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I've successfully tapered off other medications in the past, but am really struggling with this one. I was on 25 mg Amitriptyline since 2015. Last year, I tried tapering off and ended up back on, but gratefully, only at 12.5. I was originally put on this to help with IBS-C pain and found it helped my migraines as well. I'm 64 and am seeing cognitive issues and complete constipation, both of which are well-documented as side effects and why seniors should not be on this drug. So I really want to see how I do off it. Last week, I went down to 10 mg (I have those pills as well). But I'm really feeling withdrawal effects. The problem is that I'm not sure Amitriptyline HCL is stable in water. Here's what I read: http://www.pharminfotech.co.nz/manual/Formulation/mixtures/amitriptyline.html Indeed, as the article states, the liquid was really bitter and had a weird localized effect when I tried to taper this way last year. And I can't cut the pills down to make small enough doses because the pill is already tiny. The best I can do is cut the 10 mg into four (2.5 mg), but from what I'm reading, that is too big of a jump. My doctor is useless about these things. He says the drug can't cause these problems because of the low dose and that I can just stop taking it at this point because the dose is so low I won't have withdrawal. I'd appreciate any suggestions on what I can do to taper under these circumstances. Thanks, Susan

Hello survivors, It all started many years ago. Admittedly, I do not remember when. Perhaps 15 years ago. Yes, probably 15... I was younger back in those days and I had a problem: a nagging pain in the middle of my back, a pain which my doctor could not figure out. It appeared out of nowhere and was worse at night, when trying to lie down and sleep. At the time, my GP thought it was a great idea to put me on 10mg amitriptyline: it would help with the neuropathic pain and put me to sleep at the same time. I remember naively asking if there was a risk of addiction and was told: "It's not addictive. It's safe to take for many years. At this low dose, it doesn't work as an antidepressant." Well, my GP was right on that last point and, sadly, I believed him on the first point. I do not know how long I stayed on 10mg but I was not sleeping well and the pain was still there. Then about 7 years ago, my dose was increased to 25mg. Initially I felt better: I slept more soundly and I could forget the pain at night... However, things gradually got worse, almost by stealth: I would have very bad nights every now and then, when, for absolutely no reason, I could not fall asleep. I would feel mildly depressed day in, day out, have little energy and interest in anything. I would avoid any social activities. Basically, my soul was being numbed by amitriptyline. I developed GI problems and severe abdominal cramps to the point where I could not even lie down on my bed without a pillow under my knee. The annoying thing is that for the best part of the past 7 years, I never connected those daily issues with amitriptyline. I just thought that's how life was... I thought I was unlucky... Then, for a brief period last year (4 weeks), my GP increased my amitriptyline to 50mg and also put me on a couple of benzodiazepines, which were abruptly discontinued by the GP. I then developed very bad tinnitus and decided to cold-turkey amitriptyline; I was fed up with all those drugs I was being asked to take and had realised they were the source of my problems: I went down from 50mg to 37.5mg, then 10mg and 5mg, back to 10mg and eventually 20mg, over 10 days or so. I could not stop it, it was too fast, too painful. I stabilised on 20mg over a few months and, since June 2020, I have been slowly tapering. As I write this post, I am down to 13.7mg! 🙂 Withdrawing is tough, but I'm hopeful for a better future (I have had days in the past months where I have felt better than I have ever felt over the past 15 years and I truly cherish those few days!). I wish I could speed things up and rid my body of this poisonous drug but I can't go fast. At my present tapering pace, I will probably need another 12 months... That's if things don't get more difficult towards the end, in which case I might need 15 months(?)... Anyway, keen to learn from others on how they successfully weaned themselves off amitriptyline. Wish me luck. Thanks. SG

Hi all, first post here. I'm an amitriptyline taker originally for tension headache at 50 mg. I quit cold turkey after 9 months without knowledge of withdrawal, went back on for 9 months to re-balance. I've been reducing by 5 mg per month for 1 year until I got down to 15 mg. I'm now reducing by 1 mg monthly as withdrawals since getting down to 15 mg have had a bigger impact on my mental health. I've been reading about the possible methods of withdrawal and am wondering if anyone has had more success from a simple taper, reduced potency or half-life approach? More information here: https://www.mentalhealthexcellence.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/RxISK-Guide-to-Stopping-Antidepressants.pdf Any input welcome! Thank you.

