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Amitriptyline for Anxiety and Stress User Reviews (Page 4)

Reviews for Amitriptyline

Commonly mentioned side effects
  • Anonymous
  • Taken for 6 months to 1 year
  • August 14, 2023

"This medication has changed my life - I was started on it for a gynecological issue, and a few weeks after I bumped up to 50 mg, I started feeling really good. Six months later, and I’ve never felt this good in my life! Pretty sure I had postpartum depression and didn’t recognize it. I was a total skeptic about antidepressants/anti-anxiety meds before, but now, I recommend it to everyone I know who is struggling with their mental health!"

10 / 10
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  • Fir...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • January 12, 2019

"Took 20 mg at night as prescribed for 7 days. On the third day, I had a pain in the top of my back. Like a stiffening. My heart was racing uncontrollably. I felt dizzy and sick. Doc put me on these to help me sleep, but because my heart kept racing, every time I was ready to nod off, my heart would wake me up. My anxiety only got worse with the lack of sleep and pounding heart, so I stopped taking them. These pills made me feel like I was coming down off ecstasy."

1 / 10
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55 Report
  • Jim...
  • October 11, 2018

"First went on Endep after a breakup. 10 mg is very small, but I was on it for 2 years, and it was a godsend. Had some amazing sleeps. Tried to get off and only managed to stay off for 1-2 weeks. More recently, I've been off for about a month, and I'm struggling. Guess who is reaching for the pill tonight? Lord knows I've tried to stay off, but I need to sleep. For me, there were little to no side effects on a small dose of 10 mg, but I did get irregular heartbeats when I went up to 25 mg. It's a drug that has worked 95% of the time."

8 / 10
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57 Report

Frequently asked questions

  • Sca...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • February 27, 2016

"This is just my second day of amitriptyline, and I feel so doped and drugged out. The doctor gave it to me for severe anxiety (GAD), which I have suffered from for years. I could never tolerate the SSRIs, and so she is now trying the amitriptyline. I feel so out of it and depressed, I can hardly move off the couch, much less do anything around the house. I know this is a sedating antidepressant and it’s one of the older ones, but at such a small dose, will I ever get used to the sedating effects? Will it really help with the anxiety I have? I don’t want to feel like this if it’s not going to help, and all I feel is drugged out every day. I am taking it 3 hours before bedtime and sleeping until 10 a.m. the next morning. Should I change meds or give it a go? Thanks, guys."

5 / 10
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70 Report
  • Sas...
  • April 5, 2011

"I have lupus and am in pain and tired most of the day. It didn't matter how much sleep I got (which was interrupted most nights). I just started Elavil and found that it helped me to finally be able to sleep through the night. I felt a lot better during the day. I will note that it should be taken about 1/2 hour before bedtime because it will make you drowsy. It has also helped my mood and pain during the day."

9 / 10
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88 Report

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  • avi...
  • April 10, 2017

"I have always suffered tiredness and depression whenever I didn't get a good night's sleep. I was sent to a specialist regarding an unrelated matter with chronic sinusitis. He said he diagnosed myofascial disorder and prescribed Endep 10 mg, and I couldn't believe the difference. No more waking up in a haze and feeling anxious. I have since had a difficult marriage breakup to deal with and increased the dose to 25 mg. I don't know how I would have coped without this drug. I hope to get back to the 10 mg once I have my life back once settlement is done and I move on."

10 / 10
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  • kar...
  • October 25, 2016

"Amitriptyline gives me a good sleep every night. I take 1x10mg 2 hours before sleep. Also, the tablet takes away any aches and pains in your body. A cure for panic attacks, which I used to have approximately 6 a month, is: stop drinking coffee or tea unless you change it to decaffeinated only, and the other cure that helps is: 4 or more cups of chamomile tea every day, no sugar and no milk in it. I normally leave the tea bag in the cup until I have drunk it. All these things have worked for me, and I have not had any panic attacks for approximately 3 years. Also, if you suffer from policeman's heel while walking, the only cure for that is: Skechers Shape-ups. I have been wearing them for years, and my pain has completely disappeared. I buy mine online."

10 / 10
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  • Moj...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • July 30, 2022

"I was warned that amitriptyline might take a couple of weeks to work fully, but I can say that within 5-6 days my endless dark mood lifted and my sleep pattern vastly improved. The dark thoughts do still come but vanish quite fast. I should have started this a year ago but held off. Side effects (for me) are feeling tired and fatigued (getting less after a week). Do not drive! Wait a while."

