Wanting to come off amitriptyline
Posted , 7 users are following.
Hi everyone.
I've been on amitriptyline 20mg since april 2014 for migraine & sleep problems. I now want to come off the medication. After reading nightmare stories from members experiencing terrible withdrawal symptoms, i am so scared to come off them.
However, i really do want to come off them. Can anyone give me advice on the best way to do it please.
Any advice is greatly welcome.
Thanks, stephen
0 likes, 82 replies
stephen73292
Posted
Hi guys & many thanks for your wonderful replies.
It has been a while since i had migraine.
Before amitriptyline i was suffering terrible migraines, althoigh i was sleeping i felt like a zombie throughout the next morning - very lethargic & no energy.
Amitriptyline has done good for me. During the past 2 months though i have been waking with very heavy eyes that has lasted all day. I thought that maybe now its time to come off . However last night i took my tablets at 6.30pm instead of 7pm. After a hour of tired eyes this morning i now feel ok. I will try taking the dosage at this new time & see how i get on this week.
But, if i'm being honest i do feel like i want to come off them & maybe try an energy boosting multivitamin instead.
Sheena737 stephen73292
Posted
Hi Stephen,
I agree that Ami has possibly helped me with pain and has
definitely helped me with sleeping over the years but ultimately I
don't want to have to be on ANYTHING. My thought is that if Ami
can make you feel so rotten coming OFF it then what's it doing to
our brain and internal organs while we are ON it.
The less chemicals we have to take the better. I'm going to
persist and hopefully come out the other end much healthier and
maybe even more awake 😊.
Good luck to us all.
rose_72472 Sheena737
Posted
Hello Sheena, I am pleased to see you still have your crusading spirit against AMI. You may remember that I have had to come off it for a while before starting on Trazodone. My sleep patterns have been greatly disturbed as a result, the consequence of "Cold Turkey" approach.
The first two or three nights have been a nightmare - dropping off to sleep for about 5 mins and then waking up startled because of horrendous dreams and, I think even hallucinations. Then wide awake for the rest of the night.
Days have been lost of course. I cancelled all my plans and appointments, falling asleep irresistibly in front of TV etc... generally feeling and behaving like an invalid.
Last night I managed to stay asleep for about 5 hours from 2am to 7am. Triumph! But I cannot say that I feel great. I am supposed to stay off Ami for a forthnight now according to instructions. The doctor advised one week. I will follow the instructions on leaflet and maybe seeking advice from the pharmacist.
Maybe by then I will successfully have restored good sleeping patterns and beaten insomnia! Nothing like a bit of positive thinking -as long as it does not keep me awake!!!!...
Today I will definitely try to stay awake by keeping on my feet all day. Hope never have to start on Trazodone.
Like you I am anti all drugs (if pos).
Have already lost one kilo!!!! Brilliant! Great incentive for me. It might kill me but who cares!!! Quality of life and good self-esteem is more important than sleep... Only joking really as being alive for my family's sake is far more important. I love them all so much!!!!
Ideally is to have the good fortune to achieve all those aims: Good sleep drug-free, regaining a healthy weight and staying happily alive in the process!!!
Wishing every success in attaining your own aim. I am sure the holiday will help. Rose
Ose stephen73292
Posted
So many people have trouble sleeping that it is better then a sleeping pill.
If your brain does not make the chemicals it needs to keep you an even keel than the antidepresent is there to help. People should not feel any euphoria when taking them. Some times when you stop too suddenly the brain needs time to adjust. If it can, everyones chemistry is different.
The newer ssri and snri are the ones, through my reading and experience that make withdrawal horrible.
Since i have bad reactions from just about any meds i feel amit. Is my friend.
Sheena737 rose_72472
Posted
Hi Rose
I hope you've managed to get a bit of sleep since this post. The messy sleep pattern is by far the biggest problem for me when I come off Ami. I am in a much better place physically, mentally and emotionally than I was last time I came off so I do have higher hopes for this time around.
Losing weight is definitely a huge incentive to come off. Everybody says I should worry about my weight as long as I feel ok. That's just it. I don't feel ok. I feel heavy and tired carrying this weight around all the time and it's NOT healthy. I did lose weight very easily last time and I really hope it's the case this time as well. Either way, getting medication free will be much healthier to start with.
If I keep reducing at the rate I am it will still be another 9 months until I am off Ami completely. That's quite the opposite to your cold turkey. AAaaaaa!!! I'll be on this forum for ever
. At least I'll be taking less and less all the time and that's going to be a bonus 
rose_72472 stephen73292
Posted
hello Stephen, I totally agree with Sheena about preferring to be drug free. Not everyone can achieve that and therefore don't feel bad about it if you fail. After all, if you have diabetes you would not be expected you to come off your insulin.
I cannot comment on the use of Ami for migraine as I have never suffered it.
I think there is a certain amount of habit forming with Ami, in the sense that it stops working as a sleep aid for a while. In your case, it seems you are more drowsy. It's a bit of a mystery. Wish you evry success what ever course of action you take. Rose
stephen73292 rose_72472
Posted
I understand where you are coming from rose about having to take medication for diabetes to use your example. I have had asthma since 1999 & as a result take the neccessary medication for it.
With regards my amitriptyline: prior to going on the medication i was first prescribed iron tablets by a neurolgist (ferrous sulphate) as my iron levels were low following a blood test as i was always complaining of headaches to my gp.
Whilst the iron tablets worked wonders & gave me fantastic energy, they also gave me terrible bowel problems. I weened myself off them slowly & felt good for a few months. Then, throughout the summer of 2014 i felt very sleepy all the time - even though i got my 7/8 hours sleep a night. I would wake the next morning & throughout the day be very lethargic, fatigued & zombified all day. I stopped swimming at this point as well as i just had no energy nor motivation to "get up & go."
So, i went to the GP & he prescribed the amitriptyline following the advice i saw from the neurologist back in oct 2013. He advised a list of 5 different medications. Amitriptyline was number 2 or 3on the list i think. The next medication after that on the list is epilim which i was told by an epilepsy nurse on a course i attended through work (i work as a support worker) that you only take epilepsy tablets if you have epilepsy. So if the amitriptyline has stopped working, this medication is next on the list & i am NOT taking that medication unless i am diagnosed with epilepsy.
So, after the usual 2-3 months of adapting to amitriptyline, i felt really good & did so up to these past couple of months. Now, coincidentally, i have been having an ear problem during that time (feels like permanent fluid in my ear). Im waiting for a referral to the ENT. Now whether its the ear problem that is causing the heavy eyes syndrome - i don't know! Or, could it be that the tablets &/or dosage no longer work or no longer needed. I have been back & forth to my GP about my ear. I feel worried about over bearing them again.
I apologise if this post is rather long winded, but hopefully it will give people a better insight into my current experiences.