About 5 years ago I took a lot of antibiotics for what turned out to be a jaw infection. This resulted in continuing gut problems, (gastritis, esophagitis) and also a condition called burning mouth syndrome. During this time repeated use of acid-reducing drugs (PPI's) started giving me side effects, particularly insomnia and anxiety, and I wound up being given psych drugs (all at low doses) as well. During 2017 I got better, with mixed results on weaning: - February 2017: My first attempt to go from .25 mg daily clonazepam to .125 mg clonazepam resulted in almost immediate withdrawal symptoms, such as insomnia, anxiety, extreme nausea. I went back up to the original dose and the symptoms quickly disappeared - September 2017: Stopped taking 10 mg. Celexa cold turkey, with no withdrawal issues. - October 2017 through December 2017; under the direction of a psychiatrist, reduced from .25 mg to .125 mg with minimal side effects, using alternating doses according to a schedule developed by Cara Tannenbaum. Very minimal nausea, worked quite well. December 2017: Happened to skip a dose of amitriptyline and realized how refreshed and energetic I felt the next day. Decided to take it every other day for two weeks, then stop. Felt great - my dry mouth (a side effect of the drug) disappeared, and so did my burning mouth! I was over the moon. Then at about week three I started having stomach pain, and was waking up with acid in my throat; I was even burping up acid. I had a vitreous detachment in my right eye. There were two solid days where my body shook and I had constant diarrhea. I felt manic. PPI's helped with the acid, but again I developed insomnia and anxiety, and more stomach pain. The psychiatrist suggested Benadryl, which did not help much. It seemed like everything I tried caused stomach distress. I had to resume taking 10 mg. of the amitriptyline , and also eventually went back up to .25 clonazepam to help with anxiety. These are the only drugs I currently take. Since then I have not regained my health. I lost 20 lbs. those first couple of months, and am considered anorexic. I eat six small meals a day, trying to gain weight but without success. During an endoscopy in May 2018 my GI doc at the time suspected gastroparesis, since he did not observe any stomach peristalsis during the procedure. Since I was already following eating guidelines for gastroparesis, I decided not to be tested since I would probably not want to take any drugs for it. With resumption of the amitriptyline, dry, burning mouth came back in a much more severe form - it flares all the time. Could I have become hypersensitive to this drug? I now routinely have swelling in my throat, mouth, and belly. I have also been recently diagnosed with SIBO - small intestine bacterial overgrowth, and IBS. A nutritionist I am now seeing suspects I may have histamine intolerance, which the amitriptyline probably makes worse. I have a very accurate (to 0.1 mg) analytical scale and can shave the amitriptyline pills down. In March 2019 I went down from 10 to 9 mg., and had manageable nausea. I held at 9 mg for six weeks. When I went down to 8 mg. the nausea and and mouth pain were intense - but this particular time I alternated between 9 and 8 for a week, which I didn't do with the first taper. Maybe that was a mistake. At this point, the doctors look at me like I am totally out of my mind - how can such small doses have such big effects? I feel the amitriptyline is hurting my body, and making my gut dysfunctional (it slows motility, for example, which is bad for both gastroparesis and SIBO). So I need to get off of it, but this last taper scared the heck out of me. Words of advice and/or encouragement are appreciated! Thanks in advance ...

Hello started amitriptyline in 2020 and have been weaning since may 2022. I'm currently on 1.75 mg. Just wondering when I should take the plunge and jump off completely?!?

