How much ELAVIL do you take?

[smcclafferty]

I may try Elavil, and I just wanted to know how much people take for IC? Thank you.

[tigger_gal]

I tried to take it but we didn't agree. I actually think it was 25 mgs.
I do know a lot of the ladies here take it, and will be glad to shgare there thoughts and dosages with you.

[vm]

I take 25mg nightly. :)

[charmedx3]

i split 25mgs some nights i take 12.5 mgs sometimes 6 mg. i have a hard time waking up the next morning if i take 25mg.

[dg2901]

50mgs taken at night.

:)
D

[leelee88]

25mg at night

[ICNDonna]

I couldn't take it, but my husband takes 10 mg for arthritis pain control.

Donna

[Briza]

I take 10 mg around 7pm when I have frequency. It helps me most for frequency and sleeping through the night at this dose, and helps a little for vulvodynia symptoms. Occasionally I increase to 20 mg if my frequency or vulvodynia get out of hand. I've had good luck with this med. I only take it as needed lately, starts working within a few days.

[lovely330]

i'm on 25 mg at nighttime....it makes me sleepy and sick though

[meme]

I was taking 25mgs at night, and it helped so much that I went up to 50mgs to see if it would help even more. Haven't noticed any change though. Will probably go back to the 25mgs soon-don't want to take the extra if I don't have to (I hate taking meds.).

[mayray518]

elavil was the only med that worked for my IC. i started out at 50 mg and hated the side effects but kept taking it. It took 3 months to work; I have now been in remission for 7 years and am taking 5 mg.

[SharonA]

25mg at night.

[dancemomof2]

I am on 30 mg, when I tried 40mg I became so nasty. Hubby and Cindy knick named me EVIL. So we quickly went to 30 mg again.

[jjt001]

I take 75 mg at night. I do sleep about one more hour per day than I used to, but Elavil has totally given me my life back, so I'm okay with sleeping more since I feel so much better the other hours I am awake!

I started out at 25 mg and felt relief within a day or two, but then flared again. I went up to 50 mg, and bascially the same thing happened. I went up to 75 mg (what the doctor set as my maximum dosage) and started feeling better for longer and longer periods. I had a similar experience as Mayray -- it took about three months for it to really work for long periods of time. I still have small flares, but can usually go for a week or two between them, and I just keep getting better and better.

I do still have to watch what I eat, and my triggers (processed soy, processed tomatoes, citrus) will still cause a small flare.

I was in constant everyday pain before the Elavil, going to the bathroom 25-35 times/day and having bouts of sudden, unbearable urgency. I took Ultram and Vicodin but they didn't do anything for the pain -- the only thing that helped was lots of heat, pyridum and prosed, which would take the edge off. I am so grateful for Elavil! I assume that at some point I may be able to go down to a lower dosage, but I'm not ready to stir the pot yet! I'm too happy with how I'm feeling.

I hope if you decide to try it you will have the same great results I have -- I am SO much better than I was before, I can hardly even describe it!

[sami4]

I take 10-25 mg of Elavil and it has been a life saver for me. It works so well for PFD and for frequency and urethral spasms. I can take 10 mg during the day if things act up and dont even get sleepy. I dont take it after 4:00 PM because I have possible restless leg syndrome which wakes me up at night and the sleep Docs say elavil makes this worse. So, I take 0.5 Klonopin at bedtime for sleep and the Elavil as needed.
If it came to giving one thing up, it would NOT be the Elavil. I also am on Elmiron 6 a day, and doing well.
Sammi

[kadi]

20 mg at night.

[CarolineJulia]

I was taking 50 mgs, but my elmiron is starting to kick in (I think) and so I lowered my dosage of elavil down to 20mg. On 50 mg I was gaining a lot of weight and had in an insatiable hunger!!! I seem to be okay on 20mgs,, but am just trying to lose those last 10 pounds I gained! Argh!!! I take the 20 at night. I never wake up to go pee anymore and I can even get up and fall right back to sleep without peeing! I also take 50mgs of hydroxine. Basically... I have deep medicated sleeps every night!

