Eddie123: amitriptyline withdrawel

[Eddie123]

hi 

im a 43 year old male who was put on  10mg amittriptlyne on october 6th 2020 for a bout of chronic insomnia that i had for 6month,i took this drug for 3 months and went cold turkey 30 days ago ,i stoped takeing the drug as it was makeing me feel really tired and depressed ,i am a self employed gas engineer ,are these withdrawel symptoms that i am presenting at the moment-

severe morning anxiety

health anxiety

constant nerve tingling /twitching in head and face 

stomach bloating 

acid reflux 

fuzzy feeling in head 

 

i wished i never had taken this drug as my withdrawel symptoms seem to be gettin worse ,or do i need to speak to my gp and get mri scan for my head,any advice would be very much appeciated .

 

many thanks 

 

Edited February 4, 2021 by Shep
removed real name

[Shep]

Hi, Eddie.

 

Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants. 

 

These do sounds like withdrawal symptoms.

 

On 2/1/2021 at 7:15 AM, Eddie123 said:

severe morning anxiety

health anxiety

constant nerve tingling /twitching in head and face 

stomach bloating 

acid reflux 

fuzzy feeling in head

 

Please see:

 

Early-morning waking - managing the morning cortisol spike

 

Health anxiety, hypochondria and obsession with symptoms

 

Occasional neuromuscular symptoms: tics, twitches, fasciculations, spasms, cramps, restless legs

 

Digestive problems: nausea, diarrhoea, bloating, GERD

 

Head noise and other symptoms in the head

 

This list may be helpful:

 

Dr. Joseph Glenmullen's withdrawal symptom checklist

 

On 2/1/2021 at 7:15 AM, Eddie123 said:

im a 43 year old male who was put on  10mg amittriptlyne on october 6th 2020 for a bout of chronic insomnia that i had for 6month,i took this drug for 3 months and went cold turkey 30 days ago

 

Since you've only been off amitriptyline for 30 days, you may want to reinstate a tiny amount. Just 2 or 3 mg may be enough. Please see this thread for why a small amount can be very helpful:

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

This thread will show how you you get these tiny doses:

 

Tips for tapering off amitriptyline

 

Here are more helpful links on withdrawal:

 

How psychiatric drugs remodel your brain

 

Healing from antidepressants. Patterns of recovery video (4 minutes)

 

The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

Are you taking any other drugs or any supplements? Please set up a signature with your drug history. 

 

Please summarize your withdrawal history in your signature

 

As you tell us more about your history, we can better help you set up a reinstatement and answer any questions. 

[Eddie123]

Hi shep , I am not takeing any other medication,  and before this happened I have never taken antidepressants,  I dont drink or smoke and try and keep myself fit , I'm a self employed gas engineer so I need to be mentally on the ball when working,  I feel at the moment as if someone has kicked the old myself out of me , and put something in place that is not me , if I dont reinstate this terrible drug , will I still be able to make a full recovery and get myself back ,it feels like my brain has been permanently changed  in the way I thinck and react , the symptoms today horrific,  insomnia constant nerve tingling twitching in head and face, ears ringing  also a fuzzy preasure feeling round head as well ,I'm a former British soldier as well and normally I have a strong mental positive attitude,  but this as really nocked me for six, I wish the consultant who prescribed the drug told me the truth  I would of never taken them   ,all he said was they are none addictive and that it would get my sleep back on track with no issues when I finnish takeing them .

At the moment I feel like getting mri scan on the head for this horrible nerve twitching/tingling, and if it is the amitriptyline causing it ,why.

 

Kind regards 

Craig 

Dudley 

Westmidlands 

Uk

[Shep]

1 hour ago, Eddie123 said:

if I dont reinstate this terrible drug , will I still be able to make a full recovery and get myself back

 

Reinstating may make it easier for you to be functional. 

 

What do you think of adding in a bit to see if it helps? You could take 1/4 of your 10 mg dose, which is 2.5 mg, and see how you do. It takes about 4 days for your nervous system to register a change and a week or more to fully adjust back to the drug. 

 

Please post your thoughts.

