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Tapering off low dose of Amitriptyline

Posted , 32 users are following.

Tiffany188887
Tiffany188887

I have been on 10mg for almost 2 months. My doctor said to just stop but I was very concerned that it would be to quick. So he suggested 25% each week. On Dec 10th I reduced to 7.5 mg and did not have any issues except taking longer to fall asleep. Then on Dec 18th I had SEVERE nausea, anxiety, very upset and scared as I had no clue what was happening. Finally on Dec 24 I could not take it anymore and decided to go back on 10 mg. Within 2 days I was feeling better, not normal but better. Was this the Amitriptyline?? From such a small decrease? Is it normal for the withdrawal to set in a week later?? I asked my dr and he said that going off 10 mg you should have no issues especially not a week later. Had anyone else experienced a delayed withdrawal or had issues tapering even a small amount? I do not want to go down quickly if what I experienced was withdrawals even though my doctor disagrees. Please help, thank you ❤

2 likes, 68 replies

68 Replies

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  • Paula2019
    Paula2019 Tiffany188887

    Posted

    Hi Tiffany

    How are you feeling now? I am now completely recovered from Amitryptline and never want to go near that drug again. I hope you have got over all your nausea. x

  • Scarlett.S
    Scarlett.S Tiffany188887

    Posted

    Hi,

    i got to catch this thread late but happy I found it. i am trying to wean off Ami 25mg been taking it for 7 yrs now. I tried earlier and went until 15 mg but then had to go to back to 25mg. I plan to have my first child and so I wanna get off this medicine. Can't find of any specialist doctors in this pandemic as all are available only for emergencies but no this. seeking your guidance. thanks.

  • London2017
    London2017 Tiffany188887

    Posted

    Tiffany, do you know how people get 7.5 amitriptyline dosages, etc. I only can get 10mg. and 25 mg. That is what I am slowly going off of. just started. . 25 one day, next 20 perhaps, or 25 one day, 10 the next. Any advice? Please help! Thanks

  • London2017
    London2017 Tiffany188887

    Posted

    Tiffany, do you know how people get 7.5 amitriptyline dosages, etc. I only can get 10mg. and 25 mg. That is what I am slowly going off of. just started. . 25 one day, next 20 perhaps, or 25 one day, 10 the next. Any advice? Please help! Thanks

    • itllbeokay
      itllbeokay London2017

      Posted

      Most people get a pill cutter and will cut 10 mg in half to 5 and sometimes in half again to get 2.5 mg. Then, some people also will ask their doctors to prescribe it in liquid form or visit a compounding pharmacy.

  • martha519
    martha519 Tiffany188887

    Posted

    I've been on Ami for 2 years at 25 mg at night for anxiety. I tapered off to 3/4 of a tablet 3.5 weeks ago and it was ok. Tapered off to 1/2 last night and was nauseated and didn't feel well at 6 am this morning. I took the other 1/4 this morning and my .5 mg of Klonipin as usual and am feeling better.

    can i shave this tablet to get down to 1/2 of the 25 mg or how do i do this?

    • rizwan786
      rizwan786 martha519

      Posted

      Hi Martha, I was on Amitriptyline 25 mg for about 1.5 years. When I wanted to taper it off initially it was easy to just cut the tablet in half and then in 4 pieces. but after that it was so difficult to further accurately reduce the dosage, so I read that Ami is water soluble, so I just simply put the 25 mg tablet in 500 ml water bottle after dissolving it properly, I simply drink water after measuring it in a measuring cup. like total water is 500 ml/25mg of Ami. If I drink 50ml of water I am taking 2.5mg of Ami and so on, this way I can take any amount of Ami without any problem. but every time before I take out the water from bottle I shake it properly to evenly distribute the filler material of tablet in water as well which is not soluble in water.

      I have been doing it since I was on 5 mg, now I am at 2.08 mg per day.

      What I did is increase the number of days I drink total 500ml bottle of water.

      Initially I was finishing 1 bottle of 500ml in 5 days, then in 6 days, 7 days, 8 days, 10 days, and now I am currently at 12 days, meaning I am taking 25mg in 12 days =2.08mg per day.

      I put the the water bottle in refrigerator after dissolving the tablet.

      so far I am doing it successfully without any issues.

