Nortriptyline side effects--better than elavil?

[green1577]

Hi all,

I tried 25mg of Elavil for about 6 months. During that time, I gained weight steadily and was exhausted all the time--but it was the best pain control I've found yet. However, it stopped working around the 6-month mark and I was afraid to increase it to 50mg for fear of increasing the side effects.

Since then, I haven't found anything to help my pain. Was thinking about trying Pamelor/nortriptyline. For those who have tried it, please tell me if it worked, how well it worked, and what the side effects were like.

Thanks!!

[pingpong]

I took Pamelor for about 10 years, and it relieved the pain from my IC and my vulvodynia. I actually started taking 10 mg/day as a mild antidepressant. I didn't realize at the time that it relieves nerve pain and just thought I'd gotten lucky and was in some mysterious remission! After increasing the dosage several times (I think I was taking 150mg/day, although it's been a while and I can't really remember exactly what I took), it gradually stopped working, and now I take Urelle as well as Elavil. For me, the side effects of weight gain (carbo craving) and dry mouth are the same with Pamelor or Elavil. However, the Elavil helps with the pain, so I just put up with the side effects.

[diane22]

Wow, 25 mg of Elavil sounds like a lot...I can barely tolerate 10mg at night every once in a while.
I find that I can't wake up in the morning (when I take Elavil the night before) without feeling like I'm in a stupor. I have to sleep 9+ hours, and I still don't feel rested and wake up with a headache wanting to just go back to bed.
I'm in a flare right now (pain in lower pelvic region & lower back), but the Elavil just makes me so tired that I can't make myself take it...does this other drug cause the sleepiness as well?

[pingpong]

My prescription says to take one elavil at night, but I split mine and take one in the am, one in the pm. When I started on them I was a zombie, but I gradually started feeling better, and about 2 months after starting them the sleepiness, etc went away.

As far as the Pamelor is concerned, I started on a very small dose, which was increased over the course of several years. I don't remember how I felt at first, whether or not the pills made me sleepy, etc. (This was in 1992, the year from hell for me, and frankly I try not to remember too much about those days!) I do know that the dry mouth, carb cravings, started a few years later - probably dosage-related.

You can give the Pamelor a try and see if it works for you without the side-effects. I definitely relieved pain for me!

[green1577]

Thanks for your input, ladies. I've been taking 25mg of Pamelor for 4 days so far, and I'm actually having insomnia at night and then waking up late the next morning with a lot of effort. The insomnia might be because I doubled my Wellbutrin dose at the same time I started Pamelor. I did that both to increase my energy level and to (hopefully) help with any weight gain...the doctor didn't seem too sure about that second one, but I could use the mood elevation anyway :) I take the WB in the morning, though, so it'd have to be pretty strong to be causing insomnia over 12 hours into the dose. Oh, I'm also having that symptom of heart pounding and feeling/hearing my pulse when I'm sitting or laying quietly. It doesn't bother me too much because you always get weird side effects when you start a drug and then they almost always go away within the first 2 weeks. I'll keep you updated!

Anna