Hello all, I'm new. And I'm scared. You have all been a tremendous source of strength. I'm trying to figure out how to fix my signature so sorry if I'm putting it all out here. I have been on 150mg amitriptyline for 6 years and tapered off of it in 8 months. During that time, I didn't realize I was going through withdrawal symptoms. Now, I realize I had, and three days after I went off, the severe depression/anxiety set in. I was reinstated at 25 mg by psychiatrist's orders for a week, and then another 25 mg this week. I realize I had broken a cardinal rule of antidepressant withdrawal, which is not to reinstate at a high dose. But I was told to do this, which of course makes it par for the course. On 25 mg, I began to feel better for 3 days, and then the depression/anxiety began to creep in again towards the end of the week. Then, I reinstated at 50 the next week per psychiatrist orders, and I'm now stable but with worsening insomnia and floating lights in darkness, a sign of withdrawal. I have made a big mistake, of course. I'm so fearful about the week ahead. Does anyone have any advice for me? I'm so scared about my future, especially because of what I've just done. If you were me, what would you do? Thank you all so much. You are my only source of information right now as I find a new psychiatrist.

Hi everyone! I am very glad to have found this forum and am hoping to get some insight or words of advice from the awesome people here. TL;DR at the bottom. I will try to keep this as brief as possible though that probably won't happen lol! I have been diagnosed with dysautonomia a few years back during a very bad episode. Dysautonomia is a catch-all term for any dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. The most common condition is POTS which is not quite what I have but I won't go into too much detail here. I was fine for a few years when another episode started about a month ago after a viral illness (not Covid, was tested). Some of the symptoms of this condition are anxiety, digestive issues, tachycardia, headache and many others. Eventually my condition deteriorated to the point I couldn't fall asleep due to the anxiety and could hardly eat due to stomach issues. I went to the GP and she suggested Amitriptyline which I refused because I've always been wary of long-term psychiatric drugs and we settled for seven days of Ativan to just give my body a chance to calm down. The Ativan (0.5mg) made me fall asleep but did not improve quality of sleep. I still woke up often and on the last couple of days on it started having bad nightmares. After six days on Ativan I decided I would try to fall asleep on my own but it didn't happen and I was feeling worse than ever so I ended up taking my 0.5mg dose and the next day gave in to starting on the amitriptyline because I had no idea what else to do, was desperate and the GP made it sound really mild and safe. The first time I took the Ami (5mg by cutting a 10mg pill in half as the GP directed) about five mins later I felt hot and dizzy and my breathing got quite shallow and I felt quite bad but also high and loopy and ended up talking for 2hrs before finally falling asleep. The next day I felt like I had a brick in my head like I couldn't think but at the same time quite anxious which I was reassured was normal and temporary. The next night I took it, I wasn't loopy and I did fall asleep but then the nightmares started again and even more intense than before and the weirdest thing happened. Whenever I would try to think visually (I'm a visual thinker in general) or think in words of anything even the slightest bit complex I'd get feelings of terror similar to my nightmares (not panic or anxiety but brief flashes of terror). I basically have not been able to think without feeling like this since been on Ami and I still feel like the usual, calm part of my brain is 'stuck' while the emotional is in overdrive which I was told would clear up within a week. I upped to 10mg like GP advised but I just knew/felt it is doing negative things to me. Maybe I'm just overreacting but I also know I can't keep going like this with such an increase in anxiety. I have had feelings of terror before, the last time I had a dysautonomia episode but they were kind of random, one off deals that would strike suddenly and disappear. On Ami it's like all my dysautonomia symptoms (except appetite) are worse plus other things I've never felt before and I want off asap. My timeline: Aug 26 - Sep 1: 0.5 mg Ativan once in the evening. Sep 2 - Sep 9: 5mg Amitriptyline once in the evening. Sep 10-11: 10mg Amitriptyline once in the evening. Sep 12: 5mg Amitriptyline once in the evening. So I've been on Amitriptyline for a total of 11 days as of today. I went online yesterday and especially Reddit to try to find out the best way to stop or taper and it just freaked me out because some people on there were saying basically if you've taken it for 3+ days you're screwed and need months and months of long tapers. My GP of course said it's fine to just come off cold turkey since it's such a small dose but I'm not trusting that. I feel the truth is somewhere in between and wanted to know your thoughts? My plan is to take 5mg for three more nights, then cut to 2.5mg and take that for 5-7 days before stopping. That would put me at a total of 19-21 days on the drug. My question is: would I be at risk for severe withdrawl from this dosage/length of time taking it? How should I take it to minimise withdrawl effects? Thank you so much for reading! P.S. I have contacted a psychiatrist but they have not yet gotten back to me. I'm contacting them to discuss all my issues starting with the dysautonomia but still want to be off this stuff asap. I have not seen a psychiatrist before. TL;DR Been on 5mg amitriptyline for 11 days as of today (two of those days were 10mg). Developed impaired cognition, increased anxiety and more intense nightmares. Best way to stop at this point to avoid extreme withdrawl? Cold turkey or taper to 2.5mg for a short while and then stop? Thank you!

