ELAVIL Reviews (AMITRIPTYLINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 3.1 (585 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare ELAVIL with similar:
Type: Brand name discontinued; available as generic
|
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 |
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ELAVIL | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 3 | migraines | Increased appetite-especially for sweets which caused a huge weight gain, constant drowsiness even though I slept like a baby. Over time it actually made my migraines a lot worse and I had no idea it was from elavil. Anxiety and panic attacks started later on that I have NEVER had in my life. | Good sleep aid and that's about it. Started off at 25mg reduced to 15mg. HIGHLY addictive and you must come off of it slowly. Took for 3yrs until I realized a lot of things that were going wrong with me were from the elavil. Made migrains more frequent and worse. Off of it for 4 weeks now and feel normal again. Trouble with taking off the weight now as I gained 25lbs in 3 years. | F | 25 | 3 years | 3/14/2007 | 3 | migraines | Increased appetite-especially for sweets which caused a huge weight gain, constant drowsiness even though I slept like a baby. Over time it actually made my migraines a lot worse and I had no idea it was from elavil. Anxiety and panic attacks started later on that I have NEVER had in my life. | Good sleep aid and that's about it. Started off at 25mg reduced to 15mg. HIGHLY addictive and you must come off of it slowly. Took for 3yrs until I realized a lot of things that were going wrong with me were from the elavil. Made migrains more frequent and worse. Off of it for 4 weeks now and feel normal again. Trouble with taking off the weight now as I gained 25lbs in 3 years. | F | 25 | 3 years | 3/14/2007 | 2 | chronic pain relief | Got up with worst hangovers in my life. Don't drink alcohol much anymore at all and can't take hangover feeling. | Prescribed for long term pain control. Will put you right to sleep at night and soundly throughout but not worth the fog you have to love in while on it. | M | 50 | 5 years | 3/14/2007 | 4 | Over active digestive system | Weight gain; inability to urinate; constipation; loss of libido | A GI MD suggested a low dose of Elavil after reviewing my 7 years of tests, procedures, medications for reflux and/or vasomotor rhinitis, and the 18 other specialists I had seen before him - with 0 results. My complaint was throat congestion, most noticeably after eating. Since 1999 I've been plagued with chronic throat clearing and IBS. This GI said tricyclics were recently found to help 'some' with IBS. I started with 25 mg, then 50, and within 2 weeks I was totally FREE of throat congestion, I had more normal bowels, I was less anxious, AND I could fall asleep right away (it used to take at least 1 hr) - 1st time in 7 years! My husband & I were able to sleep together again. Unfortunately, 50 mg. started to lose its efficacy after a few weeks, so I upped it to 75mg. This worked for about a week or 2 before I started with the throat congestion again. My MD increased it to 100mg today. We'll see what happens. I'm worried about the weight gain and libdo. (Vitamin B seems to h | F | 56 | 3 months | 3/5/2007 | 5 | Headaches, migraines, insomnia | Weight gain, irritability | Suffering from depression time to time, since elavil was an antidepressant, I expected it too lessen my gloomy days. No such thing happened. | F | 18 | 5 months | 2/28/2007 | 4 | migrianes, sleeping, daily headache | Mood swings, weight gain, tiredness | I have been taking 10mg for about 3 months, I tried to up my dose to 20mg but the mood swings were unbareable. It has helped me significanly with my headaches, which is a blessing. I just need to find out how to take care of my moods. | F | 30 | 3 months | 2/27/2007 | 2 | spinal stenosis, manic insomnia | WEIGHT GAIN overnight...difficult to focus...halucinations blurred vision constipation eye twitches every day | wanna sleep? no doubt it will work. Groggy hangover mornings, accompanied with a severe longing to unconstipate...if you know what i mean...worsened manic episodes because of frustation and lack of focus the next day. I gained 15 1bs in 2 weeks! I never overate in fact recently lost weight and