Amitriptyline

[kitty]

I have been taking Amitriptyline 50 mg for about 10 days now and have noticed a dramatic flare of my DES. I was aware that Amitriptyline can do this before I started taking it. Does anyone know if the dry eye effects of the drug are permanent or will my eyes return to baseline after I stop taking the drug?

[Maria1972]

I also have the same question, but I think If you were taking it for just days, then you should be fine.
Just be careful with tryciclic (sp?) antidepresants, like amitripiline.
I was prescribed that for chronic pelvic pain (twice) but never took it b/c I knoew that type of antidepresants dry you more than the newer version (SSRI) which are only for depresion and not pain.

I always wonder if the damage meds cause could be premanent I've been 6 months on a mild anticoagulant that is used to coat the bladder I think it affected my eyes in some degree too. Now I'm taking a medication holiday from my long term meds,with aproval of my doctor, I stopped Elmiron, BCP and antihistamines. Only taking nexium but I think this one doesnt' affect the eye.

i was also takin decongestants and steroids recently....

[Vicki In Oregon]

Good you only took it a few days:

https://www.healthatoz.com/healthato..._meds_type.jsp

Due to lack of energy i am trying to figure out which one of the anti deps is best for me to take. But clearly nothing from the triyclics family and the MAOI does not look so great either.

[Dotanne]

Amitriptyline

I was prescribed amitrip 10mg for the awful pain I have been getting in my face/jaw bone where I had a tooth out in October but the effect of one tablet is terrible. My sight has gone real blurry. The pain went away after I fell asleep but I am sure mt eyes are blurry because of the dryness. Now I am so sleepy too. Kitty, did your eyes come OK again? It even feels as though my food is not being digested in my stomach too. The Dr said it is a very low dose BUT I think it is like poison to me. I will ahve to stick to Panadols for the jaw pain. We think it might be trigeminal nerve pain. Comes bad during the day and goes away at night. We are due to go on holiday on Friday and my eyes are terrible.
Dot

[kitty]

I have only been off Elavil/Amitriptyline for 5 days. I can't see much difference in my eyes, but my jaw pain is almost unbearable. I am now having a hard time deciding whether my DES flare was due to the Elavil or the weather. There are just so many variables! I plan on starting back on the Elavil in another 10 days or so (if I can hold out that long). I was taking 50 mg of amitriptyline about 1 hour before bedtime. I found I needed to go to bed early so I could get 10 hours of sleep in order to function the next day. For me it is a matter of which is worse, the jaw pain and headaches or the eye pain. The headaches are more incapacitating than the eye pain, which is bad enough most days! From what I have heard, there are better meds for Trigeminal Neuralgia. Is Neurontin (gabapentin) available where you are? I wish you the best and I hope you can find some pain relief soon.

[Dotanne]

Sorry you are having such a bad time Kitty. I find the jaw pain worse than the dry eye too but it does seem to go away at night thank goodness. I am not going to take anymore Amitrip though and mine was only 10 mg. It did get rid of the pain but the blurry eyes and drowsiness were not good. I managed with Codalgin and Panadol today and also took 1/2 a tablet of clonazapam in the morning as I was feeling high anxiety levels too. The day was better. I went to the dentist again, but she just said see the eye Dr and didn't think it was the trigeminal nerve. I went to the eye Dr and he said my conjunctiva are inflamed and gave me prednisone drops and THEY ARE GOING TO BE PRESERVATIVE FREE from a special chemist. Said he'd never heard of the eyes causing face pain like mine. So now it is back to the GP when my own one gets back from holiday. The dentist said to wait until their guy that knows all is back from US at the end of the month and they could do a face xray or something! Tonight my eyes are really blurry as I type this but no face/jaw pain!!! The jaw pain I get is like bad toothache but there is no tooth there!! It spreads into the back of my nose an dto my ear too. Gaye has suggested Trileptal for the face pain which she has found to work so I hope they can get that in NZ. You might like to ask about that one.

