Side effects of Elavil/Pamelor?
#184699 - 06/08/05 11:58 AM
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Tinkerbelle
Reged: 04/17/05
Posts: 231
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
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Hello everyone!
I was perscribed some Pamelor/Nortriptaline yesterday, which is a newer version of Elavil with less side effects. I didn't take it last night because I have a really heavy period and was feeling yuk last night, and didn't want to deal with any side effects while in this state. It says on the bottle that the side effects include: dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, and increased sensitivity to sunlight. Have any of you experienced these side effects? They don't sound very bad, but I was just wondering what side effects you guys have had, if any.
Has anyone on these medications experienced increased hunger? I'm really hoping for that, as I can barely stomach 1000 calories a day!
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pamelor, of all the tricyclic ads, is second lowest in weight gain potential, (norpramin is the first). BUT i'd still predict you'll likely gain some weight, and that it will most definitely help your appetite, so you'll also gain that way. as long as you don't have GERD (reflux disease), pamelor is an excellent ad. it's probably the most popular tca ad with shrinks in the know. btw, pamelor is not the same as elavil, and is not close to as sedating and constipating. if memory serves, it *may* convert somehow into elavil once inside your body, but i'm not one to know the scientic explanations of the hows & whys. LOL pamelor is known to have a nice combo of calming + just enough stimulating - effect.
if i didn't have gerd, i may well have stayed on it. good luck!
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With Elavil I got drowsiness for the first week or so and dry mouth. Nothing major.
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Elavil made me incredibly sleepy for the first few weeks and, yes, I did gain weight - unfortunately in my case. Apparently the "Elavil sweet tooth" is a well-known side-effect.
It did help my D for a while, then it stopped working, so my doc upped the dose. Again, worked for a while, stopped working, upped the dose. Again - but at this point I wasn't willing to up the dose - I'd gotten to the point where I was totally lethargic, saw no particular reason to get out of bed in the morning. I went off the Elavil and started to feel more myself within a couple of weeks, although it took a couple of months for me to feel like all the effects were out of my system. Sometime after I quit the Elavil I found this Website and Heather's diet has helped enough (along with Immodium fairly often and Donnatol every once in a while) that I haven't been interested in trying another a-d.
On a more positive note, my doctor does say she's had excellent results from people with IBS-D taking Elavil (which is why she had me try it) and my reactions to meds tend to be pretty weird. None of my side effects were horrible - scary or overwhelming - and if Pamelor has even fewer side effects, I'd say it's worth a try if diet and so on aren't helping enough.
HTH.
--------------------
[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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I was on amitryptilene (I think I mentioned it to you as a drug you could talk to your doctor about). The first two days I took it I felt very strange- like I was floating just to the right of my head. But after that I didn't have many any other side effects, it didn't make me dizzy or sleepy. I did, like I said, gain a fair bit of weight. Sand is right- it totally made crave sugar. 
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How much were you guys taking? I took 10 mg last night and I slept for 10 hours! I am so incredibly tired but I haven't even gone to the bathroom once today, so that's really exciting. But god, I don't want to be this exhausted! I also have the heaviest period of my life so that could make me tired too. Now I'm totally out of it! Ug, I don't know if this medicine is worth it, I'm so not a medicine person and I'm totally sketched out by their side effects, they just seem so unatural and weird. But hey, I guess going to the bathroom 6 times in the morning is unnatural and weird too...
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Oh ya, forgot about that one - increased hunger. I remember being hungry ALL THE TIME on Elavil. Also, I didn't notice any of the other side effects - just hunger and constipation.
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Dana
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So it makes you constipated? Wouldn't that be a negative side effect in a way? I want to be able to still go to the bathroom, just not as much as I'm going right now!
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It sounds like people haven't had the greatest experiences with them. If I took 5 mg I wonder if it would work at all? I think it worked TOO well today... or maybe it's a placebo, because it's just been a day but I haven't even gone to the bathroom yet!
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Yep I did. But it didn't do a huge amount for me IBS-wise (just a slight improvement in symptoms), and after the first couple of weeks it didn't even help me sleep.
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How long did u take it for Linz? What helps you the most?
