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I was unknowingly taking Amiltriptiline. Long story, someone with multiple personalities was putting it in my food & water bottles. Regardless, the effects of your weight will suffer in a MAJOR way!

My entire life I have always been very active into physical fitness & health. I managed to maintain a size 2-4 always. When the drug started taking hold of my body, I jumped from my regular 2-4 to a close 10-11.
The weight that was gained isn't even like weight, it was swollen skin & very uncomfortable! Not only did I look like an alien compared to my usual self, I was having troubles with my sight, my breathing was irregular, my blood pressure went sky high & I have usual blood pressure...my mom was having pressure & pain in her chest every night, her vision was going blurry, her hands would turn inwards in pain every night...we suffered SO much from this drug!

Back to the way you feel...it's very hard to be motivated when you gain weight & feel humiliated. Not to mention, & you can do your own research, while on this drug it increases water retention & the retention of salt, so even if you "diet" or work out, you WILL NOT lose weight.
This 3 year period of being silently drugged ruined those years for me, & I am so grateful to have discovered what the problem was. It took me a year to get back down to my size 2-4, but I am left with some skin that hasn't gotten tight again.

DONT TAKE IT.

Any drug can have adverse effects on some people (and those effects can run in families). It's important to discuss side effects before you start taking it, and to pay attention to your body. If you feel you're having a drastic side effect, call your doctor or pharmacist to see if you can safely stop taking the medication immediately (if you've been taking some drugs for a while, you may need to taper off, or you may need to be on another drug - for example with high blood pressure drugs the risks of going without any medication may be higher than the risks of some side effects).

Amitriptyline has been a bit of a "wonder drug," for me. That doesn't mean I think it will be for everyone else, each person has to weigh the benefits against the potential risks. My life is so much better with it, that I of course would say "give it a try," where as someone who has had a bad experience might say "avoid it like the plague."

For me, I was able to get part of my life back from fibromyalgia. My doctor recently added cyclobenzaprine (a muscle relaxant, also a serotonin booster) at night, and I sleep better and deeper with the combination of amitriptyline and cyclobenzaprine. Fibro is often (and apparently for me) is largely a sleep disorder, and since I've been getting better sleep I've had a drastic reduction in pain, fatigue and mental fogginess. On some days, I almost feel like the "old me."

The serotonin- and other neurotransmitter-affecting drugs do have risks of side effects, and that can't be dismissed, but often a person will have drastic side effects to one, and no noticeable affects with another.

The combination of medications I'm taking that affect serotonin (Amitriptyline and cyclobenzaprine at bedtime, and tramadol as needed for pain relief) have given me back a quality of life that I haven't had in nearly 8 years (so of course I'm biased). You've got to decide if the risks are worth it, but the place to start is talking with your doctor or pharmacist (or both) about side effects (what to watch for, what the likelihood of side effects are, and what to do if side effects do occur).

Hi again,

Just wanted to update, since I had asked opinions about amitriptyline. I ended up gaining 5 pounds that I can't lose on top of the other pounds I needed to lose. My doctor stopped the amitriptyline and I'm trying Wellbutrin. I've been on Wellbutrin for two weeks. No weight has budged. I also started on propranolol for my migraines. I've also read that that can cause weight gain. I have noticed some swelling in my feet, but I don't know if it's from stopping the amitriptyline, starting the propranolol, or starting Wellbutrin. If anyone has any experiences they'd like to share with weight loss goals and Wellbutrin or propranolol, I'd love to hear.

Thanks so much.

I am taking Amitriptyline for a bladder problem and have been on it for 3 weeks, I started it the day I restarted my diet. The first week I lost 8 pounds but since then I havent lost anything. I am starting to think this drug halts your metabolism and therefore you cant lose weight. I am getting worried now and have decided to cut down from 10mg a night to 5mg in hopes my metabolism will kick in again. I would love to know how the original poster is doing now, a year later. Anyone else can chime in too. Is it possible to lose weight while on this drug?

Thanks!

Suzie

I am also a migraine sufferer and have tried almost every prophylactic medication out there from beta blockers, topamax and lastly amitrypyline at 20 mg. Aside from being very fatigued I felt very sedate and did not want to do anything but lay around, and also could sleep 12 hour nights. I can say that it helped the headaches but unfortunately for me I have a sweet tooth and the amitryptyline just made the cravings and hunger fierce. I would sometimes replace dinner with doughnuts or cinamon rolls, and could eat a half pound of chocolate no problem. My weight gain in less than 9 months was 22 lbs and I weighed as much as I did right before I gave birth to my 8.5 pound daughter. ( my all time high)
Needless to say, I stopped the med after stepping on the scale and lost 6 lbs in 8 wks. I started wellbutrin and lost another 3 lbs in 2 wks with exercise. I finally feel like I am back to my old self, energy and appetite wise.
Again, medicines affect everyone differently but I wish I was more aware of the side effects and paid more attention to my weight.
good luck !

I used to take this drug for a sleeping disorder: didn't work! I never thought I'd hear the name again, but I'm sorry to hear your story dude, and well done on re-claiming your physique.

SALT IS THE DEVIL while on Amitrypaline!!!! My husband is like a mad genius and helped me figure out why Ive been blowing up like a balloon around my mid section my face and my hips....well turns out there is something in this drug that blocks potassium and calcium from passing through your cells properly We found this page online that must have been quoted or written by a scientist who explained everything..look for it under weight gain on amitrypaline im seeing that i cant put a link up for you so sorry you will know when you find it ! YOU WILL NOT LOSE ANY WEIGHT ON THIS MEDICINE MAIN RELIEVER FOR those who suffer from chronic PAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ITS A NASTY TRADE OFF SEXUAL SIDE EFFECTS AS WELL BUUUUUUUT Again, if you are just taking it for migraines just take it when you feel it coming on thats what my friend Dawn used to do . She described it feeling as if the drug melted the migraine away through her head but everybody is different and im not a dr. Im planning on going off of it as soon as I get my neck fusion surgery and recovery over with!!!