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[hellen]

Hi, just a brief question, , im on 10mg, and just wondering can you stop it, or do you have to taper it off in some way... and does it upset you when you come off them..

[Briony]

I was on 20mg for nerve pain for a while. Got horrible side effects so decided to stop them. My GP said 'just stop', but I didn't want to risk it. To come off, I went down to 10mg every other day for a week, then switched to 10mg every day for a week or so. Then cut the tablets in half and had two weeks of 10mg day one,  then 5mg day two. Finally went to 5mg a day for four days before I just took 5mg every other day, before stopping altogether. I know this sounds over cautious, but I was worried how it would effect me. To be honest, I hardly noticed a thing ... apart from the fact the pain returned once I'd come off them. Damn!

[Limpy]

Totally agree with Briony.
If you stop them abruptly then your sleep pattern can be wrecked.
That's what happened with me and that was on the 10mg.
I stopped because I was just so zonked, not functioning properly at all.

[hellen]

Hi, both you ladies are exactly right.... i managed to get into see the chemist in boots, and the pharmacist advised cutting down gradually... she said go down to half a tablet ...   i felt generally a bit off the other night after  i took it when i went to bed.. i also have had  like a muscle spasm type pain in my stomach not long after taking them almost like a wave of pain weird. then it  disappears..  then in the morning i got up from being seated and felt very dizzy, so i thought i would stop them to see if i still had pain..   iv had a bit of headache as well for a few days..  i missed taking the tablet last night, i felt quite nervous as there was no way i wanted the pain back lol.. so i will take one tonight, and then i will try cutting a tablet in half every night and see how that goes.. maybe it will manage the pain without me feeling a bit off.. i think im the sort of person that takes things when i have to, then when i feel better i soon want to get off the tablets, maybe to soon for my good.. But i have slept well after iv had a tablet, its a deeper sleep. last night i slept much lighter.. but saying that i was expecting something to happen because i hadnt took it lol.. thank you ladies for your replies.. its nice to know your out there... xxx

[honeybun]

Can I ask why you would stop if you are still in pain.

My BIL is on Gabepentin (sp) for nerve pain. They keep increasing his dose to help with nerve pain. He now sleeps at the drop of a hat and is still in pain.


Honeybun
X

[Limpy]

Can't speak for Hellen,
The reason I stopped Amitriptyline was because my brain stopped working, just got totally brain dead.
AND it didn't stop the pain anyway........ 

[hellen]

Hi, i thought i would stop due to feeling dizzy on standing a couple of times, but i had been taking it a while before i experienced dizzyness, feeling rough before i go off to sleep a couple times recently, and the stomach pain i experienced after taking it in the last week ..  but also to see if i still had the nerve pain or was the discomfort something else..  amitripyline has got me over a bad patch, but i wouldn want to increase the dose, and i did feel better for the day i didnt take it, but would take it again, if i felt i need to.. .. xx

[CLKD]

Never did owt for my trigenimal neuralgia 

[hellen]

Hi, strangely enough, it works straight away  for me, it doesnt stop the pain altogether.... and yet it supposed to not work till its built up in your system. i have had two nights since i started taking it, when i didnt sleep and felt discomfort.. and i always wake up as usual for my usual toilet stop, about quarter past three.. but i dont want to take it more than i need to..

[Briony]

Can't speak for Hellen,
The reason I stopped Amitriptyline was because my brain stopped working, just got totally brain dead.
AND it didn't stop the pain anyway........ 

Same for me. I stopped mainly because I (wrongly) assumed my shoulder pain had gone but also because I was so zonked on it, I could hardly function.Came to a head when I was at a cash point, unable to a) remember why I was there and then b) remember my pin number!

When the pain retuned (but in a different place - my legs) I moved on to Cymbalta which was great - but I became increasingly concerned about withdrawal from it (have since found out that Duloxetine/Cymbalta is one of the hardest drugs to come off, taking many people months if not years). This coincided with docs thinking my problems were either MS or hormone related rather than an injury, as first assumed - hence reason I eventually ended up  on HRT/Qlaira. Pain gone for majority of the time. Can walk normally again too, but still painful to wear a bra!

I do feel that a lot of these drugs, especially Amitriptyline and Gabapentin, are used to 'shut up' patients and therefore avoid getting to the cause of the problem. I had to really push for any proper investigations.

[CLKD]

Maybe the GP is treating the symptoms before the cause in order to give the patent some possible relief 

[hellen]

Hi, cant work out if it the warm weather, or the amitripyline, but i have felt really tired for the last two days... but when i first took them i felt fine... have you ever tried cutting the little blighters in half, every time i try i get  a big half and a little half.. but iv not  had an awful headache today, if i could call it a headache.. and my ears arnt buzzing.. ... i will try the whole tablet tonight and if i have that awful head tomorrow i will presume its the tablet ... iv not known the vagifem give me an awful headache.. even on every other day..  but yes i think she did originally prescribe the tablets to treat the pain i was in, but now its less im so tempted to reduce them, maybe i would be cutting them off to soon though... as i was supposed to take them for three months.. but im like a lot of people dont like taking tablets, but i guess as we get older we will have to get used to it.. i remember not wanting to use vagifem, and now i would panic if a doctor said, no more vagifem.

[Briony]

Can your doctor prescribe a lower dose, or are you on the lowest? I must admit, even though my 'halves' were far from equal (know what you mean about a big and a little bit) I never had any withdrawal effects. I did get the tiredness while taking them - in fact, my partner's mum has been prescribed them as alternative sleeping tablets!

[hellen]

Hi Birony,  no i dont think there is a lower dose than the 10mg. but i still feel like i lack any energy today. its like my get up and go has got up and gone, and left me behind. things seem to need more of an effort, and energy that i  have.. im stuck on cruise control...  had some discomfort since i lowered the dose. but i can always go back up i guess.. i tried carefully to get it exact last night, nope still big half and little half...

[Briony]

That's a bugger. I do remember trying to have a little half one day and a big half the next. Crazy isn't it! I really hope you get some respite soon x