was more confident...until i took elavil 25-50 a night. Sleep w 2 yr old son same bed and i swear i saw an "entity" hover over his body. yeah ive stopped and am still out of it hopefully soon effects will leave. dont take it if your bipolar or aDD......for fibro and pain and sleep it may be beneficial but its def not for me. | F | 27 | 29 days | 2/22/2007 | 4 | Migraine | Took the 25MG before bed and experienced weight gain 15 lbs in 4 months. Some fatigue and feeling of muscle weaknesses. | My migraines were horrific and included vomitting. I also got them frequently approximately 5 times a week. Since I started taking the medicine, I feel as if I got my life back. I would like to learn how to manage my weight with this drug. I had a very stable weight prior to the drug. | F | 29 | 4 months | 2/20/2007 | 3 | 8-10 migraines per month, insomnia | ravenously hungry all the time (even after large meals), absolutely exhausted all day, lack of intrest in sex. | I was given Elavil as a migraine preventative, and sleep aid. It did work quite well as a sleep aid, but trying to get through my day at work feeling like a zombie was unbearable. I needed at least 700mg of caffeine in the morning to function normally. I almost had an accident on the way to work, because I was so tired. The groggyness lasted all day. I experienced fewer migraines while on it, but since it was only for a short time, I don't know if that was just a coincidence. I was so hungry all the time that I could barely function. I was starving, and compelled to eat much more food than I usually would. I don't care for this stuff at all. There are far better treatments for insomnia and migraines with far less detrimental side effects. I am sticking with 5-HTP. It is the only thing that has helped me to have fewer migraines, while also keeping my quality of life. Elavil is EVIL. | F | 30 | 1 weeks | 1/15/2007 | 3 | Depression and chronic pain | Severe sleepiness - I am asleep within 2 hours of taking it, and if I force myself to stay awake I experience severe shooting pains in legs. Need to take it by 8pm, otherwise have a 'hangover effect' the next day, so has somewhat disrupted my social life. I can't drink, as this heightens the drowsiness. Weight gain, dizziness, dry mouth, low blood pressure, dry eyes. | Gradually built up to 75mg daily. It has greatly reduced my chronic headaches, and lessened the depression well, but the side effects are a struggle to live with...its hard to know what is worse..... | F | 27 | 3 years | 1/15/2007 | 5 | migraines | dry mouth (for first couple of weeks); tiredness; symptoms went away within first three weeks of taking medicine | I take 25mg of amitriptylin (elavil)and my migraines have been decreased from 5/6 month to only 1 a month. I have increased energy, more alert, and much more positive attitude and outlook on everyday life. | F | 40 | 3 months | 1/9/2007 | 3 | neck and back pain | major weight gain, hard to wake up in morning, major cravings for sweets, | I was taking 20 mg two hours before bedtime every night for neck and back pain. I have never slept so good. The pain went away after only three short days of being on it! It was great! The only problem is that it made me crave sweets and I gained 20 pounds in 2 months. I developed shin splints from the weight coming on so quickly. So, I had to stop taking it. Now the pain in my neck and back is becoming noticeable again. Other than the weight gain, I was very pleased with this medication. | F | 29 | 6 months | 1/9/2007 | 1 | tension headaches depression | weightgain,hotflushes,anxiety,fast heart beat | worked well for depression and chronic tension headaches, But effected my heart big time and gave me hot flushes all day. | M | 40 | 1 years | 1/7/2007 | 4 | Fibromyalgic pain, insomnia | Dry mouth, loss of the little sex drive I had left | I survived X-mas due to this drug, which is called something else (Klotripyl) in my country. The nervous breakdown didn't come until afterwards, haha. I had been taking it before but it was only when I had taken a less complex version of it (Triptyl), decreased it to 10 mg, and then stopped taking it altogether that I realized how effective it had been. I was in much greater pain and my sleep was less restorative without it. I really was a wreck. Then I started to