amitriptyline withdrawal

I hope people read these posts and find the strength to stop taking this drug and are struggling. You can do it as Sammy, Sheena and i have. xxx

I will ill stick around this forum for a while to continue giving advice about our experiences and support for those who need it. 

You our are right though people need to know it can be done as you, Sheena and I are living proof. Xxxx

Hi, Michelle,

What were you taking the Ami for originally? Maybe there is a different drug to treat whatever your original problem was that is safe to take while trying to get/be pregnant. I hope your doctor can help. 🤞 

Hi Edie...I was on 35mg for daily headaches to help reduce migraines.  It was definitely helping and I didn’t have too many bad side effects (I switched to Amitriptyline from Topamax bc I hated the side effects I had from Topamax).  Unfortunately the last time I went to my neurologist and asked about what I should do if I’m trying to concieve, they freaked out about me being on medications and told me there is absolutely no risk-free medications for pregnancy and took me off everything (Amitriptyline and Maxalt).  They prescribed me a month of 25 and 10 and told me to wean off (no explanation of timelines of how I should do it).  I definitely did it the wrong way and now I’m feeling it.  I have to talk to them but I’m sure they won’t give me anything...they don’t want to risk the liability...they’ll probably refer me to my obgyn 😔

Tell me again what kind of withdrawals you’re having from the Ami? Is it nausea? Because if it is, there are a lot of meds out there that help nausea and that aren’t addictive and supposedly safe for pregnant women ... like drugs they give to pregnant women who are suffering with severe nausea, like Hyperemesis Gravidarum, the severe nausea that Catherine Middleton had. The meds they give for that are Zofran, Reglan, Phenergan, and Dicleges. 

Or are you talking about meds for your migraines that you can’t have because they aren’t safe for pregnancy? Prochlorperazine and Metochlopromide are both considered safe to treat migraines during pregnancy. Also, many women who have a history of migraines stop having them in their second and third trimesters - they think because of hormonal shifts. 

Pregnant women are always admonished not to take any medications while pregnant, and fortunately, two out of three women stop having migraines during pregnancy, especially during that golden second and third trimester. Unfortunately, one third of women continue having migraines, and in some women, they get much worse. Tylenol (acetaminophen), which is deemed to be the safest pain medicine in pregnancy is also the weakest pain killer and does nothing to relieve the agony of a migraine attack. Many obstetricians say that they are also “comfortable” giving drugs containing butalbital (a barbiturate) and caffeine along with acetaminophen (Fioricet) because these drugs have been around for many years. However, I don’t think barbiturates, which are downers, are really good for the developing brain of the baby. Plus, regular intake of caffeine can cause worsening of migraine headaches. Narcotic (opioid) analgesics are not exactly healthy either.  Actually IMO they’re a big no-no, but I’m not an OB/GYN. But not taking any medications is also harmful to the mother and the fetus because severe pain causes serious distress to both, along with vomiting, which often accompanies migraines and almost always causes dehydration, which can have devastating consequences for the pregnancy very quickly - before you have time to treat it, or even realize that you are dehydrated. Not treating migraine attacks may also lead to chronic migraines with pain present continuously, and that too can have devastating results for mommy and baby. 

I just read a report from the recent annual meeting of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists where several doctors expressed their preference for the use of triptans in pregnant women. Sumatriptan (Imitrex) was first introduced 20 years ago and a registry of women who took sumatriptan during pregnancy suggests that this is a safe drug. Pregnancy registry for rizatriptan (Maxalt), which is the second triptan to come to the market 15 years ago, also suggests that it is a safe drug, which is really interesting that they took you off it. What is SO scary is that Maxalt - or ANY - of these other meds might work fine with some pregnant women, yet in other pregnant women may cause a whole host of problems to both mom and baby. My feeling is that It can’t be said that these drugs are proven to be safe for ALL pregnant women because some yet undetected risk may still be present. But then, compared to the alternatives of no treatment for migraines and them possibly getting worse, or becoming persistent and continuous, and considering that a large % of doctors feel that triptans are safe and effective, it ends up being logical to recommend their use in pregnancy.

Besides treating an acute attack with triptans, most doctors always recommend preventive measures, such as magnesium supplementation (400 mg, on top of what is in a prenatal vitamin, which is usually only 100 mg), biofeedback, regular sleep, and exercise. Yoga is touted to be one of the best exercises for mind and body, especially while pregnant - for as long as your body will let you twist it into crazy poses. There are detailed yoga regimens made especially for pregnant women that correlate weeks pregnant with inches and weight gained to what yoga positions are safest and give the best results. 

But back to drugs 🤨 Preventive drugs that can cause major problems in the fetus and are contraindicated in pregnancy include divalproex (Depakote) and topiramate (Topamax) - good thing you went off that. On the other hand, Botox is widely considered a safe preventive treatment in pregnant women suffering from chronic migraine headaches.

Oh! I’m so Sorry! I just realized this sounds like my dissertation. I go off on a tangent and forget that these long posts are ridiculous. It’s just that some doctors never seem to be up to date, or they disagree, with the latest research. And the truth is, there’s absolutely no way to tell if the meds that worked fine on a million other women will work for you, too. For example, I’m highly allergic to penicillin, erythromycin, codeine, and a ton of other drugs, most of which are commonly prescribed to half the freaking planet and no one has a problem with them, yet they’ll kill me. I’d think if I were pregnant or trying to get pregnant, I’d err on the side of not taking any meds, especially hoping that the migraines would decrease or disappear in my second and third trimester. But then there’s that issue of the migraines possibly being detrimental to your baby in the first trimester. It’s an almost impossible choice to make. Plus, if you got a hundred doctors in the same room and posed your dilemma to each of them, you’d likely end up with a hundred different answers. The fact is, doctor or specialist or whatever, medicine is still a very big hit and miss guessing game. Not one doctor can say absolutely that “this” will work, or that “this” won’t work. Oy! Sorry, again! I have to get out of dissertation mode before your head explodes. 🤯

Whatever happens, I hope and pray you get the best medical advice and whatever that advice is, that it works perfectly for you. 

Good luck, Sweetie, I have my fingers crossed for you🤞.  I’m shutting up now! 😁

xxX💜Ooo

We’re you having any side effects from the Ami itself?  Because if you weren’t and it was helping your migraines, maybe you don’t need to go off of it? Especially since you started having migraine symptoms after what, only 9 days of being off it? I think most of us here tried to get off it because the side effects we were having from the drug were worse than the original problem it was supposed to treat. But heck, if the drug wasn’t bothering you (Lucky You!!!), what the heck, maybe stay on it?

I had no side effects on them, but they took a very long time to reduce my symptoms, over two years in fact. I don't plan to stop taking them again, but if I do I will seek professional help because there is just no way on this earth that could make me want to repeat what I just went through over the last two weeks.

I can't warn for or against this drug now knowing what I know. Has to be your own choice. Just wish they had told me about this in the first place.

I will go ahead and assume that this includes all triptyline based treatments in this area and not just Ami.

Two YEARS to kick in??? Wow.  That is some kind of serious patience you had. It must have been a nightmare. I’m surprised your doctor didn’t try something else on you before two years went by. But I agree with you on continuing to take Ami if it didn’t give you side effects and help the migraines. I hope it doesn’t take some ridiculous amount of time for it to start working for your migraines  again. Good luck! Keep us posted, just for the heck of it. xo

Hi, Sheena!

You sound wonderful, despite the insomnia, etc. Jeez, not getting any sleep is bad enough, but having sinus problems is adding insult to injury. But a massage and a single room where you don’t have to worry about your room mate sounds pretty good. Maybe that will help your sleep. I absolutely hate not being able to sleep, so I know how you feel. I hope that gets resolved quickly. I swear, when I’m going through an insomniac period, I just want a big fat dose of ketamine to knock me out for a couple of days. 🤣 Too bad doctors wont prescribe that to humans. Maybe I should go make friends with my veterinarian. 😁😄😁

Well, I really hope you can get some sleep. How long have you been taking the temazepam? If it’s only been a short while, maybe it just needs a bit more time to set up shop in your system?  Hang in there, we’re ALL cheering for you! 

Hi Sammy, Edie, Amanda, Tiffany and all.

Well I'm finally catching up on sleep with a vengeance but it's because I've had a gastric bug for 2 days and have done nothing but sleep. Yesterday was hard going as we had to move on from Kathmandu to Chitwan by bumpy bus and a short plane ride. I just wanted to be asleep. The others are out today seeing the elephants, buffaloes and rhinos and I'm flaked out in bed. We've got another 6hr rough bus trip tomorrow so I really want to be much better by then. Hopefully once it's over I'll feel the benefits of catching up on sleep and it might've broken the rotten sleep pattern. I had been taking the Temazapam (10mg) most nights but it just really didn't seem to make any difference. Might need to take 2. Others in the group have given me various tablets that they swear by for sleep but to no avail. It's just those nasty Ami w/ds that won't leave us in peace. Back to sleep now 😊going to make the most of it while I can.

Hi, Sheena,

Boy, you can’t catch a break, can you? But as you said, maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. A little trick I learned in post grad studies - Whenever I went out of the country, I’d always take Pepto Bismal with me and I take two swigs in the morning before anything, like brushing my teeth ... because ... water. Two swigs in the afternoon, and two more swigs at night. It was a preventative measure so that if I did get a bug, it couldn’t get through the coating of Pepto. It seems to have worked as I’ve never gotten sick out of the country. Of course, for the amount of time you’re going to be gone, it would not be good for you at all to take that much Pepto. YOud get a whole different kind of sick if you took Pepto from now to September. Maybe a swig or two each time you enter a new place?  Either way, I hope this is the end of your insomnia once and for all!  

Gosh, though, I’d so love to be with elephants again! They are such smart, beautiful, loving creatures  🐘 💜🐘 💜🐘 The poaching of them for their ivory makes me crazy, and very, very sad. Let me not get started on that tangent. I donate to a group in india that is trying to save every animal they can - from cats and dogs, to Elephants, Lions, and Tigers. It’s a never ending battle though. 

I wish you a speedy recovery from this stomach bug, and I hope you get to see some more animals at some point. This might be silly, but throw them a mental hello with hugs and kisses for me. ??

Hi Sheena 😊

I'm sorry to hear you caught a nasty bug. Not the best start to your Ami free life. But at least you got some sleep. Aside from the sleep and bug are you enjoying your time there? It sounds absolutely amazing ?