I am on Amitriptyline 140mg per night to help me sleep and for low mood. I experience a lot of heaviness around the eyes each day. I have tried to take the meds at different times and now take it much earlier in the evening, but the heaviness remains. Can anyone explain why this is happening and offer any solutions. Thank you guys.
Amitriptyline causing heaviness round eyes?
- Posted:
- 23 Jul 2010 by chico99
- Topics:
- depression, bipolar disorder, dysthymia, sleep disorders, amitriptyline, sleep, anxiety and stress
Details:
Responses (2)
dmfdjttor5723 Jul 2010
Amitriptyline, which is Elavil, can knock most people on their butts pretty easily, so not at all surprised you are feeling that way, especially on such a high dose. Why are you getting this drug? It's been around forever, yes it's an antidepressant, but also used for sleep and once you have become "used" to it (addicted is more like it) there is no way in hell you will ever get to sleep w/out it. So consider these things, there are many other drugs to help w/sleep, Trazadone is strong also, but not nearly like Amitrip and i can't imagine why a dr. would start you on something like that that you will have to take the rest of your life if you ever want to sleep again once it's into your system. Get off it, find a new Dr. or get a new rx for something much less potent. This is not a drug many Dr.'s prescribe anymore and it's not a good antidepressant either. Trust me, please. Good luck, take care and get off that crap.
Dede
Anonymous 23 Jul 2010
It possible that your prescription is to high? It also makes a difference if you take something for Anxiety?
You seem to act as if there's to much Meds in your system.
I am not a medically trained, but I recommend to talk to your doctor about lowering your douse or change the brand of drug
Symptoms of overdose may include:
•drowsiness
•problems concentrating
•confusion
•agitation
Best of luck and God be with you
Bucky 1
chico99
24 Jul 2010
Thanks for the advice Bucky. I appreciate it. I think the best thing for me would be to see my doctor again and take it from there.
All the best
shane
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Hi Dede,
Thank you for the information. I appreciate it. I have been on the Elavil for at least two years, and my sleep suffers as soon as i try to reduce the dose, so its not easy to come off. Do you think i should try to take something that will help me sleep while i try to come off or reduce my dosage of Amitriptyline? (a sleeping pill perhaps to use for a few days each time i try to reduce the dosage of elavil). My doc was reluctant to prescribe Trazodone because of the reported side efects, he said.
Thanks
shane
Hi Shane, i wrote back but it didn't seem to "send" so i know better and will come directly to site next time. My "help" is not much good if you've been on it for 2 yrs. My new answer to you is that you MUST have a Dr. help you to wean off of this drug, it's really potent and taking something else with it could be very dangerous, so don't even think of that. Trazadone and Elavil have the same amount of side effects that could be considered very dangerous to some people, so maybe your dr. had a patient that suffered a bad effect from the Trazadone, but it's not any worse than Elavil.
Expand this post...
Still, the very best thing is to get off of anything that you are going to need to take every night for sleep, that is a monkey on your back, more or less, and you will have to wean down from the dose you are now taking and probably have a few nightmares, some sleepless nights and a bit of discomfort for a short time, but it's well worth it to be off of something that you are a slave to and also, gives you the bad side effects the Dr. was trying to avoid. Please do not try to do this alone, sleeping pills mixed w/Elavil can be very dangerous and even cause death at the dose of Elavil you are on, so you must talk to your Dr. and get a plan for lowering the dose and stick to it. Possibly when it is way down there he can prescribe something to help w/sleep, I am not certain, but right now that would be a very bad idea I'm afraid. There are lots of antidepressants, as I am sure you know, that can be very helpful and hopefully, you will be able to sleep w//out the aid of medication sooner than you think. Keep your thoughts positive, know that this will pass and if for some reason your Dr. won't help you, find one that will. Also, do you have insurance that would cover a visit to a sleep clinic somewhere down the road if still having problems? I'll keep a positive thought in my head for you, knowing you will do this, WITH the dr.'s help, and please let me know how it is going. Wish I could have been of more help, but i didn't realize you'ld been taking it for so long. You might want to look up the side effects of Elavil also and see how very many drugs it can interact with and cause serious problems. Be careful and take care of yourself. xxoo
Dede
Hi Dede
Thank you for taking the time to reply to me in detail. I found youre advice very encoutaging and helpful. I really appreciate it. I will chase up the doctor and try to come off my meds slowly and safely. If you need any advice about anything yourself, please dont hesitate to get in touch.
Take care
shane x
Thanks so much for that sweetie, i don't usually ask advice much for myself, so it's good to know that someone has offered their help and let's keep in touch, okay? Let me know what happens w/the doctor. Nighty night.
Dede