10 / 10
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  • Sil...
  • February 11, 2020

"I was prescribed 25 mg amitriptyline, taken before bed, to help with my overwhelmed and excessive stress feelings so I could manage the work/school/single mom/recent divorce life easier. For the first couple of months, things were great. I was productive, so much less overwhelmed and stressed, I was less anxious about my crazy ex, and I could keep up with everything I was doing. The help in getting to sleep was an added bonus. However, after the first couple of months, the paranoia started creeping in. At first, I thought someone was outside my house at night. Then, I was convinced cars behind me on the road were following me. I was checking under my bed, in my closet, in my bathroom, and every nook and cranny for someone hiding in there, thinking someone was going to get me. After a month of this increasing paranoia, I tapered down my dose and got off of it. The paranoia outweighed the benefits."

4 / 10
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  • sar...
  • March 3, 2015

"I was given 100 mg a day to treat migraines. I ended up not having migraines but chronic tension headaches, which it did not help. BUT it helped my anxiety. I was having daily panic attacks, and slowly, they were reduced. I gained 20 pounds in a few months and decided to stop taking it a month ago, feeling fine. This week the anxiety has started coming back-dizziness, shortness of breath, panicky, etc., so I started back on 25 mg. Other than the weight gain, the other side effect was dry mouth, so the trade-off of being able to live a normal life was worth it."

8 / 10
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  • Ran...
  • Taken for 10 years or more
  • May 30, 2024

"I was first given amitriptyline 25mg for chronic hip pain due to a hip fracture (at some point when I was a child my hip fractured and I only found out after getting x-rays done that it never healed properly), but I was later diagnosed with severe anxiety and bipolar disorder, so now I take 25mg 3 times a day along with other meds to help. Personally, I haven't experienced weight gain or hunger pains, in fact, I'm eating less since starting these. They were awful to start with. I was given 25mg in the hospital and told to stay in bed. When I got up to go to the bathroom, I walked into the wall, haha. Now, I don't feel tired on them anymore. I've been on them for 15 years. It's not a miracle drug, you still experience pain and anxiety, amitriptyline just helps a little. Don't be afraid to try it. Start with a smaller dose."

8 / 10
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  • Sha...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • October 30, 2018

"After reading so many amazing reviews about amitriptyline, I made my doctor try me with this. I’m a 21-year-old female. Started out at 5 mg, made my way up to 20 mg as I am sensitive to medication. After failing on Prozac and Zoloft (I previously had Lexapro, and it stopped working and had adverse effects), I thought I’d try this as I also tried quetiapine. Not good. So, the first week I was okay, my anxiety heightened a little, which is expected. As the weeks went on and the dose went up, my mood went down, my anxiety heightened to a huge degree. More panic attacks, racing heart, trembling hands-I couldn’t take it. I’m a single mom to a 1-year-old. I have generalized anxiety disorder and mild depression. Prior to this, my depression wasn’t that bad. Now it is. So, I will be going back to the doctor to try a different SSRI. Do not give up. There is hope!"

2 / 10
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  • It ...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • October 2, 2021

"This has stopped my panic attacks, also helped me with health anxiety after suffering very bad asthma attacks. It took 7 weeks to work, started at 10 mg, then 20 mg, then 25 mg after 6 weeks in. I suffered with anxiety until asthma attacks. It has helped me stay calm and helps me sleep. The only side effect is dry mouth, which went away after 5 weeks. Now I take it every night, hope this review helps people. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, the coronavirus made me worry more because of my asthma, and now I feel much more relaxed. I recommend trying it, but it did take 3-5 weeks to start working on me. You might be different. Take care, all of you in the same situation."

10 / 10
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  • Jes...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • February 27, 2021

"Absolutely awful. Five weeks in and I’m a walking wreck. Can’t function, am so angry with everyone and can barely walk through weakness and fatigue. Head is dizzy and everything gives me a fright, even someone calling my name. I am so spaced out. Don’t understand why this medication hasn’t worked for me. It’s truly awful."

1 / 10
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33 Report
  • T B...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • November 23, 2015

"I was prescribed this to help with my concussion that wasn't going away. It helped me sleep good throughout the night. The first few days I was extremely tired and had a hard time staying awake in school, but once your body gets used to it, it works really well, it got rid of my headaches and made me less stressed."

