amytriptilyne

[Mister WU]

I just got prescribed amytriptilyne (10mg; moving up to 20 after a week). Does anyone have an experience with this drug that they could share?

Thanks!

[lorriem]

Originally Posted by Mister WU

I just got prescribed amytriptilyne (10mg; moving up to 20 after a week). Does anyone have an experience with this drug that they could share?

Thanks!

I lurk on this board just to see if anyone has migraines and what they take that being said did you mean Amitriptyline? If so that is a generic for Elavil which is an antidepressent but it does help with pain also. I have taken that for 12 years for RSD and my dose is 10mg a day. Caution that should be taken at night it will (might) make you sleepy.

[ARANGER]

Hey Mister,

Amitriptyline (Elavil) is a tricyclic anti-depressant. It is prescribed for the obvious (Depression) but also for nerve pain and sleep disorders.

Amitriptyline is a pretty old drug and has been around for some time. Your dose is rather small, however, if you've never taken it then it will probably work ok for you at first.

Amitriptyline has some pretty decent sedation qualities. Many people take this drug for sleeping. The problem is, many people report feeling drowsy the next day. It has a longer half-life than other sedative meds. Like Ambien which is in a different drug class all together, but it has a shorter half-life so the next day is usually ok for most people.

The only other thing that I can think about that is negative about this drug is weight gain. Many people report gaining weight while taking Amitriptyline.

You didn't mention what the med was prescribed for. Normal dosages are usually 25-50 mg for anti-d and sleep. I know some people that take 150 mg as well. The longer you take it, the more tolerance you will build to it.

Hope this answered some of your questions.
Take Care

[agurl79]

Another use for "elavil" that I can add is for intestinal spasms, that's why the doc gave it to me. It's supposed to relax the smooth muslce of your intestine. It works fairly well for me, and does help me to sleep better, so that's a plus!!

[Mister WU]

"Amitriptyline." Ooops, sorry I guess I can't spell. Thank you all for your responses, they are quite informative! I've been prescribed amitriptyline because I have a contsant ache/tightness in my rectum (a literal pain in the butt) which is accompanied by achey legs and muscle spasms throughout my body. I've tried hard to find out what's causing it (cat-scans of my lower spine and prostate; urethrograms; colonosocopy) but basically the presciption is an acknowledgement from my doctor that we're probably never going to figure out what the problems is and we'll just treat it. While its frustrating to not know what's wrong, I guess if the medicine can alleviate some of the pain/tightness that would be a lot better than nothing (I've been suffering from this for three years now). And it the only side effects are drowsiness and maybe weight loss, I can live with that. How pronounced is the drowsiness usually?