take 25 mg at night. I skipped most of my other drugs or decreased them, but I do have to take a sleeping pill as well in order to sleep enough (my insomnia is really severe after 8 years). My mood improved as soon as I started taking it, presumably not because it's an antidepressant but because I felt less like a physical wreck and I more capable of coping with stress. | F | 40 | 25 days | 12/31/2006 | 4 | Fibrom,vulvodynia,insomnia,hsp | Insatiable thirst, also causes me to drink more at night so I have to go to pee all the time and thus wake up often (often due to an urge to pee even if the bladder is not even half-full). | I have a theory, which I'd like to share with anyone who is taking an anti-depressant, being for painrelief or depression. Some medecines seem to speed you up, causing insomnia but maybe increasing your energylevel. It works for some, but can be lethal for others. I am one of those who are energetic by nature, but my body cannot cope with my speed. So I need something to slow me down. It seems Elavil is one of those (maybe also therefore causing constipation and tiredness in some). I have chronic diarrhoea, which is typical of people with a faster way about them, always apt to changes and no tendency to gain weight. I strongly suggest you look at your own personality type before accepting to try out a new medicine. Btw, I have tried lots of medecines and only sedatives help me. Without lots of sleep I'm a wreck. | F | 40 | 25 days | 12/31/2006 | 5 | Chronic daily headache | Some weight gain (6 or 7 pounds). Minor constipation. Vivid dreams. | I am taking amitriptyline. Started at 10mg per day for a month,which had no effect. Gradually increased to 30mg per day which seemed to resolve the problem of chronic daily headaches almost completely. Over past week have tried to reduce from 30mg to 25mg but I have noticed the effect immediately as headache symptoms beginning to recur. Will stick with it a bit longer, but then may have to go back to 30mg. Am concerned that I may have to take it 'for ever' as root cause of me suddenly having multiple headaches still unknown. | M | 53 | 12 months | 12/29/2006 | 3 | Insomnia,Headaches,Depression | Spaced out feeling | This stuff is strong.I went straight in at 100mg and felt like the living dead all day.Had to run 4 miles and drink a ton of Caffeine to wake my head back up.Best to start at 25mg,and have been on 25-50mg for a month or so. Like most Psychiatric drugs,they ain't going to cure anything and certainly not as good for Depression as a good work out at the gym. | M | 2 months | 12/16/2006 | 1 | nerve pain following nerve injury | Sweets cravings, weight gain, nightmares, night terror, depression | I haven't had depression before and was given this medication to help with nerve pain and insomnia following surgery. At first 10mg helped me sleep, however as the dose was increased, gained 10lbs in two weeks, wanted sweets never felt full, had nightmares, would wake up during the night terrified of shadows, started feeling sad all the time, could not stop crying. I have been off it for two weeks now. I will never take Elavil again. I would rather be in constant physical pain. | F | 29 | 3 months | 12/13/2006 | 3 | Daily migraines | Dry Mouth at first. VERY tired, hard to get up. As long as it's taken before bed I don't notice the side effects much. | I started with 20mg and it worked for a few months, then the pain came back. So increased it to 40mg on drs orders. Again worked well for a few months but pain is returning. | F | 25 | 2 years | 12/12/2006 | 4 | Fibro. & Chronic Lofgren's Syndrome | Terrible dry mouth. Neutering effects; went from oversexed appetite to total indifference to sexual activity and delayed orgasm when I DID have sex! That is VERY disconcerting! | I sleep so well on this drug! I wake up well rested. This is the reason I was rx'd the drug-to help with my chronically fatigued joints and all-over pain. It has helpd some on the pain, but I see more of a sleep effect for me than a pain relieving effect for me. At my next Rheumatologist appointment in a week, I plan on getting off the med due to the side effects on the sex drive alone! It is very upseting to me, to the point of preferring more pain in order to have my *bursting* libido back! | F | 42 | 2 months | 12/10/2006 |