. Wear surgical gloves when applying to keep it off fingers and ensure it doesn't get near any sensitive areas of skin, face or anywhere but where needed. You'll have to decide whereabouts for your purposes you need to apply it. It may take an hour  or more to begin its work but once it does it can last several hours. Twice a day is enough for me, even though back nerves can be very hard to get to.

Unless you accidentally get any capscaicin cream/oil on a sensitve area it's still not harmful, just burns for a while but doesn't damage skin.

Most comes in roll-on type of applicators making it easy and safe to apply a little just where needed. If no broken skin on your arm it should be safe to apply - just ensure you don't accidentally transfer any from there back to your fingers which could then touch other sensitve places!

It really is safe if sensibly used. I hope this helps. Good luck!