Amitriptyline For Insomnia

Same drug, different dose, exactly 7 years apart. My old GP put me on Amitriptyline (aka Elavil) for insomnia back in 2009 at a dose of 10mg, which I figure was the lowest. I don't remember for how long I took it but I did write a post about withdrawing from it.

Original Post June 24, 2009
Panicked-Chick.blogspot.com

Amitriptyline Withdrawal

I felt like crap today and I had no idea why. I had a headache, hot flashes, stomach cramps, felt tense and dizzy. I thought I was getting my period but then I remembered that the night before I purposefully didn't take my medication that was prescribed for my insomnia. I'm only on 10mg so I didn't think I would have a hard time if I stopped. I didn't tell my doctor I was stopping the medication, which is always a bad idea. I just got fed up with the Amitriptyline (generic name: Elavil) because it's not doing anything. I feel like my insomnia had gotten worse. So last night I just didn't want to take it.

I still feel dizzy and nauseous and I have a headache. The withdrawal is too horrible so I'll have to continue taking it until I can see my doctor. Tapering off is the way to go. I'll insist on that this time. Last time, my doc didn't even tell me about the withdrawal symptoms when he took me off Effexor XR (at 225mg/day) and put me on Celexa.

I think the withdrawal symptoms are similar to the side effects. Side effects of taking amitriptyline include:

• nausea
• vomiting
• weakness or tiredness
• nightmares
• headaches
• dry mouth
• constipation
• difficulty urinating
• blurred vision
• pain, burning, or tingling in the hands or feet
• changes in sex drive or ability
• excessive sweating
• changes in appetite or weight
• confusion
• unsteadiness

Luckily I haven't experienced any of these side effects while taking it; only when I miss a dose. The worst part must be getting off medication. I'm a little scared of what that will feel like. I'm afraid that if I increase the amitriptyline it'll be harder to taper off if the increase doesn't help. I don't know what to do.

Last week when my current GP suggested amitriptyline again, I balked. But then I thought, anything's gotta suck less than Seroquel (an atypical antipsychotic). Don't get me wrong, it works great for bipolar and schizophrenia but I was using it for insomnia. And even at a low dose I would feel drugged out, foggy, a little stupid. Those are the known side effects. Not to mention gaining about a 100lbs while on it. Part of the weight gain was probably due to my own laziness but Seroquel sure helped with that. The other reason I went off was due to long term risks such as diabetes. My mom has type 1 diabetes and her dad had diabetes so I don't want to push my luck.

So, I started amitriptyline again but this time the dose was 25mg. The 10mg one was a little round blue pill. The one I picked up at the pharmacy was yellow, twice as thick and 2.5x the old dose. I was having a hard time falling asleep with 25mg. Even at 50mg (my doc just upped it) it wasn't sedating enough. It felt pretty weak. I had to add 5mg of melatonin to finally get some sleep.
What I need, apparently is a fucking horse tranquilizer. Or that old school shit they gave schizophrenics. Thorazine?

I'm too worried about discontinuation syndrome as I can lower the dose slowly if I had to and last time, if my memory serves, the withdrawal went away after a day or two. I'll give it a few weeks at the 50mg dose. May even go as far up as 150mg. But that's it.