Effects Of Long Term Amitriptyline Use On The Heart (Page 5)

After 20 years of taking amitriptyline for headaches I would like to find people who have had any heart related side effects after long term amitriptyline use.

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I have taken ambien and trazodone for 15 yrs. I have went to a half of ambien 5mg and a 100 mg of trazodone. It's an older drug not addicting. I know when
i miss a nite , I cannot sleep. I have heard coming off trazodone is a long procedure tho cause your body gets tolerant to it. I also used pantroprazone for 15 yrs til it starts not working and makes ur stomach worse. I guess that's what they are saying about all the stomach pills. I recently started some old ones back up after I been on them that long.. don't know if they help yet.

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It has ruined my life. I want off. I tried once. It's been yrs. The withdrawals are unbelievable. idk what to do. I was put on paxil too, along with a list of medications. Years wasted, I only exist. Till a couple yrs ago I didn't realize there was a world out there. I'm so sedated. I use to have dreams but thanks to drugs I've never been so scared in my life. Anyone thinking of using antidepressants don't, there is always another way. Drugs are exactly that, drugs. Most drugs make your problems into bigger problems!

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My sister died 4 months ago at the age of 57. We just got the autopsy report and it says she died of "amitriptyline toxicity." She had told me she was taking 200 mg per day as migraine prevention. Her husband thinks she was taking it for more than a decade. she was also insulin-dependent diabetic. She was very cautious, so I'm pretty sure she didn't accidentally overdose and 'toxicity' sounds more like a buildup in her system. I'm hoping to get an written autopsy report so I can understand this better. She was also a very small person. She probably weighed about 105 pounds.

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I have been on elavl for 4 years for IBS. It helps but so many side affects . I makes me groggy , crave sweet and my dry mouth has caused bleeding gums ! I get off it and always had to get back on bc IBS returns and stomach pains . I am on 100 mg and cut that into 4 tabs . I also take Xanax. Has anyone else experienced this??

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Hi there,
i was taking Elavil (amin..) for headache prevention (200 mg) for about a year and along with 100 mg of Topamax for a short period when I was weaning offf Elavil

This resulted in 4 visits to emergency with tachicardia where my heartrate was well over 20 beats per minutes

Stopped Elavil and tachicardia also stopped even though cardiologist said it wasn't ecessarily due to the Elavil . Ha , ha !!

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Hi Anne Marie
So sorry about your sister.
I , too was taking 200 mg of Elavil for migraine prevention for a year , and decided to change to something else (Topamax) At any rate while transitioning from Elavil to Topamax, I ended up in emergency 4 times within a span of 2 months with tachicardia which one doctor and one pharmisist said was attributed to Elavi. My cardiologist , on the other hand , strongly questioned this. Mysteriously there wasn't another tach attack after stopping Elavil cold turkey.

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I was given this extra from my ENT Dr for coughing! It worked GREAT at 1 (10mg) tab at bedtime for about 1week. A couple months later - the cough is back and 3 (10mg) tabs are doing "Nothing" I've never been depressed but, this makes me kinda grumpy - don't like it!

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I had Cushing's disease which started in 1994, I could not sleep. Cushing's is caused by a adenoma on the pituitary or adrenal gland, causing overproduction of cortisol. It is now 2017 and I am still on it at 75mg nightly. cushing's was cured through surgery in 2003. I pray I can wean off this and am trying this week. I wonder amytriptelene causes weight gain?

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I had Cushing's disease which started in 1994, I could not sleep. Cushing's is caused by a adenoma on the pituitary or adrenal gland, causing overproduction of cortisol. It is now 2017 and I am still on it at 75mg nightly. cushing's was cured through surgery in 2003. I pray I can wean off this and am trying this week. I wonder if amytriptelene causes weight gain?

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Slowly VERY slowly. I was on for 27 yrs and came off slowly over a 2-3 year period. No withdrawal effects.

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I have just stun led across this forum and would like to say that I have been on anatryptaline for 2 years now. I started with 10mg at bedtime and went up to 20MG in the first and 2nd year. (For headaches) I reduced my dose back to 10mg 3 months ago and then reduced that dose to everyother night, then to only 3 nights a week I only take 10mg once or twice a week now,sometimes forgetting all week. I have had no side effects or problems other than a bit tetchy at times. I am a 49 yr old female.

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Amitriptyline is a horrible drug. It has been impossible to get off of after 15 years at 200 mg at night for sleep. It causes the most painful and prolonged withdrawal of any medication. I started having neuropathic pain soon after taking amitriptyline and then daily migraines. I became tolerant to it after about six months. The insomnia returned and the withdrawal has been so severe, I am certain it can kill. This is no exaggeration. Strange feelings indescribable horrible pain make amitriptyline enemy number one. If Im on it im sick. If you miss a dose you will get sick after about 27 hours. And if amitriptyline is lost or stolen then you will in trouble. It has happened to me. I could not speak, spell words, move my body to get to the pharmacy. The local pharmacy had no knowledge of my condition and barely refilled it. They could barely understand my speech. Now they will not fill my prescription for amitriptyline because of what they saw. I tried tapering and it has not worked. The doctors have been absolutely useless. I am sick now. Never take amitriptyline or any antidepressant. You will not regret not taking these drugs. Hopefully, you can get off amitriptyline successfully. I have to since they refuse to refill.Never have I been so sick and debilitated. Please never prescribe or take this medication. It should be banned. I reported it to the FDA also and got no response. Good luck. I am 54 and male.