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I have taken the elavil also. with the same side affect. I'm a D .I only take it (10 mg) when things get to tough to handle .But it drags me out & I want to eat sweets also . I have cut them in half. But it's a old & cheap drug (good thing). But I find Librax to work best .I take it 3 to 4 times a day . It's also cheap. And side affect is not so
bad (being tired & helps to sleep at night.) Good Luck. 
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Only a few months before I switched to Celexa for depression. I actually found the Celexa just as helpful b/c the biggest thing that did for my IBS was help me cope with it better.
What helps me most...
...this diet (when I cheat I really notice the effects now).
...a SFS - I'm now on Acacia but even the gassy stuff I was on before helped with the pain and D.
...Immodium - taking it everyday totally saved my life and I felt it sped up my the stabilisation process. Now I know I can fall back on it if I have a bad day.
...herbal teas. I can't have peppermint or ginger cos of GERDs but Chamomile is fantastic for my attacks and Fennel is so amazing for bloating. I now usually do a mix of Chamomile, Fennel and Lavender with honey - yum!
That's about it really. Oh and meds for my GERDs. My doc tried me on loads of meds for the IBS but not alot seemed to help. Regular anti-spasmodics did nothing for me.
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What is Librax? I've never even heard of it, what does it do and what kind of a drug is it? Yeah I feel so totally out of it, I wish I could cut my pill in half but it's a powder kind. I Called my doc to see if I could get a 5 mg pill or a 10 mg that could be cut in half.
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The main reason I want to stop my frequent BMs is because I feel like my body is not absorbing the nutrients of my foods. And also because it makes me exhausted to go to the bathroom so much! I feel like I'm not eating enough (1,200 calories at the most!) to go to the bathroom as much as I do. So that's why I want to take these meds- to gain weight and utilize the nutrients in my food. But I was wondering, do these meds even do that? Do they help you get nutrients from your food, or do they just stop you up?
MAN I can't even IMAGINE if I was taking these as an antidepressant- they must have had the most horrific side effects! 150 mg of this [censored]! I guess when you're desperate, it's better than shock treatment! Thank God for the invention of prozac, people must have been stoked when it was invented because there wasn't all these crazy side effects!
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Tinkerbell ,
Librax is what they call a Gut Tranquilizer .It slows down the digestive system. It is taken 30min. to & hr before each meal. And at bed time if needed. I have been on it for about
4 years & I have a good internal's & he say's I can be on it for the rest of my life ! I struggle for a long time I've had IBS for 7 years. But am doing better (cross finger's).
By the way I notice you are from Santa Cruz,Ca. I was born there & lived there for about 20 years. still have family there ,But only come to vist it to busy for me now! I should say West Texas is so different. But it took some getting use to no big trees ,Beach etc. But we were in Santa Cruz, last year & I would not fight that traffic for any
amt of money! Not to mention the cost to live there!
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Tink
#185170 - 06/09/05 11:31 AM
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Linz
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 8242
Loc: England
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Have you tried Immodium as a preventative yet? Cos for sheer stopping-D power, there's nothing to beat it. A-d's help with general symptoms and pain in particular, but NOT just stopping D.
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Re: Tink
#185173 - 06/09/05 11:35 AM
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Tinkerbelle
Reged: 04/17/05
Posts: 231
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
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Hmmm, that's interesting. Well I definatly get some cramping, but I don't have THAT much pain. I don't even really have D, I just have frequent BMs every single morning. This stuff seems to have helped that after only one day, but these side effects are really annoying and bizarre! I guess I'm just so worried about all the weight I've lost and the lack of appetite I haven, that I'm willing to try almost anything. My doc is the one who suggested Pamelor, and my mom is on it as well, and they've both said it's really helpful for both weight gain and frequent BMs, so I thought why not try it? I may just try to take 5 mg and see what it does...
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Re: Tink
#185175 - 06/09/05 11:37 AM
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Linz
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 8242
Loc: England
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Fair enough. Immodium does however slow your gut down so it helps with frequent BMS as well as proper D - I call them both D usually! I had both and it was so great to be able to get on with my life and not go to the potty so often! If this drug doesn't help significantly, I'd really recommend you give Immodium a try.