      One thing here to note is I decided that after 8 days I shifted to 10 days per 500ml bottle because 8 to 9 is very small change and will take forever to completely wean off the drug.

      so I instead went to 10 days instead of 9 which is around 25 percent reduction.

      similarly I plan to go like 10,12, 14,16, 20, 25 divisions of 500ml bottle.

      another thing is that I take the reduce dose maximum for 8 days as my body is already adjusted to the reduced dosage in that time, so when I am dividing the 500ml bottle in 10 or 12 , I am taking that dosage for 8 days max, and throw the remaining water after 8 days, and make a new batch with a new tablet of 25mg.

      hope this help someone who does not have access to liquid Ami.

      good luck

  • Mark68915
    Mark68915 Tiffany188887

    Posted

    I've made a specific post for this, but I was on this pill at 10mg for 1 month. I decided to come off it as it was making me drowsy all day and I was having to sleep during the day.

    Coming off I had VERY bad nausea. I also had stomach problems and my sleep was a bit messed up at first.

    As I posted elsewhere, I thankfully discovered that for me at least the solution to the nausea was drinking a lot more water (about 3 litres a day on top of what I got from food etc). This thankfully got rid of the nausea and I was able to then come off the tablets cold turkey.

    Before discovering water was the underlying issue, I'd been unable to taper to 5mg as I was still getting terrible nausea on that. I had just started cutting up the pills to enable me to try a 2.5mg taper (3/4 of a tablet a night) when I discovered that drinking water got rid of the nausea.

    It was just less than two weeks ago that I went cold turkey with extra water. I still had stomach problems, (Which would not have helped with my hydration at all) but the water helped with that.

    Hope this helps. I was staggered that such a low dose for such a short time would have resulted in such debilitating symptoms when I tried to come off them. I honestly couldn't move without the world spinning.

  • elizabeth39022
    elizabeth39022 Tiffany188887

    Posted

    Hi, ive been on 25mg for a few years then 50mg for a year. I tapered off by 5-10 mg every four days and got severe dizziness and nausea. Dr was not sure it was because of that as I had Pfizer jab a week prior to tapering off. I was down from 50mg to 10mg in two weeks and now bumped back up to 35 for a week then was told to go down a week by 10mg each time. I have the exact same symptoms as you are describing and I am sure it could be the Endep. The Dr also told me when I was on 25mg i could just stop them but I thought that was strange. Dr told me if I dont feel better in a week on 35mg then it is not the Endep causing my dizziness. So it seems the Drs seem to think its not a big issue yet I feel horrible and so dizzy I cant so much at all. I guess time hopefully will eventually make it go away.

  • Lamly
    Lamly Tiffany188887

    Posted

    I tapered from 20mg to 10 in three weeks nearly killed me never again, i have managed to stay at 10 mg i will wait three weeks then taper 1mg every two or three weeks, i cant wait till the day i come off it, but then i will not improve for five or sixweeks after i have come off, it really is a very addictive drug.

  • nicole95705
    nicole95705 Tiffany188887

    Posted

    How are you doing now? I've been on amitriptalyne for 12 years at 10mg for migraines as a daily preventative. My doctor told me it shouldnt be an issue to stop it. I knew from accidentally skipping doses prior, that it would not be pleasant. 9 days ago, I reduced my dose from 10mg to 5mg. Day 3, I started having horrible headaches. Day 8, I had a horrendous headache and major nausea and was very dizzy. Today is day 9. Nausea is intense. I'm trying not to puke at my desk. I feel clammy and shaky. How long does this last? I am hoping I'm almost through the worst of it and can give myself a break before going down further.

  • provat43775
    provat43775 Tiffany188887

    Posted

    i had H pylori infection and dyspepsia ,unable to sleep ,my neurologist prescribed me 10 mg amitriptyline for 30 days everything went normal ,after 18 days my gastroenterologist prescribed alprazolam.5mg for 14 days ( amitriptyline been discontinued) when i stop taking alprazolam after 12 days withdrawal occurred ,then my gastroenterologist prescribed .5 mg of xanax for next 14 days along with vitamine B capsules, after taking vitamin B capsules withdrawal became worst , then tepering off xanax over 3 weeks (along with amitriptyline) now i am taking amitriptyline 10 mg from past 3 months , from last 7 days my sleep patterns improved .....

    privmetiously 18 days of amitriptyline use and cold turkey did not hit withdrawal.....

    after getting my sleep cycle back to normal i want to discontinue amitriptyline

    what is the best tepering method ??

  • Tusheey
    Tusheey Tiffany188887

    Posted

    hello did you eventually heal cause i want to start taking the medication but afraid

  • val72442
    val72442 Tiffany188887

    Edited

    I have been following this and it seems to work, no side effects.image

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