amitriptyline withdrawal

It should pass soon if you were only on it for 5 days. Just shows you how horrible this little pill is. I hope you feel better soon❤❤

Wow, Lydia. That was a really short time to be on the Ami and have withdrawals so quickly! I think everyone on here has been on the drug for very different lengths of time (some a decade!), but I don’t recall anyone else being on it for only 5 days and at such a relatively low dose and having terrible withdrawals hit them so fast. That is insane! If you read through the other posts, I think you’ll see that everyone also has varying types of withdrawals that start fairly soon, or months down the road. It’s ALL over the place, which makes it difficult predict how long the effects will last for you, but I think we all feel your pain. For many of us, the lack of sleep is the worst side effect. I actually didn’t have a hard time coming off the Ami, but I’m dealing with similar side effects from coming off a different drug. Scroll around and read some of Sammy’s posts. She has some very good info and advice. Please keep us updated, as I’m sure everyone will be fascinated to see how this progresses for you. I sure know I’m fascinated as well as very perplexed by your situation. You may well have the most unique situation that I’ve read so far. Anyway, GOOD LUCK! And please, please come back to let us know how things are going. 

PS ~ Why did you have to go on it in the first place?

Hi lydia, 5 days is not long however, this drug effects everyone differently. Ideally you should have halved the tabs for a few days but, too late. Anyway you should feel better very soon, amitriptyline can take many days to clear your body but i am sure  within a few weeks all will be well. Try eating dry crackers if you still feel nauseous xx

Hi, Lydia,

How are you doing? Are you still having terrible withdrawals?  Let us know how things are going, if you can. Best wishes!

Wow Sheena Great accomplishment and to think of that much poison "mind blowing" congrats on being rid of the evil blue pill, been great having your support and great sharing our experiences and knowledge of this drug. I wish you well and safe travel my drug free friend 😁👍🏻. Look forward to hearing from you every now and then. Xxx💕💕💕xxxxx

 

Oh, my gosh! Sheena! First let me say when I saw the total of the amount of Ami you’ve taken over the years, I couldn’t believe it. I stared at it for probably 30 seconds trying to wrap my head around it. Secondly, and way more importantly, CONGRATULATIONS! It’s amazing and wonderful that you’ve kicked the Ami to the curve once and for all. I hope you have fabulous travels! Where are you going??? I’m nosey, sorry. Anyway, it must be a great feeling to know you’ll be traveling with a clear head, free of the clutches of the insane withdrawals and able to have your life again on your adventures! I wish you all the best, always. 😁😁😁 Be safe and have fun!

Hi, Sammy,

Just a quick update to let you know I’ve been doing your titration method. I don’t want to jinx things because it seems that sometimes I speak too soon, and then things change. I’m going to keep titrating, and when I feel it’s been enough days and nights with the same results, I’ll give a more detailed account. 

Hope all is great with you (and everyone!)

hi Sheena, so pleased for you, well done xxx. OMG all that medication! Enjoy your travels and i hope you feel well. xx speak soon x

Hi Edie

Glad to hear the titration is working for you, I swear by it, my kitchen looks like a science lab at times with graduated cylinders and syringes to measure the smallest increments sometimes by going slower it makes it easier as it is much smoother than having to go up and down in doses and jolting the whole nervous system. Especially for those who are extremely sensitive to medication. You just have to know whether your medication is soluble in water or needs fats i.e. Full cream milk for it to bind to. Some medications dissolve and others only suspend it is important to know the difference to get the smoothest ride down. And keeping a written chart on what dose you are on is important, I remember doing it once with Valium and knocking it down by half a mg only to stuff up and accidentally adding it back. Brain fog lol

So far I am doing pretty good I am 14 wks off ami usually my cuts kick in about the 11 week mark so I've had a few weeks where I felt fatigued, nauseous (that comes and goes, I suck on mints for nausea) and anxiety but not so bad where you can't function, but I exercise to try and rid my body of this poison quicker, which definitely helps. I still have 3.5mg of v to taper but will leave that for a while, give my body a break and plenty of time to heal. 

I know it was a bit long winded but for others reading these posts it may help especially as this forum of ours is now heading towards the 500 mark.

Hope everyone else is doing ok, and remember the 🐌 always wins the race.

Ps: Titration method that I used is on Page 1 if anyone needs it.

Hi Edie and everyone,

                                     I'm off to Nepal this evening for 3 weeks with Children's Aid International.  I've never been there so it will be a great experience I'm sure.  Then I'm back in Melbourne for 3 weeks before heading off to Chile (3days), Cuba and the Caribbean Islands(4wks), Portugal (3wks) and Paris (3days).  Then 3 weeks in Melbourne before 2 months in Penang, 5 days in Shanghai then sail from there to Sydney.  That take me to almost the end of September.  I am a total travel addict and spend my money on nothing else but.