[smcclafferty]

How much Elavil can you take without being "knocked on your behind" I tried 25 mgs., but I could barely get out of bed the next day, and was tired all day.

[charmedx3]

25 mgs knocks me out so i cut the pills. i seem to function well on the half a tablet. still able to have a good night without too much urgency. sometimes i will cut tablets into 4's. but if the urgency gets bad i can up it.

[Mel53H]

I take 25 mg and sometimes I half that and take 12.5 mg. The 25 mg tends to make me drowzy.

[runningshoe]

How long befoe the elavil started to help??

[mayray518]

yeah i hated the elavil at 50 mg tired all day but i kept taking it because i was so desperate. it took 3 months for it to start working for me. i am now down to 5

[Ih8IC]

I started on 50mg at night. It was a lifesaver, it almost worked instantly, but I was so drowsy for about 2 weeks. Then I wasn't as drowsy but slept more than usual. I recently cut down to 25mg. At first it didn't work but in the last 5 months or so it has. If I feel more urgency, I take 25mg plus a little more. I have a pill cutter and my prescription is for 50mg. I will try to cut to 12.5 soon. I have gained 30 pounds!!! and it has been hard to lose weight.

[runningshoe]

HI,
I am up to 30mg at night. Has everyone gained weight on it? Is it the drug or that our lives change when we get hit with IC?

[turnaround]

I take 20 mg. at night. I have actually started to take it around 7:00 and this way I still get a great night sleep, but I am not so tired in the morning. I, too gained about 10 lbs. I have never been a big sweets eater, but now I am a craving maniac.(coconut creme cookies, yum). The weight has been worth it, though. I have been better and better with elavil!

[Berkshire Road]

I take 10 or 20 mg at bedtime, and it has been wonderful in that I sleep through the night now, and wake up feeling refreshed. That's probably more about my fibromyalgia than my IC. I don't know if it's helping my pain. I think I would have to go to a higher dose for that, but I don't want to bc. I have done that before when I had Lyme Disease, and I gained a lot of weight. Now I am already dealing with weight gain from the neurontin, so I can't deal with any more of that.

I started the low dose elavil, CystaQ, freeze-dried aloe vera, and twice weekly heparin-lidocain instills all around the same time, so I'm not sure which one, or ones, have made the difference but my pain, frequency and retention have all improved recently.

[amartaingirl]

I was taking elmiron & elavil.
but then my hair started to fall out....so i quit the elmiron...
still felt fine..for weeks (bladder-ily speaking)

but the hair loss continued..so i freaked out..and quit the elavil too.
now my symptoms are starting to creep back up.

i had no idea how much the elavil was helping me.
i saw a dermatogist..she said she never seen a case of elavil causing hair loss...so i went back on it last night

25 mg

[Braedley]

i just started it 2 weeks ago tomorrow - they put me on 10mg for 7 days, then 20 mg for 7 days, then 30 mg for 7 days and supposed to maintain that afterwards...I may only need the 20 mg though, and I take it at nighttime about 1 hr before i normally fall asleep...but i am usually groggy throughout the day and sleep upwards of 10 hrs/night on and off with it...

also finding it causes my acid reflux to become quite bad, even w/meds for it...have a follow up tomorrow w/our doctor, need to discuss this side effect...

it's helped me more than Ditropan XL did...but it takes a bit of time to get used to it...

[mirmir]

What is elavil? How can I get this?

[Franny]

I take 10 mg. of Amitriptylene (you can't get Elavil anymore). I started out with only 5mg. by splitting the pill in half and then went up after about a week. I wanted to be sure not to get side affects so I started as low as I could go because I am very sensitive to meds. The Doc said I could go up to 20 mg. but I have been fine on 10 mg. as long as I follow my diet which is no sweetners,carrots or broccoli. Cutting out dairy has cut out constipation which contributed to my discomfort as well. I get very sleepy after I take my amitrip. so I take it just before I go to sleep. You have to get an Rx from your Doc if you want to try Amitriptylene (which is the generic name for the Brand name Elavil). I gain weight easily now without even eating very much. I get dry eyes during the night and first thing in the morning but otherwise I feel fine in the morning - no dowsiness.