Is it important to up the dose slowly?
Posted , 6 users are following.
Hi,
My ENT consultant has prescribed me Amitriptyline to help with nerve pain and sleep, hopefully. He wants me to be on 20mg and see how I go as he wants me on the lowest dose possible that will help.
He said that because I'm not a 'big adult' I'm 17, 56kg and 5'2.. I should start with 10mg and see how my body reacts.. I took the 10mg last night and although it made me a bit sleepy, I still woke up continuously and feel normal this morning so would it be okay to just start taking the 20mg or should I take the 10mg for a week or two?
I was a bit worried about taking it incase it interacted with my other medications, but I dont think it does. 😃
TIA
1 like, 11 replies
laura85970 lauren3311
Posted
im same height and weight as you and i take amitriptiline aswell i always tirate up and down over a week so take 10 mg for a week then 20 mg and so on .
lauren3311 laura85970
Posted
Thankyou, I wasn't told how long to wait before upping to 20mg which is the dose he wants me on for now. 😃
laura85970 lauren3311
Posted
yeah about a week is fine i was on 30 for awhile but made my mouth really dry it didnt help either but this was for migranes its great to help you sleep though i take mine about 6 pm and then your not groggy the next day, just watch if u have any alcohol too, it says not too but you totally can but can make u a bit more tipsy than normal ! good luck with it hope it helps .
lauren3311 laura85970
Posted
Thankyou, it's mainly for nerve pain..the sleep thing will just be an added benefit so if it doesn't help I'll see my GP and come off it. I took mine at 7pm and I've felt fine today so I'll see how I go, I was worried about feeling rough though haha. I'm going to watch the alcohol, I never drink much anyway because I'm on other meds but.😂
susan40017 lauren3311
Posted
Stick with 10mgs for at least a week then increase to 20mgs if necessary. I've been on it for 12 years following a spinal cord injury. My neurologist said to take up to 50mgs if necessary and, if that didn't work, there was no point in taking more than that. I was on 50mgs but I gradually decreased it and I've been on 20mgs for about 9 years. It's very effective for me.
lauren3311 susan40017
Posted
Thankyou, Ill do that. I wasn't told how long I needed to wait before upping to the 20mg he wants me on as the label on my prescription says to take 20mg. I'm hoping its going to help, he wants me on it around 6 months and then to stop it and see if the nerve pain comes back or not. I'm convinced it will because Ive had it for so many years now, but we'll see. thanks again 😃.
charline94768 lauren3311
Posted
I would stick to 10 mgs for a couple of weeks. No use taking more than you need. It takes a few days to take effect, so wait and see how you feel in a week. I take 10 to 20 mgs for sleep and have for about ten years.
lauren3311 charline94768
Posted
I'm supposed to be on 20mg anyway, thats what the label says 'Take two 10mg tablets daily'. I was just worried it would interact with my other meds or Id react badly to it.. so I'll start taking the 20mg next week and continue on the 10mg for now..thankyou.😊
Hopeandope lauren3311
Posted
have you tried mindfullness before bedtime?
i have been on this medication for far too long and its hard to stop. try all other possibilities along with taking in small dose
i use 2 apps.
calm & curable
they have been very helpful
good luck
lauren3311 Hopeandope
Posted
They're more for pain than they are sleep ( so pain is why I'm on them), I was just told they would help improve my sleep too.
I have tried apps like that, mainly calm.. which I haven't really found that helpful for sleep but as I said the Amitriptyline is mainly for pain.
I'm already on a few meds which are hard to come off, so I'm not going to go on a high dose for the sake of it.. I am hoping a small dose will help. The label says to take 20mg but I was just worried about how that would affect me so I decided to halve the dose for a week. I'm hoping the 20mg helps the nerve pain, but if it doesn't the dose needs to go up a bit until it does because I'm going to be on the amitriptyline 6 months minimum for pain. If for example 20mg does help my pain, then I'll stay on that dose.. I won't up it just to try and get some better sleep if that makes sense?
lloyd32048 lauren3311
Posted
now i have been on thwm for neevw pain for a few years great for nerve pain and sleep as i have a numb timgling foot ,
now dry mouth you get an hour type of thing get used to it as its not normally that your asleep aftwr the dry mouth i really did try to get away with ten but waking at 2 of a morning isnt fun so 20 really was the right amount for me hated taking ten and needing 20 problem is dopy they make you and take awhile to wake up say take them at 7 asleep by ten ish dopy slow brain untill 12 obviously getting away with 10 is alot quicker hope thats of help but i hate the things but they did the teick foe nerve pain grrrrr way up the prows an cons i was on them for two uears i say and dropped them 8 days ago and only really side effect is nerve pain around ones body has re appeared