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Okay. Hopefully you can get off amitriptyline successfully. I haven't been able to. It is addictive. Anecdotal reports and reports to the FDA for 50 years have noted it has the harshest long-term (up to 2 years) but they still prescribe it for sleep regardless. I can vouch for the withdrawal being so bad I could not speak, write or move and am having the severest pain and mental impairment of my 54 years. If you get off this drug reply. Doctors do not prescribe amitriptyline or ssri antidepressants n I have been on the merry go round for 27 years and want off. Nothing but near death experiences.

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I took it for 30 years for pain & sleeping 100mg. Had open heart surgery in 2013 and decided to stop. My doctor always told me it was not addictive. (Bull) I slowly whined myself off, it took a while but I did it and I am so glad I did. Just preserver !!!

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CC and many others here need to consider how old they were when they began the treatment. CC was 39 years old and may be attributing the symptoms of being a 69 year old (and other life choices) to the drug. And anything you do for extended periods of time (5, 10, 30 years) and then stop or even wean may cause side effects -- it doesn't indicate that the drug itself is addictive.

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Re: Debra (# 2)

I have been on 100mg Elavil for 37 yrs. I have been off for 9 weeks. Wouldn't wish this withdrawal on anyone. I was diagnoses with TD. TARTIVE Dysconesa caused by Elavil. Went to 25mg asap then cold turkey. Miserable. Using Melatonin I might get 3 1/2 hrs sleep a night for 9 weeks. My faith in Drs is now low. Don't know. Have Dr appt today.

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Re: CC (# 20)

Wow, I'm amazed to read these posts sand grateful and so angry at the medical system! I was on 100 mg Amitriptyline for 30 yrs. Last fall I decreased to 50 and then in summer titration to 0mg. Im in the care of a chiropractor who also practices Chinese medicine and energy healing. My head aches ceased a week ago. My anxiety is high when around people with high anxiety. My sleep cyc les are poor but improving. Im mortified at the fact that no one Informed me off the problems with going off this medication. I am done with pharmaceuticals! Only using natural and homeopathic remedies.

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I have been taking amtryptlene for 25 years now and I feel permanently shattered all the time my gums have started to recede and the enamel on my two front teeth has started to crack is this because of the of the amytryptlene. I have suffered from fibromialgia for about 30 years .

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Re: Boogie (# 40)


This thread is several years old, but my recent experience with Amitriptyline is the same. Boogie is correct. It's not an age issue, or anyone's imagination. I have read extensively about this drug, and I have had terrible withdrawal symptoms, including severe bladder urgency (I had never experienced before). It feels very similar to a bladder infection. From online research, I have found that bladder, stomach and GI spasms are a common experience during withdrawal. This drug works to relax smooth muscles, which is why it is often prescribed for bladder and GI issues. When you withdrawal from the drug, those same muscles can begin not only working again, but having unnaturally strong, or too frequent spams causing urgency, cramps, and stomach and back pain.

I was prescribed 25-50 mg. of Amitriptyline for nerve pain in my back just 5 months ago. The Amitriptyline almost controls the nerve pain, unless I do a lot of work. Concerned with the possible long term damage to my teeth, and digestive system due to the side effects I've experienced: severe constipation, serious dry mouth, serious stomach pain, I've been trying to stop taking Amitriptyline. I've also gained 10 pounds in this short time after being the same weight for over 20 years. Weight gain is listed as the number one reason people want off this drug.

I reduced the prescribed med, supplementing with naproxen (Aleve), to half a 25 mg tablet, then 1/4 of a 25 mg tablet over a 1 1/2 month period. Then I stopped completely for three nights. I used store brand Benedryl to help me sleep; sleeping better is one side effect of Amitriptyline that I'll miss. For three days I felt so much better overall except for dealing with my nerve pain. My healthy bowel function returned, I had more alertness and energy, my mood was much lighter. Then on the fourth day without Amitriptyline, I woke up crying and moaning in pain with severe cramping of my colon, causing severe stomach and back pain. Also, the feeling of a bladder infection with the severe, constant urgency even after I'd just urinated. The only reason I did not go to the E.R. is because I had already read of many people experiencing the same withdrawal symptoms. After a few days of this I went back on half a 25 mg. tablet and the pain and urgency stopped completely within two days. Still I went to the doctor for an exam just to make sure I didn't have a urinary tract infection, or something worse. The U/A was clear, and the exam didn't uncover anything unusual. Since being back on Amitriptyline, none of the above withdrawal symptoms have returned.

Many people have successfully withdrawn from Amitriptyline without too many bad effects, but many people will experience negative health issues that are worse than the problem we were prescribed medicine for in the first place. You can find their stories all over the internet. Most people say the withdrawal symptoms eventually disappear after a very slow, many months long, very gradual withdrawal. Unfortunately, I've seen several, like "Boogie" whose withdrawal effects have never completely healed. I'm determined to get off these things. Good luck to everyone.

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Re: Debra (# 2)

I have also been on it since 2003 for sleep. This January, 2018 I determined to wean off and did so by breaking in half my 75 mg pill for 2 weeks, then 1/4 pill for another 3 weeks. I hope you can too.

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