Antidepressant: Amitriptyline (generic of Elavil)
From: Helen Dynda (olddad66@runestone.net)
Sun Feb 20 19:19:29 2000
I was prescribed amitriptyline (generic of Elavil) in the fall of 1975.
I was prescribed the lowest strength of amitriptyline - 25mgs to start
with. Then my doctor increased the strength of the amitriptyline
gradually by 25mgs every 2 weeks until I had reached a level which was
giving me the therapeutic help I needed.
He also spent alot of unpaid hours counseling me. He recognized that I
was in a lot of pain and also very depressed. Amitriptyline has been
recognized as a medication which is helpful for both depression and pain
relief. Depression plays a big part in the sensation of chronic pain.
Depression can increase the sensation of pain; so it is important to get
help for depression too.
A person's amitriptyline level can be monitored by having periodic blood
levels drawn. When I first started seeing my psychiatrist in January
1997, she wrote a prescription for me to have a blood level of
amitriptyline to be drawn by my doctor. At that time I was taking
225mgs of amitriptyline.
As a result of that test, my blood level of amitriptyline was 525mgs!!
My amitriptyline level was at a toxic level! So gradually over several
weeks she lowered the number of milligrams I was receiving so that I
currently take only 100mgs at night.
She also started me on carbamazapine (generic of Tegretol) -starting at
a low level and gradually increasing over several weeks. Currently I
take 200mgs in the AM and 400mgs before bedtime. My psychiatrist
specializes in pain management -so she knows what she is doing.
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