Anyone concerned about the news on Amitriptyline and demenia?

Posted , 5 users are following.

I have been on Amitriptyline 10mgs for eight years. The latest news about the connection between Amitriptyline  and dementia is scary. Would like to get other users view on this.

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  • Posted

    Yes Amanda I have read your story, veryinteresting. I did wean down to 5mgs very slowly, like two months maybe more, but it still was too fast. This time I am going to try to get my doctor to get on board and prescribe me 8mgs. I then will get this compounded at a pharmacy not too far away. Then I will stay on 8mgs for a few months and keep going down that way, maybe to 6mgs after etc...I feel like this time I can do it. The news of it causing dementia scared me. I am 65 and already feel like my memory is suffering. 
    • Posted

      Hi Charlene, I have learnt the hard way, your right with the very slow taper and settling. Am on my last 2.5mg, and plan to stay on it a while because I did my last taper too soon. Even with the hell they have put me through, I still underestimated them. My doc says I am very sensitive to them, she got that right. Good luck to you, sounds like you will do ok with your taper.
  • Posted

    Anyone wondering what a compound pharmacy does, it will make you a pill with any amount prescribed. Then you don’t need to try and break the pill in quarters, which is so hard to do.
    • Posted

      Hi Charline if your in the UK ask your GP if you can get it in liquid. I used to alternate the liquid and tablets as the liquid is much more expensive than the pills. My GP agreed to liquid as long as i used tablets  when i could. So a tablet at 10 mg , then liquid to get to 7.5 mg then, a tablet which i cut with a pill cutter (half a tab and a quarter) then liquid to get to 5 mg, then stay on half a tablet for a period of time. I used liquid to get to 2.5 mg and again stayed on a quarter of a tablet for  a month or so before my final drop. The liquid only lasts a month from opening so i had a few bottles. x
    • Posted

      Hi Amanda,

      Can I ask you what strength the liquid is.  I am currently nibbling a bit off the 10 mg tablet. 

      Richard.

    • Posted

      I am doing the same, hard to tell if I am consistant with my cut. What country are you in? Do you have elavil in liquid?
    • Posted

      Richard, I just started shaving off a small piece last week. Will do this till I see my doctor and ask for a prescription for 8mgs. Hope he agrees, then I will get it compounded and spray there for a couple of months.
  • Posted

    Amanda I am in Canada but can get the liquid compounded. Thanks for the suggestion I will keep it in mind. Hoping to get an appointment with my doctor in the next month or so. Hopefully he will give me a prescription for 8mgs. Until then I will keep chipping a tenth off my pill. How long has it been since you are completely off?
  • Posted

    Hi, yes I saw that and it does not surprise me one bit. I started these meds for insominia, and due to side effects which I didnt realise until two years or so later, I have ended up with a mass of neurological symptoms,am seeing a neurologist,have had mri, ct and loads of other tests. Since tapering my nuero symptoms have improved alot. So reading that didnt surprise me at all, because one of my side effects was loss of memory.

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