Misc Amitriptyline?

[Oxy8_8]

Note (before the question, skip this paragraph if you don't give a shit about the back story, my reasons, other drugs I'm taking, etc etc): I am addicted to prescription medication. I take a combination of anti-depressants, sleeping pills, benzodiazapines, mood elevators, first-generation anti-histamines and opiates. I would probably say that I am addicted to all of them.
Although I couldn't go a day without any of them, I'd say in terms of amount taken and time obsessing over (and love of) that my MAIN addictions are OxyContin (instant release capsules and the OC's) and alprazolam (Xanax).

I have mentioned having pancreatitis on here quite a few times, and think I have mentioned fibromyalgia, too? Well I saw my doctor today (I FREAKIN' LOVE PRESCRIPTION DAY :D lmao) and he says he thinks what he initially took as fibromyalgia is actually rheumatoid arthritis because of the puffiness around my joints and the high level of pain.

Anyway, he put me on something called Amitriptyline for joint pain. Apparently, it's a tricyclic anti-depressant that is now used mostly for pain, specifically arthritic pain. After he assured me it wouldn't affect my SSRI (I'm on 100mg sertraline/zoloft) or pain meds I already had (oxy and codeine), I agreed.
It was given in doses at 75-100mg for depression but apparently 10-20mg works great for pain.

I got a box of 28 10mg pills.

I couldn't find much information online apart from that they were anti-depressants and are now used for pain.
Even on here. Nothing.

Anybody taken these before? How do they feel? Are they anything like opiates? Or will they elevate my mood? Is there any abuse potential with them?
And, of course, do they work? My left knee in particular is agonizing.

 

[T. Calderone]

My pain management doctor had given them to me to take at night because I had trouble sleeping. I was taking oxycodone as well but he decided to discontinue my alprazolam and sleep was a big problem. I was taking 50 mg to start. They do make you very tired so be careful to just take it when you're ready for bed. But that might not be a big issue since 10 mg is a pretty small dose.

No they don't feel anything like opiates to me. I didn't have a problem with abusing them the same way as alprazolam.

 

[Oxy8_8]

My pain management doctor had given them to me to take at night because I had trouble sleeping. I was taking oxycodone as well but he decided to discontinue my alprazolam and sleep was a big problem. I was taking 50 mg to start. They do make you very tired so be careful to just take it when you're ready for bed. But that might not be a big issue since 10 mg is a pretty small dose.

No they don't feel anything like opiates to me. I didn't have a problem with abusing them the same way as alprazolam.

Ah, that makes sense. He did make a point of telling me to take one at night.
I think 10mg is a start-dose and he'll increase in 10mg increments if it's not effective enough.

My doctor doesn't know I take alprazolam. They sound like a bad mix, with the oxy, too. I normally take alprazolam 0.25-0.5mg (depending how I feel/how much oxy I've had) 3 times morning/afternoon/evening and then anywhere from 0.5 to 2g at night. I think I'll skip the night time dose of alprazolam and try and wait like 6 hours between my evening alprazolam and my night amitriptyline.

Were you given it for pain as well (you mentioned you were on oxy), or just insomnia? I was wondering how good it was for pain? I still feel mild-moderate pain a lot of the time despite taking 250mg or so of Oxy. My doctor is reluctant to up the dose (he thinks I only take 120-140mg/day btw) because he thinks I'm already on a lot for my weight (110lb) and I'm 23 so he says if we up it every time I get a little tolerance I'll be taking 500 OC 80s a day by the time I'm 50 haha.

 

[paranoid android]

Amitriptyline is basically a serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor that has rather potent anti-cholinergic activity. So it can affect SSRI's as it is a serotonin reuptake inhibitor itself.

I was on amitriptyline for neuropathic pain and also for depression which later turned out to be bipolar disorder. Like all tricyclics it has no recreational potential and is certainly nothing like a opiate of benzo. The way they help pain is different from the way opiates help pain. Amitriptyline is good for neuropathic pain but i don't think it would help much with arthritis type pain atleast not on it's own anyway. I found it to not only be the best damn sleeping pill i have ever taken but it also improved my sleep quality which by itself helps pain. It's also the only anti-depressant besides bupropion that i have ever gotten along with.

 

[T. Calderone]

He prescribed amitriptyline for me because I kept complaining that I couldn't sleep after he stopped giving me alprazolam. The antihistamines he gave didn't work after a couple weeks. Plus this doctor was also a psychiatrist in Colombia and maybe thought my insomnia was depression related?

 

[Oxy8_8]

He prescribed amitriptyline for me because I kept complaining that I couldn't sleep after he stopped giving me alprazolam. The antihistamines he gave didn't work after a couple weeks. Plus this doctor was also a psychiatrist in Colombia and maybe thought my insomnia was depression related?

It's possible. Insomnia is one of the main symptoms you get when you stop taking a benzo like alprazolam.
Unless it was the anti-histamine you were already given, I would highly recommend Promethazine Hydrochloride (the box usually has Phenergan on it, but the active ingredient is promethazine hydrochloride...like how a box of "Xanax" pills is the same as alprazolam).
Promethazine is excellent for ANY of the following: insomnia, anxiety, itching, allergies, nausea, potentiates opiates, travel sickness, probably even more I don't remember lol.

 

[Rybee]

Amitriptyline is commonly prescribed for neuropathic pain. I've used it for a slipped spinal disc and chronic migraines in the past, though I just couldn't tolerate the stuff. It just made me feel awful, sick throughout the day and woke up every day feeling like I'd been beaten in bed. Swapped over to Pregabalin which was much better for me.

So unless headaches and nausea are your thing, take as much as you want, other than that there's not much use for it other than as directed.

 

[hangyourhead]

Can't amitriptyline potentiate opioids analgesic-wise? I believe it was methadone in particular.