# FYI - Tricyclic withdrawal, my side-effects



## Dreamer (Aug 9, 2004)

I went on Nortriptyline arond the end of 1998? to help with my depression. Have stayed on until recently. I slowly pulled back over 2.5 months -- 10mg at a time. I was on 50mg/day. It seems Lamictal to control mood swings and some Borderline behavior made the drug unnecessary, but I was scared to upset the apple cart.

One thing I've noticed is a mild headache that started about 1 week ago. I don't think this is unusual.

Also I had some really bad charlie-horses in my legs while going off.

But no head zaps.

Just conveying my experience. This also shows you MUST go off a med slowly. I believe this firmly. I don't care what drug it is. Take TIME. I don't recommend Cold Turkey for any drug.

I was on Imipramine years back. I was 15 when I started it and quit around 25? NO side-effects at all.

People must be conscious of their changing metabolisms over time. I'm almost 47. That affects reactions to meds you're on. You may need to pull back as one sometimes can't tolerate a higher dose. This is true in the elderly with MANY meds.

I don't want to get ANY older. :shock:

My experience.
YMMV 8)


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## berlin (Aug 19, 2004)

A tricyclic anti-d was the drug which treated my last bout of mental illness. It wasn't the Drs first choice but the other drug didn't appear to work. I managed to decrease the dose from 75mg to 25mg without any noticeable problems until my Dr, in a new area which I had moved to, didnt grant me a repeat prescription because what I was taking was not considered a medicinal dose (neither is the 75mg I believe).

This time it was Cipramil, but thats another story. I am now back on the amytriptiline.

Dreamer I did wonder if it would be appropriate to ask for Lamactil, and if it could be used concurrently with this type of antidepressant and not ssri's. I am desperate to lift the symptoms of dissociation and experience life more, I have two boys and I know I don't relate to them as I believe I should. :roll:


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## berlin (Aug 19, 2004)

> I don't want to get ANY older.


When I watched Girl Interrupted I never understood the title, I do now.


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## Dreamer (Aug 9, 2004)

Just tried to post this and I lost the Board... here we go again... and I just saw another post about Cipramil...



berlin said:


> This time it was Cipramil, but thats another story. I am now back on the amytriptiline.
> 
> Dreamer I did wonder if it would be appropriate to ask for Lamactil, and if it could be used concurrently with this type of antidepressant and not ssri's. I am desperate to lift the symptoms of dissociation and experience life more, I have two boys and I know I don't relate to them as I believe I should. :roll:


Dear berlin,
I'm sorry to hear about your feelings re: your boys. My guess is regardless they know you love them and they love you very much.

At any rate, I can't really answer the amytriptiline combo answer as it seems... and I may be incorrect... that more folks have tried the "Klono-Combo" or the "Lamictal-Combo" ... that is Klonopin or Lamictal with an SSRI making up the second half.

That is what I have been doing. I was on Nortrip to "boost the efficacy" of my Celexa. I have a problem with depression that gets mighty bad. The doctor I was working with was very aggressive with meds.

I know find that I wanted to see what would happen off the Nortrip and I'm doing fine. I think my key combo is Lamictal and Celexa.

But it's a matter of trial and error.

Unfortunate that you've had to juggle meds without being able to give them the "full try". One thing I've been fortunate with is I worked with a doctor who wasn't afraid to experiment (at my request) and push doses.

I will always wonder if meds I took years ago.... say Imipramine... might have helped if pushed further. Probably not. But I'll never know as I'm not going to go back and relive that!

Don't think this is of much help, but good luck at any rate. :? 
D


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## Tom Servo (Sep 19, 2005)

berlin said:


> Dreamer I did wonder if it would be appropriate to ask for Lamactil, and if it could be used concurrently with this type of antidepressant and not ssri's. I am desperate to lift the symptoms of dissociation and experience life more, I have two boys and I know I don't relate to them as I believe I should. :roll:


OK, OK, I know I'm not Dreamer, but I felt compelled to butt in here. Amytriptiline is apparently one of the more 'serotonergic' of the TCA's. I'm no pharmacologist (I don't even play one on TV), but it seems to me that the combo could work. I suppose there could be a difference between serotonergic TCA's and SSRI's, but one would think that it's what it does, not how it does it, that is the main factor. I'm taking lamotrigine with an MAOI, which also boost serotonin (along with a bunch of other neurotransmitters). I'm not even up to the full dose of lamotrigine yet and I'm feeling a bit better. I'd give it a try. By the time you're up to the effective level of lamotrigine, you should know what amytriptiline will/won't do for you. If you aren't happy with the results you're getting from it, you then have the option of switching to a different anti-d, like anafranil, and SSRI, an MAOI, or what have you.

How old are your kids? For me, my daughter is the part of DP that I resent the most. I've been feeling better in the 12 or so years since I started the MAOI and xanax, but I missed out on a lot of her life up to then. I really hope you find some relief; I think I know how you feel.


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## berlin (Aug 19, 2004)

Thank you both for your input. I haven't discussed taking Lamactil with my Dr, I just wanted to sound out the possibility of combining it with a tricyclic anti-d before I did. 
Tom, I know that if I was the *real* me, with *real *feelings, like I experienced in my previous life, I would be crippled by the realisation that I had been emotionally absent during the most important years of my life. I can only be so emphatic about my latent sensitivity by comparing, in my mind, how I responded to all the things that touched my life before. 
Irony too (if only I could experience it :wink: ) that I'm so insensitive that it doesn't really bother me . 
Except I know it should. :?


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