Posted , 100 users are following.
Hi all, i have tried unsuccessfully to withdrawal from amitriptyline twice. every time i get down to 5mg i start with awful symptoms, bad headaches, nausea, belching, abdominal cramps, back ache and my bowels get so upset they feel like they are swollen i get bloated have wind and abdomen feels bruised. has anyone experienced this also?
9 likes, 915 replies
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rosina02282 amanda59745
Posted
Hi
I am currently cutting back I don't like these endep. I feel terrible. Heart palpitations. Very foggy head as well. When I first started I had to have ecg every week as with my other mess it's upsets yr heart beat. Can't wait to go off them
amanda59745 rosina02282
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karlie7799 amanda59745
Posted
Hi Everyone,
I started ami last year for migraine prevention. My initial dose was 35mg but I felt exhausted all the time and went down to 25mg after a couple of months. Initially I felt better on the lower dose but after 2 weeks I felt as exhausted as I felt when I was on 35mg. I lasted 4 months taking 25mg a day at night time hoping the exhaustion and brain fog would improve. Nothing like this happened, though, and I was sleeping for 12-14h a night when I could (had no sleeping issues prior to starting ami) and still felt exhausted the following day. I felt depressed, unmotivated and my memory and attention were horrible. I also had orthostatic hypotension and irregular heartbeat. Finally, I came to a conclusion that I'd rather take my migraines once in a while than feel this like every day. I went down to 12.5mg in early January and I didn't have any withdrawal symptoms except for sleeping less (like 10h) but I still felt tired during the day and depressed. 5 days ago I went down to 5mg and my depression lifted pretty much straight away, which is awesome. I feel alive again and motivated to do things. I can focus better and remember what I read! I fall asleep a few hours later but wake up at the same time as before. I have some physical symptoms such as headaches, minor muscle and joint pain, runny nose and occasional bouts of nausea, but in general I feel much better than I felt when I was on 12.5mg. I'm planning to stay on this dose until the physical symptoms go away and then either stop completely or go down to 2.5mg for some time. In my case the withdrawal symptoms are so much better than the effects of the drug itself that I don't feel tempted to increase my dose to minimise them. I honestly don't know how some of you managed to survice on 100mg, I think I would have slept 24/7 on such a high dose! Good luck to those of you who are still tapering!
amanda59745 karlie7799
Posted
karlie7799 amanda59745
Posted
Hi Amanda,
I'm hoping I won't have as much trouble as some of you here but it's still early days for me. I had a day of really high anxiety a few days ago, I felt physically anxious if that makes sense... Not really worrying about anything in particular. It was very odd and uncomfortable but only lasted a day. Other than that now I only get incredibly tired and foggy starting a few hours before my next dose. I guess these are minor symptoms but still I didn't expect them at all because my GP said there shouldn't be any! I'm glad I've only been on ami for less than a year, I can only imagine how much harder it would be if I'd taken it for decades. Hope you feel better soon, Amanda! x
silvia63355 amanda59745
Posted
Hello Amanda, I completely stopped Amatryptaline 4 days ago. I was on 10 mg for about six months. At this point I was having panic attacks neck and head tension and a floater in my right eye. The first time I try to stop amatryptaline I was unsuccessful. The second time, I succeeded. Even though I taper down slowly. I still had bad side effects. But, didn’t last very long. Three days ago I had this horrible trapped gas inside of my stomach. Honestly, I wanted to go to the emergency. I took, Pepto-Bismol, charcoal pills, and anti-gas. I was in so much pain for about six hours. I just said to my boyfriend, “forget this I’m about to take a quarter of this amatryptaline.” Soon as I said that, the horrible gas feeling completely disappeares. I end up not taking the quarter of the pill. And followed through to my fifth day today without amatryptaline. It is unfortunate that people have to go through this painful withdrawals in order to get a little comfort. If you really want to get off of amatryptaline you can. You just need to remember that it will be a process. And you will have side effects. Find ways to help you be successful stopping the pill. I used CBD, THC, yoga, meditation, and walks at the beach every day for the past month. God bless you! 🦋
anita49406 amanda59745
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amanda59745 anita49406
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Sheena737 amanda59745
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Just a quick update.
I've been taking 2.5mg every second night now I have 3/4s of a 10mg tablet left. I'll take 2.5mg tonight, skip 2 nights then take another 2.5, skip another 2 nights then take the very last 2.5mg of Amitriptyline I will ever take. I really can't believe I'm here. I'm feeling pretty good and feel confident that it will be relatively painless this time. I'll update in a few days.
Keep up the good work every one xox
Tiffany188887 Sheena737
Posted
Sheena that's wonderful congrats!! I cannot wait to be off of this drug! Please let us know how you are doing 😊
edie90930 Sheena737
Posted
Congrats, Sheena. Great news, so glad to hear. 😊
amanda59745 Sheena737
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sammy85762 Sheena737
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sammy85762 amanda59745
Posted
Amanda 52 days girlfriend, amazing well done you. Even though you are still having a few rough patches it is good to hear that you are doing ok. Hopefully with time the body will heal, just go easy on yourself.
i think we all need to be grateful as well that we all came across your initial post and all decided to answer, this discussion forum has been a godsend to us all. A place where we listen, we advise but we don't judge, something we all needed, and look how many of us are now ami free or very close to it.
a great accomplishment for us all, but primarily because of your post, so I am exceptionally happy and grateful. Xxxxx
Sheena737 Tiffany188887
Posted
I've skipped 2 nights so taking the 2nd last 2.5mg tonight. Had rotten sleeps the 2 nights but I've had mum in and out of hospital with dehydration so that's causing the sleep problems rather than the Ami.
Sheena737 amanda59745
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Sheena737 sammy85762
Posted
When I started the taper I expected w/d symptoms all the way through and then up to 12 months of w/d symptoms once I'd stopped completely. They only really started once I got down to 10mg and I'm not at all anxious about taking the last one so it's all quite a nice surprise and relief.
Tiffany188887 sammy85762
Posted
edie90930 Sheena737
Posted
Hi, Sheena,
Somehow I missed reading this post. Is your mom ok? So sorry to hear about the extra added stress! That really bites. It’s overwhelming just trying to moderate crazy side effects/withdrawals, the stress of “life” makes it a million times worse. I hope you and your mom are doing better!
xxX💜Ooo
Sheena737 edie90930
Posted
Hi Edie,
Just reading this post now. Sorry about the delay. It's hard to keep up with the posts while travelling and only relying on my phone and intermittent wi-fi. Mum is Ok and we are again trying to wean her off new drugs they keep giving her. They all make her feel worse and I don't think they are even necessary in the first place. She's doing ok, thanks.