[kitty]

Dotanne, I'm glad you have been able to find a way to control your jaw pain. I am not a doctor but it sure sounds like TMJ dysfunction to me. I have had TMJ dysfunction for over 10 years. When my jaws ache, I get toothaches, ear pain and even sore throats once in a while. You might consider an evaluation by a Dentist specializing in TMJ disorders. Many general dentists have only limited knowledge. The face pain could be from that. Trigeminal neuralgia presents itself in many different ways so I would not rule that out either. Have you seen a neurologist? That would be the person best to rule out Trigeminal neuralgia.

[Maria1972]

I'm taking amitptryptiline 5mg for chronic nerve pain. I split the 10 mg pill in 1/2 and it works for the pain, so far.
Maybe try 5mg and see if it helps. I never thought such a small dosage would work and it did.

If that doesn't work, there's another drug that came up a few years ago: Lyrica, it is an anticonvulsant like Neurontin which is use also for chronic pain. Lyrica is supposed to have less side effects that Neurontin.
I've tried and it gave me headaches but I know people that take Lyrica with no side effects for chronic pelvic pain.
So it may be worth a try.
I hope you both get well soon.
I know what it is to have dry eyes plus other painful conditions as a "combo".

[Maria1972]

eye pain

I've been on Elavil for 3 1/2 months already and it didn't worsen my dry eye however since last month I've been having eye pain in the right eye . I'm taking 15 mg a day, sometimes 20mg or 10 mg. The eye pain I'm having is more like a stabbing pain. Not dry eye pain, no burning. I', thinking the amytriptiline has something to do with it. My dr checkeck my eye pressure and it was fine. he gave me Accular and I've been taking it but as soon as I stop using Acualr eye drops, the pain starts again.
I'll be talking to my dr next week since he is out of town now. I don't know where the ^&%^$^ this pain is coming from.

[Rojzen]

amitriptyline was once a godsend for my eyes; "dryness" worry oversimplifies

I've written about this some weeks ago, but oddly enough, I sought out amitryptiline, some years ago, specifically for my eye surface pain, after learning from one eye doc that my pain might be the result of nerve damage near the eye surface. . .Lo and behold, the amitryptline (10 mg/day) dramatically reduced the burning pain in my eyes, and really improved my quality of life for a long time. . .We are all so complex and different. . .I am sad to see how much the drug appears to have contributed to others' suffering. . .and yet since it was a godsend for me (until I seemed to develop a tolerance for it, 2 years later), perhaps it should not be ruled out, even for treatment of our DES symptoms themselves. . .I have even noticed that the drugs most famous for drying eyes (reducing lacrimal secretions) don't have that effect on me at all. . .Again. . .I mention all this just so that the few who may benefit from one approach don't prematurely rule it out. . .

Perhaps this is a good time and place, btw, to say that while I treasure Dr. Latkany's new book, I am surprised by how categorical he seems to be about things that, I believe, should leave room for variation. . .For example, he treats all antihistamines as bad for us, because they are "drying." And yet, as I've written before, my eyes HURT the least when they are the DRIest. . .In other words, even if we call our disease DRY E.S., dryness, of itself, may not be the problematic SYMPTOM for a particular sufferer. . .making it inappropriate, from the RELIEF point of view, for one to place it ahead of other much more important considerations. . .

[sazy123]

hi Kitty

I dont know whether you are already aware about this website www.headaches.com.

Dr klemons is the doctor i saw when i was recently in new york for my face pain. But his speciality is head and facial pain. And he is a TMJ specialist as well. Everything on this website matches up at his office, he really is an ammazing doctor.

If you have the insurance its something to consider.

[sazy123]

Hi

does any one have an update on amitripyline. Did it it make your dry eye worse or not? Im considering it but scared about it effecting my eyes as lexapro is what made my eyes worse 2 years ago. It is a lower dose than the dose given for depression..

[kitty]

Amitriptyline made my DES only slightly worse. It was not that bad and the pain it helped relieve was of far more benefit than the slight amount it caused. I took 50 mg every night. I continue to take it but only 2-3 times a week. With that frequency, I notice no change in my DES symptoms. Hope this helps!

[untkicker29]

Has anyone taken this drug for tension-type headaches? I have read it is effective and I get those headaches all the time.

[sazy123]

Thanks kitty. i will think about it some more.

It is good for neuropathic pain, i think tension headaches would be this type of pain.