LAVH elavil?? (amitriptylene?) any advice?

My cuff is not cooperating, the sutures are still in place at 10 weeks, doc expects several more (my new doc who really seems to know what hes doing!). I have hypersensiticity to those nerves, which is why it pinches/burns all the time. So, he put me on elavil to calm the nerves and hopefully stop my vicious cycle of pain and swelling. Heres the problem...this drug is zapping me!! Even if i take it at bedtime. I wake up tired a d groggy with severe dry mouth. Anybody else dealt with this ad have any suggestions? Plus side, it has temporarily anyway fixed my insomnia, i sleep. But now i drag thru the day.

Personally, I could not take that drug. My mouth was too dry to even speak, and my fingers and toes were cold. I felt terrible on it. I know I started at super low dose but I just couldn't tolerate it. I guess not every drug works for every person. You might ask about lowering the dose, if you feel it works in part. I tried it, gave it a chance, but the side effects didn't improve. Sorry you are having issues with it, too. I hope there is an alternative. To try.

Thanks. The dry mouth is terrible and i am on the lowest dose. Not sure it is helping yet or not. He is talking about raising it in two weeks. Dreading that!

I took Elavil for sciatic nerve pain a few years ago. It worked wonders for my nerve pain but like you, I took it at bedtime and even though I slept well, I was groggy until at least lunchtime. As my body got used to it, I did seem to do better with it.

Be sure to communicate any issues you have with it and hopefully, it will work for you and you won't need it for long. Hang in there!



Deb

I have been taking amitriptlyene for about 8 months now. I have ongoing pain issues since my surgery and the pain keeps me awake. I was going to work at least once a week with zero sleep and that was getting rough. If the pain is terrible I take two so I can sleep through it. If it's just bad I will take one. I find I get sleepy in the early afternoons. I sometimes will have a hard time keeping my eyes open for an hour or so at work and sometimes take a nap when I get home. This is worth it to me.

I think you should discuss with your doctor. There are other medications prescribed for nerve pain which don't make people sleepy, such as gabupentin or pregabalin (Lyrica). The Lyrica is expensive though. I hope you feel better soon.