amitriptyline & weight gain

Does one lose it when you stop taking the drug?

god i hope so, beeen on these for  1/2 to 2 year and ive but on 2 stone ive been on 40mg per night for about a year now and i can not shift the weight, im 6ft 3 but its all on my belly and a bit on lower face

No!

Hi , I have been on 25-10mg for about 6 months for sleeping problems and anxciety. It made me feel awful mainly because of a huge weight gain and constant tiredness..I thought I would go back to normal when I stopped it all together in July and since then my energy levels are much better, but the weight simply doesnt shift off even with my really healthy eating habbits and 20 000 steps every day! It's all over the my middle bit of the body and lower face. It really isn't going. Not sure what can be done....

Hi, I have been on amitriptyline for 2 yrs now. Started at 10mg and eventually went up to 70mg at which point I felt like a zombie. I am currently coming off of them and took my last one on Sunday. Today I feel a complete wreck, chronic headaches , spaced out etc but I'm guessing it's all part of the process of getting off of them. Each time I reduce I get a period of a few days of discomfort. I have also put on weight with this although the neurologist told me that wasn't a side effect. The first time I dropped the dosage I lost 3 lbs almost straight awaya. I'm sure they do have an effect on your weight..xx

Hi I came off the Ami very slowly with the help of my GP, I had days when i felt completely drained, and generally unwell, It's probably 6-7 weeks nows since i came off them and i feel better than i've felt in ages. My weight has dropped 7lb. so i would definatly say weight gain is a side effect of this drug, and my GP does agree with me.

ouch you should never have been on 70mg, its illegal, the max anyone is to take at anytime is 50 mg lol im on 40

It's normal for people to take up to 150mg if it's being used in its original use as an antidepressant

Hello I gained alot of weight on AMITRIPTALINE 5 stone , I have come off the Tablets now after 38yrs as I had terrific side effects, one was not weeing which caused kidney disease, AMYTRPTALINE dry up everything , your mouth , extremally dry inn the morning, immence thirst & not passing the urine , so a build up of fluids in your system. Now I am off them I wee about three times a night & five or six times during the day. I was continuously tired all day & wanted to sleep my life away & that was exactly what I was doing.People are not informed enough about this drug & it was  only me that did so much research on this drug I realised what was happening to my body & my life .

The Tablets really knock a person out & we are continuously drugged up on them , it was no longer a life for me sleeping my life away, that is one of the reasons that I stiopped taking them .

jACKIE X

 

Hi Jacqueline

I have managed to reduce my tablets down to 10mg since April and have lost 1 stone in weight. I also noticed the reduced appetite and the fact that I'm not as bloated anymore. I do have more pain but am managing at the moment. Want to stop tablets altogether but have a family situation which is causing great stress which in turn is causing more pain. I am moving more though. For tiredness I have a b12 injection every 10 weeks. Goes around in circles really.

hi there i might be late to your comment but only joined today  reading your comment you sound the exct same as what im going through been on amitriptyline for 8 years at 50mg at night iv put 4 stone on and also have the problem with not passing urine often ..the only thing amitriptyline is doing is helping me sleep iv tried loads of time to come off with no luck i have to keep going back on them with the awful withdrawl doctor say they are not addictive i think they are i so badley want to come off them ..just cutting down gives me withdrawl 

I know your post is old but felt compelled to answer incase anyone still checks these posts. I'm amazed and utterly disgusted that these drs, neurologists, rheumatologists and psychiatrists prescribe these meds without having a clue about the side effects! In the information leaflet that comes with this medication it clearly states that a common side effect is weight gain and it specifically says increased apetite too. It feels like they are giving us medications they clearly know nothing about. I was on mirtazapine and gained 4st in 5 years. I literally could not stop eating. I felt sick with hunger half an hour after a meal. My gp sent me to an eating disorder clinic for binge eating disorder. I joined overeaters anonymous because i was convinced i either had an eating disorder or food addiction. I despised myself for not having the willpower to control my eating. I'd get up in the morning to find empty packets in the kitchen and half the contents of the fridge gone. I was sleep walking to the fridge so i could eat while i was asleep. It didn't even occur to me it could be one of the meds i took. I found out by chance that extreme hunger is one of the main side effects of mirtazapine. There and then i decided to get off it. I tapered down over 2 weeks. Within 2 months of being off it I'd lost 2 stone. If you are ever in doubt about potential side effects then speak to a pharmacist. They are much more clued up on on the effects these meds can have. Good luck to everyone who has to walk the medication minefield x

Hi Shirleen, i have tried twice to come off ami, you are not alone there are many of us. i am currently on 5mg which is tiny but, my bad and worst withdrawal symptoms where when i dropped from 10mg to 5mg. i managed to reduce this time by using ami in liquid form and reduced by 1mg doses. Doing this i managed to have no withdrawal symptoms apart from a heavy thick head feeling. i have been on 5mg for 5/6 weeks now and was hoping the head thing would vanish but, no it hasnt yet. i will give it another few weeks and maybe try my final reduction.  Your not on your own xxxxx

Hi amanda thanks for your reply yes I'm finding it hard trying to get off them .I so need to try again .

Its a terrible drug ..after being on them all these years makes it harder .but I'm going to have to find my inner strength to fight it 4 stone in weight iv put on that also makes me depressed. I feel like a zombie most of the day it's not good ..doctors give them out with no problem not realising the effects they can have on you im definitely going to try again hope this time I can do it ..thanks again x

Hi, I was on 100 mg ami. for 15 yrs for depression and sleep. My doctor told me from the beginning it causes weight gain plus dry mouth which can ruin your teeth. I've had 4 molars pulled due to this, and i gained 60 lbs at least during that time. Mostly tummy area. I'm 51 and look like I'm pregnant my tummy is so large and bloated. All this has made me more and more depressed because i can't seem to lose it. so i decided to wean myself off of it. Its been 4 weeks and I'm now down to 25 mg and luckily still sleeping well. I got on this forum hoping to hear if anyone else has lost weight after weaning off of it or reducing dosage significantly.