amitriptyline withdrawal

You did great!  Glad to hear a success story!  I have made it down to 12.5 after being on 25 mg for 20+ years.  I started cutting back in May.  Have been at 12.5 for about 3 weeks, and I am finally feeling pretty good, so guess after another week I will go slowly down at least to 10.  Then level off there for a few weeks and try another little bit off.  I measure mine on a scale, so I am pretty sure that my doses stay pretty right on.  My doctor said I could stay on, but I intend to get at least to 10 (I'm tired of cutting and measuring pills).  Thanks for the encouragement to all of us!

 

Hi Cierra

It's nice to hear from someone who has come out the other side AND lost weight 😃Yay!!! I'm expecting it to take a little longer as l was on 50mg for over 20yrs but the important thing to remember is that it will pass. My next goal is to get down to 12.5mg from 15. I'm almost ready to take the plunge lol. I might even try tonight 😨.

Thanks for your encouraging post.

You are very brave!  I am scared to do a 2.5mg cut all at one whack.  I do like 1mg less at a time and stay there at least 3 or 4 weeks.  Good Luck!  

Hi Dee

l'm hoping to join you on 12.5mg tonight. Also sick of cutting pills so getting down to 10 will be nice ?

If it gets messy l might start cutting by 1mg.

Have you ever tried using a jewelry scale?  It makes it easier to cut a very small amount at a time and keep the amount consistent.  One 25 mg pill actually weighs 108 (I guess with coating and fillers), so I am now measuring mine to weigh 54.  When I get ready to cut, I'll probably go to 50 and see how that goes.  Anything to avoid those nasty side effects.  Let us know how it goes!!  Fingers crossed and prayers said for you!

 

Are you using a pill cutter? I'm guessing it would get a bit messy and crumbly as you got smaller.

Yes it takes time but I can be done. Honeslty the first time I tried I was unsuccessful and started back on the medication because I couldn't handle the side effects. However dealing with being on the medication and feeling sleepy, memory problems etc was also bad. Once I got down to 10mg I took the meds every other day and then every two days and then I stopped completely. There were times I felt like I was never going to feel well again but it passed.  But it was 8 weeks of feeling yucky but now that I'm off the meds I don't feel tired and I love that I have lost the weight without even trying. Just take it one day at a time, you can do it! 

I do use a pill cutter - was amazed when I started weighing them after splitting how inconsistent my half a pills were.  One half always was a good bit more than the other.  I would have to break off a little piece to the large one to make it work.  I have several small pieces I have accumulated  and saved so I can usually get the right amount daily although it takes a little while - but I find it has worked well.  

Hi Cierra, Dee, Sheena 

nice to to see this thread still going. Glad to see someone who has made it off successfully, Just wondering cierra how long were you on ami? 

I am down to 7.5mg from 25mg have been on it about 5 years the last 18 months being the worst I tried reinstating but side effects stayed once I got to 12.5 so now I am going for it I still have roaring tinnitus which just doesn't go but other side effects have dissipated quite a bit.  It's been 4 weeks since last cut so trying to pluck up the courage to go down to 5mg. If it's too much I will suspend it in water and go a lot slower. 

Sleep is my biggest thing at the moment, trying to get the body back into some sort of pattern.

supporting each other will certainly help in ridding ourselves of this shocking drug.

Sammy, Did you have the tinnitus before you started going off the amit?  Mine started about 4 years ago, and I was hoping that it might get better when I went off amit.  So far there has been no change.  

Sleep would definitely be my biggest problem if I didn't have a very small dosage of ambient to take.  I can go to sleep okay, but wake up about an hour later, and if I don't take about 1.25 mg of an ambien, I can't go back to sleep.  With it, I sleep fine.  Hope once I get totally off the amit, I can work on getting off ambien, but for me, that is definitely preferable to the amit b/c there are no side effects.  I have lost about 4-5 pounds, don't really need to lose anymore, but it is so nice to be able to eat a dessert and not worry about gaining 2 pounds.  Good luck with your next cut.  I'm going to try a very small cut next week.  

 

Hi Dee

No tinnitus started when I got down to 12.5 and hasn't stopped since, I am hoping to lose weight this crap made me put on 20kg which I hate. I have no problem falling asleep but I wake multiple times and then am up at 4 am. 

I still have dizzy/fuzzy feeling but I have started to have big gaps with that where I feel relatively normal for longer periods. I am still on 3.5mg Valium and will get off that after the ami. then I am done with pharmaceuticals hopefully for an extremely long time, rest assured I will research the crap out of any drug that a dr may prescribe. What dose are you down to now?

I am at 12.5 - have been for about 3 weeks and feeling pretty good - side effects have pretty much dissipated.  Started cutting from my 25 mg for 20 years in May.  I want to get to 10mg so I can get prescription for that amount and start cutting them.  Will probably do two cuts to get there - hope to start next week.  I start back to work then, and actually do better when I have something else on my mind besides how I feel or think I feel.  Do you take the valium to help with sleep - or to help get through the day?

 

Hi Sammy, I was on it for 3 years. 

Hi Dee

i was misdiagnosed about 15 years ago and was put on 30 mg of v and then because I made such drastic cuts in v no one could work out what was wrong so they added ami to the mix. I started doing heaps of research on these drugs and realised that most of my problems were related to the drugs so I got down to 3.5 of v and decided I would start coming off the ami as well. Everything was fine until I hit 12.5 of ami and then everything went south. No dr could figure what was wrong ended up in ED where I was misdiagnosed with a TIA , so then they through aspirin in as well. No one knew what the vibration in my brain was and trying to explain that feeling was very hard.they all told me ami would not do that. So after MRI brain ultrasounds of heart etc they came up with a big fat I Don't Know 🤔 and know one mentioned it again great medical service hey! Anyway did my research tried updosing to 15 mg but didn't help so thought what have I got to lose so went back down and am now at 7.5 mg will stay here for awhile as buzzing/vibration is back.

