how long does it take

[mags]

If you take elavil and it worked for you about how long did it take to start helping?

[kadi]

I went from voiding 60+ times a day/completely unable to sleep-- down to voiding about 25x a day and able to sleep 4 hours the very first night I took Elavil. Within a week I was able to sleep through the night with only 1-2 wakeups most of the time.

It has not eliminated my IC symptoms, I do need other treatments as well, but it has been very helpful.

[mags]

Kadi,

How much did you take?

[kadi]

In the beginning, 10mg per night.
After 7 months on that dose, I upped it to 20mg.

My urologist says IC patients with my level of symptoms often need 25-75mg, but I'm very medication-sensitive, often allergic to meds & get tons of side effects. I also take a birth control pill, which increases the Elavil in the bloodstream. This may also account for why such a low dose works for me.

Be careful with the Elavil in terms of watching how much you eat. It increases appetite. I wasn't careful about how much I was eating & gained a bunch of weight all at once. I'm having to work pretty hard to lose it, BUT it has been the most useful medicine for me.

Good luck!

[mags]

In the beginning, 10mg per night.
After 7 months on that dose, I upped it to 20mg.

My urologist says IC patients with my level of symptoms often need 25-75mg, but I'm very medication-sensitive, often allergic to meds & get tons of side effects. I also take a birth control pill, which increases the Elavil in the bloodstream. This may also account for why such a low dose works for me.

Be careful with the Elavil in terms of watching how much you eat. It increases appetite. I wasn't careful about how much I was eating & gained a bunch of weight all at once. I'm having to work pretty hard to lose it, BUT it has been the most useful medicine for me.

Good luck!
i am supposed to take 25mg and if i can tolerate it for a week go up to 50. I took it for the first time last night and feel kind of groggy and strange and it didn't really help my frequency yet, but i will give it some time and see if it does.

[kadi]

Maybe this will help? My doctor suggested taking it about an hour before bedtime. When I first started on it, I needed to take it by 7:30pm to be able to wake up at 5:15am.

Hope it works for you....

[emilyrose197377]

I take 50 mg at night it took 2 wks for it to become effective.

Kim

[mags]

Kim,

Are you really groggy in the morning? I am supposed to start with 25 and go up to 50 after 1 week, but i don't know if i will be able to.

[emilyrose197377]

Mags , at first I was but once my body adjusted to elavil it doesn't bother me anymore.

Kim

[kadi]

I was foggy in the morning when I started on it, which is why I took it so early in the evening & I made sure I woke up an extra 1/2 hour to 45 minutes earlier than usual to make sure I got past that before driving. With the extra morning time, I was fine to drive about an hour and a half after waking. This side effect went away, I think in a few weeks to a month. (But my dose is lower than most, so not 100% sure how long it could take at the higher amount). I no longer have this problem at all.