 

 

[Eddie123]

Hi shep 

 

I really dont want to reinstate,  can you fully recover going cold turkey, its 5 weeks today I've been off this drug , I really do want to try and stay off it , I was not depressed or ever had anxiety until I went on.this drug , nhs should explain the withdrawal symptoms before prescribing this stuff. 

[Shep]

The best way to explain the "reinstate and taper" versus "the cold turkey" is like this:  Going cold turkey is like jumping out a 3 story window. Tapering is like taking the stairs. 

 

You can recover from a cold turkey, but it takes a lot longer and is much more painful. Please see:

 

Cold Turkey and Too-Fast Tapers

 

Please note you won't be taking it for depression or anxiety. You're taking it to minimize withdrawal symptoms due to having become dependent on the drug.  Please see:

 

How psychiatric drugs remodel your brain

 

You could try quartering your dose and taking 2.5 mg and if that does help, you could see about getting liquid amittriptlyne for your taper so you can go very slowly and very mindfully. 

[Eddie123]

good morning shep

 

thanks for reply

 

i thinck i had window yesterday afternnon as i felt a bit like my old self,i took me about 3 hours to fall asleep last night ,so i had about 4 hours sleep ,got up this morning at 07.00 am ,the symptoms i have this morning

severe head nerve popping/twitching

fuzzy brain feeling 

brain fog

heads cold

severe anxiety

heart papatations

hand shakeing

feeling removed from myself

acid reflux

 

i had private mri scan yesterday on the brain to investigate nerve twitching on head and face ,as im worried its something sinister,i just hope it comes back clear, i feel so angry with myself for takeing this drug ,i should of gone with my gut feeling ,but i trusted my neurologisti just worried i will never get my old self back,i run my own gas central heating buisness and im worried i wont be able to mentally do the work again,i really do not want to reinstate ,i i dont want to give into this shity withdrawl. i dont drink or smoke and try and keep myself fit ,and have a lovely wife and son ,i hope i get myself back soon .

 

god bless

eddie

 

[Shep]

Eddie, how is your diet? A lot of people dealing with amitriptyline find they become food sensitive, especially to foods high in histamine. You may want to research foods low in histamine and see if modifying your diet with low-histamine foods can help. Drugs like amitriptyline really mess up the body's ability to process histamine. Here is a thread on SA to get you started, but you can find a lot more using google searches. 

 

Histamine food intolerance

 

 

[Eddie123]

my diet is preety good

 

breakfast -bowel off porridge oats,1 standard cup of coffe with 2 sugars.

2 litres off bottled water per day

at least 3 pices off fruit

pack off crisps with sandwich dinner time

 

evening meal normally 4 types off vedgetables ,fish.

sunday dinner is always roast beef ,thats the only time i eat meat.

 

how long do you think ,these withdrawels could last considering i was only takeing 10mg for 10 weeks then down to 5mg for last 3 weeks off the 3 month period i was takeing them for.

 

many thanks for you advice

best wishes

eddie   

[Shep]

On 2/6/2021 at 10:27 AM, Eddie123 said:

breakfast -bowel off porridge oats,1 standard cup of coffe with 2 sugars.

 

Sounds like you're eating a healthy diet, which is great. Do you feel any upticks in symptoms due to the coffee? Many of us find our nervous systems are too destabilized to handle caffeine and sugar, so you may want to reduce the coffee and sugar and see if that helps any. Perhaps switch out the regular coffee for decaf or even half decaf and see if that helps. 

 

On 2/6/2021 at 10:27 AM, Eddie123 said:

how long do you think ,these withdrawels could last considering i was only takeing 10mg for 10 weeks then down to 5mg for last 3 weeks off the 3 month period i was takeing them for.

 

Please see:

 

Cold Turkey and Too-Fast Tapers

 

You may find some helpful information to handle your symptoms here: 

 

Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements, as many members report their nervous systems are simply too fragile to handle them. However, magnesium and fish oil tend to be calming to the nervous system and many people report they do help. Please only add in one supplement at a time and at a small dose. For more, please see:

 

 King of supplements: Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker