Elavil User Reviews & Ratings (Page 3)

• Per...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 30, 2015

For Depression "I've tried about every medication out there for my anxiety and depression: Wellbutrin, Zoloft, Paxil, Cymbalta, Emsam, Xanax, etc. At 75mg, Elavil helped me sleep. I had more energy, I didn't feel restless, and I rarely got upset. I thought I had found the perfect cure until I started to gain weight. I decreased my calorie intake, increased my exercise, and the weight just kept coming. In 4 months, I had gained 26 pounds. I also started to have severe dry mouth; my throat was dry, and my voice was hoarse. I also started to have blurred vision. I really like this medicine but know I can handle the side effects."

• KYG...
• May 6, 2016

For Pain "Have been taking for over 1 week now and after have all over fibromyalgia pain as well as night sweats, I am sleeping much better and my pain is 1/2 what it was. I was told to give it 60 days to really work but I felt better after one day."

• Hei...
• February 28, 2012

For Somatoform Pain Disorder "I've been using Elavil for almost 4 years now and can't live without it! If I run out before I can get to the pharmacy, my symptoms return with a vengeance and I feel awful again! I would recommend this medicine to ANYONE dealing with pain, insomnia, or depression to consider this medicine! I started off on a low dose (25mg) per night, now only on 50mg, and I have NEVER done so well in my life emotionally or physically! One of the negatives for me has been weight gain and now high blood pressure because of the weight, BUT I tell everyone I'd rather be fat and happy than skinny and miserable!"

• bro...
• June 5, 2010

For Migraine Prevention "I have been taking Elavil for a month now, and I am almost migraine-free. I was started on 25mg at bedtime. My headaches lessened, but I still had them. Maybe one out of 4 was really bad. So my MD doubled the dose to 50mg a night, and boy, that did the trick, but I stayed tired all the time. I went back to 25mg every night, and now it seems to be working very well for me. Just takes time to adjust. So if you have just started, hang in there, it will get better!"

• Anonymous
• October 19, 2010

For Fibromyalgia "I have had great success with this medicine. It is meant to help you achieve sleep levels 3 and 4. It is meant to make you drowsy. Take it at night a couple of hours before you want to fall asleep. Poor sleep is a big problem with fibromyalgia. I have had fibro for 20 years. I still work full time, retail 56 hours a week. Yeah, it's tough some days. You have to keep moving."

• Anonymous
• November 7, 2010

For Insomnia "I have a very high tolerance for a lot of pain medications due to pain issues. Your body always needs more and more to produce the same effect until almost nothing works. Fortunately, this type of medication doesn't affect me that way. Although I guess it is mainly used for depression. It has worked like a charm for me to get my body to sleep much longer. And I have never had to increase the dose. The only drawback for me with this medication is that when I do wake up I am pretty groggy for about 45 minutes."

• ewh...
• October 15, 2011

For Fibromyalgia "Elavil has been a life-saver for me. I have fibromyalgia and SAD. My ability to sleep through the night with Elavil has been amazing. Previously, I would wake up too early and not be able to sleep until it was time to get up. I was a wreck and thought I'd have to give up my job because I couldn't function on 4-5 hours of sleep. I find that I need 15 mg in winter months and only 10 with longer daylight days."

• Anonymous
• January 23, 2013

For Pain "I have been on 75mg of Elavil for over a year now for degenerative disc disease and 2 bad knees. It helps me sleep, but the pain is still bad even with a morphine patch and oxycodone. Maybe my case is a rare one."

• 41r...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• June 11, 2013

For Interstitial Cystitis "Actually, I started taking it for severe nerve pain in my neck, and I have Interstitial Cystitis as well. Since taking it, I have had great success with the management of pain. I have gained 35 lbs while being on the medication, but sometimes you have no choice. Hands down, give me a life without pain and suffering with 35 extra lbs. I will gladly take poundage over pain any day."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 4, 2017

For Pain "I was given this medication to help my daily chronic headaches. I started it a little over a month ago. Three days in, I had one of the worst headaches ever. After that, the headaches started to diminish. I now have weakness and loss of feeling in my hands, arms, legs, and feet, seizure activity, confusion, and I am sleeping all the time. I don't feel like myself, and I'm super miserable all the time. The doctor doesn't want to take me off this medication, but I cannot live life like this. I don't recommend this medication."

• Kri...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 2, 2015

For Pain "I was prescribed this after a severe TBI and broken neck. It was supposed to help my headaches. After about a week, it turned me into a rapid cycling bipolar suicidal freak. One second I was driving singing happy, the next second I was trying to swerve in front of a semi."

• Chi...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 2, 2017

For Interstitial Cystitis "39 years old. The first few days, no change. Urologist put me on 25 mg, twice a day. It made me so drowsy and thirsty. Only took 1 pill at night. On the 14th day is when I had no more pressure or frequency in my bladder. I was back to normal. So I made the mistake of drinking coffee. Huge mistake! Took medication the next day, this time morning and night. Symptoms disappeared. I suggest taking Prelief before drinking coffee or any acidic food. Be patient with this medicine. Takes a little while to work but it works!"

• Jen...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 20, 2023

For Depression "It worked great for my depression and helped me sleep, but the effect is now not as strong as it was. While it lasted 15 years, it was amazing, a miracle! Now I'm on Prozac and my panic attacks are crazy. I think I will go back to Elavil!"

• ann...
• July 21, 2009

For Interstitial Cystitis "I take amitriptyline 10mg at bedtime. I have been taking it for about 5 weeks now. It has made a big difference with my bladder and my mood. I am going to try and increase the dose as it doesn't help me sleep. I am overall very happy with the results of this medicine for my bladder. I have had Interstitial cystitis for 10 years."

• Bes...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 11, 2018

For Pain "I started on the dose 25 mg at bedtime so I wouldn't wake up with a sore back and shoulder. This was a year ago. Best pain regimen to date!!! Side effect of restful sleep and joint pain almost gone every day!!! Why did it take so long to find this???"

• von...
• December 3, 2010

For Anxiety and Stress "I've only been on Elavil 62.5mg since last night and I slept all the way through the night and woke up not so tired this morning. I was on 25mg at first but didn't work then up to 50mg and that didn't work. Now I am trying this dose and I feel so much better. I hope it continues to work for me at this dose. I took it about five hours before bedtime and I felt tired and went to bed five hours later after taking it at 6:20pm."

• Mah...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 23, 2023

For Depression "I was diagnosed with major depression in the early 1990s, and my MD put me on Elavil (amitriptyline). It worked great, although I put on quite a bit of weight. Over the years, I've been on virtually every other class of depression medication, as well as ECT, and none of them worked as well as Elavil. I take it for depression and anxiety, and it's amazing. It is an old, old drug, with lots of side effects, but it has pulled me back from the precipice every time. I currently take 150 mg at night, which is the max dose for outpatient treatment. I have an Rx for clonazepam for breakthrough anxiety and feel pretty good."

• Fal...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 4, 2016

For Pain "I was prescribed Elavil mainly for chronic headaches. I also suffer from depression, anxiety, and insomnia, so my neurologist had me start Elavil to try and kill many birds with one stone, so to speak. Elavil worked great to reduce the intensity of my headaches. Although they were still ongoing, it was much more tolerable. I had been on Elavil for only one month and a week before I stopped. The first week my insomnia and anxiety seemed to be simmering down (this stopped soon after week 2). As for my depression, Elavil put it under a magnifying glass. I was suicidal and crying on a daily basis, it was not the medication for me. It helped with the main objective but at a horrible cost."

• CP3...
• March 9, 2013

For Insomnia "I was put on Elavil to treat sleep deprivation and for pain relief. Took it for four days. It did not help with the pain, and it kept me up instead of putting me to sleep. For the first two days, I slept for maybe 3 hours total (slept for one hour, woke up for about an hour, fell asleep for an hour, up again, etc.), then the last two days, I went for two days straight with no sleep. Very frustrating."

• Joa...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 16, 2020

For Pain "My doctor prescribed this drug to treat my severe, chronic migraines. It was a horrible experience. I had vivid nightmares every night and stopped caring about anything. It felt like I was in a fog half the time."

• Pho...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 26, 2018

For Interstitial Cystitis "I have had symptoms of interstitial cystitis for a couple of years. Started on 25 mg of Elavil in the early evening. In one day, the symptoms were mostly gone. It's the only treatment that has really worked for me. After taking 25 mg per day for a couple of weeks, I started cutting back on the dose and have finally settled on 5 mg per night. It's enough to cut most of the symptoms. I still have to watch what I eat and do pelvic stretches."

• Anonymous
• April 30, 2008

For Migraine Prevention "During the first two weeks, the fatigue was pretty bad (even though I only took it at night). The dry-mouth condition seems to be ongoing, but the migraines are completely gone! Three weeks migraine-free so far!"

• Nik...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 24, 2012

For Persistent Depressive Disorder "I was taking an SSRI antidepressant and other depression medicines but they didn't work. I started taking this and felt way better than I did before. I've been taking it for a while and got used to the sedating side effects, and it's helped me from the first time I took it."

• Anonymous
• November 2, 2010

For Fibromyalgia "I started taking Elavil at the onset of my fibromyalgia in 1997, had great sleep, and was able to continue my work and study without pain. In early 2010, I read the side effects of the medicine and recognized what was happening to me. I had been falling for no reason, broke an ankle, lumbar vertebrae, thumb, and many bruises. I had dry mouth so bad I could hardly talk, could not remember my words I wanted to say, and lost all sex drive. I slowly removed myself off Elavil with the help of my doctor. I have had lots of pain since February 2010 and cannot find a medicine to help me with my sleep and pain, but I will not use Elavil again. I have not fallen, lost my memory, or had any other side effects of this medicine since."

• ras...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• July 20, 2015

For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder "1st started taking for depression and PTSD and anxiety. Then I got in an accident, now I take it for the above as well as headaches, leg pain, nerve pain in legs. Great old school drug. Oh, also helps insomnia."