I have taken Amtriptyline for 20 years started on it for insomnia. I then developed burning skin pain, and no one ever thought it was the Amit. I wouldn't have either, except, I was put on Remeron an other anti-depressant , and first developed numb feet, and the the itching skin and then after a few weeks the burning skin pain. I am no off the Remeron, and the pain is back to the normal level. Now what to do about going off Amit is very scary. It helps the pain, but yet is causing the pain. does that make any sense. Wouldlove to hear from anyone else .

I am not a fan of amitriptyline. I was on it a long time ago, and am no better off for being on it. All my problems started after I took that drug. That doesn't mean it caused it....but, I haven't ruled it out either.

I used to take this drug in the mid-1980's. I think it was prescribed a lot back then... may still be. I was on a hefty dosage of 100 mg.

I agree with Cyclelops statement:

"That doesn't mean it caused it....but, I haven't ruled it out either."

Mere

i take amitriptylene at night. it has helped with the stabbing pains and keeps me asleep once i get asleep. the only side effect i have noticed is its hard to stay awake for a while once i get up.

This drug has some mixed history. It appears on lists from neuropathy sites as a "cause" of axonal neuropathy.

Here is an example:
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/t/toxi...line/intro.htm

However, I couldn't quickly find the studies that support this yet.
I'll look later in more detail.

Recently there have been studies showing amitriptyline actually enhances peripheral nerve regeneration.
Here is the link to that article:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...=amitriptyline

This might be dose dependent or a factor in those who do not metabolize this drug well. I do think this is very confusing.

Edit to add:
It appears that amitriptyline is being used as an injected anesthetic in some situations. So I found some neurotoxic in vitro (no in living subjects) on this subject. This would place the drug in high concentration near neurons:

from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17437653

and this one :
and this one:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16717317

All involving injection as an anesthetic.

I am still looking for oral studies...

There are studies about SSRIs causing neuronal cell death...these have been around for few years. This paper includes amitriptyline with prozac (which has been most studied so far):
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11996893

Now what do I do. Is there a doctor some place that knows about this link. I am decreasing the Remeron, and the depression is increasing, but the burning pain is less. This is such a catch 22 situation.


Janet

The following article suggests that "tricyclic antidepressants might deplete the body of coenzyme Q 10 (CoQ 10)." Perhaps a mechanism by which amitriptyline could cause neuropathy. BTW I have been taking it for a few years, mainly 25 mg/day, and it helps with my pain level. If it were slowly making it worse, I might never know. You can find alternatives, there are many drugs used to relieve painful neuropathy. It seems one of the premier ones is gabapentin (Neurontin).

I can't post links yet, so go to **
and search for "Tricyclic Antidepressants"

"Coenzyme Q10(CoQ10)

Preliminary evidence suggests that tricyclic antidepressants might deplete the body of coenzyme Q 10 (CoQ 10), a substance that appears to be important for normal heart function.1,2 Based on this observation, it has been suggested (but not proved) that CoQ 10 supplementation might help prevent the heart-related side effects that can occur with the use of tricyclic antidepressants."

Good luck
BasicPoke

Boy, this has me really PO'd.

I was on amitriptyline 150mg WITH zoloft back in the 90's when that was what they used for pain.....or 'fibro' and its concomittant 'depression'. And those dipsh#ts never took a blood level of the amitrip. I would ask, and they would say....'you don't need it'. This was the same HMO linked clinic that I was with for 11 years and left, only to be diagnosed with neuropathy and SjS.

I could never prove a case and at this stage, it would not be worth the stress, since litigation is horrible on one's health.

It makes me wonder about the whole thing on drugs...consume at your own risk, I guess.

We must take an active role in our health care. Sometimes we expect too much of doctors. We have to trust them to some degree, but they don't know everything. We can't expect them to know every interaction between all drugs & supplements. And then each person is different too. I sure hope Drs begin to learn more about supplements in medical school.

And be careful, just because you were taking a particular drug at the time you developed neuropathy, doesn't mean the drug caused the neuropathy. Because two things happen at about the same time does not mean that one caused the other.
Electron

Basically doctors are poorly trained on drugs. They have a short course on them once in college.

They are predominately trained in observation, anatomy and labeling of illness. They then consult therapeutic manuals, many of them way out of date (because they are expensive to buy), on how to treat what they have just diagnosed.
For example methylcobalamin and oral supplements of B12 are typically not in their manuals, and it never occurs to them to look elsewhere for newer information.

I read an interesting critique of medical school in US recently that likened medical training to a cult indoctrination. I can't find that exact article but this one is similar:
http://www.naturalnews.com/021922_ju..._medicine.html

If you Google Is medicine a cult? You will find more.