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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deb85229 amanda59745
Edited
i have been on this drug for 35 years. i am 73 and i kept getting information i need to get off it because of my age. it causes balance problems among other things.
Some places on the internet suggest inpatient drug addiction help to get off of it,
i titrated myself down and am now of off it, but the withdrawl has been very difficult. All i can eat are carbs. my daughter sent me vitamins mostly Bs but I cant take them yet. anything new causes stomach problems. No sleep, creepy crawlies, joint pain and swelling. i am determined to find out who i am after i am done with this nightmare.
i have fibromyalgia, thats why i was given this drug. waiting for that to flair.
rene26439 amanda59745
Posted
Hi, were you successful in stopping the amitriptyline?
joanne38924 amanda59745
Posted
My partner has been on 35mg for about 3 years. he has gone down to 20mg and this week has had all the symptoms you have said.
we were not told to expect this so we thought he is sick with something else.
He has the shakes, chills and joint ache, pain in his guts and is vomiting bile as he can not eat.
after reading your post I wander if it is withdrawal symptoms?
sean89484 amanda59745
Posted
i stopped amatryptiline cold turkey almost 5 weeks ago i was taking 20mg for a year and half the last month has been hell! my legs are constantly achy and knees have joint pain like crazy hoping this subsides quickly
sean89484
Posted
i would love some help to others who may have had similar and can offer timeline help
my19355 amanda59745
Posted
Hi everyone. I've been on 50 mg for the last 15 years for migraines (I'm currently 30). I've tried to come off nortriptolyne before but failed. my neurologist told me to cut the dosage to 25 mg from 50 mg had severe withdrawals including constant migraine that won't go away and fainting issues. I'm hoping to try and come off it again but more slowly after I've read all your posts. My dr told me the drug only comes in 10, 25, 50, and 75 mg. How are you guys getting such low dosages? Does it come in lower dosages than I was told? i want to come down more gradually to let my body get used to it and to try and avoid the terrible withdrawal symptoms again.
nicole17894 amanda59745
Posted
I know its been a long time since this thread has originally posted. I don't know how many are still following. It's given me a lot of solace to know I'm not the only one experiencing withdrawal.
I was on ami for 13 years at 10mg as a daily migraine preventative. After learning about long term side effects and not being able to take it for family planning purposes, I decided to get off it. My doctor said my dose was so small, I could just stop. I knew better from missing a pill or two over the years. I tapered from September to January and quit January 2nd. Immediate flu like symptoms, but I figured I could tough it out for a few weeks or a month.
I am 2.5 months post my last pill. I think I tapered too quickly. I went from 10mg to 5 in September and then stopped in January. I still have nausea nearly every day, that lasts all day. I also have acid reflux and heartburn and gas. The headaches are bad, but could just be my normal self. I used to have to urinate all the time, but that is getting better.
I cant help wondering, if this is my new normal. If it isnt better 2.5 months later, will it ever be better? Did it mess me up permanently? Is anyone feeling better and how long did it take to get there? My doctor doesnt think this is still withdrawal and wants to put me on another medication. I am now terrified of medications. I wont go back on it, not even to feel better and retaper. I wish I never went on it to begin with. This was a hard lesson to learn.
kevatron nicole17894
Posted
Hi Nicole,
I was on Ami 10mg a day for about 8 years, and I'm about 10 months after a re-instatement at 1mg a day, after going cold turkey for about 5 weeks which was deeply horrendous.
I have been on about 1mg since the reinstatement - I continue to have lots of symptoms that flare up and down all the time, even though I am on this tiny amount. The last time I tried to cut down from here, all the awful symptoms came back with a vengeance.
I'm only sharing this with you because it does seem to me that being on Ami for long time causes deep changes in the nervous system etc that, I suspect can take a very long time to find their natural balance again? it also seems very personal, how it affects people.
Mainstream docs are in denial about Ami withdrawal as far as I can see.
I too wish I'd never taken it.
I resonate with you totally about refusing to go back on it, I am gonna have to get the liquid and try tiny increments over months and months in order to finally get off this poison.
Wishing you strength and courage to get through.....
I believe the body will eventually re-balance itself, but I do also have a feeling that it could be a long time for people like us who took it for many years. I've no idea how long...
kevatron nicole17894
Posted
How are you getting on these days - I'm curious to know how things are you for you at this stage? Thank you.
val72442 amanda59745
Posted
hi everyone
I have over the past 2 years tried everything to get off this horrible drug. I tried reducing to 7.5mg a night (I'm currently on 10mg for 9 years), that didn't work. I tried dissolving it into water and reducing by 1mg a night, that didn't work. but I've come to the conclusion that it's the amount of time it stays in your system and how long you've been taking it and your age. I am now going to try missing one tab a week for a month and then maybe 1 1/2 a week for a month. I think the problem is with keeping it topped up as, for me the withdrawal starts around 50 hours of any change! This is my far the worst battle I've ever fought 😡
kevatron amanda59745
Posted
Hello!
I hear you! I am in a similar situation, it's been about 18 months since I first tried to let go of Ami.
After initially going cold turkey, and then reinstating at a very low dose, I have been on about 1.5mg a day ever since, with a few attempts to reduce, both by lowering the dosage, and by skipping a day etc, but the withdrawal has been so horrendous that I have never managed to get off it.
I am now trying to get hold of the liquid form, which is proving to be very challenging with the GPs... it's the only plan I have though, at present... I know that some people have had success by going for a very slow tiny taper, using the liquid and a small pipette, over time.