Caren Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 Hello! I took Amitriptyline for about 8 months and went off of it because it caused me to gain 15lbs and made me severely constipated. I taped off and took my last dose back in June and I still can’t lose weight and still dealing with horrible constipation. I never had this problem before that drug. I’ve a very healthy person. I exercise daily and eat healthy. This is beyond frustrating!! I’ve been to the doctor who told me to just take laxatives. I’ve spent hundreds of dollars at a naturopath who had me take tons of supplements. Those things will work for a little while then they stop. Has anyone experienced this with a medication and did the constipation get better? Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Gridley Posted February 24, 2023 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted February 24, 2023 Welcome to SA, Caren. To give members the best information, we ask them to summarize their medication history in a signature -- drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations. Please indicate the date you started the Amitriptyline, the dosage, and the dates and rate of your taper. Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature. We're a site for tapering off psychiatric drugs and dealing with psychiatric drug withdrawal. Some of our members have had issues with constipation in the context of psychiatric drugs. For your information, here's our link on the topic: Bowel problems and constipation - Symptoms and self … This is your introduction topic -- the place for you to ask questions, record symptoms, share your progress, and connect with other members of the SA community. I hope you’ll find the information here helpful for your situation. Gridley Introduction Lexapro 20 mg since 2004. Begin Brassmonkey Slide Taper Jan. 2017. End 2017 year 1 of taper at 9.25mg End 2018 year 2 of taper at 4.1mg End 2019 year 3 of taper at 1.0mg Oct. 30, 2020 Jump to zero from 0.025mg. Current dose: 0.000mg 3 year, 10 month taper is 100% complete. Ativan 1 mg to 1.875mg 1986-2020, two CT's and reinstatements Nov. 2020, 7-week Ativan-Valium crossover to 18.75mg Valium Feb. 2021, begin 10%/4 week taper of 18.75mg Valium End 2021 year 1 of Valium taper at 6mg End 2022 year 2 of Valium taper at 2.75mg End 2023 year 3 of Valium taper at 1mg Jan. 24, 2024: Hold at 1mg and shift to Imipramine taper. Taper is 95% complete. Imipramine 75 mg daily since 1986. Jan.-Sept. 2016 tapered to 14.4mg March 22, 2022: Begin 10%/4 week taper Aug. 5, 2022: hold at 9.5mg and shift to Valium taper Jan. 24, 2024: Resume Imipramine taper. Current dose as of Aug 26: 4.0mg Taper is 95% complete. Supplements: multiple, quercetin, omega-3, vitamins C, E and D3, magnesium glycinate, probiotic, zinc, melatonin .3mg, iron, serrapeptase, nattokinase, L-Glutamine, milk thistle, choline I am not a medical professional and this is not medical advice. It is information based on my own experience as well as that of other members who have survived these drugs. Link to comment
Caren Posted February 24, 2023 Author Share Posted February 24, 2023 I was on Amitriptyline for 8 months. I was on a pretty high dose to treat depression since I couldn’t handle the side effects of SSRIs or SNRIs. I started out at 25mg and after 2 months I was up to 125mg but that dose gave me tremors so I tapered down to 75mg. After 4 months I realized Amitriptyline was giving me chronic constipation and weight gain so at that point I wanted off of it so I tapered off the drug over 4 months. I did have insomnia after I stopped but that went away after about a month but the constipation and weight gain are still sticking around. I didn’t realize how bad that drug is for your gut. I would of never went on it if I knew that. I hope it didn’t cause permanent damage. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Gridley Posted February 24, 2023 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted February 24, 2023 1 hour ago, Caren said: I hope it didn’t cause permanent damage. It's been our experience that the damage is not permanent and that you will recover. Please complete your drug signature, including the taper does and dates information in this new post. The link and instructions to do this is in my first response to you. Thanks. Gridley Introduction Lexapro 20 mg since 2004. Begin Brassmonkey Slide Taper Jan. 2017. End 2017 year 1 of taper at 9.25mg End 2018 year 2 of taper at 4.1mg End 2019 year 3 of taper at 1.0mg Oct. 30, 2020 Jump to zero from 0.025mg. Current dose: 0.000mg 3 year, 10 month taper is 100% complete. Ativan 1 mg to 1.875mg 1986-2020, two CT's and reinstatements Nov. 2020, 7-week Ativan-Valium crossover to 18.75mg Valium Feb. 2021, begin 10%/4 week taper of 18.75mg Valium End 2021 year 1 of Valium taper at 6mg End 2022 year 2 of Valium taper at 2.75mg End 2023 year 3 of Valium taper at 1mg Jan. 24, 2024: Hold at 1mg and shift to Imipramine taper. Taper is 95% complete. Imipramine 75 mg daily since 1986. Jan.-Sept. 2016 tapered to 14.4mg March 22, 2022: Begin 10%/4 week taper Aug. 5, 2022: hold at 9.5mg and shift to Valium taper Jan. 24, 2024: Resume Imipramine taper. Current dose as of Aug 26: 4.0mg Taper is 95% complete. Supplements: multiple, quercetin, omega-3, vitamins C, E and D3, magnesium glycinate, probiotic, zinc, melatonin .3mg, iron, serrapeptase, nattokinase, L-Glutamine, milk thistle, choline I am not a medical professional and this is not medical advice. It is information based on my own experience as well as that of other members who have survived these drugs. Link to comment
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