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Amitriptyline side effects

Posted , 11 users are following.

linda_87547
linda_87547

I've been taking Amitriptyline to see if it improves frequent and severe migraine, having tried many other things in the past.  Although I'm on the lowest dose, I have been feeling so tired, both mentally and physically, - its as though my metabolism has slowed right down, and weight is creeping on all the time.  I am careful about my diet and have always stayed within a range of a few pounds.  The only good thing is I am sleeping through the night, but wake up so tired than when I get up all I want to do is go back to bed for more sleep!  My exercise used to be 2-3 swims (of an hour) a week and 1-2 power walks, but I just can't manage this.  I've typically been quite sensitive to even low doses of meds in the past, maybe that doesn't help and I'm physically quite small.  However I'm quite sure I'm not imagining it, its like exsisitng in a mental fog & its just not me, - I need to be able to function so I'm stopping witht them to see what this week is like.  Can anyone else relate to this? Am also on thyroxine - 75mg daily.

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • Jan999
    Jan999 linda_87547

    Posted

    My daughter was prescribed Amitriptyline for migraines and suffered the exact same side effects as you. She eventually had to stop taking it and saw a cranial osteopath and since then has never suffered any further migraines.
  • linda_87547
    linda_87547

    Posted

    Thank you so much for that, half the battle is being told that you are imagining it & then you start to wonder yourself...so its great to know that someone else has had the same experience.  I must admit I was thinking of trying some kind of manipulation next as a lot of the pain now radiates down my neck
  • Jan999
    Jan999 linda_87547

    Posted

    Good luck Linda. Manipulation is definitely worth a try. I clearly remember the days my daughter took Amitriptyline. She just wasn't her anymore. She spent the days feeling like a_zombie and she had a high pressure job to go to as well.
  • Sandy07
    Sandy07 linda_87547

    Posted

    Hi Linda, I've been on amitriptyline for a couple of yrs and it helped no end with my pain, headaches etc but more recently I've felt that the effectiveness is less and the grogginess worse, so no I don't think you are imagining it. I also felt this way and told the Dr, but all he did was to up the dose which made the foggy feeling worse. Back to Dr on Tuesday to see what else can be done. Xxx
    • linda_87547
      linda_87547 Sandy07

      Posted

      Hi there,  its so hard to know what to do.  I've tried pretty much everything.  I once saw a Dr who seemed particularly enlightened, and he said that medicine, much as it is a science is also an art, and getting it right for each patient is an indivual thing.  That makes complete sense to me as none of us re exactly the same or respond or react to things in the the same way, and I don't think that meds are any different.  The thing with that foggy spaced-out feeling is that although it might sound better than being in pain, it can make it so hard to function on a daily basis, and you just know that is not how you normally feel.  I wish you luck & hope you get a positive outcome x
  • rhianonwatson
    rhianonwatson linda_87547

    Posted

    Hi Linda,

    I have been taking 50mg a day for the past 8 months after taking 25mg for 2months and it wasn't successful I have also noticed the same symptoms.

    But a month ago I decided I was sick of the tired unmotivated feeling as I was also a very fit person who loved going for a run but now every morning is a struggle to get out of bed. When I decided to stop taking the medication I decided to ease myself off taking only half a tablet and then nothing but It in me having 2 days off work with an excruciating headache, when I went back to my doctor she said I should never have stopped and this tired feeling is better than suffering from migraines every second day.

    This led me to my only option which was to start taking my medication again which has left me feeling even more groggy and emotional than before.

    For this reason I wouldn't recommend you stop taking your medication without consulting your doctor you wouldn't want to end up in a worse state sad

    I wish you all the best.

  • anniethorold
    anniethorold linda_87547

    Posted

    Dear Linda, I've taken amitryptaline for more than 10 years, starting on 10 mg, now on 25mg, for migraines. Nothing else worked, and I could manage life thanks to the amytryptaline. I haven't had the grogginess you and other people have had but still got milder migraines and never imagined I would be able to do without it. Then went to a nutritionist for chronic fatigue and she insisted on tackling the migraines. Reluctantly I gave up wheat, then all gluten, dairy, sugar, yeast, and the potato family including tomatoes, peppers, and aubergines. Life changing as after 30 years I now get hardly any migraines and when I do, a single paracetamol sorts it. I just wanted to share this as I have felt trapped on the amytriptalene - and now just have the challenge of coming off it - hence reading this thread. I had no idea I was gluten-sensitive, and it seems it is very widespread. Good to have lost 10kg also! In case this offers you another way to tackle the migraines. Good luck! I've started reducing; on 20mg now, and was reading other people's experiences to seewhat I can expect as I reduce.
  • ceasersmom
    ceasersmom linda_87547

    Posted

    Hi Linda. Ive suffered from migraines since my teens but managed them mainly with imigran. I had a few years of no migraines which felt strange but great and then last year they returned but 100 worse than before. I got them at least once a week lasting 2 to 4 days at a time. I also felt very sick which was a lot more intense than before.

