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Stopping amitriptyline , irrational panics and fears

Posted , 4 users are following.

stacie59925
stacie59925

I've been on 100mg amitriptyline for about a year for PND and spoke to my doctor about 6 weeks ago about weaning myself of them and i'm now down to 25mg a night, i'm getting the side effect i expected from stopping them (weird shock type things through out my body, i always got them when i missed a dose) but i'm also panicing about irrational things. e.g. i woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep because i "knew" i would die in my sleep if i did. I know i dont have psychic powers or anything like that or i dont actually think i would have died looking back  but it's really effecting me. Some of the other things i've paniced about, i didn't take my kids to nursery yesterday because i thought a car would run them over if i went out, i spent 4 hours watching my 2 year olds chest while she was sleeping because i was sure she was going to stop breething in her sleep, I locked my back door and hovered around the kitchen because i was sure someone was going to sneak in and kidnap the kids, i didn't want my husband to go to work a few days ago because i thought he would have a car crash and so on. 

I've tried to make an appointment with my doctor but not managed to get one yet. I'm wondering if this is just part of stopping the meds or if i should start taking them again. I'm a wreck at the moment with hardly sleeping and feeling like i'm losing my mind and it will be atleast 2 weeks before i get an appointment and thats if i'm lucky

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • pam39536
    pam39536 stacie59925

    Posted

    What you are having , sounds like anxiety attacks . Personally I would increase by 25 maybe take it in the morning unless it makes you very drowsy then take them both at night or one at 5 and another last thing .2 weeks is a long time to wait for your appointment. And if you were ok on them , I would increase again. How long has it taken you to get from100 to 25 ? 
    • holly_t
      holly_t pam39536

      Posted

      Yes I would say you may have weaned off too soon? Try going down by 5mg weekly/fortnightly. Very slowly. Don't worry too much keep telling yourself it's withdrawal/side effects as I'm sure it is.
  • alison81137
    alison81137 stacie59925

    Posted

    Hi stacie.

    I too am going through similar to yourself.

    I stopped amitriptyline completely a week ago and dont feel gd. My gp has said it is the withdrawal. I feel like im losing my mind and getting very odd thoughts too. Yet have physical symptoms too. Nausea, funny head, aches and pains, no energy whatsever and just feeling not gd at all. I wont reinstate now tho. It didnt really help me the whole 7 months I was on it!

    Does your gp not release so many emergency appts everyday??

    I hope you can get in before 2 weeks.

    If ever you want to chat just private message x

    Alison

  • stacie59925
    stacie59925

    Posted

    Thank you for the replies, 

    I cant take them in the morning as they make me very drowsy and i have 3 young kids. My gp is very busy, i phone about 40 times this morning before i even got through and all the appointments were gone, they release new appointments 2 weeks in advance each day. Maybe i will get lucky and phone right after someone has cancled an appointment.

    I went down 25g each week so 3 weeks from 100 to 25. Thats what the docotor told me to do and then stay on 25g a night until i feel ready to stop completely. I think i will try going back up, i never had much problems on them and they did help. And i have only felt like this the last 2 weeks and it's too much of a coincedance to not be related.

    I only have 50mg tablets and 25mg tablets, i will ask the gp when i see them to give me smaller tablets as i dont think i could cut one into 5

    Now that you mention it i have felt very sick the last 2 weeks, dizzy and have started falling asleep in the afternoons. I dont know why it didn't occur to me that it could also be a side effect of stopping the tablets.

    They do have emergancy appointments each day but i didn't really think it counted as an emergancy

    Thanks

    • pam39536
      pam39536 stacie59925

      Posted

      I think it counts as an emergency . I think going down 25mg per month would have been loads you could cut them into 4 , or get lower dosage. .maybe you are not ready to come off. Did you feel well on them? If you did I would try 75mg for a month.. Then gradually get down to 50 , stay on that for a month , then only if you are ok gradually reduce down to 25 , stay on that for 3 months then gradually try to come off. If you need to take them forever , why worry as long as they make you feel well .do you take them for  pain or anxiety ? . Everyone seems to hate taking tablets for depression . If you develop diabetes and need tablets you stay on them forever ... I take anti depressants and if I need to take them forever so be it ... I hope you feel better soon , but if you need them take them xxx
  • stacie59925
    stacie59925

    Posted

    didn't get an appointment again today, will phone for an emergancy appointment on monday. i took 75 mg last night and i'm going to cut them down alot more gradually. 

    I'm on them for postnatal depression after my 3rd kid, well was prescibed something else for a year before that but wasn't suitable to take when i was pregnant with my 4th kid so was switched to the amitriptyline. I've been feeling alot better the last 6 months so thought i should stop taking them. I've also had no interest in sex since being on them and i also think they are the cause of my headaches so that was the other reason i wanted to stop them. 

    I'll definatly go more gradually with them now though

    • pam39536
      pam39536 stacie59925

      Posted

      If you don't want a 5th kid stay on them lol so. Just do it must slower , and get that appointment , you probably need to try something else , but I would overlap them if possible. .i hope you get sorted out 
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