The reason I have stayed at 3.5 mg v is if I stuff up with v I up my dose and with a couple hours all is good with ami my cut from 15 to 12.5 took 11 weeks before I felt any side effects. So no matter what I am going down until I come off. 

My father was on ami for who knows how many years for migraine and he died quite young with a rare form of dementia which attacks the frontal lobes funny how ami stops the brain from making acetylcholine which is also associated with dementia, so that is my motivation to get off this crap I only found out he took ami a few weeks ago. I am definitely not going down that same path. 

I watch what I eat mainly fresh food stay away from carbohydrates and sugars take fish oil and magnesium which helps enormously and I work out at least 4 times a week.

I have learnt over the years that slow and steady wins the race.😁I hope we all succeed in getting of this horror of a drug.

Hi Dee

I have noticed that even with a pill cutter the 2 halves of the 10mg tablet sometimes look uneven. So far, it doesn't seem to be a problem but l might have to start being more precise as l get lower. I'm on night 2 of 12.5mg. Slept well last night and hoping for the same tonight. Will stay on 12.5 now until early October all going well. After so many years on 50mg being on 12.5 seems like a huge achievement.

It is a HUGE accomplishment!!  Hope the good sleep and lack of side effects continues!!  Have felt so good the last week or so, am scared of doing another cut - but need to give it a try - even a very small cut!  Happy things are going well!!

Hi Cierra

I did actually wean myself off ami back in 2009 and stayed off for 2 years. Unfortunately, l had no idea that there were withdrawal symptoms coming off ami and soon after coming off l was a mess on so many levels. None of my GPs or other specialists ever related what l was going through to ami withdrawal and just prescribed more meds to combat what l now know to be withdrawal symptoms from Ami. If l had known that l was just going through withdrawal l would've just toughed it out. Instead l ended up on Valium, Seraquel, Olanzapine, Tramadol and Opiate pain patches. What a nightmare that became and it took me 2 years to slowly, carefully & painfully rid myself of that lot. There were times in there where l believed that l'd never be normal again but l got through. I am still stunned that seemingly caring and educated medical professionals can so easily prescribe this poison. Anyway, l ended up back on ami in about 2011 and only recently found out that you do actually suffer withdrawal from ami. So, now I'm giving it another go and l will just get through this time and will not be resorting to any other meds along the way. I'll try whatever herbal or natural remedies out there but that's it. Just one foot in front of the other 😊

Should know better than to "brag" about not having side effects for awhile.  Just when you think all is better!!  Then you have a day like today  - my IBS has flared back up - really have the blahs, and feel like doing nothing!  Was hoping to make a cut from 12.5 down to at least 11.5 - but now guess I will stay where I am for a little while longer.  Couple stressor have popped up that I have to acclimate and adjust to also which doesn't help.  And all this ON MY BIRTHDAY!  OK - pity party done.  Need to get back to some positive thinking.  Anybody else have IBS problems that have gotten worse during withdrawals?  I'm going to up the amount of Fibercon I take - that is suppose to level you out.  

Hi Cierra and welcome to this group. Im struggling with coming off 5mg at the moment. YES it is great to hear you have got this awful drug out of your system. The anticonallergic effects of this drug last some time in our body when we  stop it, 8 weeks is a long time, did your symptoms gradually get better or were you suddenly ok? Did you have any muscle pains, anxiety dizzyness? x

Thank you for the encouragement! Can you tell me what week the side effects stopped?

I am on week 5 and still having headaches, nausea, anxiety. Any info would be appreciated!

Hi, Amanda. I have been off going on 4 months now. No more side effects at all. It was rough in the beginning but once you get through it, it is worth it. My body feels better than ever and I’m now super sleepy all the time. Most importantly I have lost 24 pounds! Hangs in there, you can do it. 

Hi Pearl, side effects stopped being so harsh about 6 weeks after I stopped taking the meds. 3 months later it’s like I was never on them. I’m almost 4 months out and I have lost 24 pounds. You can do it. 

Hi Sheena, you can do it. The withdrawal will pass and the reward will be worth it. My first time trying to stop I couldn’t but the 2nd time I was determined and I did. Just take one day at a time. I took some anti nausea meds which seemed to help as well in the beginning and used sea bands. Almost 4 months later I’m feeling great and no side effects and I lost 24 pounds. You can do it 

Hi Sammy, I was on it for 3 years so not supper me log but long enough for my body to become dependent on it. 

Hi Cierra

Thanks for contributing your experience it all helps as we all react so differently so it gives others hope when they read all these.

i am finally off my last dose was about 5 days ago and so far (fingers crossed lol) I feel really good. I did mine a little different than most I crushed a 5mg tablet into 50ml of water every day and reduced the dose by 1mg every day over the 50 days so it was extremely gradual and even all the way down.

So glad that I did this I feel so normal and in control which I have not felt this good since I was about 39 I am now 53 so this has been a long journey of healing and learning. I hope all these experience that we have all been through help others to know that it can be done and it doesn't matter how long it takes you to get there sometimes slower is better.

wishing everyone well on their journey xxxxx

Congratulations! I know it must be wonderful to be off the meds. Just take one day at a time and everything will be fine.