Elavil for pain????

Question

My doctor says I have Fibromyalgia, and gave me Elavil. 2nd opinion doc says Rhumatoid arthritis, and to see a Rhumatoligist. My research showa Elavil is an antidepressant, will mess with my birth control, and the side effects are some of my original symptoms. I cant take aleve (sent my bp soaring) and tylenol/motrin messes with my stomach. I'd love to hear from anyone about this. Thanks

Answer 1

My Mother has fibromyalgia she too has tried Elavil, this narcotic made her hallucinate which resulted in not being able to take the pill. However you may want to try neurontin, which is an anti-seizure medication, she was told this may help. This has less side effects. Also try to strengthen your body even if it is doing 1 rep of 10 with a can of soup and .25 mile on a treadmill this will help oxygenate your blood and keep your muscles active. Her muscles have seriously decreased and mass, and the fibromyalgia has gotten worse. Good luck

Answer 2

Italia is incorrect - Elavil is NOT a narcotic. It is a relatively benign tricyclic anti-depressant.

The the original poster: Yes, Elavil is one of the most commonly prescribed medications for fibromyalgia - Not for depression but for pain itself. Pain, especially fibromyalgia, does involve imbalances of neurotransmitters and anti-depressants can help rectify this. Elavil helps many people a lot and is also relatively inexpensive.

For me, it didn't help much - Gave me awful dry mouth and such terrible sugar cravings that I gained a bunch of weight. But if you look here you'll see lots of people like it:

http://remedyfind.com/treatments/10/2375/

And here's more info from the NIH on treatments for fibromyalgia:

http://www.niams.nih.gov/hi/topics/fibromyalgia/fibrofs.htm

The latest in fibromyalgia research and medications:

http://fibroresearch.blogspot.com

Answer 3

I took this to try and help me sleep, and help the pain of my fibro. I am 16, and this medicine made my heart race, and my pulse was in the 100s, and I was having palpatations. I cant take any amitriptylins, and would not recommend this medicine. It helped me sleep, but the doctors worried about my heart.