Amitriptalene (?spelling) - Fibromyalgia Message Board

JenniferEvelynn · 08-23-2005, 09:03 AM

Good morning my Fibro friends,
I had another appt with my pcp this morning. Last time we had discussed sleep meds and she wanted me to try benedryl. That didn't work so well. Today she gave me a script for amitriptalene (not sure if I'm spelling that right). Before she would give it to me I had to have and ekg to make sure I had the right sinus rythym. I'll have ekg's on follow up appts also.

Anyone here been on amitriptalene? Side effects? Results?

I hope we all have a less painful day today....

God bless, Jen

Since I posted this, I did a google search and found that this is actually Elavil! I haven't heard good things about Elavil... any input????? - Jen

bluelakelady · 08-23-2005, 09:52 AM

hi jen,
i took it about 10 years ago. for myself elavil was a trip into hades. it made me cry and be sad. i slept but had the worst dreams i can remember. i have been taking ambien for 3 or 4 years now. it works most every night without any emotional side effects.
i have tried a few of the drugs that are classified as antidepressants. they are not for me. i am one of the fortunate ones. depression is not an aspect of my life.
if you are low emotionally it just may be the answer for you. listen to your body. it will tell you if this drug is helping.
peace,
bluelakelady
ps. since you read up on it you know all the possible side effects and can be watchful for them. oh yea, the stuff made me crave sugar at night. i gained 40 lbs in the few months i was on it. then the crying started. was it the pills or the weight gain? both i think. anyway i stopped and it has taken a few years but i did get the weight off.
benadryl can also make you hyper/sleepless. depends on your body chemistry.

JenniferEvelynn · 08-23-2005, 02:43 PM

Hey bll,
So glad to hear from you! I've been reading all your posts and have been thinking about you.

I did read about the side effects... one of them being weight gain. Great! I just started Weight Watchers again today... I'd really rather not deal with more weight! I'll try it and see how it goes. If the Elavil doesn't work for me, I'll try something else.

Thanks for your words, bll...

God bless, Jen

thomasina · 08-23-2005, 08:55 PM

Hi Jen,
I was on elavil several years ago, and it did help me a lot, then 4-5 weeks into it, I started to gain weight. By time I got to 7 pounds, I had it changed. It caused me fluid retention. I was pretty uncomfortable!

I hope you have better luck than I did.

thommie

Glojer · 08-24-2005, 09:30 AM

I was given amitriptyline when first diagnosed with FM, doc keeps saying it is the gold standard for treating FM. I can't take it either, makes me feel all 'ho-hum', and breathless and 'yuck'. Probably along the lines of depression as blue said, cause I'm also one of those that never gets depressed or has a problem with that. I only took it for a week or two, could not stand feeling that way. I also take ambien and it definately works, in my opinion there has to be better drugs for FM than elavil and it's relatives.