# Amitriptyline/Dicyclomine and Weight Gain



## muttleytm (Jan 8, 2013)

I started taking amitriptylene and dicyclamine for IBS for just about a year now. It really does help with the IBS, however I have also gained about forty to fifty pounds in that time. I can't think of anything drastically different in my eating and exercising. I've heard that amitriptylene can cause weight gain along with the other older depression meds.

Has anyone had this problem and is there an alternative to the amitriptylene? I like that my IBS symptoms are much better, but, being overweight and winding up with diabetes isn't a very good tradeoff.


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

I have never taken a tricyclic AD (or any other for that matter) because I am sensitive to alot of drugs in that particular class (the TCAs), but weight gain seems to be a very, very common side effect for most ADs. I am not sure if it actually slows metabolism, makes the "I'm full" signal from the brain stop, or a combination of both.

You might speak with your doctor about it; perhaps there is another, similar med that might help. Oh, now I remember my GI doctor told me once that desipramine (same class as Elavil) had reportedly fewer side effects that Elavil, but it also might not have as much of an effect on GI problems...

There are also holistic rememdies you could try like enteric peppermint, Iberogast, etc. Like everything else they work for some and not others.


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## muttleytm (Jan 8, 2013)

After a lot of telephone tag I got through to my GI doctor. He said the medicine from him shouldn't be the cause. I also take a couple of other antidepressant meds (Lexapro and Wellbutrin XL) and that I should talk to the doctor who prescribed them. I had already talked to that doctor's nurse practitioner and she said that since I had been taking them for quite a few years without weight gain and since the increase in weight correlated with me taking the IBS meds that they would more likely be to blame.

I sort of had a feeling this would happen each doctor pointing to the other...

The dose of Elavil is 50 mg/day which I understand is lower than what is used for depression, but, I also know that TCA's are known to cause weight gain.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Often the problem is they increase appetite and even a couple of hundred extra calories a day over time does add up.

If you really work on portion control (no eating out of the bag, etc) does the weight stabilize?

You could see if desipramine (a TCA but in a differen class of TCA) works as theys sometimes have fewer side effects.


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## muttleytm (Jan 8, 2013)

For the record, because of leg pain due to both arthritis and Sciatica, I went off the amitriptylene and also the lexapro and also gabapentin as they can all cause weight gain. My priority shifted to knee and leg pain and I did lose about forty pounds over a period of months. Hopefully, I will continue to lose more. I didn't change my diet.

As it turned out, my leg pains were due to both arthritis in the knee and Sciatica, but, mainly Sciatica which is now pretty much gone.

So my attention is again on IBS.


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