ELAVIL Reviews (AMITRIPTYLINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 3.1 (585 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare ELAVIL with similar:
Type: Brand name discontinued; available as generic
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Results are sorted by Date added. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 |
More on ELAVIL: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ELAVIL | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 4 | migraine with visual disturbance | Loss of energy, feeling weak. Brain a little foggy. Hunger, increased cravings. Slept well, vivid dreams. I accidently Ran out of pills and noticed after 3 days how much less tired and fatigued I was, so I have discontinued. | worked well for headaches at 30 mg/day | F | 41 | 5 months | 10/18/2009 | 5 | Coccyx pain and depression | Dry mouth, drink at least a glass of water overnight. bit of light-headedness. Very drowsy but this eased alot after about 6 weeks. Had to experiment dosage time, now take it about 2hrs before bed and it's okay. Otherwise it's difficult to get up in the morning. Depression has lifted and the obsessive thoughts have stopped. Pain has eased but not totally gone. Weight has been a problem. I find drinking alot of water helps with the hunger and the weight is starting to go | On balance I prefer the side effects over the symptoms it is treating. I have alot of my life back. And I feel myself again. That by itself is worth it. | F | 31 | 12 weeks | 10/14/2009 | 1 | Daily headaches (migraine) | Tired, feel like my lower extremities are detached from my body, lightheaded and (the worst) emotionless. | I've had daily migraines for three years. Was on Depakote for two+ years (caused tremors & fatigue), then tried Topamax, which I could not tolerate (extreme insomnia, some manic symptoms). A headache clinic doctor prescribed this, but it hasn't helped my headaches yet. I realize you're supposed to give it up to 4 weeks, but I hate the way I feel and am finding it difficult to work or interact with people. I also do not want to gain weight. | F | 56 | 14 days | 10/5/2009 | 5 | Migraine headaches | None | I have dealt with severe migraines since I have about 10 years old. I have tried so many different treatments and nothing ever worked, until now. I used to have 6-10 migraines every week and after a month on elavil, I have only had 2!!! Simply the only medication that has ever helped and to date there have been no side effects. Wonderful! | M | 38 | 40 days | 9/18/2009 | 4 | pain - frozen shoulder,fibromyalgia | Intense hunger, pain relief, GREAT sleep when previously unable to sleep, weight gain | I've noticed a change in my sense of taste in the last two weeks. Everything I eat feels the same consistency - whether I chew a pretzel or pasta or fruit - it all feels like I'm chewing a piece of gum. Very odd. Am wondering if it's affected anyone else's sense of taste. | M | 55 | 3 months | 9/8/2009 | 5 | for pain | dry mouth and a cough | so far it is a god send i had severe stomach pain and now it is gone | F | 65 | 3 weeks | 9/6/2009 | 5 | depression, anxiety, migraine | Sleepiness is my only side effect, but that's great because I take it at night and sleep great! No drowsiness at all the next day. | This drug has given me a new lease on life. I am on a very small dose at bedtime. That's all I need to ease my anxiety and depression, help me sleep well, and keep migraines under control. My doc was reluctant to prescribe such an old time med, but no other AD worked for me. Finally, I asked to just try this. He relented and prescribed a small dose. It made me too sleepy (drowsy next day) so we went even smaller. That did the trick. Wonderful drug! I am so full of energy and clear thinking and steady emotions now. Maybe it isn't prescribed enough because docs think it takes so much to work and patients can't stay awake at those dosages. But at least for me a small dose was all I needed to stabilize me. I'm so glad I tried it, and tried it at lower dose. So glad I have a doc who will really listen to my feedback. To top it all off, the generic of it is cheap. | F | 48 | 6 months | 8/26/2009 | 3 | Major Depressive Disorder | Anticholinergic/antihistaminic side effects of sedation/fatigue, dilated pupils, perpetual yawn. | Had high hopes that dirt cheap amitriptyline would work alongside 10mg daily Lexapro to provide that norepinephrine-reuptake-inhibitor push that I seem to need in addition to the serotonin one. **Seeking alternatives to Effexor, which was a hell of an addiction to kick after three years of its just-too-short half-life (daily brain zaps while on regular treatment, anyone?)