Came off Amitryptiline 20mg and now got Paresthesia / itching all over my body

Treatment and medication
1

Hi,
I was prescribed amitryptiline for IBS 6 months ago. I was taking 20mg and it helped me a lot. I started having joint pain because of amitryptiline and tapered it off in 1.5-2 weeks. After a week I started feeling strange sensations and itching all over the body. I have started taking 20mg again on doctors advise so just want to know the best way to get rid of these sensations and finally come off it with a gradual tapper off strategy with the help of the community on this forum.

Does this itching / paresthesia feeling go away with time? I am really depressed and curisous to know other people’s experience.

2

I experienced itchy skin when I used to increase my dosage, but as my body adjusted it settled and then disappeared.
I’m currently tapering but taking it super slowly! I reduce by dropping 2.5mg every 3-4weeks’ (this gives the body time to adjust) and then I drop again. I was on 32.5mg but at present I’m down to 20mg a night.
The advise I was given was to go super slow so you minimise withdrawal symptoms and avoid having to go back up and start again.
Good luck!

3

How are you both getting on? I’ve started tapering tonight. First time went too quick not realising how bad it could be.

4

Hi,
My tapering is on course; down to 17.5mg at present with the next drop due in approx. 3 weeks’.
I take it super, super slowly & only drop 2.5mg each taper.
How are you going?

5

Ah thanks for replying. How’s it going for you? Started tapering 2.5 Monday and feel a bit nauseated and like I’m getting a cold. Had a headache too. Can still manage my daily things at the mo though so that’s good. Just praying it doesn’t get worse like when I accidentally went cold turkey a couple of weeks back! That was nasty.

6

Yeah I tend to get a headache & a bit of anxiety for the first few days’, but after a bit it settles. Some times I too feel like I’m getting a cold & weirdly my tinnitus increases in volume.
I can imagine lol.
My advice; take your time.

7

Is there any other cause of itching ? Have you consulted your gp/ dermatologist

8

hello.

All I can really share with you on this, is that every time I have tried to reduce my Ami intake the burning skin and crazy itching goes nuts. Also, I still get tingling sensations sometimes in my hands So you are not alone!

This was the case when I went cold turkey, one time, and 2 times since then when I have tried to reduce my dose as part of a slow taper. I have not managed to get off Ami in around 18 months, as the withdrawal has been too horrendous for me.

It appears to be different for everyone, but the itching/burning/tingling is something that’s reported by lots of people as a “standard” withdrawal symptom.

I know that some people have tried anti-histamines but I’ve not heard anyone say they helped, as yet.

There are reports of some people finally getting off the Ami after a very slow taper, and being symptom free, as well as some still suffering symptoms long after their last dose as well…

I am praying to one day be off this toxic drug once and for all… I hope for you too.

Sorry I cannot offer you more helpful tips, but know that you are not alone in your experience…

The overall weight of people’s experience in terms of my deep reading on the matter, is that a VERY slow taper is strongly recommended.

9

I guess it can be useful to rule out other things, but given that Ami is known to be a histamine modulator, and going by the large numbers of people who experience the itching/burning, I would be surprised if it’s not the Ami causing the OP’s sensations.

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Hi all, super interested in this discussion because I stopped taking amitriptyline 20mg per night just over three weeks ago and I am struggling. My GP told me to stop cold turkey, so I did and now I feel awful. I have burning sensations in my cheeks and itching in my hands and feet as well as pin prick sensations over the rest of my body. I tried taking fexofenadine 120mg for the allergy symptoms (including a weird allergic reaction to cheese that I have never had before but if amitriptyline is a histamine modulator, this makes more sense - where histamine was surpressed now it’s running rampant and apparently no longer enjoys dairy) and that helped with the itching but not the other symptoms (and I’m pretty sure it has given me GI issues and nausea although hard to know if it’s the fexofenadine or the amitriptyline).

I am speaking to a different GP next week to try and get some better advice but does anyone have any experience with reinstating amitriptyline 3 weeks after their last dose? I’m not sure if going back on it now would help or hinder the recovery - it’s so hard to know what to do and so hard not to feel like you are completely alone. I’m also worried that I might have exacerbated the situation by taking the fexofenadine. If anyone has any similar experiences or can help me to feel like I’m not losing my mind, I would be really grateful. This has had a huge impact on me mentally and I sit at my desk and cry most days because I feel so horrendous. Not ideal really. As I am now three weeks in, is it worth just riding it out and hoping for the best while trying to take supplements to manage symptoms?

Hope you are all doing really well with your tapering and getting off this drug. I wish my GP had given me better advice originally but it seems like they don’t actually really know a lot about these drugs, which is somewhat terrifying!

11

Hi Sonrisa_mia

Thanks for joining this thread. These kinds of forums have helped me in my journey, simply by hearing others’ reports of what they are experiencing, so I don’t get lost in awful health anxiety while dealing with my body telling me “you are seriously ill” over and over…

I went cold turkey and "stuck it out’ for about 5 weeks. It was deeply horrendous. At that stage I reached out on a site called “surviving antidepressant.com” and was told, by a very experienced woman who runs that site, Altostrata, something like “you could decide to “tough it out” but you may feel like you do now, for many months”. I knew I could not possibly go on like I was then, and took the option of (reluctantly) reinstating the Ami at a very low dose. Although I wanted rid of this poison, it did feel like it was the kindest thing to do for myself at that point in time. She did say that 5 weeks was a bit long to have been off it, for reinstatement, but it could still be tried, they usually recommend when one has been off it for 3 weeks or less. She recommended the reinstatement should be a very low dose to start with. I started on about 1mg.

After a while, the totally wipe-out symptoms did abate some, at least in intensity. I was able to actually work, and have some kind of life, which was previously impossible for me, during the dreadful cold turkey weeks.

If you want to know more detail about all this, and the symptoms etc, then feel free to message me, rather than me going on and on here…

So, the reinstatement did help, yes. in that I was less destroyed, however I have now gone through nearly 2 years of withdrawal symptoms, in and up and down fashion. As mentioned, I went back on the Ami at around 1mg - I was taking 10mg a night for about 8 years, sometimes 20mg on occasion - as directed by a nonchalant, very under-educated GP, who had no clue about Ami. I have since found out that most GPs have no idea about the reality of Ami withdrawal. They peddle this BS like “there are no withdrawal symptoms from 10mg of Ami” etc etc. Utter crap.

So, in short, I have had similar experiences yes - like i was totally losing it, for example, and dozens of different withdrawal symptoms etc. Reinstatment was the right thing to do, for me, I believe, but I think I should have slowly upped the dose, a few months in, instead of sticking with the super low dose, and holding out with the notion that “surely this will pass in time, if I can just stick it out…” . I think this is why I have had withdrawal for so long. I just didn’t wanna put any more of the horrible Ami inside me…

I won’t go into a super long post here. If you wish to chat more then feel free to message me. I wish you clarity and courage for whatever you decide to do.

Kev :wink:

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thanks @kevatron - I’ve messaged you but not sure I’ve done it correctly! Let me know if you haven’t received anything.

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Hi. I sent you a message a few days ago in response to yours - I hope you picked it up?