Amitriptyline (Elavil)

[KaLee]

On a compounded dose of only 1 mg, I had numerous side effects. This was many years ago, so I don't recall the details. What I do remember is that I was so fatigued and weak, I had to drag myself upstairs using my arms on the railing.

 

[Upgrayedd]

I've just started Elavil, 10mg, about 2 hours before bedtime, for the past week. I have been sleeping like a baby. I guess I was a little drowsy the first couple of days, but I'm always a little drowsy, even on my best days.

Before this, I used Trazodone, 50-150mg at bedtime for a couple of years. It helped tremendously when I was suffering from the worst insomnia, but over time, it seemed to be less effective. I'm hoping the Elavil continues to work out...

 

[Who Me?]

@Upgrayedd Good it's working. I think it drugged me out too much.

I find a combination of a sleep initiator and sleep sustainers work best. I have a bunch of OTC and rx stuff that I alternate every night so I don't develop tolerance. That sounds like what happened to you with the trazodone which is one of the things I use.

You might want to consider alternating the elavil with the trazodone to avoid that.

 

[Upgrayedd]

Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking of alternating with the trazodone, once I see how the elavil works out over some time. I want to try different doses of the elavil too.

I've tried a lot of otc supps over the years - melatonin, 5htp, phosphatidyl serine (sp?), magnesium, l-theanine, sleep formulas, etc. - none of them ever really helped before trazodone. That was a game changer at the time.

I also tried ambien, and just had weird hallucinations - never really fell asleep.

 

[Who Me?]

@Upgrayedd I used to just take trazodone and Suntheanine. Then everything changed.

I fought it for months, but I finally came to realize that I absolutely will not sleep unless I start with a benzo. Then I had layers.

I also always wake in the middle of the night so I need something else to get me back to sleep.

It's all about trying stuff to see what works. This is some of what i use. I never take the same combination 2 nights in a row. All low doses

Ambien, Triazolam, oxazepam, seroquel, kava, passion flower, theanine, etizolam, baicalin, doxylamine, skelaxin, chlortrimeton, phenibut

Also, there is a thread here on Trazodone. There are some generics that are really bad, Teva and Pliva. They just don't work.

Some people use doxepine. That is too sedating for me.

 

[Who Me?]

@Strike me lucky haha you mean "taking" it nightly and not "yaking" which here is slang for barfing. Lol b

 

[Upgrayedd]

Lately, I've found that Elavil greatly helps me to fall asleep easily, but I still wake up throughout the night, like I'm on a wave of sleep that goes to close to the surface.

Has anyone out there ever combined Trazodone with Elavil? I know about serotonin syndrome, but I don't think that would be a problem at low doses. I'm thinking that perhaps the pair would help both sleep initiation and sustaining quality sleep.

Thoughts?

Any other ideas for Rx or supplements that help with sustaining/prolonging sleep? I've never had much success with L-theanine, 5-HTP, etc.