Is anyone here taking Amitriptilyne?

Question

And what personal side effects do you experience? I wake up feeling a little groggy and then it wears off... I am prescribed 20mg nightly to help me relax and fall asleep... I think this med is helping me to not feel so depressed as well. I also get a dry mouth but again, that wears off.

Answer 1

Dry eyes, dry mouth, blurred vision, difficulty passing urine sometimes , fatigue and constipation are the main side effects. It is often prescribed to help sleep or relieve headaches/migraines. At 20mg a night, it is unlikely to have any antidepressant effect. Tiredness the next day usually passes off after a week or so. You should be aware though that any medication which makes you drowsy at night to aid sleep encourages a degree of dependence, and if you use it regularly for an unbroken period, you will find it very difficult to sleep at all without it!

Answer 2

I used to take Amitriptyline for insomnia.  I got a very dry mouth permanently, and so I came off it in the end.  I used to work for a doctor who used to tell patients when he prescribed it, to take it 12 hours before you need to get up to avoid the drowsy feeling.