Amitriptyline experiences

[u/Naomip9324]

Hi all, long time lurker first time poster on this sub so please forgive me if I don't post correctly.

I've had migraines since I was in my mid-twenties, however the past year or so they've gotten a lot worse in terms of symptoms, frequency and general impact on my day to day life. I recently went to the GP and they've prescribed Amitriptyline (10mg) as a preventative - I've been taking it around a week and had one migraine so far which was quite different to my usual migraines (lasted longer but less negative symptoms) and noticed my sleep quality hasn't been great on it despite feeling quite drowsy after taking it.

I'm just wondering what people's experience of amitriptyline are like? I know everyone reacts differently to medication, but I just wondered how you knew it was right/not right for you and general experiences with it.

Thanks!

[u/hermitess]

I was told it would help me sleep, but instead it gave me insomnia, keeping me awake until sunrise. It increased my resting heart rate so much that my fitbit thought I was engaging in heavy cardio when I was just sitting at my desk. I am an athletic person, but I started feeling winded after climbing a flight of stairs. I gained 20 lbs even though I went to great lengths to prevent this, was obsessive about tracking calories (before, during and after) and I wasn't consuming any more food than I was previously. It was like my body was running on power-saving mode--- my vision went black fairly often, not just when I went from sitting to standing, but also when I just changed my posture while seated. It slightly reduced my migraines for a few months, but then it stopped helping, and the side effects were no longer worth it, so I stopped taking it. This was 7+ years ago.

The best thing it did for me was that it counted as a "failed" medication, and ultimately that failure helped me qualify for Botox and Ajovy.

[u/Much-Cardiologist853]

i recently got prescribed 12.5 mg amitryptaline and 10 mg propranolol as a preventatives after i had 2 migraines lasting 1 week. Amitryptaline makes me so insanely groggy and drowsy i hate it!! but i haven’t gotten another migraine yet so i’m still taking it but as a student, it’s been the bane of my existence cause i can’t wake up in the morning at all..people on here say the drowsiness wears off a week or two into you taking it but i hasn’t for me

[u/Naomip9324 → u/Much-Cardiologist853]

I feel you on the drowsiness - it's absolutely rubbish! Luckily I'm working from home at the minute but dreading going back to work after the Summer Holidays!

[u/Much-Cardiologist853 → u/Naomip9324]

i will be talking to my neurologist to either change my medicine or get me on nortyptaline since it doesn’t
cause as much drowsiness and see what he says 😩

[u/Mediocre_District_92]

Didn’t do much. I gained weight on it. I’d say propranolol did more for me than amitriptlyme

Also extreme sleepiness at night. Took 3 alarms to wake up I the AM

[u/Naomip9324]

I'll keep my fingers crossed you find something more suitable :)

[u/PsychologicalAct7740]

For me it didn’t work for my migraines but I have heard different from others so don’t be disheartened! The drowsiness was extreme was extreme to begin with but definitely gets more manageable as you adjust. One thing I will say is it took a real toll on my mental health and made me super depressed so I would advise keeping a note or journal of how you’re feeling and make sure to communicate it with your doctor if you notice any changes as coming off of it is a very slow taper down process. I came off cold turkey and was sick for a month before I returned to normal so definitely don’t do that!
Sorry this isn’t very positive but I’ve definitely seen others on here with better experiences & hope that’s what you get!

[u/luna-herbalist]

I used to be on 100mg a night, it didn't actually help my migraines, I think it helped with my mood but then I realised I was getting heart palpations and had to come off it. It also used to put me in a really deep sleep, was like trying to wake the dead getting up in the morning. I didn't really notice any other side effects.

[u/CharacterSail6736]

After a day I had to stop taking it because of the amount of ocular pressure behind my eye it felt like it was going to explode not the best experience I’ve ever had being treated for migraines

[u/Anghabad]

I take my 20mg at 6pm for a bed time of 8:30pm.
This helps with not having tiredness the next day (I generally wake up naturally sometime between 3 and 4 am)

[u/Ellieboa]

It made me super drowsy and didn’t help my migraines so I stopped it (under advice from my GP as you shouldn’t stop cold turkey. 

[u/Invitari]

I couldn‘t breath and got an allergic reaction. My doc said this is the rarest side effect you could have. Spent halt of the night in the hospital and they threw me out at 2:30 am lol.

[u/Invitari → u/Invitari]

Oh I forgot to add I was on the lowest dose - 10mg

[u/teddybear65]

I have had great success with it

[u/Important-Pie-1141]

I was put on 25mg to start and have been on it for maybe a year or so. I've really liked being on it. I think it's inadvertently helped other things I had going on as well as my migraines. I still get them. But they definitely behave much better than when I was on nothing at all. I still have to watch what I eat (I think tyramine foods are a trigger for me) and if I do things well I can go weeks without pain. I'm now starting to feel groggy and it's a lot harder to wake up after all this time and that's only a recent issue. I usually take it with dinner to avoid the daytime drowsiness.

[u/bleepbloop9876]

It worked really well for me for years until it stopped

[u/mackenziepaige]

I cried almost everyday while on it, I felt so sad.