amitriptyline 10mg not working anymore

[mish]

Well, the last couple of nights haven't been going well. I ran out of maple syrup and didn't think that I had to buy a certain brand.....since I seemed ok with it. Well, I had some the night before and within the hour, I was going constantly!!! I went to read the ingredients and didn't like what I saw. So, anyways I had to go buy the syrup I had before.

I ended up flaring again lastnight, even though I felt that I have been eating ok that whole day. I took another amitriptyline....so total, I took 20mg lastnight, instead of the 10mg I was originally prescribed. I was able to sleep, but I'm still feeling pressure on my bladder. I left a message with my doctor, to let him know that I increased the dosage.

I went shopping today, reading all the labels. I just don't know what else to do. I started the msm/glucosamine earlier this week. I'm still not having any pain, thankgoodness. But I'm not enjoying this constant pressure feeling.

mish

[SharonA]

The only thing I can suggest is for you to talk with your doctor about this. When I began taking Elavil, my doctor and I worked over several weeks to find my best dosage by increasing the mg from the original 10mg because I was still having some break through pain. Once I found the dosage that worked, I stayed on it for several months. Then, I began decreasing the mg until I settled in to the level I have been for several years, which is 25mg.

[Dakota]

mish

10mg of amitriptyline is a very low dose. I think you do need to speak with your doctor about increasing the dose as long as you are not having any side effects. I am taking 10mg myself and wish with all my heart I could increase it, but unfortunately it makes my mouth very dry because I have Sjogren's Syndrome. I find if I take 25mg it helps the pain and frequency so much, but I'm going to stay with even the low dose of 10mg because so far it is the only thing that has helped me, and I'm dealing with the dryness as best I can. My doctor won't give me anything else but Atarax or Elmiron which I can't afford now. I also am on the MSM/Glucosamine, but I'm not sure if its doing anything. Hopefully your doctor will allow you to increase the Elavil.

[mish]

I was doing so well on the low dose. I guess I was hoping it would work for me. Now that I know it's the food that irritates my bladder, I'm noticing it so much!!! I bought some food today that will hopefully work for me. We will see!! I have alot to change, so it's going to be alot of work!

mish

[Dakota]

Yeah I can relate because it took me a long time to get it through my head that the food thing really does play a big part of it. I'm using Prelief now and that helps quite a bit. You may want to think about trying that too. Good luck on your changes!

[mish]

I would love to try that, but I recently had kidney stones and was told my dr not to take anything with calcium. I'm trying to be really careful not to have another kidney stone. It was horrible!!!!!!

mish

[Mothergoose]

Hi if I have something really sweet like syrup, it makes me pee frequently and have urgency, it takes 3-5 days to get out of my system depending on how much I had. I asked my Dr. about this he said when we have really sweet things it is the kidneys job to flush this out.

I know you have been using this all along and it probably is from buying a different brand, but tha high sugar content dosen't help.

MG

[Dakota]

mish

Wow I can relate to the kidney stones too!!! About 3 years ago I had 4 of them and ironically that was the start of my IC. I had no symptoms from the stones and just woke up one morning running to the bathroom every few minutes. I thought I had a UTI so after two rounds of antibiotics my primary doctor sent me to the Uro who did a CAT scan. The next day he called and said I had a stone blocking my urinary tract. It took three procedures to break them up and I also was stented. I was diagnosed with IC about a month after that. Mine were silent kidney stones but after one of those procedures (lithotripsy) I must have passed a fragment and that was the only time I really had pain. But it's a pain unlike anything I've ever had in my life! I'm going to have to ask my Uro about the Prelief because I sure don't want to go through that again either! My other big risk is I have the start of osteoporosis so I have to take calcium supplements anyway. I'm sure my kidney stones were the start of my IC although I had some very minor symptoms that I ignored long before.

[mish]

mothergoose--I was wondering if it was taking a few days to go thru my system. Thanks for posting that. I never received a call back from my doctor yesterday, so I guess I will just continue the 20mg for now. I was up lastnight again though.

Dakota--The kidney stones I had came suddenly. The pain was so intense, I felt it all thru my body!!! I wasn't able to move....we had to call 911 to get me to the hospital!! It was really horrible! I think what happened to me, was that I was taking Tums cause of my heartburn (which I don't have anymore since I have eliminated acid in the foods I eat!). We're pretty sure the Tums did it. So, I am really careful about extra calcium now.

mish

[Dakota]

mish

Guess what, I was also using Tums for a very long time because of heartburn. I know from my experience of just passing a fragment after my lithotripsy how painfull it is. When people say it's worse then childbirth they aren't kidding! I'm getting worried now about the whole calcium thing and don't know what to do. In fact my last urine culture showed the calcium oxalate cyrstals. My Uro told me to just keep drinking tons of water, and of course I watch the acid in any foods I eat, but now I'm wondering if I should keep using the Prelief and don't know what to do for the whole osteoporosis thing. The 10mg of Elavil is helping the IC but drying me out so bad. Oh boy, I think I need to get back to my doctor to discuss this further. I was told I still have four very small stones left in my right kidney.