Hi, Sammy,

Well, you are a ROCK STAR! I know it’s only been a few days since I started the titration, but it has changed everything. And yes! That is quite the process! I haven’t had milk or cream in forever, and that was a tad weird, but I got over it pretty quick. Ok, so I was on 1mg and I was going to go to .5mg on my own. Instead, I titrated it and boy! did it work! I fell fast asleep for 7.5 hours straight and woke up feeling great. It was, literally, a brand new day. I titrated for two days, then took a huge leap of faith and the next night I didn’t take anything. Same thing happened - fell right to sleep, slept all night, woke up feeling great. Did the same thing the very next night, all with the same results. I also did only juices for these days, and that might have helped, too. I know it’s really soon still to tell for sure, but I’m going to keep plugging away and see what happens. I did juices only for four days, and that’s as long as I ever do it on my own, so I will start tomorrow on both juices and food and see how it goes. The thing that is really wonderful is that I’m sleeping very deeply. I don’t hear my husband get up and get ready for work, or feed the cats, or anything. I mean, I am completely out cold. I can’t tell you how good that feels. Well, it’s bedtime now, and I can feel my lids drooping. Here’s to another good night’s sleep. Thanks so much, Sammy for the titration advice. I owe you!!!

xxX💜Ooo

Hi, again, Sammy,

Btw, I’m glad to hear you’ve passed that 11 week point where the really nasty withdrawals start to rear their heads. Hopefully, you will fly by the next few weeks without any more withdrawals coming to bother you. 

Well, girlfriend, I had another great night. Slept like a rock. Got up this morning and had a ton of energy. I had a list of things to do for the whole day, and I finished ALL of them - and it’s just now 1:22pm, so I have an extra 4 hours to screw around or do whatever I want. Not only am I sleeping well, but I also have a surplus of energy during the day. I’m still not at the 11 week point for the Ami, so I’m still watching out for late coming withdrawals, but I feel I can say I’m off the Ativan. Still, I’m not considering any of these a total victory yet, just to be on the safe side. But damn! So far, so good. With your help, of course! 😁

I wish you tons of luck when you get back to tapering the Valium. Are you titrating that?

Ok, I’ll keep this short. To all of you out there fighting the good fight, keep it up! I hope you all win, and kickAmi to the curb!

                              Much love ~ 😘

Hi, Sammy,

What’s up with you?  How are you feeling? You’re off the Ami all together, right? Are you experiencing any withdrawals, or have they pretty much disappeared? How about the Valium, are you still taking that? I think I read in one of your posts that your doctor put you on the Ami to help you get off the Valium? Is that right, or did I misread that?Did you ever titrate the Valium? I can’t remember if you did or not. I’m completely positive that doing the titration of the Ativan is what allowed me to go off it so fast. Plus, I was on a fairly small dose anyway, and I hadn’t been on it all that long, but even still, I know I couldn’t have just quit it without some kind of help since there were a couple of times I’d forget to bring it with me when I went somewhere and I’d miss a dose. Whenever that happened, I’d notice I’d start to get pretty anxious and a little lightheaded. Nothing as serious as what Tiffany is going through with passing out, though. 

I hope you’re doing well!!!

Wow, Sheena,

That’s fantastic! What do you do exactly with the Children’s Aid? Whatever it is, it sounds very selfLESS, and obviously you have a gigantic heart. 💜 I can see how awful it would be to do all that traveling and working with the CAI while having Ami insomnia. Have you been able to sleep at all these last few days?

I took Temazepam at my mom-in-law’s house when we were staying there for President’s Day (a long weekend), and I forgot to bring my Ativan.  It didn’t work for me at all either, even though it, too, is a sister drug to Ativan (lorazepam). All the “Z-pam” drugs (which are benzodiazepines) are related, but boy, do they have different effects!!! 

Will you be able to see any doctors during your travels in case the insomnia doesn’t let up and maybe try a different drug to help you sleep? My friend had horrible insomnia and he takes Ambien and swears by it. My doctor also tried that on me and it didn’t work for me, either. But my friend says it works so well for him that he doesn’t have to take it every night like he did when he first started taking it. He said it helped him retrain his sleep cycle. Plus, he began to structure his sleeping time at the same time every night instead of staying up reading or watching TV, etc. After adhering to that strict sleep regimen, apparently his body responded and now he only has to take the Ambien a couple times a week. It does give him a bit of forgetfulness, though, but he said it’s very minor ... usually when he’s about to drift off and his wife might ask him something or tell him to do something, but he’ll forget he had that conversation when he wakes up. So he’s told her that if there’s anything important she needs to tell him, she has to do it BEFORE  he’s taken the Ambien!  Haha - I think that’s so funny, but it does make sense. 

 All those fabulous places you get to go sounds wonderful and quite the adventure. I’m so jealous! Have loads of fun, be safe, and triple extra good luck on being able to get to sleep!  xxX💜Ooo

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention all the different foods you’ll get to try out. I hope there’s no “weird” cuisine! I’m really looking forward to hearing about the variety of foods, though. For some reason, I find that fascinating. 😋

Hi, again, Sammy,

I know what you mean about your kitchen looking like a lab! Fortunately, I had all the stuff I needed for this from my own lab, and yes, you really have to concentrate to make sure you’re doing it right. I’ve been wanting to tell you this funny story about it but keep getting involved in other stuff:

On the morning after the first night I did the titration, my husband came downstairs and came to a screeching halt as he took in all the paraphernalia in the kitchen. He looked around very slowly and said, “Please don’t tell me we’re getting into cooking the meth business.” He said it so dead pan that I burst out into a huge guffaw (and hurt myself in places I didn’t realize were still there). It was just so funny to me that it made my whole day. Just thought I’d pass that on to you for a quick chuckle. 

Anyway, seriously, from the bottom of my heart ??  I want to thank you for all your hard work here with us and to tell you that you’ve been a great friend. 

As always ~ xxX💜Ooo

Hi Edie,

             Again sorry for the late reply.  I think I will give Ambien a go soon as I'm running out of other options.  The expensive stuff from my naturopath isn't working at all and it's been a week of taking it every night.

PS - the Nepalese food was very much like Indian food so lots of curries, rice, no beef (because of the sacred cows :-)