Amitryptaline?

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Lucyr

Lucyr

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Does anyone successfully take amitryptaline? All I’ve read online about it is negative and that I’ll basically be a zombie all night and in the morning. Interested to know if anyone actually gets on with it… as in still wakes up for nighttime hypos, is able to get up for work in the morning on time, can drive in the evenings… etc.

I have a diagnosis of post-viral headaches & migraines. Already on loads on painkillers but been given a starting dose of 10mg amitryptaline to try as a preventative, with a view to increasing the dose if it goes okay.
 
I think it may be a case of the soporific effects wearing off once your body gets used to the medication but on the very odd occasion that I have taken one, it's rather pleasantly like being drunk. I can't remember waking up feeling groggy the next day though (I tend not to suffer hangovers either) but it definitely knocks me out after I take it at night. I have pretty good hypo awareness and that doesn't seem to be affected by alcohol, so I would hope that Amitryptaline would not affect it either, but I haven't needed to take it since diagnosis and as you know we are all different in how our diabetes affects us as well as how we respond to medication, so it may be a case of pushing your levels a bit higher than normal at bedtime to keep yourself safe if you do take it.... although at the moment it seems that you are struggling with high levels rather than needing to worry about lows anyway, but always important to give plenty of thought and planning to these situations.

Do you have a date for your scan? Hope you can find something that gives you some relief from the headaches soon.
 
Thanks, yes I’m not at risk of hypos at the moment but at some point my bgs should start to notice I’m feeling better and suddenly drop.

My brain MRI was done as an emergency so had the scan and results (“structurally normal”) first thing this morning. All the other medications seem to help treat the headaches / migraines, but trying this as it can help to prevent them apparently.
 
Oh that is a relief! So pleased you got the basic results straight away and a sort of "all clear" on that front. I had a feeling you had said the scan was today but then wasn't sure when I saw this post.
So I guess they are thinking that tension is causing them and the Amitryptaline will help to relieve that.
 
Not used it myself but still wanted to say glad its all done and hope it wasn't too stressful. Hurrah for the all clear.
 
rebrascora said:
Oh that is a relief! So pleased you got the basic results straight away and a sort of "all clear" on that front. I had a feeling you had said the scan was today but then wasn't sure when I saw this post.
So I guess they are thinking that tension is causing them and the Amitryptaline will help to relieve that.
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Yes I got the full results today, benefit of it going through an emergency route was that they were reviewed there and then. They’ve said it’s a mix of things, sort of a constant tension headache with migraines intermittently on top. The migraines are down to a couple of times a week now.

Strange that this has all been triggered by a virus! I’ve been to hospital 3 times now, sent by my GP to make sure there’s nothing more severe going on. I must have had every test going now so hopefully got the right diagnosis this time.
 
Long time ago since taking that drug, when did it washed me out & give me bad nightmares, had to stop them eventually just to get back to some kind of normal.

Having said that know some folk take it without issues, so dont be put off by my experience.
 
Lots of people use it successfully. It turned me into a complete zombie though. If it doesn’t work for tu there are alternatives to try so give it a go and see how you get on with an awareness that you may sleep more deeply and maybe be conservative with your insulin for a few days.
 
Thebearcametoo said:
Lots of people use it successfully. It turned me into a complete zombie though. If it doesn’t work for tu there are alternatives to try so give it a go and see how you get on with an awareness that you may sleep more deeply and maybe be conservative with your insulin for a few days.
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I’ve heard so many zombie responses! I am on a low dose though so fingers crossed… see how it goes tonight!
 
Lucyr said:
My brain MRI was done as an emergency so had the scan and results (“structurally normal”) first thing this morning. All the other medications seem to help treat the headaches / migraines, but trying this as it can help to prevent them apparently.
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Good to hear that news Lucy.
 
With lots of medications, some people are fine some not. I was prescribed them and took 1 in the morning and went off to work, after an hour I felt faint, nauseous, dizzy and had to go home, slept for 3 hours and felt fine so went back to work. The next day Fri I took it in the evening but felt dreadful the next day and slept all day and most of the next day. Needless to say I took no more.
I mentioned it to somebody and she took it no problem but for hiccups?
 
Well I’ve just taken it… nervously. At least I work from home as it does warn you not to drive until you’re confident in how it affects you.
 
Maybe it takes some time for the effects to build up... 2 hours later and I’m way too awake to sleep, despite having been up since 5am.
 
No, the side effects don’t take time to build up. If you really are Northern at heart, it’ll take more than 10mg of amitryptiline to make you dopy.😉
 
mikeyB said:
No, the side effects don’t take time to build up. If you really are Northern at heart, it’ll take more than 10mg of amitryptiline to make you dopy.😉
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I’m definitely northern. It did make me sleep in as I didn’t wake up till gone 6, normally it’s anywhere between 3-5am.

So this means I’m likely not going to be struggling to stay awake, even as i take it regularly and the dose builds up then? Fantastic if so.
 
Good morning @Lucyr,

I'm pleased to hear that you slept well on Amitriptyline. Three weeks ago I developed painful neuropathy in my feet following a rapid and significant improvement in my BG levels. I've been waking up four or five times during the night due to the pain, and raised this with my GP, who has prescribed Amitriptyline for this. Prescription should be available today, so hopefully I get a good night's sleep tonight too.
 
According to my fitbit

Last night: Sleep 6hr36, sleep score 87 “good”

Last week: Sleep 5hr47, sleep score 70 “fair”

I hope it works for you and that it continues like this for me. What dose will you be starting on and did they give you any information on when the dose should be reviewed?
 
Lucyr said:
According to my fitbit

Last night: Sleep 6hr36, sleep score 87 “good”

Last week: Sleep 5hr47, sleep score 70 “fair”

I hope it works for you and that it continues like this for me. What dose will you be starting on and did they give you any information on when the dose should be reviewed?
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I'm very jealous, I hope I get 6.5hrs tonight. My GP didn't specify the dose in mgs, but rather said I'd start off on one tablet, with the possibility of increasing this to two after a fortnight. He did mention that some benefit from Amitriptyline immediately, but it can take three to four days for others to feel the benefits.
 
I’m taking 1 x 10mg so maybe you’ll start on the same. I forgot to ask when to review the dose but I might make an appointment in a couple of weeks before I run out. They aren’t on my repeat list as the hospital prescribed them. I do feel great for the 6.5hrs sleep! Never had a sleep score of “good” before! One pill seems early to make an overall judgement though so I’ll see how it goes over the rest of the week. No benefit for the headaches yet, they said that would take a few weeks to build up.

I’ve also learnt that painkillers like paracetamol are more effective when taken with caffeine so have had my pills with a good freshly ground coffee this morning to get them started.
 
Lucyr said:
I’m taking 1 x 10mg so maybe you’ll start on the same. I forgot to ask when to review the dose but I might make an appointment in a couple of weeks before I run out. They aren’t on my repeat list as the hospital prescribed them. I do feel great for the 6.5hrs sleep! Never had a sleep score of “good” before! One pill seems early to make an overall judgement though so I’ll see how it goes over the rest of the week. No benefit for the headaches yet, they said that would take a few weeks to build up.

I’ve also learnt that painkillers like paracetamol are more effective when taken with caffeine so have had my pills with a good freshly ground coffee this morning to get them started.
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I think that is why some of the paracetamol you get are a combination with caffeine as it has been should to improve absorption of the drug.
I hope you start to get some relief from the cocktail of meds you are taking.
 
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