Hello everyone. I am new to this site and I am looking for advice and guidance through this journey. I have been taking 25mg of amitriptyline for a couple years now and would really like to stop as I seem to have some side effects from it. Recently I have been doing research and learned that this drug is really bad. At first when I started taking it, it seemed like a lifesaver. I had it prescribed for stomach/intestinal issues I was having. It helped greatly. But as time went on things changed. I get severe dry mouth, sometimes racing heartbeat, and severe dry/peeling skin. Any advice for me would be greatly appreciated.

We are in Columbus, Ohio and my son's pediatrician doesn't have experience with these brain altering medicines and just seems to know dosages. we are going through a very rough time and have to make a decision about stopping Ami and go through horrible withdrawal symptoms (which he gets as we have tried reducing it just by 10 mg) So i need your advice whatever you can give, please. I don't want to go to another inexperienced doctor. Anyway let me tell you all the details and I am sorry its long one so that you have a whole scenario. it started in a wrong way. The GI doctor couldn't figure out anything and then we had a new pediatrician who immediately diagnosed him with CVS. I wa impressed and did what she asked me to do as my son was third day into his cycle and his high school had started (freshman). She prescribed Ami 50 mg. By the time we got time to read more about it, which my husband and me always do with any new medicine, we already had given one dose to my son. We realized it was a heavy dose to start with but first time we didn't read about a medicine and probably made the biggest mistake. Anyway we still didn't read the white papers etc to know that dosage shouldn't be changed drastically. Next day my son was like a zombie and extremely irritable. So we reduced the dose into half. He was completely recovered from puke cycle the first day itself and after reducing the dose to half he was doing great in every way. We though we found a wonder drug. We confirmed with pediatrician about reducing dosage and she was happy we did! Our happiness lasted only 5 days. 6th day after passing stools (as the cycle always start) he started throwing up a bit and then lot of dry heaving with uncomfortable tummy. Those are his symptoms of CVS every cycle. So we thought its his cycle. It was a weekend so we waited until Monday and called the doctor. Like any other doctor who just know various emergency medicine names, she prescribed imitrex etc. Nothing was helping and by Friday we thought Ami at least is not working, lets stop it. Then I had an idea that 50mg worked,so lets try giving it. And it worked like a charm. Anyway after 2 days again, due to side effects, to make him go to school, we reduced the dose to 40 mg this time. Unfortunately the cycle started again in 5 days, weekend again. We tried giving 50 mg Ami that night and again it worked like a charm. But again we reduced to 40 mg on Monday, due to drowsiness and hadn't still realized that all the cycles since 2 weeks were withdrawal effects of reducing the dosage. This time on 2 days of 40 mg, my son started having urine retention and we reduced the dosage to 30 mg. Somehow while thinking about it that night I realized that previous 2 episodes must be withdrawal effects as I remembered reading people could not stop it. i woke up at night and started reading and was assured they were withdrawal effects. And as expected the next day while he was on 30 mg, the withdrawal effects started. That was last Friday. We thought about it and decided to go 50 mg and stick to it. We read that side effects go away after some time. This time it took 3 days for him to recover from withdrawal effects after starting him back on 50 mg, we still thought its okay. But then 2 days later he started throwing up again and I started wondering what to do. The doctor kept telling us to go cold turkey or reduce drastically. But finally 4 more days later (continuing 50mg), we decided to reduce by 5 mg every week. He is throwing up every morning and canot go to school. He is better later in the evening. But every mornig its horrible. Please help from your experience what do you think we should we do? Can we redcue 5 mg every week since he has had 50 mg for 7-8 days only on a regular basis? Please, please anyone experienced tell me whatever you think we should do.