Effects Of Long Term Amitriptyline Use On The Heart (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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I have taken Elavil for 5 years now @ 100mg. at bedtime. I have tried to get off of this drug several times with no success. I use this medication for severe migraine head ache. The withdrawal was very bad,severe body pains & my mind spun out of control My head aches also returned. I can see where this drug could have some short term benefits but as a long term fix definitely not the way to go. Now I'm stuck with the big problem of addiction to this drug. I truly regret taking this medication long term. My Dr. never told me that this medication was addictive, if I would have known that Elavil would do this to me I would have never took the Medicine long term. Any one with any tips to get off Elavi? Please!

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I have been on 200mg of amitriptyline for twenty five years now, it was origonaly prescribed for the releif of ME. I am now trying to get of the medication, down to 75mg now. No one told me it was additive either I have tried to get of it on several occasions without success, The only way is to reduce the amount very slowly or you will have problems with feeling quit unwell & quite a bit of pain, I reduced it by 25mg for several month to get used to it then reducing it by another 25mg till I have got it down to 75mg. It won't be easy & you have to perserver to get of it. good luck.

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I have been on Elavil for 20 years and 100mg at bedtime and I don't recommend anyone taking it long term. I have heart palpatations every day which was determined from Dr. that it was hormonal, but I don't believe it. I tried to decrease dosage twice and cannot do it without months of terrible withdrawal pains!! I would have to go to a drug rehab to get off this drug. Don't know what I can do?

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I have been on 10 mg of Amitriptyline for 12 years (started at 5 mg) for migraines. I have suffered from heart palptations throughout this time. Four months ago I tried to reduce my dose because of memory loss. I cut the dose in half for a month then quarters. I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS. I began to have severe panic attacks that would wake me up in the middle of the night. My memory got worse and was confused constantly. I gradually increased my dose back up to 15 mg but am still experiencing daily anxiety and panic attacks (arms tingling, heart racing, difficulty breathing, narrow vision). I am 51 years old and never had panic attacks until now. It is hard to carry out daily activities now. Also, my heart has now started fluttering for very long periods. My brain is no longer functioning like it was before I did this. I am a mess!

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Am taking amitreptyline for fouryears for my depression anytime am try to reduce it am facing withdrowal symptoms

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I have been on Elavil (20mg at night) for over two years and for neuropathy following parvovirus infection. I am also taking bisoprolol for tachycardia. Tachycardia came at the same time as the parvovirus and has continued ever since. Don't know if there is a connection to the Elavil or not. After two and a half years (and a few unsuccessful attempts to wean off the Elavil) I have started getting persistent headaches and dizziness. I forgot to take the Elavil one night and they were better the next day - so we are trying to wean off again. Trying my best to keep myself occupied to forget about the withdrawel symptoms that I have gotten in the past (flu like symptoms, brain zaps etc).

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I have been on this medication for so long it's hard to count. It's been over 15 years, closer to 20.
I was given this for sleeping. I take 50mgs nightly.
I was going to take an antacid as I ran out of my stomach meds, so I thought...look it up.
I didn't know about all these side affects. Not in detail.
My HEART. I never had any issues. But the last few years when I get vitals done, my pulse is high. Not my BP, just my pulse. So now I'm also on metoprolol. I also have c spine and L spine problems along with neuro issues for years. I saw that this medication can help for that. But I didn't KNOW it.
After seeing how addicting it is...even in lower doses....I am feeling concerned and want to stop taking it. I have no idea how I'll fall asleep after taking it for so long!
I also, as stated above have stomach issues. And now have pains in my stomach area. I also notice I don't just have spasms now, I also am shaky sometime. I have had terrible constipation for years and quit taking my pain meds, thinking they caused the constipation. It helped some, but not all the way. I am now, all at once having major dental issues also. Decay in a short period of time, like I've never had in my whole life.
I'm beginning to attribute all of this to the damn medication.
I'm also afraid I may be close to back surgery, and wonder if this is helping me some with delaying the back surgery.
All I know is reading this just scared the you know what out of me. And I want off!
I'm sorry for all of you on even higher dosages.
I was out of amitriptyline for a week, just last week....I picked them up and (didn't have $) am back on them. And I'm not depressed or but I was flying off the handle when provoked.
Okay, I think I covered most of it.
What say you?

