SoCalTaper: Amitriptyline Taper

[SoCalTaper]

First time.  Sorry if im not doing this right.

 

So all the drugs ive been prescribed over the years have been for insomnia or for restless legs caused by the antidepressants given to me for insomnia.   About a year ago i did a sleep study and was told i have mild sleep apnea and that it could be causing my insomnia.  Unfortunately i haven’t been able to sleep with cpap machine.  Since the sleep study ive lost 25lbs.  After i lost the first 15 my sleep started to get a little better so i started tapering Amitriptyline.  
 

From Januaury-late June 2023 I tapered from 50mg down to 10mg just by eye balling it and cutting off gradually bigger pieces.  I felt it everytime i cut back further.  After 2-3 days i get very irritable, then some flu like symptoms and after about a week the anxiety kicks in.   The lower i get the longer it lasts.

 

My last successful taper was last June.  I went from taking 12.5mg(half of a 25mg tablet) down to a 10mg tablet.  After about a week i had severe anxiety.  Its a horrible anxiety that i can feel physically in my upper stomach lower chest area.  It took about 2 weeks before it started to go away.  
 

Since i got down to 10mg ive tried to go lower 3 times but had to go back to 10mg because i dont seem to be recovering. Ive also been struggling with insomnia ever since I hit 10mg.   Before I hit 10mg i was able to taper without it affecting my sleep.

 

When i got to 10mg i bought a scale to help taper more accurately.  This is where i ran into trouble.  The pills i take are 10mg tablets with a pink coating on it.  But they weigh anywhere from 61mg up to 67mg.   I Dont know if its the coating thats off or the medicine.  After my 1st attempt to taper down from 10mg i wasnt recovering so after 1 month i went back to 10mg.  I wasnt sure if it was the medicine thats off in the pills so for a couple weeks i took only pills that weighed between 63-64mg and i leveled out.  I did the same thing the 2nd time around but it took about 3 weeks.  But this last time ive been just mixing it up taking pills of all different weights 61-67mg.  Its been 5 weeks today and although my symptoms have improved im still have a little bit of that sick anxiety feeling off and on threw out the day and trouble sleeping.  I dont know if its just taking longer to level out cause of some sort of kindling effect or if its because the medicine is off in these pills.  Was wondering if anyone had insight on this.

 

I decided i wont be using the scale in the future since the weight of the pills off by as much as 10%.  I bought a medicine bottle,  some oral syringe adapters and a 10ml oral syringe.  My plan is to use 100ml of water so that every 10ml equals 1 mg.   Im just waiting to feel 100% before moving forward.  Im very nervous about switching to a liquid.  Just looking for advice and support.  Again if anyone has any insight as to why i havent leveled out all the way after 5 weeks i would appreciate it.   Thank You.

[SoCalTaper]

I'm still unable to switch over to a liquid because I'm still having anxiety everyday although it has improved somewhat.  I'm hoping I will level out before my next Dr. appointment in 3 weeks.  I'm constantly afraid that she will become impatient with me and take away the amitriptyline.  Just the thought of that makes me feel like I'm going to have a panic attack.

[LotusRising]

Hi @SoCalTaper

 

I'm not as familiar with amitriptyline, but have you read this thread:

 

 

On 1/20/2024 at 2:51 PM, SoCalTaper said:

dont know if its just taking longer to level out cause of some sort of kindling effect or if its because the medicine is off in these pills.  Was wondering if anyone had insight on this.

It could be that your body hasn't caught up with your reductions. Have you considered holding for longer? For some, it can also get more difficult at lower dosages, so this could be happening too.

 

 

[SoCalTaper]

Yes I have read that thread, thank you.  I think the reason I was having trouble leveling out is because I had been using an allergy nasal spray called Flonase.  It's the only thing I was doing differently.  Once I stopped, a week or two later I felt better.  Unfortunately I'm still having trouble sleeping due to sleep apnea so I have to hold back from tapering at the moment.  I have an appointment to see a new Dr. about my sleep.  Once my sleep is under control I will be back to taper.  Thanks for the help.