# Elavil



## JJKWright (Mar 19, 2000)

My doc put me on 25mg. of Elavil and Levbid along with fibercon. My problem is D. Is anyone else taking these drugs?


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## Jayann (Jun 25, 2001)

I also take Elavil. I take 75ml, 25ml in the morning and 50ml at bedtime. I am also D. Elavil has helped me a lot with the Pain and some with D. I tried Levson and it did not work for me. I take Donnatal before each meal for spasms. You have to try and see what works for you. Good Luck.


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## taffy (Mar 30, 2000)

I am looking at trying Elavil. I have been on Doxpin and went from 10 mil to 75 mil over a period of several months. It took away my anxiety attacks when I felt a IBS accident about to take place but it didn't do a whole lot for my "D". I still had to use Imodium. Prior to that I had been on Lotronex for about 9 months and did good. It worked perfect for me. Since they have taken that off the market it was the oxpin and Imodium but but now just Imodium. use from 1 to 3 on the average per day. After I went off the Doxpin my anxiety did not come back. All that stuff did for me was make a zombie out of me and gave me very violent dreams at night. My daughter has IBS also but she is in remission for now but has a flair up once in a while if she gets upset about something. She wants me to try Elavil. She says it does not make her sleepy and she takes 200 mil and functions very good on that. I have some Lotronex left that I'm saving for a trip this spring in which I will have to fly 1,800 miles to see my grandson graduate. Won't trust Imodium to this trip.


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## abby101 (Jun 3, 2001)

I have been on Elavil for a month now and I am having really good results with it I take 25 mg at night and sleep very well. I did notice it seems to take away some of the anxiety with the IBS. I posted a message awhile ago to see if anyone was having any side effects from this medication but got no replys ?????


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## michou (May 2, 2000)

does anyone know the side efects of elavil. i have pain in my hands and hissing in my ears as a result of taking elavil..


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

see http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/amitrip_ad.htm


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## ilovehockey (May 30, 2001)

I used to take Elavil, but I went off of it because it caused UNCONTROLLABLE cravings for sweets (nortriptyline did the same thing). Being diabetic, this was not a good thing for me.


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## dc (Jan 30, 1999)

I just started taking one 25MG of elavil as of last night. Today I was so out of it and slept most of the day. Luckily it was a Saturday. I think I'm going to try taking only half a pill tonight and see how that works. I definately couldn't function at work with the way I felt today. I'll keep you posted and let you know the results. Bye.


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## methical (Feb 11, 2000)

just started taking elavil a few days ago....i've been told that some of elavil's side effects include constipation, a little of which is welcome for me (being a D type), but maybe it doesn't really help D, from the responses ppl who have tried elavil have given me over the last few months...i'm also anticipating the weight gain side effect, altho i don't know how common this is.the first two or three days of it, there's been a good deal of drowsiness.meth


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## danik (Apr 2, 2001)

I have been on Elavil for over a year now. I take 75mg at night and 50mg during the day. I was knocked out at first as well, this went away after adjusting to the meds...for me about 2 weeks.The long term side effects my doc told me about at my last appointment prior to my renewing the script for a year is possible side effects to the liver. I am not a habitual drinker and have decent health habits so this risk is worth the Elavil since I have success with it.My post is in the "Living with IBS" forum. Look for my username, I tried to move the post up but didn't have any luck.I have been symptom free since the day I started on the Elavil...stopped the Lotronex about a month later (this was before the recall and I was scared to stop taking it).I have a little trouble during my menstrual cycles (about a week), but compared to how it was, I won't complain.Good luck!


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## lbtweetie (Apr 9, 2002)

My doctor started me on Elavil on Monday. I took it at 6:30 Monday evening and I didn't wake up until 10:30 am Tuesday. I only had 25mg. I missed work because I didn't get out of the haze until like 3pm. That is way to serious for me. For those of you who have taken this do you think taking a half of a pill will help with the D? I didn't realize that this was an antidepressant until I got the medicine. If I was depressed I would think sleeping for 24 hours wouldn't help me.


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## carolauren (Mar 14, 2002)

I tried Elavil a long time ago. Took 25mg before bed, next day couldn't even walk straight for hours--a zombie. I tried it for three more days, cutting the tablet down each time until the last day I only took a crumb. I still couldn't tolerate it--felt like there was a big pressure on the top of my head, and couldn't think very well.







And moving S..L..O..W..L..Y never changed. Gave up at that point; there's no way I could have worked with these side effects. It did calm my intestines down, though.


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## DonnaDB (Jan 13, 2001)

weight gain, weight gain, and more weight gain!


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## clbock (May 26, 2002)

Hi There, I am new to this BB, but I've had IBS since I was about 9 years old. I had about 5 very good years and thought I'd finally left it behind until about 2 years ago. I was on Lotronex for a while and had a lot of problems with that. I've been on Elavil for about a year and a half. I started on 125mg and was told to go down 25mg every 2 weeks. I got to 25mg a day and started having horrible P and D again







so went back up to 50mg. I still had bad days, now am at 75mg a day. I take it at night and sleep like a baby. I have not had any lingering sleepiness during the day. I've tried it in the morning and did walk around like a zombie. Elavil has worked great for me. My concern is the weight gain...I was already overweight, now it has gotten so much worse. I eat moderately - very low fat - and exercise (things I've never done!) and have gained about 40lbs since I've been on it. I hate to give up something that works so well, does anyone have suggestions?


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## cadia (Jan 5, 2001)

Hi, i've been on it or some form of it for 5 years, first I was on Limbitrol a combo of Amitriptiline and Librium it worked wonders, then all of a sudden it stopped working, i was then put on nortriptiline and it didn't work and the back to regular old Elavil <amitriptiline> 50mg at night it worked well for awhile. Not it has stopped working and i have increased it and increased it. I plan on talking to my Doc about other options and trcylics.Anyway the sleepiness goes away after awhile, you do gain some weight in my case that was good, i was way to skinny, there is breast enlargement in men and women <i didnt mind in that case either> craving for carbs and sweets, which i think attributes to the weight gain, nightmares or weird dreams or vivid dreams. Im trying to think of something else, i think my hands did tingle for a little bit there but i thought it was just because my hands are always cold. Oh yeah, your blood pressure could be extremely low because of the Elavil and if you take extremely high doses likw 175mg a day you could get an arrhythmia.-Cadia


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## methical (Feb 11, 2000)

I've been on only 10 mg's of Elavil, for about 3 months now. it's done next to nothing for my ibs-d symptoms. and it still makes me somewhat drowsy, although nothing like that first week.and i've gained some weight on it, but that's ok, it's probably partially from not exercising as much as i should too.i *know* my doctor (at the mind-body digestive ctr. in nyc) is planning to higher the dosage and see if it works any better.should i go along with this??? i have this feeling like i'm just gonna sleep for half the day again and not get any better with the symptoms. plus, i need to find something that *works, period* for me during the summer since i can't toy around and experiment with symptoms during my semesters.should i demand to move onto another medicinal candidate? or should i at least try 25 mg (which i'm assuming is his next dosage level) before giving up on elavil?i'm really undecided on this, and i've been trying to decide for weeks. any advice would help guys...thanks.methical


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## jude_f (Feb 18, 2000)

I would recommend you try the 20 mg/night elavil dose. I had a somewhat similar situation to yours when I started elavi (10 mg) but the 20 mg/night helped me and the side-effects did not get worse! Of course, each of us seems to respond differently to antidepressants so the onlyway we can tell is by trying the higher dose. I got a lot of relief by trying the higher dose and over a period of time side-effects (drowsiness) decreased though did not disappear completely. Now I am trying to figure out how to get off of elavil after being on it for 3 years!


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## Cindy3535 (Jun 28, 2002)

Hi I'm new to this board. I was on elavil for almost a year. I'm done to 25mgs of it. I had really bad IBS they gave me everthing from Bentyl -Elavil, paxil, you name it I took it. My problem is the D problem. It has cleared up alot because now I have Graves Disease and not IBS. Make sure you all get your Thyroid Panel done every year to make sure that you don't have hyperthyroidism. I thought I had IBS for 4 years! I have been through the pain of cramps and all the symptoms of IBS but since I'm being treated for Graves I'm doing really well and comming off the Elavil.Side effects were yes cravings for sweets the big one! I was up to 100mgs of Elavil I needed that high of a dose to kick the IBS! Until I found out that I don't have IBS or if I do have it its really not that often. Its possible I still have IBS but I just wanted you all to know that a Thyroid imbalance can really throw things off.


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## methical (Feb 11, 2000)

hi ibs_queen, welcome to the board...how'd u find out that you had grave's disease? what were the symptoms? is there any correlations between having ibs and having grave's disease?thanks for the info







methical


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## Cindy3535 (Jun 28, 2002)

Thanks for the welcome to the board







I found out I had graves disease when my shrink ran a blood test when I was on 100mgs of Elavil and spinning like a top! I was going so fast I could hardly keep up with myself. If you don't feel really hyper on Elavil it might mean that you don't even have Graves. I would just get my thyroid checked once per year. If you don't ask the Dr. he won't do it. I am very lucky that I found out it was by chance. First I ended up at the Gastro office from there I had all the Sigmoidoscopy's and so forth and they put me on paxil that was horrible after 1 year that didn't work so I decided I must be depressed so I went to a shrink and he said, ok here is some Bentyl for pain and Elavil to calm you down I'm like thanks ok. After 8 months I was a little better but I was really spinning alot so he ordered a blood test to see if he could raise my Elavil dose to say 150mgs per day well low and behold my blood test came back that I was Hyperthyroid to the MAX. So now I see an Endrocronologist and I'm on PTU for that and I notice that I have like no IBS I mean I have some attacks but nothing as bad as before my body was so reved up I lived in the bathroom with the D problem. It was horrible I couldn't eat without something not going through me and the gut wretching pain for 3 days after I really thought I was loosing my mind. Now we are at the Gynecologist office because meanwhile I'm trying to get pregnant and well I couldn't get pregnant either so Gynecologist prescribed fertility pills so I did that routine for a while and that didn't work he never ran a blood test to see why I wasn't ovulating sooooooo its all because of the Graves. I'm very lucky though because my labs are all normal and I could end up in remission in 2 years I have a 50% chance so I'm very hopeful. My IBS is 100% better I suffered for 4 years.Please just have your Dr.'s run a routine Thyroid Panel check along with the Cholesterol check. For some reason they do not do this but Graves is the most common form of Hyperthyroidism in women its very rare but if you think that you have the D problem far to much and loose alot of weight you might have a Thyroid imbalance