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Hi Shonna. I have been meaning to reply to your post earlier but ran out of time, I had the problems with dental issues & only have six of my original teeth left on the bottom, it has a really bad effects on teeth & gums. As for the dry mouth I found that a big problem my mouth was so dry that my tongue would stick to my mouth & make impossible to talk with out taking a drink of water, I usually sucked on tic tac's if I was in any company, I don't need to do that anymore . Sleeping is the biggest problem for me at the moment because of the back pain caused by degenerative back issues,anxiety can be a big issue & hard to handle but does get better if you can put up with it long enough.You mentioned that you didn't cut your tablets, I do, I find dropping to quickly is very hard to do & I don't find that cutting them causes a problem, You have come from 50 Mg down to 10 Mg which is great to hear. don't try going to quickly to get of it, let your body adjust to the dose you are on which might mean a few months, but remember how far you have come & how hard it was to reach that amount,& then reduce it further I would cut your 10Mg tablet to make it easy-er for yourself. Let me know how you get on.By the way I have regained the feeling back in my lower legs & feet, still feel a little numbness in my toes when I am in bed usually just the weight of the doona on my toes is enough to do it but the feeling will return altogether I think when I get right of the Amitriptyline.

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I am 69 yrs old and have been taking amitriptiline for over 30 yrs for sleeping with ain at night from an accident. I have asked my doctor over and over again if it was addictive and he told me no. I have had a lot of medical problems, and and almost a year ago, a double bypass, bowel bladder, and thyroid problems. I have since changed drs and have my first physical tomorrow. Will see what they say

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In reply to the person who has written in & has been on Amitriptyline for 15 to 20 years, yes it does cause dental issues & will cause you to feel stomach pain quite bad when you try to go off it, It does cause bad constipation I used Sennatabs to control that problem, Shaking sometimes especially if under any stress. I lost the feeling in my lower legs & feet & came to the conclusion after reading through some of the write up's on the internet that it was amitriptyline causing the problem. I have my dose down to 12Mg now but it hasn't been easy, If you can do without this medication (ask your doc first) get yourself of it. Long term effects aren't good 25 years in my case.

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I quit taking this medication after I wrote the first post. My dental issues are terrible, it has cost me thousands of dollars already and I can only attack one tooth at a time, and make payments.

I did take, and am taking, a bit more Xanax than usual, but it's prescribed "as needed" so i am still within the prescribed amount. I have been doing sleep meditations, while laying down, listening thru earbuds while you tube videos play and it's helped me get to sleep.

As far as pain goes. I'm always in pain, I have ddd and calcific tendonitis and neck and back disc issues, along with arthritis in my back, and a vacuum disk, carpal tunnel. I had worse abdominal pain a few weeks ago, went to doc, got CT scan. And they found so many things (and I actually go for a physical annually, so I was and am shocked at results).

The pain is always there for me. And I try not to take pain meds unless I really can't stand the pain any longer. I don't find that my pain got much worse as I quit the Amitryptyline, but I also take Ibu 800 and Norco when needed. And I take flexeril daily. Keeping the spasms at bay, helps me personally, with keeping the pain less.

So now I take daily: Prevacid, flexeril, metoprolol, Xanax. My pulse was normal when I went to doc visits lately. I'm hoping to get off metoprolol soon. I really think my pulse was high because of the amitriptiline. I do not have high blood pressure. Or have I ever had it...just pulse was high, just like other people here have posted.

The additional pain I felt actually has causes. CT showed gall stones, a periumbilical hernia, either ovarian cysts or a mass. CT and US did not match on this, so I was sent for my first ever cancer diagnosis, via old test CA125, which has a lot of false readings, but when negative is quite accurate, from what my doc has told me. I have a week or two, to wait for these results. So I do have two surgeries and maybe more, in the very near future. But my teeth are causing me so many issues, I hope I okay to go into surgery. As I've also heard you can't go I to surgery with an outstanding infection (tooth pain).

Oh, one more thing. I was more easily irritated while getting off of the Amit. But the Xanax really helped that.

I hope your all doing better. I would NOT take this medication if it was not absolutely necessary, that's my advice to anyone reading this. I was told that (at the time it was initially prescribed), that it caused very few side effects. Now it's been long term. I don't think the info was available as abundantly then, as it is now.

Good luck to you all.

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I have been on amitryptiline since 2007 for chronic pain.....iv just had an ECG which has indicated i have had a slight heart attack..........got all the side effects described on leaflet that comes with drug.the trouble is there is nothing like it and it keeps me pain free.......dilemma

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I certainly hope you are right because I have been taking it for 30 yrs started at 100mg and I am down to 20. Have been experiencing memory loss big time.

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I had open heart surgery 2 years ago, and many side effects & drug interactions with amitriptaline. I am down to 10 mg from 100 after 30 years and already losing weight and feeling better. Sooner you stop the better off you will be. I am cutting the 10 mg in half and see what happens. I now have dental implants, very bad Constipation, nerve problems and many other problems which seem to be improving with the decrease. Good Luck

