1. Community
  2. Mental health
  3. Amitriptyline

amitriptyline withdrawal

Posted , 100 users are following.

amanda59745
amanda59745

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

915 Replies

Prev Next
  • Sheena737
    Sheena737 amanda59745

    Posted

    Hi Amanda, Sammy and everyone.

    I'm still on the move so haven't been keeping up with everything but l can see you are all still doing well and slowly getting there. Well done on reaching the 6mth mark Sammy. I'm not surprised that you're still having wd symptoms. When I first started coming off Ami l was expecting that I would have a year or more until I was 'normal' again. My anxiety levels are right down now so that makes it more bearable. I'm also starting to get 3-4 nights a week where I actually sleep properly although l still have to take the concoction of sleep aids to do so. I mix it up so that I'm not taking the same thing every night. Last night l took the Pre Seraton powder and 10mg of melatonin and I've been wide awake since 3.30am. I really don't think the melatonin does much at all as I have my worst sleeps on the nights I take that. On the nights where I take Temazapam I've cut it down from 20mg to 10mg and still get a reasonable sleep most times. So, there is definitely some improvement in the sleep pattern.

    Now I'm going to try for a couple of hours 😴 before the sun comes up.

    • sammy85762
      sammy85762 Sheena737

      Posted

      Hey Sheena 

      Good to hear from you and you seem to being doing well except for the sleep issues, hopefully as time goes by that too will rectify itself.

      i actually thought that by the 6mth mark I would be done and dusted with this withdrawal, it isn't even linear. Totally all over the place, cant believe how one minute I feel great and the next everything is totally out of control. Still having balance issues but I suppose time will be my only healer. 

      Good to to hear you are still travelling and doing ok xx

       

    • amanda59745
      amanda59745 Sheena737

      Posted

      Hi Sheena, glad your anxiety reduced and glad your getting a little more sleep. I am currently having anxiety problems, every little twinge makes me freak out and i feel i have some awful disease. i have been eating lots more fruit and my bowels are  giving me a little discomfort mainly high up like i have IBS or something , again makes me anxious. I am putting this down to peri menopausal symptoms i hope! I am having muscle twitches and spasms too ,mainly in my back and calves. Anyway thats my moan take care speak soon x 
    • Sheena737
      Sheena737 amanda59745

      Posted

      Hi Amanda

      Sorry to hear that you are still being bugged by the anxiety. It will probably come and go for a while yet but will hopefully just go eventually. I'm still being driven mad by the excess mucus at the back of my throat which started when I got down to 5mg mid Nov. Seeing it as a form of detox l was happy to let it go for a while but I think I'll see the GP about it when I get back. My left jaw has also been a pain for about 3 months now. It feels like it's out and makes it hard to chew. It could be that I'm grinding my teeth at night. I do have a teeth splint at home so I'll start wearing that again.

      I hope you feel much better soon.

    • amber95858
      amber95858 Sheena737

      Posted

      Do you grind your teeth due to anxiety and stress? I've noticed that 8 have started clenching my teeth during the day sometimes. I've also been suffering from headaches lately. I just stopped 10mg cold turkey on the 3rd and was having bad withdrawals. I think my anxiety was making that worse. I just got diagnosed with anxiety and I am still trying to cope with it and learn how to reduce it. Any methods of reducing anxiety? I also am breastfeeding so my muscles ache due to posture which I learned also give you a headache.

  • ahlam.a
    ahlam.a amanda59745

    Posted

    I've been taking this medication for about 4 months now and boy was it causing me problems. I heard that is also used to help people sleep but I was always up until 3am no matter what. Because of this, I couldn't last without energy drinks, coffee or a mid-afternoon nap. When I first started, I couldn't even get out of bed for 2 weeks since my migraines were lasting for 3 days at a time with 6-7 hour breaks in between them. To be honest it didn't stop my migraines at all. I stopped this medication about three days ago and the only withdrawal effects so far is that I woke up achy this morning and I cannot stop sweating. I've seen that most people taking them for migraines were taking much higher doses than me and that's probably the reason for the fact that it didn't prevent anything. What was the process of you getting to those doses.

    • amanda59745
      amanda59745 ahlam.a

      Posted

      Hi  Ahlam, What dose were you on? are you going back on it? i suggest if your going back on it to speak with your gp re increasing the dose  to see if it helps with your migraines. 
    • ahlam.a
      ahlam.a amanda59745

      Posted

      Hi Amanda. I was on 10mg. I was thinking of switching back to pizotifen since it did work for a longer period than the amitriptyline did and the amitriptyline side effects were getting too much. I had to skip the first few hours of college most days for the last three months because of how tired it was making me. The pizotifen is only a temporary measure from my GP until I can I find a neurologist better than the one who prescibes me the lowest dose possible and then discharges me three times in the last 12 months alone. Are you using it for migraines too if you don't mind me asking.

    • amanda59745
      amanda59745 ahlam.a

      Posted

      I AM no longer on amitriptyline but , it was for nerve pain. x
    • sammy85762
      sammy85762 amanda59745

      Posted

      Hey Amanda

      so how are you going now? You have been off for quite a while now hopefully most of the side effects have disappeared. I am still having some issues with ears eyes and tinnitus and off balance. Have you heard from sheena? Look forward to hearing from you.

      Sammy

    • amanda59745
      amanda59745 sammy85762

      Posted

      H Sammy, Great to hear from you and sorry you still have some issues. if you remember i came off Amitriptyline in December but had pulled my back at this point in time. I was originally on Amitriptyline due to nerve pain. Well my back has not got fully better in fact i have terrible sciatica down both legs at present. I have been back and forth to my GP re this and other issues. I feel like i have developed IBS and unsure if ami is the cause. I have also had gastric problems since coming off such as belching, bloating, rib pains and still some nausea , i am going through perimenopausal issues though.  Anyway my Gp wants me to go back on Amitriptyline, my answer is NO. He says  i need something as its nerves in my back. I cry daily due to pain and the fear of being on another awful drug. The GP suggested Gabapentin or an antidepressant for this pain. I feel the drugs are only a mask for this nerve pain  and need the  problem sorting. x   
    • sammy85762
      sammy85762 amanda59745

      Posted

      Hey Amanda 

      i too have had gastric issues and IBS as well and I am 34 weeks off now plus I too have the nausea on and off. I went to my drs yesterday was good I suppose I have vertigo probably caused through ototoxic drug like mmm could it be amitriptyline. I am not going to take any other pharmaceutical for this and at least the dr agrees that my body is very sensitive to medication. So I will travel down the natural route and hope over time it resolves. I can relate to the perimenopause, been there done that and still have the residual hot/cold flush but they are lessening, I refused to take anything like hrt just not going done that path too many unknowns for my liking. I have been tapping EFT with Brad Yates you tube he has so many free videos and I find that is helping. 

      I hope you find some relief for your pain, try to stick to the milder pain mess out there if you can IMO. You've already been through hell withdrawing from ami. Take care xxx

      sammy

    • Tiffany188887
      Tiffany188887 sammy85762

      Posted

      Hi Sammy and Amanda

      I am so glad I came back on here to check how everyone is. I too am having tummy issues. Not any IBS symptoms but I take a really good probiotic so maybe that helps?? I'm scared to get sick after all of this so I'm hoping the probiotic keeps my body strong! I am experiencing on and off nausea...not horrible but enough to be a bother. Some days are pretty good then some days I have waves of nausea...and on a bad day I feel queasy all day. I talked to a natural pharmacist that told me amitriptyline basically dries up the stomach so our digestive system can be all messed up. She suggested bitters and maybe digestive enzymes if needed just to help the tummy while it is adjusting back to normal. She seemed to know what she was talking about, also when it comes to Ami or any tricylic meds they do a number on your body and the full detox and healing can take a while. I have tried the bitters as needed and they seem to help. I'm glad I'm not alone with this on/off nausea...I thought something else must be wrong now..surely the withdrawals would be over be now. I hope we all improve soon. Sending you both healing thoughts?

  • Tiffany188887
    Tiffany188887 amanda59745

    Posted

    Hey ladies sorry to bother you again lol I forgot to ask in my last post as time has gone on have your waves of nausea lessened at all? Are the occurring less and less?

    Also did you notice your symptoms go in cycles like a few good days then some bad days (anxiety, waves of nausea, crying etc) I mean the bad are not bed ridden days but...just not good days if that makes sense. I can feel pretty good for days then I'll get some bad days where I experience waves of nausea, feeling anxious etc. Hope that makes sense 😊

    • amanda59745
      amanda59745 Tiffany188887

      Posted

      Hi Tiffany, i think we are all different but, for me i had so many good days then some bad. I remember the good days would increase but, this actually lasted months. My anxiety is much better now but, this lasted ages.I still experience occasional nausea though xx  
    • Tiffany188887
      Tiffany188887 amanda59745

      Posted

      Hi Amanda

      I am definitely having more good days than bad now I have like 2 good weeks then some crappy days...I would love for it all to be good days haha. I'm glad to hear the nausea is less and your anxiety is better. My anxiety ( that did not exist before these pills) is getting better slowly but I still have some anxious days. I have been off this med now 3.5 months I just thought it would all be over by now obviously this drug does a number on our systems. I dont think it helps that I came off the drug quickly and didn't stabilize until the end..but at least I'm not putting it in my system.

      For your pain have you tried acupuncture? My friend has fibromyalgia she gets a shot every 4 months and then goes to acupuncture. She finds acupuncture really makes a difference, maybe that's an option for you 😊 thanks for getting back to me it nice to know I'm not the only one who struggled with this pill. Take care ?

    • sammy85762
      sammy85762 Tiffany188887

      Posted

      Hey Tiffany

      I know how you feel but take heart the nausea does lessen over time, I still have days where it drives me crazy but I just make sure I have barley sugar or mints to suck on for some reason this helps. The anxiety has also lessened heaps I still have those bad days but mostly in the anxiety department it has improved a lot. My ears are another story this med became ototoxic and looking back I have had trouble with them since the day I started taking it but no one put two and two together. The pressure in my ears doesn't equalise properly and they are not making wax anymore, one is slowly getting back to normal but the other is a nightmare but hoping that with time it will heal. I am now 41 weeks off. Sleep is a lot better than it used to be but what a slow process. Glad to hear that mostly we are doing so much better. Take care xxx💗

    • Tiffany188887
      Tiffany188887 sammy85762

      Posted

      Hey Sammy

      It just blows my mind how long it can take to recover from this med!! Its ridiculous, I have found very little info on how long this can last. Most research says 2 week to a month I'm guessing this is the same info the docs read haha! Hopefully in time we will all feel like ourselves again...but boy is it taking a long time!

      I'm glad to hear you are sleeping better and the nausea is lessening along with the anxiety. I hope your ears improve soon that sounds very annoying. I am feeling better overall and I appreciate the good days but I have to admit I'm getting sick of the cycles...good days and feeling pretty normal the bam...anxiety, nausea etc...but at least they are not all bad right?! Take care Sammy and keep in touch smile

Back to top
Prev Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.