    Doc gave me pizotifen, tried those for a few months but they didnt help and I had the foggy head and drowsy feeling on them. I switched to propranolol in march and by may I had put on so much weight (gone up 5 bra cup sizes) so went back to the doc. I had other issues that I hadnt associated with each other but after looking into migraine medication and other possible illnesses I realised they could all be linked.

    So I discussed the extreme weight gain, kept a food diary and only ate 1000 cals a day, had foot pain for years, migraines and a general feeling of tiredness , feeling off,no concentration, hot flushes (im only 33). I eventually got the doc to listen and test thyroid function and it looks like thats what wrong.

    Anyway perhaps there is an underlying issue so I would think about everything you are feeling and keep a diary and havethe doc really look into it. They are too quick to dismiss you and only want to concentrate on one symptom rather than looking ag the bigger picture.

    • linda_87547
      linda_87547 ceasersmom

      Posted

      Hi there, thank you so much for taking the time for your message.  I totally agree with what you say. 

      I've had migraines since my teens, every month, starting 1/2 days a month relating to cycle, but by the time I was in my 40s was having up to ten days a month.  Interestingly the only time I was migraine free was during both my pregnancies.  I have tried everything under the sun in terms of preventatives, including the ones you list, beta blockers etc, also triptans and alternative therapies.  Have seen migraine consultant privately, even trying botox injections which some people seem to have had great success with.  Nothing has stopped them or even given any noticable improvement. 

      I was so convinced that the hormone issue was the problem, that I  had a total hysterectomy (ovaries have to be removed also otherwise there is still a cycle), but sadly even this did not improve things.  I have been under a lot of stress recently, but am really struggling big time for energy.  I use 12 Almotriptan tablets each month as well as 6 imigran injection refills, so its pretty chronic, and as I'm sure you know the side effects of these meds make you feel pretty wiped out. 

      Interesting re the thyroid issue as I do have 75mg thyroxine daily and my last annual test said levels were ok, but I understand from what people have experienced that this is not necessarily a simple thing to measure in that the thyroid stimulating hormone (the driver to produce thyroxine as I understand it?) needs to be looked at as well, and in a recent blood test for something unrelated showed this to be high, so I was actually planning to ask GP.  I do however like you feel its hard to get them sometimes to look at the overall picture and treat everyone as individually as they ought to be in an ideal world. 

      The last thing I tried as a preventative was Amitriptyline, but even on the lowest dose I was so tired and has such awful 'brain fog' I could hardly function.

      I really do feel for you, its such hell with these migraines, - one day is quite bad enough, but when they gone one for longer and nothing touches the pain, it is horrendous & really you get to the stage where you think this is no quality of life at all.  I personally feel that research is limited by dint of the fact that it's not a condition people die of such as cancer or heart disease, therefore its not perceived as a priority for funding, which to be fair I understand that there will never be enough to go round.  It also gets a bad press as I think sufferers are rather 'under the radar'.  Whilst you are having an attack, there is absolutely nothing you can do, and when you have recovered, you are so glad to be functioning again that you just tend to get on with it and get as much done as you can in the time you have free of it.  I hope you get some real help and find out what has been making things so much worse for you.  I once heard a very enlightened Dr say that people thing that medicine is a science, but it is in fact as much an art in that you have to find what's right for each individual patient.  Again the old problem of it coming down to time and money, and I think as well, when you are suffereing the most it is impossible to get to a surgery to convey how unbearable it is.

      wishing you lots of luck & would love to know how you get on, Linda

  • marshall71
    marshall71 linda_87547

    Posted

    I only take 3x10 mg per night and I'm sleeping between 10-12 hours a day I'm knackerd all the time also on tramadol x6 50mg true about the weight it's going up I try and watch what I'm eating 
  • lisa66732
    lisa66732 linda_87547

    Posted

    Hi Linda I'm exactly the same. I'm on 10mg and sooo tired, headache still a dull aching pain in the butt. Today felt my face boiling hot, feel like I can't concentrate, my heart palpitations have returned😒 I'm supposed to have my dosage increased so hope I get used to it quickly
  • eleanor50387
    eleanor50387 linda_87547

    Posted

    Hi there Linda I am new on here . I came on to see why I was so tired like you I was put on these tablets because I had pains in my leg etc. As I have ostereporuosis in the spine and don't sleep very well . I wanted to know what it was and didn't know it's like citralipan  I shall need to call doctor tomorrow to take me off it as would prefer to only have 4 hours sleep and my faculties  awake if you know what I mean . I have my husband to look after and also my daughter who doesn't live near me X so I HAVE to be awake lol xx

     

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