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If you're not absorbing your food you might want to consider being tested for celaic. It casues malabsorption. It can also cause all kinds of symptoms including gas, diarrhea, constipation, and all the IBS symptoms (plus many other symptoms). For more info. check out www.celiac.com
I'm sorry you're feeling so bad...keep posting *hugs*
Ruchie
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Formerly known as Ruchie
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Re: Tink
#185183 - 06/09/05 11:47 AM
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Tinkerbelle
Reged: 04/17/05
Posts: 231
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
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Thanks Linz! Yeah I took Immodium the other day when I did have proper D, and it really helped for a few days actually. I wonder if I could just take half in the mornings and if that would help? Yeah maybe Immodium would be better than this weird ass [censored], I've never felt so much like I've been on crack in my life!!
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Re: Tink
#185186 - 06/09/05 11:49 AM
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Linz
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 8242
Loc: England
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Half a tablet every morning is a good dose to start at. If that makes you a bit C, you can get the drug (loperamide) in liquid form on rx to allow you to take tiny doses. I love the stuff...it certainly did more for my IBS than a-d's!
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Hi Ruchie, I did get tested for Celiac and I don't have it. I have no clue if I'm absorbing my food or not, it's just what I feel is happening because I'm not eating much and going to the bathroom so much, so it feels like I'm not getting much out of the food I'm eating... but I must be getting SOMETHING because I'm still alive, getting my period, not losing horrible amounts of weight... etc...
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Tinkerbelle, do you take digestive enzymes? You mentioned that you feel that you are not absorbing nutrients consumed through foods. Digestive enzymes assist with that. Also, has a medical practioner concluded that you have a malabsorption problem? This is serious stuff. Obviously, D would impact nutrient assimilation as your transit time is drastically and violently/painfully accelerated. I know, I'm digressing from the issue re: Elavil. A digestive enzyme won't help with the D, however it will help with nutrient absorption.
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Use and keep Immodium handy, as Linz reinforced. Consider pedialyte and gastrolyte, too to keep those electrolytes in balance.
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SInce I am an IBS-A, I can get constipated easily. It sounds like you have pretty bad D and would be able to take the medication and still be able to go. My D wasn't terrible - probably 2 times a day, so it constipated me pretty quickly. The cramping was awful and the medication really helped with that as well. But like I said, your D is worse than mine so you would probably be able to take a low dose and still be able to go.
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Dana
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When I started taking them I was severely nauseous all of the time and had some serious problems with 48 hr boughts of vomiting and d. The pills stopped that. I took them long enough for my system to calm down and then got off of them.
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most seem to have missed the deal here - you're on PAMELOR....NOT... Elavil, correct?
like i said, you'll likely gain some weight, but thought you said you could use it. PLUS it'll not be anywhere close to as much weight as IF you were taking elavil. likely some constipation, again not as much as w/ elavil - sounds like a fair trade-off for you that should be able to me managed with sfs, etc.
biggest point - these type drugs almost always take up to 3 wks to work. anyone who wants to succeed on them must develop the patience to stick that out. the 'off' feeling you're having is probably a very typical start-up effect known as depersonalization. it will keep subsiding, as you get further along. so will the sedation.
i encourage you give this a fair trial because it could well end up making you feel simply marvelous! (altho there are no guarantees that any ad will be the right one for any given person.)
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I just wanted to mention that I always understood D to be not only watery and loose stools but ALSO frequency or a large number of BMs. Tiny or thin stools are also considered D. I get all kinds,  , and Immodium does help because, as Linz said, it slows your gut down. May I quote Heather?
"Immodium and Lomotil are the most common anti-diarrheal medications for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. They enhance intestinal water absorption, strengthen anal sphincter tone, and decrease intestinal transit, thereby increasing stool consistency and reducing frequency. Both are meant to be used for prevention of diarrhea by taking them prior to events (meals or stress) which typically trigger symptoms. They should be taken with plenty of fresh water. Immodium can be used as a daily maintenance drug..."
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It's helpful - and somewhat reassuring - to have someone write coherently about the many faces of D. I get different kinds, too - lucky us - after all, variety is the spice of life.
I really appreciate this post - and thanks for the quote, too.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Glad to hear she says the same as me.
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Can I say, "bang!" I think you really nailed this subject intelligently. Immodium is very very effective with the scenarios you described and has saved my butt countless times.
Even my M.D. agrees with Heather on this!
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