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amitriptyline anyone taking this before

Posted , 7 users are following.

Tnhurtsme
Tnhurtsme

i got prescribed this today upon request from me anyone tried it yet for trigeminal neuralgia

0 likes, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • sam_90350
    sam_90350 Tnhurtsme

    Posted

    Yes...I had a lot of side affects.it always felt like I had a hang over.only lasted 2 weeks on them
  • jule44
    jule44 Tnhurtsme

    Posted

    I am on Nortryptiline which is med that is like amitryptiline but has less side effects if you are worried about that.

    The medication takes a while to take effect as you increase the dose but I like the results in terms of lessening my burning pains. It's used more for type two TN or atypical. You have to give it a chance to work( at least a few weeks. ) 

    my side effects were a racing heart beat which meant I had to take some beta blockers. Some people feel more tired on the medication. Side effects were way  better than on anti seizure drugs anyway. That's my experience. Everyone is different.

    • karen36710
      karen36710 jule44

      Posted

      I found the replies to your post very interesting because my doctor put me on the norrtryptiline...and within a few days I had the hang over feeling and my pulse was up to 100 and blood pressure was a bit lower than usual.  My doctor never warned me of this and he knows that I am very sensitive to meds.  I had bad reactions to carbazepine and oxcarbazepine.  Thank you
    • jule44
      jule44 karen36710

      Posted

      Thanks Karen

      im sorry you are having such reactions to the medications. I honestly understand. I think I am also sensitive to medication in general. 

      My Neurologist told me to only increase the Nortryptiline by 2.5mg.  Per week. That way my body would adjust better. Once I got over 20mg I started to notice feeling more wired than normal. Kind of edgy too. My pulse was around 120 beats while resting. I still need to increase the Nortryptiline to keep up with my worsening pain flares. But at least it takes the edge of the pain. 

      The beta blockers made a difference. Now my pulse is around 90.

      i don't know how much longer I can play this balancing act with the Meds.

      its another added stress real.

      I believe Nortryptiline increases adrenaline as well as dampens pain.

      I feel both wired and tired on the stuff. It's awful but better than being in agony. Thanks

       

  • army183
    army183 Tnhurtsme

    Posted

    Yes indeed, amitrip is commonly used for TN and some people get on well with it. Not me unfortunately, even at low dose, I couldn't take it for more than 2 days - I felt woolly headed and exhausted all the time. I can take industrial amounts of Tegretol however. Mind you, amitrip will have an added effect of stopping you wanting to get up at night to visit the bathroom!

    Good luck

    Big D

    • Tnhurtsme
      Tnhurtsme army183

      Posted

      hey what dose were you on im on 10 mg plus 900 mg of gabapentin an im getting off of oxcarbazepine 50 mg
    • army183
      army183 Tnhurtsme

      Posted

      I'm on a maintenance dose of about 600mg Tegretol per day but when I get breakthroughs I go up to about 1400mg, except when it's really bad and I take up to 1800mg. Main thing is to keep the levels up which reduces the severity of the painful episodes but doesn't stop them of course. Also must remember to come off the high dose slowly over several days and certainly don't stop taking it suddenly otherwise there is a risk of having a seizure.

      I can't cope with amitrip at all, as I said somewhere, maybe in this message chain.

      Good luck

      Cheers

      Big D

  • susan33651
    susan33651 Tnhurtsme

    Posted

    Hi,

    I was taking this initially for Neuropathic pain in relation to the inflammatory arthritis/Lupus like autoimmune disease I have, but when the TN was diagnosed and then suddenly got so much worse in February of this year my GP increased the dose and then later added an extra 10mg twice in the day if I needed it. So far I've been incredibly lucky and suffered no adverse side-effects, yes I've been sleepy, but that's fine with me because I can now get an average of 4 - 5 hours sleep a night instead of the just about 3 hours!!!

    I find that it's effective as long as I take the extra 10mg doses as soon as the left eye episodes start up. If I leave it a while, say 10 minutes or so, I suffer for the next several hours.

    It can take a few weeks for the right dosage levels to be effective but do persevere with it. It is one of the older types of antidepressants which in lower doses is used for neuropathic pain and is often prescribed for those with TN for whom the newer drugs cause problems. One piece of advice that I was given is that sometimes it can reduce the efficacy of Carbamazepine which would necessitate an increased dose of Carbamazepine. Also, don't drink alcohol while taking Amitriptyline, unless the idea of freaky, weirdly realistic and surreal dreams is something you can live with!

    Best of luck.

    • Tnhurtsme
      Tnhurtsme susan33651

      Posted

      im starting out on 10 mg of amitriptyline im on oxcarbazepine an gabapentin im weaning off oxcarbazepine but i may stay on all three
    • Tnhurtsme
      Tnhurtsme

      Posted

      for couple of days so pain doesnt hurt
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