Everything about Amitriptyline totally explained
Amitriptyline (or
Amitryptyline)
hydrochloride (sold as Elavil, Tryptanol, Endep, Elatrol, Tryptizol, Trepiline, Laroxyl) is a
tricyclic antidepressant drug. It is a white, odorless (but tastes like
licorice),
crystalline compound which is freely soluble in water; it's usually dispensed in tablet form. In terms of its
mechanism of action, amitriptyline inhibits
serotonin and
noradrenaline reuptake almost equally.
Uses
Approved
Amitriptyline is approved most commonly for the treatment of depression (
clinical/endogenous depression, also
involutional melancholia 'depression of late life', which is no longer seen as a disease in its own right). Adult typical dosages are 25 to 150 mg daily, with half this initially for elderly or adolescents.
It may also be used to treat
nocturnal enuresis (bed wetting). Children between the ages of 7 to 10 years having a dose of 10 to 20 mg, older children 25 to 50 mg at night. It should be gradually withdrawn at the end of the course, which overall should be of no more than 3 months.
In some European countries it's also officially approved as a preventive (
prophylaxis) for patients with frequent/
chronic migraines, usually 2.5 to 75 mg.
Unapproved/Off-label/Investigational
Amitriptyline may be prescribed for other conditions such as
insomnia,
PTSD,
migraine,
rebound headache,
chronic pain,
chronic cough,
postherpetic neuralgia (persistent pain following a
shingles attack),
carpal tunnel syndrome,
fibromyalgia,
vulvodynia,
interstitial cystitis,
irritable bowel syndrome,
diabetic peripheral neuropathy,
neurological pain, and painful
paresthesias related to
multiple sclerosis and at low doses as a preventive (prophylaxis) for patients with frequent
migraines.
Typically lower dosages are required for pain modification of 10 to 50 mg daily.
Side effects
Common
side effects of using amitriptyline are dry mouth, extreme weight gain, nausea, drowsiness, constipation, nervousness, dizziness, blurred vision and
insomnia. Some rare side effects include
tinnitus,
hypotension,
mania,
psychosis,
anticholinergic effects,
heart block,
arrhythmias, lip and mouth ulcers,
extrapyramidal symptoms,
depression, and
hepatic toxicity.
Overdose
The symptoms and the treatment of an overdose are largely the same as for the other tricyclic antidepressants.
Footnotes
Further Information
Get more info on 'Amitriptyline'.
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