amitriptyline????????????????????????????????????

Question

my doctor recently prescribed amitriptyline for depression, headaches, and insomnia. I have anxiety really bad so i checked this med online and it has alot of bad side effects. Just wondering if anyone on here takes this med? and what does it do? i was taking zoloft but was making my mood swings worse . any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Answer 1

Heather, I'm sorry you're not feeling well and I'll try to give you the best advice I can, based on what you've told me.

First, you should expect that every psychotropic medication you read about will come with side effects. Most if not all side effects usually occur within the first two weeks and are completely manageable. There are cases where some people will experience more severe side effects than most, but these cases are extremely rare and unlikely to happen.

It's natural to feel this way towards any type of psychotropic med, as this is unknown territory for most people and people naturally fear what they don't know. You're Dr will be well aware of the proper titration for the medication and bring you on so you don't experience harsh side effects.

From what you described, you discussed having mood swings. My question from there would be, have you had a diagnosis for a certain type of mood disorder? If the answer is yes, then Amitriptyline is going to make you worse.

Amatriptyline is part of the Tricyclic Antidepressants group and used to treat extremely low levels of depression. For patients that have mood disorders, this is one of the worst medications you can take and will further exacerbate mania and cycling.

Zoloft (sertraline) is part of the SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) group of antidepressants. Again, this is a class of medication that doesn't work for those with mood disorders and will actually make your depression worse. Zoloft happens to be the worst for mood disorders of the SSRI meds.

I have no idea what you've been diagnosed for, but from what you're discussing, you are experiencing some sort of mood disorder, such as bipolar, cylcothymia or BPD, etc. If I'm correct, it's possible that you've been misdiagnosed, where it's common for most mood disorders to be misdiagnosed as some sort of depression disorder. If that is the case, you're either not giving your Dr all the details of how you're feeling or he/she is not experienced in treating mood disorders and you'll have to find someone else.

I hope that this helps and that you get better soon.

Answer 2

Amitriptyline is a very old drug and it does have a lot of side effects. The major side effect is drowsiness, which is why it is now widely prescribed for insomnia. It is in a different family of antidepressants than Zoloft. Zoloft and some of the other drugs in its family are more selective in which serotonin receptors that they affect.

This is just a personal opinion, but I would not take amitriptyline unless it was just working wonders for my headaches and insomnia. I would #1 try another SSRI (the same family that Zoloft is in). Just because Zoloft didn't work doesn't mean that some of the others won't. If the insomnia and headaches are still an issue, I would probably ask my doctor for trazodone. It, too, is an older antidepressant mostly used for insomnia. It has less of the anti-cholinergic effects (dry mouth, nose bleeds, etc) than amitriptyline and I have personally had great success with it.

Good luck! Hope this helps!

Answer 3

I have taken this, and so has my dad. I realize that a lot of bad side effects are listed, but thank goodness neither of us dealt with those. I personally think that the zoloft is probably a stronger medication than the amitriptyline. At least it worked that way for me. Good luck.

Answer 4

It is a tricyclic antidepressant, contraindicated with concomitant administration of monoamine oxidase inhibitors, recent myocardial infarction, or known hypersensitivity to this drug or to other tricycic medication. It is used with caution in patients having a seizure disorder or cardiovascular disease. Common adverse reactions are sedation and anticholinergic effects. A variety of cardiovascular and CNS effects may occur. Prescribed for treatment of depression.

Answer 5

i JUST got put on it Tuesday November 29.i am fine he put me one it for my headaches and i have to get a ct scan.tell your doctor what is happing with you.

Answer 6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amitriptyline

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricyclic_antidepressant