Effects Of Long Term Amitriptyline Use On The Heart (Page 3) (Top voted first)

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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Does anyone know if constipation is permanent - even after quitting Elavil? I'm hoping it will eventually go away.

I was on Elavil for 5 and a half years. The highest dose was 50 mg but that was only for a couple months. I was able to titrate down to 35 then 25 mg. Stayed there for a couple years then very gradually went down to 10, 5, 2.5 (I used a pill cutter) per day. Then 2.5 mg per week. I think this helped a lot with withdrawal symptoms, although, even doing it this slowly, I still had some (anxiety, vertigo, headaches). The constipation started about the 3rd year of taking it. And it went away the first time I came off of the drug. However, I have been off of it for 16 weeks now, and I'm still dealing with terrible constipation. I have tried different products to combat it - even prescription drugs - but not much relief.

I"m hoping someone out there can tell me that eventually, the constipation gets better. For those of you suffering from other withdrawal symptoms, I can tell you that the anxiety, headaches, vertigo do go away. I think you have to titrate down even more slowly then most doctors recommend.

Hope this is helpful to some people.

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I've taken Elavil 150 mg for 24 years. I have fibromyalgia and peripheral neuropathy in my legs, feet and hands. Unlike most FM patients I have never had a problem with sleep. I've never had a problem with the drug either. It works as good today as it did 24 years ago. For the past week I have been arguing with a doctor about slicing my prescription to one 50 mg tablet at night. I have been told by several doctors I have seen over the years that I should not go off the drug because my body has incorporated it and going off would be risky to my health. I've talked to two pharmacist over this past week and they both said the same thing. However the doctor who prescribed the smaller dose is not listening. After long term use if you decide to go off elavil the dose should be cut by only 10% at a time. It should be an interesting month.

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I am 49. I have been taking 25 mg amitriptyline since I was 12. I have not had any symptoms of any kind. I have espastic colon and severe migraines. This medication works wonders for these types of problems. But these types of issues run in my family. So it affects everyone differently. Instead of taking them everyday cut them down to 1 every other day. That works! My dr wants me to take 4-7 per nite. I can't do that and I refuse to because I am not going to be a walking zombie. I take it only as needed. You are the only ones that know how you feel. You have to experiment with this medication to see what works for you. To me it's not addictive. Listen to what your tells you on how you feel while this medication daily or if you need to cut down to every other day or 1 every 3 days or 1 every 4 days.

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Do whatever you can to get off Amitriptylline.
I was on large doses for 30 years for severe insomnia, and combined w other sleep meds, it was destroying my life. There is too much to my case to write here but GET OFF.

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Could not agree w Mary more. I started taking masses doses of,Amitriptylline after my 22 yr old brother's death in a car accident, also for severe insomnia. GET OFF. It nearly destroyed my life.

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I seems obvious that long term use, over 5 years at doses over 75mg, is not advisable. On the flip side, it appears that short term use , under 75mg seems to produce favorable results.

Does this sound correct?

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I have been on this med for years and have suffered all your symptoms including enamel degradation. I'm on 40mg a day for severe neck and back pain. My pulses races and have now started with high blood pressure as well. I'm so worried about being on it but also scared of what the pain would be like without it. Does anyone know of other good meds to stop muscle spasms? I'd appreciate your help xxx

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I was on Elavil for 7 years when I didn't want to be on it anymore I weaned myself off of it very slowly I went to half a pill then a quarter of a pill then an eighth of the pill then I literally crushed it into small tiny pieces even to a powder...believe it or not i still felt the effects of the pill even in the tinyest doses and i did this over the course of several months.. you have to take your time to get your body used to less dosage depending on how many mgs you are taking.. it will work you just have to be patient I have fibromyalgia if it worked for me it's got to work for anybody because nothing works for me.. Just cut down as slow as you need to for your body to feel ok..once I stopped I felt better... good luck!

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Yes, this is a dangerous medication.... Many heart problems and decrease urine..I couldn't drink too much water or I.V. fluids..I felt like I would explode....it hurt my heart and breathing... Much shortness of breath ...this drug did so much more harm than any good. It should be banned

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I was taking 200 mg of elavil for less than a year as a migraine preventative and I am convinced it brought on super ventricular tacichardia I had 3 spells within a 2 month period where I ended up in emergency and needed medicine given through IV to bring down the heart rate, because this had never happened before in my life and research suggests it can be a side effect. I believe in my case that it was.

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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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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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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: SouthernGuest (# 99)

Congrats to you for having weaned off! I am having that bladder urgency also after weaning in January. I am panhypopituitary following to surgeries for Cushing's tumor. So with me the question is "is it Amitriptyline or diabetes insipidus returning.

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Here's what I did to get off Elavil (amitriptyline.) Reduce the dosage by 5 mg per month. That method was recommended to me by a psychiatrist. I was coming off a nightly dose of 50 mg. It may seem slow, but why hurry?

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Your way is the right way to get off this med. I dropped it (50 mg) cold turkey and after sleeping approx 4 hrs a nite for a year I started taking it again.

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Not sure about how it affects the heart but when I stopped taking it my bladder has spasms and makes think I have to pee even when it's just drops. Worse is that it's been several years and this symptom is not going anywhere. I've heard that it's like a drug you should detox slowly with help....otherwise you get these weird side effects that last forever. I've also heard this is a problem with all SSRI's as it creates unnatural physical reactions since the drug itself is not good. Personally I believe it was invented for mind control as every crazed gunman on the news has been on them.

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Biggie, if you are an older female the bladder problems are more than likely age and hormone related.

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