** So started @ 50mg/night for one week, tried to move up to 100mg as suggested by psydoc but could not tolerate the sedating, suffocating feeling I tend to get with anticholinergics so after one night of that went back down to 50mg. One more week on 50mg and I'm still yawning all day long and sleeping even more than I normally do which is already too much. Waited for side effects to subside, they didn't in two weeks. Chronic fatigue is a major part of my illness, as is chronic pain. Amitriptyline at this dose greatly increased my fatigue which was already significant, but it also controlled my lower back pain incredibly well. I had actually almost forgotten about the back pain (!) until end of 2nd week reduced dose to 25mg and next day was still fatigued and yawny, pain came back, though not in full force. Next night I discontinued it, which was the night before I wrote this, and I am still yawning. I'm not giving up on this drug yet, but I am going to clear my system of it for a week or so and then try re-introducing it at a dosage more common for chronic pain like 10mg. | F | 29 | 2 weeks | 8/23/2009 | 5 | sleep problems caused by SSRIs | a little "heavy" for about 2 hoyrs after I wake up | I take this drug (20 mg) for 20 days so far. It is the only one that helped me (finally!)overcome the sleep disturbances cause by SSRIs that made me change 4 of them in 1 year! I have also tried hypnotics,antidepressants and other sleep-promoting drugs but all of them failed. Now finally I sleep almost 8 hours uninteruptedly. Elavil has also enhanced the effectiveness of the SSRI I currently take. I feel calmer, my obsessive thoughts are minimized ang generally I am better than I have been on the SSRI alone. Moreover, I have not gain any weight so far (*and I hopr I won't). Thank you elavil! | M | 29 | 20 days | 8/5/2009 | 5 | IC, pain, sleep, mood | 3 lbs. | This info is IC sufferers: I had IC both in my late 20's and then again about 2 years ago. I'm 45 now, but when I had it in my 20's there was not even a name for it so I suffered and live on Peridium for about a year until things slowly settled down. When I got it again it made my life even more miserable. I was on Peridium Plus, Elmeron, Elivil (50mg), Zyrtec and some other bladder control drug I can't remember, and 2 different antibiotic for after sex just in case, and an antiacid for acid reflux. The only drugs I now take are the Elivil and Zyrtec at night. I drink a coffee call Kava which is instant and is super low in acid. The reason why I'm writing this is to tell IC sufferers I got better not because of all the drugs, but because I did physical therapy. I went to PT because I had pelvic floor dysfunction. And that was the root to my IC. I did months of PT once a week and after about 6-8 months I became symptom free. I still watch my diet, use Prelief for acidic foods, eat gluten free, and take the antibiotic and Peridium when needed. But over all I am in remission. So if you have not tried this therapy I suggest you do. IC is horrible and can ruin your life. I hope this helps! And I tolerate Elivil fine, I take it at night. I went off last summer but got back on in the winter because I needed it to get though my husband's deployments and work trips. I only gained 3 pounds, but I'm an avid runner so I'm able to manage my weight pretty easily even with the extra food | F | 45 | 3 years | 7/30/2009 | 2 | Migranes and Insomnia | Massive Weight Gain!!!! 100 lbs, dry mouth, and anger. I've been on 100mgs of Elavil for 2 years and not one of my doctors mentioned the possibility for weight gain. The whole time I was gaining weight while dieting no one seemed to be aware of the side effects and just blamed me for the weight gain even though I was on basically a starvation diet. I just stopped taking it yesterday and the withdrawals are awful but hopefully I will finally be able to lose the weight and find another preventative migraine medication. | It warded off the cluster migraines but I still had a constant residual headache but instead of 3 to 5 debilitating migraines a week to just 3 to 5 a month. But recently it has stopped being as effective. | M | 21 | 2 years | 7/30/2009 | 5 | fibromyaliga and depression | First week, dilated pupils,dizzy,dry mouth, blurred vision,"hangover" like feeling. Felt heavy headed like I had drank alcohol and was buzzed all day long. | After the first week, I decided to cut the (10mg) pill in 1/2. and now, I don't have the dilated pupils. Still have the dry mouth, dizzyness at times, but not as much pain. Depression has gone away. I am tired but nothing like I was before. But, I do need a nap because I am dragging by 2pm. Sleeping is good. I actually have dreams now. I figured that if it stops working, I can always take the full amount and not cut the pill in half. | F | 34 | 4 weeks | 7/27/2009 | 5 | Diabetic Neuropathy | After trying different meds for my neuropathy, including Lyrica which did nothing for me, my doctor recommend I try Elavil for the pain. I take 50 mg at night for pain in my feet and it works. I've taking it for over 3 yrs now and the only side effects I have is the severe dry mouth - which I notice happens more with stress. It does help me sleep - no pain. I do get very tired at times, but discovered that I am anemic, vitamin D deficient and low on B12. So I take a B12 shot every month, take vitamin D and chelated iron and pay attention to what I eat. I have an endocrinologist who helps me with my Type 2 Diabetes and my hunger. We added the medication Symlin (injection pen) to my insulin treatment - it's a hormone that most people with diabetes are deficient in; it keeps the food in your stomach longer. I'm not hungry all the time and I have lost weight. I do have to monitor my energy level though and I drink lots of pure water (I'm a waterholic connesuer) and the chewing gum help | I take the generic form - Amitriptyline. After reading about the different types of side effects from other ant-depressants and pain meds, I very grateful that I can take Elavil and have only dry mouth and fatigue. All of wich are manageble for me, at least now I know what was causing the dry mouth and possibly contributing to the fatigue. I hope that this gives hope to others out there. | F | 48 | | 7/22/2009 | 4 | Pain, anxiety, mood | Weight gain... blaah | I love how this drug has helped my pain and makes me happy..but, I want to eat and eat and eat. I am a nurse and it's really frustrating to try and take care of patients and always wanting to eat! I know this is an old drug and my mom swears by it, but is there anything out there that works the same way and doesn't make you hungry? I am on Cymbalta 30 mg and Adderal 15mg every day | F | 34 | 2 months | 7/20/2009 | 1 | chronic neck pain | Lethargy & weight gain | I was prescribed Elavil prior to surgery to fuse my cervical spine at three levels. Elavil did abosolutely nothing for pain. I would not take it again and do not believe that it is an effective drug for chronic pain that is not psychosomatic. | F | 52 | 3 months | 7/19/2009 | 2 | Chronic Fatigue/FM symtoms (UK) | Nearly 3 stone (42lbs) weight gain, constant hunger, shaky hands, numb arms, vivid dreams, LOVE sleeping, difficulty waking/getting up, generally feeling rough. | THANKS for this site and letting me see that I am not the only one experiencing all these problems. It's called amytriptiline in the UK and I only take 10mg at bedtime for CF etc. Sleep well, usually, but not so good before a 'work' day (only work 3 days a week thank goodness). Always tired and lethargic, can't stick to exercise or diet, really really very fed up.Will go to docs and tell him about this site and ask for an alternative. I'd rather be in pain than have no life at all. Could use Ibruprofen for pain instead and try other sleep techniques? | F | 48 | 4 years | 7/17/2009 | 2 | insomnia/anxiety | Extreme and immediate weight gain! Excessive hunger and drive for sweets. Headaches, mental confusion and boiling over anger which is difficult to control. No interest in sex. Loss of motivation, no energy or desire to leave the house. My life went 'flat line' on this medication. I would sweat profusely, it was uncomfortable and affected my physical activity. After being on this medication for several months, I thought I was loosing my mind. | Very frustrated - this is the only thing my doctor will prescribe for my insomnia and anxiety. I have gained 18 lbs. in 3 months, none of my clothes fit. In addition, I've lost interest in almost everything but sleeping. | F | 46 | 4 months | 7/10/2009 | 3 | Frozen shoulder | Insatiable hunger beginning an hour after I take it, lasting a few hours. A definite improvement in pain after only a few weeks. Helps me to sleep. | Am wondering if anyone else has taken it for frozen shoulder. The hope is that it controls the pain enough for me to begin physical therapy to begin to regain motion back. | F | 55 | 3 weeks | 7/7/2009 | 4 | Fibromyalgia/Post Lyme Syndrome | Strange Food Cravings | Eased the joint and severe muscle pain, slept better, experienced less severe migraines. Very effective med if you can control the food cravings, which I was able to do which is why I avoided the weight gain! | F | 32 | 6 months | 7/2/2009 | 4 | depression & anxiety | vivid dreams,short-term memory loss,sleep walking,loss of libido,excess sweating,,,,WEIGHT-LOSS !!! (about two-pounds/week !!! ) | I am taking 40mg. "Paxil",,, 25mg. "Elavil",,, and 1 mg. "Zanax" . All of the 'short-term' side effects go away after a few months,( dry mouth,sore throat,ringing in the ears,(so-called)...."Hallucinations",,,etc.) I don't have "NIGHTMARES",,,but I'm concerned about..."Sleep-Walking" & "Memory-Loss" ! ! ! | M | 59 | 6 months | 7/1/2009 |