9 / 10
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55 Report
  • Wif...
  • December 11, 2018

"I was recently taken off 2 mg of Klonopin after being on them for 2 years daily. I'm slowly weaning myself off. I'm prescribed 60 mg of Celexa, 900 mg of Gabapentin, and 75 mg of Elavil. The Elavil is so strong that I only take about 10 mg at night. So far, it's helped with my anxiety, and I'm sleeping great! I feel kind of foggy, and I find myself zoning out a lot. I also twitch/jerk as I'm falling asleep and during sleep. I'm hopeful that this medication will work and stop or even ease my Pure O-OCD. The anxiety with the OCD is horrible!"

7 / 10
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40 Report
  • LJa...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • May 24, 2020

"As I increased my dose (very slowly) from 10 to 40 mg, I found my heart rate and blood pressure increased a lot. Yet I was also like a zombie. As I already have a heart condition, the increased heart rate made that worse, so I had to wean myself back off it. Oh well, try something else for the pains, I guess."

1 / 10
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  • Anonymous
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • January 9, 2014

"I've been on lorazepam 1 mg 3x daily for over 10 years and recently had not been able to get them due to switching doctors and have been having horrible side effects. I've only been on this a short time but it seems to help a little and I'm going to give it more time. I've read on the reviews of others which gives me hope."

6 / 10
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68 Report
  • AJB...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • January 19, 2024

"I can't rate amitriptyline highly enough. I have been prescribed this twice. Firstly for postnatal depression and now again 28 years later for anxiety and insomnia. It starts to work after about a week but it took 4 weeks to get me sleeping again, which was my biggest issue due to being anxious. Give it time is my best tip. And I needed to build up to 100mg for it to be most effective. This is quite high, but it is what I need. No side effects once it is in my system, just dry mouth to start with. They have saved me. I was really struggling."

10 / 10
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  • Lal...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • July 21, 2022

"It's only been about 7 weeks. I started at 25 mg and then increased to 50 mg. This is the only thing that has helped me, and I've tried so many SSRIs. I cannot believe the difference it has made in my life. Finally, I found something that has helped my anxiety and depression."

10 / 10
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20 Report
  • Jod...
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • April 16, 2024

"I have been on 10 mg for 4 weeks now. Anxiety, depression, and widespread unexplained muscle and nerve pain are my issues. All of these have improved a great deal, and I have had no side effects. My doctor is increasing my dose to 20 mg to see if it helps even more."

10 / 10
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10 Report
  • Anonymous
  • March 10, 2022

"My whole body was vibrating for nearly 6 months, I had convinced myself that there was something seriously wrong with me. My doctor prescribed amitriptyline. I took a tablet every night for a couple of days, but I didn’t improve. A month or so later, I was feeling even worse. I could hear my whole body pumping, and I was shaking from the vibrations, so I decided to try amitriptyline and took 2 tablets a night. After a week of taking the 2 tablets, I could slowly feel my body getting back to normal. Nearly 3 weeks in, and I feel so much better than I did."

10 / 10
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  • Hol...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • February 13, 2025

"I’m only on night 4 of taking this at 10 mg for severe anxiety to the point of a nervous breakdown and having anxiety/panic all day long due to severe stress. The first 2 days I literally slept most of the day (but wasn’t anxious as I was so exhausted), and then today I got up, showered, washed my hair, got dressed, things I’ve been struggling with for a couple of weeks, and I have felt so awake today. I even cleaned the kitchen this evening! The anxiety is still there, but it’s dialed down slightly already. I’m feeling very hopeful that these are going to help my anxiety, which only Diazepam so far has been effective for, but obv doc won’t prescribe often, etc. After trying 4 SSRIs a few years ago with horrific side effects that I couldn’t get past, this has so far been a godsend! I haven’t had any side effects apart from the tiredness so far, which is unbelievable! I’ll review again after more time has passed, but I’m feeling positive so far on 10 mg."

10 / 10
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  • lil...
  • Taken for 2 to 5 years
  • April 1, 2013

"I've been on it for 4 years, and it does much more for my bipolar and extreme anxiety than it does for my pain. I am now taking 50 mg in the morning and 100 mg in the evening. The new increase at night does seem to make my sleep a lot less uncomfortable and broken up."

7 / 10
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56 Report
  • Jes...
  • February 13, 2014

"I've only been taking this for a month. I got 25 mg of amitriptyline at night. I have anxiety attacks, and sometimes I shake, this hasn't been helping at all with that. I also have insomnia, which is the only thing it's helped for. I actually sleep, but it gives me dry mouth, and once I woke up and everything was spinning for the whole day."

4 / 10
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63 Report

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Reviews may be edited to correct grammar/spelling or remove inappropriate content. Reviews appearing to come from parties with a vested interest are not published. This information is not intended to endorse any medication and should not replace the expertise and judgment of healthcare professionals.