Amitriptyline for Anxiety

The medication Amitriptyline, which is also known as Endep or Elavil, is an antidepressant drug. It’s usually used for the treatment of pain conditions, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome and other diseases. The Amitriptyline medication is a tricyclic antidepressant.

Amitriptyline is one of the most commonly used drugs for the treatment of migraine. When this medication gets in the human’s body, it turns into nortriptyline. It is the active form of the medication. The drug has many different mechanisms of action, and also has many advantages.

The drug Amitriptyline acts in the following way: it blocks the reuptake of serotonin, which prolongs the drug’s action; it blocks NMDA receptors, activates adenosine A1 and opioid receptors and leads to the pain relief; it also blocks the action of histamine in the human’s brain and causes the occurrence of drowsiness.

The medication Amitriptyline is used for the treatment of the symptoms of various diseases and disorders. One of them is anxiety. The studies, connected with the drug’s action, have shown that it may be rather effective and it can help to reduce anxiety.

Anxiety is one of the common symptoms within people suffering from migraines and such people often use the Amitriptyline medication. Reducing migraine with the help of the drug Amitriptyline usually helps to get rid of such symptom as anxiety.

The drug Amitriptyline is also often used for the treatment of such a condition as stress.

Side Effects

The use of the drug Amitriptyline can cause the occurrence of various side effects. Common side effects may include: weight gain; drowsiness; anticholinergic effects. Other side effects may include: abdominal pain; sleeping problems; constipation; the feeling of increased excitement; raving; hyperpigmentation; nightmares; convulsions; irregular heartbeat; confusion.

Amitriptyline is available in the form of an oral solution or in the form of tablets. The tablets can be of 10, 25, and 50 mg.

The tablets that are the strongest will have stronger effects, but there is a high probability that they will cause the occurrence of strong side effects. It is usually recommended to start taking this medication in a low dosage, and then gradually increase the dosage. It’s necessary to take the drug with caution, because a large dosage of the medication increases the risk to get side effects.

Usually, the drug is recommended to be taken before bedtime, as the action of the drug can cause severe drowsiness.

Contraindications

In the case, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, then you should take the medication Amitriptyline with a particular caution. Before using this medication, you should consult a doctor to know about possible risks. If you use this drug during pregnancy, you should take into consideration, that the active components of the drug, such as amitriptyline and nortriptyline, can pass through the placenta and be toxic to the fetus, which can cause the occurrence of various health problems for the unborn baby. The use of tricyclic antidepressants may give rise to some complications during pregnancy. They may include such complications, as an increased blood pressure and even premature labor. In some cases, the newborns, exposed to tricyclic antidepressants, may experience some withdrawal symptoms.

It should be noted, that the drug Amitriptyline can pass through the breast milk to the baby. Before taking the drug you should consult the doctor about the drug’s action and the dosage.