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Amitriptyline and tiredness

Posted , 18 users are following.

kim59492
kim59492

I take 10mg every night usually beofre 8pm, sometimes it can be later.

I CANNOT wake up in the morning, i'm so sleepy, if I don't have to get up for work I can sleep right through till about 11am !! i'm usually awake by 9am. Does anyone else feel this exhausted ? I also can feel a bit out of it during the day too. I'm not even sure its alleviating my abdo pain in the mornings either.

My Doctor wants to put me up to 20mg a night, no way could I cope with the tiredness.

Apart from that I haven't really had any side effects from it. But I suppose 10mg is quite a small dosage.

One other thing is bugging me, my Neice took a higher dosage for headaches for 5 years. She now has a pacemaker and is having surgery this week to burn a dead part of her heart away, she is 39 !! her Doctor has said it is a direct result of taking ami. that's scary.

3 likes, 28 replies

28 Replies

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  • sara90181
    sara90181 kim59492

    Posted

    Hi Kim,

    I started on 10mg then 25, then 50, then 75, then 100mg per day. The drug took 2 months to work for me (migraine prevention). During that time, I was a zombie. I would pass out on the couch around 8 pm at night and barely be able to function when getting up at 8 a.m. The good news was that once I was over the 2 month hump, I did not get more tired as the dosage went up.

    An aside, I ended up not having migraines but anxiety and the 100mg has helped with it but I am going to get onto something else. I have gained 20 pounds so I am looking at other options.

  • Jan999
    Jan999 kim59492

    Posted

    Hello kim. I take 20mgs on a night and have done for years. I can remember when I first started to take it I felt very sleepy and drowsy the next day. But that wears off the longer you take it for. For me it was about 4 weeks. I wasn't aware of the side effect your niece suffered but I've not had any problems. I suppose all you can do is take it even earlier.
  • marshall71
    marshall71 kim59492

    Posted

    I'm on 30mg can sleep up to 12 hours that's on top of 6 tramadol 50mg I'm a walking zombie
    • Jan999
      Jan999 marshall71

      Posted

      6 Tramadol? All in one dose? marshall if that's the case you must have built up a high tolerance level
    • marshall71
      marshall71 Jan999

      Posted

      No 2 every 4 hours 6 in all one go think I would be stoned lol
    • Jan999
      Jan999 marshall71

      Posted

      Ooops sorry marshall. Just the way I read it. Apologies 
  • gpgp
    gpgp kim59492

    Posted

    If you have heart disease already then Amitrip. can cause problems but I don't think that it actually causes heart disease.

    i must be unusual because 20mg Amitrip at night makes me more awake. Not yet helped the headaches though. I think combining it with painkillers codeine or tramadol (or alcohol) makes the  side effects worse.

     

    • Jan999
      Jan999 gpgp

      Posted

      On the odd occasion I've had a drink and mistakenly taken my Amitriptyline I've woken up with a migraine. Not wise. I do sometimes take codeine with it (I have Rheumatoid Arthritis) and I have no problems but I suppose I've taken it for about 8 years now and built up a tolerance.
  • kim59492
    kim59492

    Posted

    Thanks for replies. I'm not sure 10 mg is a high enough dose as I don't think it's helping much with my stomach aches in the mornings.

    I'm not going higher though it makes me feel too tired.

    • Paula2019
      Paula2019 kim59492

      Posted

      You might be sensitive to them, thats what I have been told about my symptoms by the doctor. I think you are wise not to up them.
  • eileen88219
    eileen88219 kim59492

    Posted

    I have just been prescribed this drug for my joint pain after already taking several different ones but im very reluctant to take it after reading other peoples experiences of them taking it I think that my doctor just wants to fob me off with another prescription as she is seen to be doing some thing but its my body and I decide what drugs I put into it im now waiting for a hip xray to be done to see if or what is causing my pain and will decide from there.
  • sheryl24566
    sheryl24566 kim59492

    Posted

    Hi Kim 

    |I m taking 0.24 mg very small dose and i am wrecked the next morning. I sleep 1 1 hours i can't get up at 8 or 10 too groggy.   So i am wondering if anyone else has this doseage and feels the same??   

