Amitriptyline for headaches - Just a suggestion - Headaches & Migraines Message Board

Wowwweee · 10-31-2001, 01:27 PM

Hi,

Just a thought for headache sufferers.

I have daily headaches coupled with wooziness. I have been told by different specialists that my symptoms were caused by different things (depending upon what specialist I went to).

However, one doctor thought I might be having migraines with the "usual" migraine headache pattern. He put me a 12 mg of an older prescription medication called Amitriptyline (one pill at dinner-time). The pills were 25 mg, and I cut them in half. This medication primarily used to be used for treating anxiety, however, because it works so well in treating headaches, this is how this medication is used now.

Anyway, I took 12 mg every night at dinner, and within three days my daily headaches disappeared for the entire time I was on this med. This included getting rid of the wooziness, which plagues me more.

A common side-effect of this medication is a racing heart beat, so after a yer, I decided to stop taking it because I didn't like to feel my heart beat so fast. My cardiologist and regular physician said that it wouldn't hurt me, but I just found it unsettling. Within the year, my headaches and wooziness came back. The other side effect was that it made me drowsy, but that was nice because I took it at dinner time, so by the time the pill kicked in, I was ready to go to bed anyway. I slept well! And didn't wake up feeling groggy. But best of all, no headaches.

I have recently gotten another prescription for this medication because I need a break from the wooziness and the headaches that accompany it. I will be taking 10 mg at dinner-time every other day. Hopefully this will work on my symptoms, and perhaps not taking it every day will not give me the sife-effect of the racing heart beat.

I see so many headache sufferers on here - maybe this may be a route for someone to try with their doctor's help. I hope this information helps someone out!

mlgable · 10-31-2001, 08:33 PM

Just to let you know that amitriptyline is used for lots of different things from depression, anxiety, sleeplessness to chronic pain. It is a very old medicine but for some people it still works wonders for many things. Nortiptyline is another one that works well for some people and again is one of the older drugs out there.

BBMom · 11-01-2001, 12:51 PM

This sounds like something I might want to ask my doctor about for my headaches... is it an anti-depressant... is it addicting. Any other side effects?

dancindoug · 11-01-2001, 03:01 PM

Hi BBMom,

Amitriptyline (Elavil) belong to an older class of antidepressants called the tricyclics. It is not addictive but could have many side effects. I found these side effects on the Internet:

"Many side-effects can be ascribed totally or in part to the anticholinergic effects. The usual therapeutic doses often cause fatigue, dry mouth (which could be accompanied by complications such as candidiasis or caries), tachycardia, and weight-gain. Orthostatic hypotension, constipation, blurred vision, urinary hesitancy, and various central nervous problems (e.g. memory disturbance, confusion) occur. Amitriptyline has a quinidine-like effect and can cause or suppress arrhythmias. Other side-effects are rare: convulsions, hyponatremia, impotence, galactorrhea, jaundice, etc. An overdose mainly represents cardiac hazards. Withdrawal symptoms have rarely been described in relation to amitriptyline."

I personally was not able to tolerate this drug because of the side effects but it really depends on the person. It's definitely worth considering.

Doug

mlgable · 11-01-2001, 11:16 PM

Nortiptyline is one of the older antidepressants that has worked well for quite a few people with chronic migraine type headaches. My husband did well on it for a long time but then had to switch because it wasn't working as well as it should have for him. Nortriptyline is not addicting but your should not stop taking it all of a sudden. If you stop it as with most medications of this sort you should do it gradually by reducing the dosage a little bit over several days until you are finally off of it. Common side effects include Dizziness; drowsiness; dryness of mouth; headache; increased appetite (may include craving for sweets); nausea; tiredness or weakness (mild); unpleasant taste; weight gain

Less Common Side Effects

iarrhea; heartburn; increased sweating; trouble in sleeping (more common with protriptyline, especially when taken late in the day); vomiting
Go ahead and ask your neurologist about using this drug and if you have any other questions or comments ask and I am sure someone will respond.