Throat clearing & irritation

[Forester]

Due to problems from saliva I got Amitriptylene 10mg tabs. Took the first one — drowsy is an understatement. I was, in roughly an hour, in a crushing stupor. Also restless and agitated. Remarkably, the dose is supposed to ramp up to 3 tabs a day. I felt heavily drugged at one tab, I can't imagine three.

What experience have you had with this drug?

 

[bigmark1954]

I take one tab before bed, and it has helped me sleep better. Have thought about taking one during the day, but prefer not be drowsy during the day. Have noticed it does help with saliva, and somehow makes me get up to tinkle less frequently during the night.
The only side effect I had was an increased heart rate for the first few days of taking it....could have been something else that caused it.

 

[Forester]

I take one tab before bed, and it has helped me sleep better. Have thought about taking one during the day, but prefer not be drowsy during the day. Have noticed it does help with saliva, and somehow makes me get up to tinkle less frequently during the night.
The only side effect I had was an increased heart rate for the first few days of taking it....could have been something else that caused it.

You are taking one 10mg tab?

 

[bigmark1954]

You are taking one 10mg tab?

Yes one tab...the dr said I could try 2 tabs at night, but I wake up grogy as it is.

 

[TGB1]

My mom also takes one 10 mg amitriptyline pill nightly. She has been taking this for over a year and it does help greatly to reduce her saliva. The prescription order was to take one every nite for a week, then 2 every nite for a week, and adding one addl pill until we got up to 5 a nite. This was an incredibly ridiculous order. She has been taking just the one, and it doesn't seem to make her too sleepy, but she does take it at nite and she sleeps thru the nite. I remember early on when we did up the dosage to 2 per nite, she got very agitated and was not herself. We only kept her on the two for prob a few days and then realized that she felt better with only one pill. Again, I am talking about the 10 mg pill. I am still somewhat incredulous that the neurologist would write the presc for that amount for an 87 year old. I'm glad I have some common sense. Hope this helps.

 

[affected]

my PALS takes 2 amitriptyline at night, 10mg.
We were told take 1 per night for a week, then if we wanted to double we could, but really urged my PALS to stay on it for 3 weeks minimum. (my PALS is good at saying yes in an office then refusing things once home).

He does sleep far better on it, and it has reduced some of the nastier ftd stuff significantly, no side effects (tho he had side effects from baclofen and rilutek), and we have been on 20mg nightly for about 4 months.

If it helps with the saliva we are grateful, but it doesn't appear to have made any difference, my PALS is bulbar onset and has copious saliva very often, and except when asleep is bothered by saliva all day.

We were told to stick it out for at least 3 weeks because it takes time to build up in your system and start really working and in that first 2 weeks you can have some side effects that can subside as your body adjusts.

 

[celticgirl]

I take one 10mg Amitriptylene at night as it helps me sleep better, any more than 10mg and I'm very drowsy next day so it's trial and error.

 

[lgelb]

The drug is a TCA and even "low" doses can be too sedating for some.
Other options, depending on your general health, may include a different TCA, a beta blocker, antihistamine and so on. You've got lots of possibilities left. I would d/c the amitriptyline and move on. Should your ALS team bog down on this, you might try an allergist or oto. If you are middle-aged or more, I would also consider an EKG before the next TCA trial.