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After reading the testimonials here, i would like to share my own experience a little, try and keep it to the point. this will help me i think, just to think it through my own mind, and get some clarity for myself. Reading these testimonials, its moved me to tears, how connected we all are by our shared experience of suffering. I lead a very solitary isolated life, with little human contact, very painful at times, and reading these testimonies of suffering and battle makes me feel a connection to another human being. I wish life was more like that. I wish i could meet you all in real person, instead of behind a computer. I feel a sense of connection and oneness when the suffering and experiences are shared. its seems so crazy that there are so many humans on the planet, but chances of actually talking to someone are so small when your life is crippled by pain, anxiety and depression. but good to read the stuff on here, the messages. i suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome since august 2011. the exhaustion was so crippling that it was not something that you could fight your way through, you had no choice but to surrender to it and just waste away days in bed. then i came across amitriptyline around january 2011. 100mg per day. it was extremely helpful and took away all of the fatigue element of the illness. although I still had concentration problems, difficulty speaking, thinking, working things out in my head, focusing, that kind of thing. but it has helped me survive the last 4 years. it helped me to have some form of daily structure, otherwise i would not have been able to do anything, as with CFS you are just a walking zombie. But I have never really totally liked the drug amitriptyline. the constipation i have hated. i hate having to take laxatives all the time. But recently its been the heart palpatations that have been scarring me. they are definately from the amitriptyline, definately. I have tried to come off amitriptyline many times, but could never really do it. the 2nd or 3rd week in I found myself with difficult withdrawal symptoms, felt really really wierd, had a funny pain in my heart, like a stuck anxiety pain, and just felt too wierd, the anxiety, heightened kind of anxiety wierdness, . tried coming off quite a few times, but always failed. But recently the heart palpatations have been scarring me a lot, and a general sense that "I've been on this drug for too long now, body not liking it". I am very sensitive and very in tune to what is going on with me. I have just been thinking "god i wonder if i have been taking this amitriptyline for so long now that its kinda getting stored up in my body, body is becoming a kind of junkyard of all these toxins from all these drugs- i gotto do something".

So 3 weeks ago i decided to come off amitriptyline (i think this is my 5th attempt in 4 years) so first went from 100 to 75 for one week. then after that first week was getting so impatient i just though "ah sod this, I'm coming off this drug, these heart palpatations are doing my head in", so I went straight from 75 to 0 (zero mg), have been off it for 2 weeks. yes i admit the last 2 weeks have been rocky and wierd, you do feel rather peculiar coming off amitriptyline cold turkey like this, and i agree i think its just kinder to your self to come off slowly and taper yourself off the drug. I'm just bloody impatient and just can't cope with doing things slowly. SO i just stopped it suddenly. i don't recommend this to anyone. I only made this choice because i'm impatient, and once i find out that something is harming me (the palpatations etc) then i want it out, it has to go completely. but now the crippling fatigue has returned and i am still left with a heart that is doing funny fluttery things, (its only been 2 weeks alex, i'm sure your heart will get back to normal in time - i hope so !!) but whether amitriptyline causes long term damage i don't know. to be honest i think it can. heart palpations are a sign that the engine is being 'pushed' beyond its usual ranges. the long long-term effect of that is bound to bring a kind of difference in the heart. i do think for sure my heart is more knakkered now because of amitriptyline. but without the drug i would not have been able to accomplish all that i have done over the last 4 years. now, i must find an alternative healing approach to my CFS illness, which is worrying me, i find it very scary, because amitriptyline gave me that energy and drive that i needed. and nopw i'm not taking it anymore i don't know how i'm going to cope with everyday life, getting to the shops, cooking, etc. it has helped me for 4 years, but now goodbye amitriptyline, i don't want you anymore, you're messing my heart up. I really wish i knew you lovely people, i hate being on my own so much. i miss being with others and laughing and talking. life is so hard. so thank you amitriptyline for all your help, which did help for some time, but now you are no good to me, 4 years on 100mg is all i can take anymore.

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I am completely off this outdated drug, and will never go near it again

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Yes, I know about large doses of Amitriptylline over a long period of time. I started taking it 30 years ago after the death of my 22 yo brother unexpectedly-- by large size I mean 350 ng over the bulk of 6 years. I continued taking it after that time until recently. I took I in one single dose along w 50 mg Trazadone and 1-1/5 mg xanax. I was also taking Buspar for anxiety in the daytime and 200 ng of Zoloft for 7 yrs of mentally abusive treatment. I have stopped all of them except Zoloft which I want to be off of in 6 mos. In place for sleep I am taking only Restoril and I believe this will work. After getting off all of them, I experienced 7 nights of total lack of sleep. I was like a zombie-- then srmtarted Restoril. I have stopped alcohol and sugar and have become like a guard dog as to what I will let into my brain. What I have realized that for 30 yrs I was functioning while asleep. GET off all large doses of brain meds.

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Hey Alex,

How are you doing now? I hope all is well. Your story touched me and I just wanted to reach out to you.

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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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I have been taking amitriptyline for 3 yrs. Starting with 10mg. Im on 50mg now. I suffered severe neck pain which then gave me severe head aches.i have gained nearly 3 stone in weight. I really want 2 come off them. I am now seeing a cranial chiropractor 2 help me which I am paying for.

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