After seeing my doc today, he decided he wanted me to try Amitriptyline in a low dose with the demerol. If this doesn't work, he is going to do the Topomax. Has anyone tried this drug and if so did it help? Any side effects?

Rach

Hi Rachael. I've never tried that medication but am also considering Topomax. My husband is currently taking it and my daughter takes it for migraines. My neuro said when I come in next we will talk about it. I think it is supposed to be very safe. Good luck and I hope you get some answers from people who have tried it. Linda

Hi Rachel,

I took amitriptyline for a few years. I had side effects of sleepiness and being tired so took it at bedtime. It is used for neuropathic pain and is also an antidepressant. If it is for pain then it is worth a try. It also helps with migraines if that is your issue. If it is migraine pain then propranolol is good for preempting a migraine on a long term use basis.

It does have long term side effects and thus a drug like nortriptyline is a better drug with less neuro side effects. Esp. if it is to be taken for a long time. I changed to nortriptyline last month but haven't noticed a big difference at all.

Hope this works for you. Sometimes you have to deal with side effects for a little while until the drug settles in to your system....but not for long....if it is too bothersome then you should stop.

good luck!!
Victoria

I've been on Elavil (amitryptiline) since Dec. 2006. It was for neuropathic pain and besides taking the pain way down, and very quickly, it helped me sleep well for perhaps the first time in my adult life. I honestly didn't know I wasn't sleeping that well until I found out what a good nights sleep feels like.

It does make me slightly stupider but I can live with that. I am able to drive and carry on with everyday activities.

Hope it works as well for you. phoebe

I took it tonight at suppertime and got a little loopy lol so I will take it closer to bed tomorrow. My main concern is weight gain....has that been a problem for anyone?
Vic...you mentioned long term side effects.. like what? and how long is "long term"? I want to know as much as I can.
Thanks All...

Rach

Long-Term Side Effects of Newer-Generation Antidepressants: SSRIS, Venlafaxine, Nefazodone, Bupropion, and Mirtazapine

rakash S. Masand1 and Sanjay Gupta2, 3(1) Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina(2) SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York(3) Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, New YorkAbstract Anecdotal reports have suggested that the long-term use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may be associated with significant weight gain, sexual dysfunction, drug interactions, and discontinuation symptoms. Are these effects inevitable or can they be managed effectively with the appropriate interventions? In reviewing published, controlled clinical trials, it has been noted that many depressed patients experience weight gain during remission with or without treatment. Most antidepressants appear to produce a 3- to 4-kg weight gain after 6–12 months of therapy, which may be managed with nutritional counseling and exercise. The exception is mirtazapine, which appears to be associated with significant weight gain early in therapy. Antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction is also common but may be managed with the addition of an antidote or substitution. Drug interactions are most common with fluvoxamine, nefazodone, and fluoxetine because these agents are more likely to affect the metabolism of commonly prescribed medications. It may be possible to prevent discontinuation symptoms with a cross taper to another antidepressant or by slowly tapering the antidepressant.
SSRIs - adverse events - newer-generation antidepressants




http://www.psychtreatment.com/medica...de-effects.htm
http://www.healthsquare.com/newrx/ela1155.htm
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100000107.html
http://bipolar.about.com/cs/sfx/a/sfx_elavil.htm
http://www.drugs.com/Amitriptyline_HCL/index.html

hope this info helps!! All long term meds should make sure your blood work is monitored to ensure all is well.

Take care!
love and hugs,
Victoria

I had taken Amitriptyline, and I didn't like the way it made me feel. I was sleepy all the time. I also didn't think it helped with the pain. I personally liked the topamax. You have to start off in low doses and then gradually increase it. It took about one and a half months for it to take effect. I was on the topamax and hydrocodone es. I am actually going to get back on it as soon as I am able.
All of these meds are trial and error. You will find the one that works best for you.

Well, I lasted two nights on the new drug. When I got up the next morning, my stomach felt as though it was being ripped apart by a buch of wild cats. I couldn't stand straight. I didn't think it was going to past. Tried again the next night, same thing. I'm not taking it. There must be a common ingredient in that at Tylenol 3 because the same thing happens there as well. I will have to talk with my doc at the first of the week and see if he will try something different.
Has this happened to anyone??
RAch

Hi , What did they give you as a dose for your amitriptyline?? Victoria

so hard to be patient with the titration process (i assume your doc started you on a v e r y low dose and was titrating you up?).

but i have to say, i am not a fan of elavil, myself - that is another name for amitriptyline. it can cause "seratonin overload" in some people, and that is what happened in my case apparently. i was also taking one of the more modern SSRI's at the time (i think it was remeron) and my PCP should NEVER have given me elavil on top of that med. very dangerous, my neuro said.

lesson learned, and this is one of the reasons why i will not accept "pain meds" (very broad category) from any doc other than a certified pain management specialist today, if i can help it... and i still run everything through my pharmacist, at that. and that INCLUDES OTC meds and vitamin and mineral supplements as well. because i found out the hard way (leave it to me, kidz, seems i found out all this stuff the hard way... is there another way?) based on an innocent enough sounding "recommendation" from a clerk at the GNC to take a supplement called 5HTp or something, for my FMS, that THAT can interact with a med like elavil and/or any other SSRI, too and cause seratonin overload in the CNS (central nervous system). which can trigger very unpleasant episodes of unprovoked rage. it's horrible limbic crap, you don't wanna know, rachael.

trust your instincts, though... if this med does not seem to agree with ya, then i'm with you - i would stop taking it immediately, but do contact your doc first chance you get and perhaps even try to communicate with your pharmacist as well, over the weekend. let them know exactly the sx your having in the way of side effects from the med. very important. helps your tx team to find a better rx for you; it's a process of trial and error and everybody's body reacts differently.

and sometimes you do need to stay with a certain med for a period of time and the side effects will dwindle, though, so be aware of that. this one, personally, i don't feel is worth screwing around with but that is only my opinion, rachael. other people will tell you they swear by it, it helps them so much with sleep, etc. and sleep IS so important when you have a chronic pain disorder like TOS. helps to break that part of the vicious cycle.

hey, there was a great thread back in may you might want to take a look at on this very topic. the whole meds/no meds thang. it was started by 'withmore' and she called it "nomeds," i think. so all you have to do to call it up is go to the 'advanced search' function, located right underneath the search bar in the upper righthand portion of your screen... just click on it, rach, and enter her poster name. should pop right up for ya. no need to reinvent the wheel that way, and there was a lot of good stuff on that thread, as i recall...

including a thing from the mayo clinic i think ocgirl put up there called the pain quiz: do you believe the myths? (it's #20 if you enter "pain quiz" in the search engine on this site: www.mayoclinic.com/health/chronic-pain/PN00034).

read it and weep!

but steady wins the race with these things, rach. try not to get discouraged, OK? it can take some time but i know you will find the right med(s) to work for you to calm your sx. you hang in there; you're doing just fine!! enjoy your weekend with the family.

alison
"Be Brave"