  • eain_33245
    eain_33245 kim59492

    Posted

    For the first three days my doctor had me taking 10mg and now I'm taking 20mg , must say my sore head I've had for years has gone and for the side effects yes I'm drained and very sleepy..... I was feelings like this for three weeks running but now I'm starting to feel alive again plus I take my tablets before I go to bed so dont give up just yet ...

    hope this helps

  • nicci02160
    nicci02160 kim59492

    Posted

    Hi, so people taking 10mg of Amitriptyline a night, are feeling generally tired, drained and spaced out - BUT this wears off, right ? 

    I've been on it 4 days, and feel like a zombie. Be great to know if the general consensus is that this is the case. 

    • diane001
      diane001 nicci02160

      Posted

      I too have just been put on 10mg of Amitriptyline and when I get up, I'm staggering all over the place and bouncing off the walls. My vision is just not clear because I am so "hungover" still from the meds. I find I'm still doing it at lunchtime. I'm hoping that this disappears soon too.

    • phil34363
      phil34363 nicci02160

      Posted

      Yes it does.  For me it only took 1 week, but I have heard other people say up to 4 weeks.  I was on 75mg - 25mg tablets 3 x per day.  This is for chronic, severe neuropathic pain (cause unknown).  I was on it for a long while (maybe 2 years), and went off it about 6 months ago.  However, it is so good I am now coming back to it because it's really effective for my type of pain.

      A few points:

      - I would have some times in a morning or afternoon where I was so dopey/drowsy that I was not able to focus (eyes or concentrate) during meetings or at work.  The reason I went off them, I was sitting in front of my screen, putting my reading glasses on and off with no effect due to bury vision, and I had to leave for the day because I was falling asleep while in front of the computer.

      - I believe (hope) these episodes are due to when I was taking it, which was smaller doses 3 times a day. I'm now going to try a single dose once per day (before bed).

      - General drowsiness only lasted a week or so for me.

      - I have a lot of trouble going to sleep due to pain and I have variously tried a number of sleeping pills (so I don't get addicted to any one), and I have realised recently that after re-starting the medication I no longer have sleeping issues, 

      - the pain relief is equivalent to endone (oxy) - actually, stronger and longer lasting.  Note - my pain is so severe that apparently I don't become addicted to opiates and I can "just stop".  My pain is the type that if left untreated results in high heart rate, and cold sweating. 

      - I wouldn't recommend starting, stopping, or changing ANY medication without very close medical supervision (I have approximately weekly meetings with my General Practitioner).  If you want to change what you are doing based on advice here, get a second opinion and/or medical supervision.

    • Feeya
      Feeya nicci02160

      Posted

      I have been on Amitriptyline for over 2 months now, started at 25 mg and have currently been on 75 mg for 2 weeks. I take them due to having had severe, 24/7 headaches for 6 years, and this has removed all of that to 90%; during the evenings, when it's maybe 2h until I usually take the meds, I get a slight headache still. Nothing crippling or anything though, so I will happily accept it.

      My neurologist says I'm probably suffering from a hybrid between cluster headache and tension headache. He also told me I should get an MRI to make sure there's nothing else, but I will hold off for now. I just want to not be in pain for a while, only "feel okay" and get my life back.

      So yes, I am extremely happy that the medicine is actually helping (I was really pessimistic to begin with), 'cause it takes a lot for me to agree to take any kind of medicine - I really don't like being dependent on such things. BUT I am CONSTANTLY EXHAUSTED! I easily sleep 12h+ a day and still wake up having to peel my eyelids open. I also have an extremely dry mouth all the time and feeling weak and lightheaded at times. I'm currently not working, previously due to the headaches and now because I'm still getting adjusted to the meds, and I was hoping this tiredness would go away by now... Nope, it's still going strong! I'm at a point where I'm wondering if it's even worth it. Though really, it's by far the lesser of two evils. At least I don't feel like "life is pain" now. I just struggle to get anything done at all! I still have hope that it will sort itself out in the end.

      Now I'm gonna go sleep! I guess this is my life now, lol.

    • amy30848
      amy30848 nicci02160

      Posted

      I have been taking 10mg for years now. I’m still exhausted in the morning. I feel like someone has to peel me out of my bed. I’m so tired that I’ve been considering going off the meds. I take it for anxiety and stomach issues. 
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