# 7 weeks on amitriptyline (elavil)



## TVgirl (Sep 16, 2009)

Okay now I am at my 7 week mark. I am doing so much better. My IBS has definitly improved and I am 100% positive it is because of this medication. It has caused my intestines to move slower and as a result I do not have the urgency and loose BM's like I was having before. It took a good month or so to really feel the effects though which is typical of antidepressants. I take 25mg every night. I do not take other medications other than an occasional Nexium. I took the occasional Nexium before amitriptyline so I know the nexium hasn't made the difference. I get heartburn and reflux which is why I take the Nexium. I don't think it has totally helped my depressive symptoms but I do feel more hopeful about things and I am less social phobic. I am less anxious but I attribute that to having my bowels working better.Cons: the medication has anticholinergic effects (in other words it dries you out). The biggest noticeable symptom is dry mouth. So I think I am putting myself in a more dehydrated state which is probably why my BM's are more formed and not loose. I'd rather be dehydrated than have diarrhea and cramps and urgency. Dry mouth I can live with. AND I have had some BM's that were a little hard to get out because they were a little too hard. This has resulted in a flare up of a hemorrhoid that I have. So now I am having a minor hemorrhoid problem...again something I can live with. Also I have always been a headache sufferer and I noticed my headaches have gotten worse but this might be due to dehydration again. I need to work on increasing my fluids.I rarely have bad or unmanageable days for the past month BUT I still have some anxiety about it. I always wake up in the morning fearing about what the day will be like but I can see this slowly subsiding. Today however I had one of my bad days. BUT last night after work, I got off near midnight and I stopped at Wendy's and had a burger and a big pop (coke). Well I felt quite nauseated after that plus I had just gotten over a cold. Then because I had the coke I stayed up until like 4 am. Yeah not good !! so during the day I had a bout of urgency cramps and loose BM (not watery) but loose. BUT even with this I just went once and it was over with. I still felt a bit iffy, but it went away. We actually then went out for dinner at families and I had no problems.So far so good. I am going to continue with this medication. I do have some other questions which I will put in another post.


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

Good to hear the amitriptyline is working for you... my doctor has recommended it to me at my last appointment, but I refused because I didn't want to deal with the side effects. He also told me that, of the TCAs, amitrip. is one of the weakest at actually controlling depressive symptoms. At low doses it does have an effect on IBS symptoms, but not as much for psychological symptoms. He said the better one for that was desipramine, but that one I think has fewer anticholinergic properties, so may not help as much with the IBS. I don't suffer from depression, so that's a non-issue for me, but just wanted to let you know.I have a few questions since you are 7 weeks ino you suffer from side effects like sleepiness/drowsiness? Did you ever, and (if you did) are you still (at 7 weeks) feeling this?Have you experienced any weight gain and/or increased appetite?Did you ever suffer from bloating/abdominal distension as an IBS symptom, and if so did the amitrip. help this at all?Thanks!


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## TVgirl (Sep 16, 2009)

faze action said:


> Good to hear the amitriptyline is working for you... my doctor has recommended it to me at my last appointment, but I refused because I didn't want to deal with the side effects. He also told me that, of the TCAs, amitrip. is one of the weakest at actually controlling depressive symptoms. At low doses it does have an effect on IBS symptoms, but not as much for psychological symptoms. He said the better one for that was desipramine, but that one I think has fewer anticholinergic properties, so may not help as much with the IBS. I don't suffer from depression, so that's a non-issue for me, but just wanted to let you know.I have a few questions since you are 7 weeks ino you suffer from side effects like sleepiness/drowsiness? Did you ever, and (if you did) are you still (at 7 weeks) feeling this?Have you experienced any weight gain and/or increased appetite?Did you ever suffer from bloating/abdominal distension as an IBS symptom, and if so did the amitrip. help this at all?Thanks!


No I do not feel sleepy or drowsy at 25mg per day. I felt sleepy most during the first week. In fact I was hoping this medication would help me feel sleepier during the night but it doesn't. I still have trouble sleeping. I think my appetite is about the same. I have weight to lose for sure because I am overweight so I watch my weight closely and I haven't gained anything. In fact I actually lost a couple pounds in the past month. I never had much bloating or abdominal distension in the past or gas. Now I get occasional constipation where I don't go for 3 days max and that is when I start to feel bloated. It has definitly helped my symptoms and I think it is because I feel less anxious too. The only real side effect I find is dry mouth, that is the biggest. I used to think dry mouth was such a minor thing but it is actually really uncomfortable and the worst is in the morning. And as embarassing as it is to say...I have a decreased sex drive. My sex drive before wasn't good but now it really isn't good...my poor husband !! LOL.anyways that is about all I can say. I am very happy to be on it and I am wondering if increasing it by another 10mg might be worth trying. but that is just me. Tammy


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

TVgirl said:


> No I do not feel sleepy or drowsy at 25mg per day. I felt sleepy most during the first week. In fact I was hoping this medication would help me feel sleepier during the night but it doesn't. I still have trouble sleeping. I think my appetite is about the same. I have weight to lose for sure because I am overweight so I watch my weight closely and I haven't gained anything. In fact I actually lost a couple pounds in the past month. I never had much bloating or abdominal distension in the past or gas. Now I get occasional constipation where I don't go for 3 days max and that is when I start to feel bloated. It has definitly helped my symptoms and I think it is because I feel less anxious too. The only real side effect I find is dry mouth, that is the biggest. I used to think dry mouth was such a minor thing but it is actually really uncomfortable and the worst is in the morning. And as embarassing as it is to say...I have a decreased sex drive. My sex drive before wasn't good but now it really isn't good...my poor husband !! LOL.anyways that is about all I can say. I am very happy to be on it and I am wondering if increasing it by another 10mg might be worth trying. but that is just me. Tammy


Thanks for answering... based on what you said I don't think the amitrip. would work all that well for me, but I guess everyone is a bit different. Good to hear that the drowsiness did not persist for you anyway (that was one of the side effects that I was worried about). The post-prandial abdominal distension is one of my worst symptoms, so if it's not all that effective for that I don't think it's worth the other side effects (for me).And on the decreased libido: no thanks!!







I don't have a boyfriend right now anyway, but I definitely do not want that!Well, thanks for responding; it was helpful...


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## Friday (Dec 9, 2008)

TV girl - your IBS-B has been helped by amitriptyline alone? I have to take imodium too. But then I find I have to 'go' little and often which is annoying but better than having diarrhoea!Did you start on 25mg? I started on 10mg and moved up to 20mg. I might try to take 30mg as the result of your taking 25mg is a really good one.Do you find it helps with 'urgency' if you get that? That's something I still get, even if it's not D.


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