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## 22800 (May 11, 2006)

Does elavil really cause weight gain? I take enough laxatives due to my CC and my doctor just started me on it about 3 weeks ago. I been trying to lose weight for awhile but has gained about 10 lbs since last year. I am so confused right now. I know i am tired and lazy due to my stomach pain that i have all the time but i really didnt expect to gain so much with all my laxatives and my diet restrictions. I went to my gyn yesterday and he told me that i shouldnt be on elavil because of my CC. He told me that i should be taking a beta blocker of some other med. I plan on calling my pcp on monday to find out what he wants to do before i refill my elavil again. I am so frustrated with the amount of pain that i have now and the tiredness and time that i end up being out of work due to the severe back pain that i have already, it just gets worse. I am going to see an ibs specialist withing a few months so i cant wait till i can do that just to see what we can do. My doctor also is ordering a CAT scan because noone else has bothered to do so just to see why i am having all the upper pain that i am getting now. The endoscopy that i had a month ago showed nothing of course like we are all familiar with. Wish me luck.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Usually the issue with most medications that cause weight gain is that they tend to alter appetite so people will without realizing it eat just a bit more every day than they used to much more than they do something to you to make you gain weight even if you eat less than usual.K.


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## 21723 (Aug 19, 2005)

I take only 5 mg before bed and it definitely helps my sleep. One thing I like about it is it gives me dreams. I never had or remembered my dreams before. I find myself dreaming about people I have not had contact with for 20+ years. The brain is an amazing thing.BTW not much help with ibs D. The low dose makes me feel sharp and alert throughout the day.


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## 16331 (Dec 14, 2005)

It was the first antidepressant I was ever on. Helped with stomach problems and pain, and also anxiety. I took it for about 5 or 6 yrs, 10mg-25mg. But I had to quit it, because it made me So Mean, Irritable, Irrational. I lost 2 relationships on it, because of these affects on me, and that's me. They couldn' t stand to be around me. I finally got off of it, after 3 tries, had stomach aches, and pains upon withdrawal from this. But I was a different person, more calm, not so irritable and mean, but by that time it was too late to salvage my relationship. I didn't realize after all those yrs, that it was my med, until it was too late, but other than that, it helped with the IBS symptoms .


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## Gill58 (Sep 19, 2006)

> quote:Originally posted by abby101:I have been on Elavil for a month now and I am having really good results with it I take 25 mg at night and sleep very well. I did notice it seems to take away some of the anxiety with the IBS. I posted a message awhile ago to see if anyone was having any side effects from this medication but got no replys ?????


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## 19149 (Dec 17, 2006)

For those of you that found elavil helpful, how long were you on it before it started to really help? I'm on day 7 and it does seem to help but I want to increase the dose (25 to 50) to see if it will help more--but I want to be sure and give the 25 adequate time to be of real benefit. Did it work right away or did you get better benefits after several weeks? Thanks


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## Stuart (Oct 11, 2004)

Andi, I take 75 mg of Elavil at night. It took about two weeks to max out its benefit, which is good many days for me, but I still take Imodium and other drugs most days.I agree the weight gain is related to an increase in appetite.BTW Elavil is on the $4 generic list at Wal-Mart.


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## tltrull (Nov 12, 2005)

> quote:Originally posted by rbrockportoes elavil really cause weight gain?


YES! I was underweight, always have been. When I started Elavil, 5'1" and 96 lbs. In about 5 months I put on 25lbs! Of course this didnt happen until my dose went up. I started at 25mg, now up top 75mg, but will probably be upped again since I am not sleeping well again.Its like a double whammy, it not only increases appetite, but slows your metabolism and in the beginning I craved lots of sweets.One good thing is I dont need as much Lotronex when I take the Elavil. I do feel better now about my weight, I was so slef-conscious when I was that thin. Oh yeah, along with the weight, breast enlargement may occur, which isnt too bad..LOL!


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## 19149 (Dec 17, 2006)

Thanks Stuart! I'm up to 50mg now and I'm so glad you mentioned the $4 Walmart tidbit! I'll be taking my refills there.


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## 13777 (Sep 5, 2006)

my doc has me on 10 mg a day. i have asked him to increase dosage since it has worked for me but not good enoough, but he seems reluctant to do so, i wonder why


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