I was on Nortriptyline for a year for migraine prevention. I found it was making me extremely tired and my heart race. I unfortunatelly stopped it two weeks ago abruptly. Does anyone know how long wtihdrawal symptoms last for. Still feel jumpy, brain zaps, insomnia and headache. Any help would be so appreciated.
Oh dear, I've been on it for 8 months and it also made me worse with heart palpitations. I'm currently weaning myself off extremely slowly n wouldn't advise stopping it abruptly but obviously that's too late! It can take between 2 weeks to a month for the effects to wear off. Keep hydrated, rested and stress free(hard I know) . Unfortunately you've just gotta soldier through it but it WILL wear off. I hope you feel better soon.
Hi Pinkmuffin
I'm currently taking nortriptyline. It's only been a month for me and I'm already feeling like my heart is racing every morning and i do get palpitations couple times a day. I also get a lot of muscle spasms and twitchings all over my body. Can i ask you what dose you were taking?
Hello, I was on 20mg. I noticed the side effects for after about two weeks but after eight months my heart was going 130 when I was resting. I'm part of a Facebook group for migranes and a lot of ppl have stopped taking it because of that. I also noticed an increased tingling in my feet, slurred speech and general dopeyness. The only good thing about it was that it got rid of pain but since weaning off it ive actually noticed less migraines and more energy.
Hi. I also started feeling my heart racing after taking it for 2 weeks. I'm at 110bpm when resting. It's more noticeable right when i wake up.and it usually lays for about 4-5 hours and then I'll be fine in the evening. Did you have any muscle spasms or twitchings?
Yep, same for me, I'd wake up with my heart racing then by the evening it would calm down. I ended up in a&e a few times because it totally scared me. I didn't get any muscle spasms or twitching with it but it did slow my reaction time and it made me clumsy. China section in john Lewis was a no no!!
Were you completely migraine free for the 8 months you were on nortryptiline? I'm actually not a migraine person but rather a chronic daily headache person. When i say daily i meant DAILY! I get the headaches 50-100 times a day. Since taking nortriptyline the intensity of the headaches decreased, but not in frequency. These headaches only started after a lumbar puncture. I was never a headache person or a migraineur before that so all this is new to me. Needless to say, the spinal tap has turned my life upside down!
No, nortriptyline did not get rid of my migraines, it just got rid of a load of facial and jaw pain I had but not all time. Currently researching into a supplement named Ambrotose which might be useful to you.
Hmm...just googled Ambrotose
I've been looking into into natural supplements and found that magnesium and vitb2 helped some people with migraines. I'm going to give the nori another month and see if the side effects will subside. If not, i think I'm going to try and look into natural supplements.
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Hi PinkMuffin, Nortriptyline did not completely get rid of my migraines either. Just reduced the severity and frequency. I did go back on Nort., because it helps greatly with IBS issues, especially IBS-D. It is good for intestinal issues and pain.
Yeah a lot of people claim the benefits to supplements like riboflavin, magnesium, cQ10, vitamin E and all the b vitamins. I'm unsure on the doses though
hello, apologies for the late reply. It's nice to hear that nortriptyline is helping someone. I also have ibs but I didn't notice it change whilst on it but mines very mild. Keep soldiering on and we'll be better at some point, it can't last forever 😀
So I checked my hart rate when I woke up this morning and BAM...130bpm! I'm not liking how it's affecting my heart right now. I'm just very afraid of stopping the med because it has done a fairly good job decreasing the number of daily headaches I get. And my heart is not the only thing that it's affecting. I've also noticed significant hair thinning and loss from the start of taking nortriptyline. Did you guys have hair thinning as well? And PinkMuffin, how is your withdrawal going? Are you getting any weird withdrawl symptoms? I'm going to have to taper my meds off in the next month or 2 if it continues affecting my heart and you're the only one how currently on a similar dosage as me, but that you've taking nortriptyline months longer than me. Thanks.
Hello Jac, I've recently been to see a cardiologist about the heart thing, I had to wear a 5 day ecg and they did a echocardiogram. Results were good but confirmed that it was nortriptyline that made the palpitations. Apparently it's a common side effect. I saw a cardio because I've ended up in a&e a few times. At the start I just noticed it every now n again but by the end of my eight months it was constant, I could feel it pounding and actually hear it too! Too much of a scary side effect to put up with. I've been weaning myself of 5mg a week, last dose it tonight, surprisingly my migraines are a lot better, dizzied are worse though, less fatigue and yes, my heart is more settled now. Thankfully. I've not had any bad withdrawal symptoms at all. I heard it take nine days for nortriptyline to get out of my system once I've stopped. Hope everything calms for you 😀
Oh I heard that some ppl go on a beta blocker to calm the heart if the nortriptyline is helping you so much, but me personally prefer not to take any more strong meds. I have also heard of the hair loss but not experienced that myself.
Hello again PinkMuffin. I'm actually wearing a loop monitor to monitor my heart rate for 2 weeks. I'll likely continue on taking nortriptyline for another month or so to make sure my headaches are under control and then I'll try and tapering off to see if the headaches come back. I am also pretty sure it's the nortriptyline that's giving me heart issue since it has also increased my blood pressure since I started taking it (I'm currently sitting at 115-120/80-90 while on the drug when I'm usally 90/60).
Hi,
I weaned off Norotryptylene 2 weeks ago after taking a daily dose of 125mg. I started on Gabapentin and have since been getting pain spasms in my head, jumpiness, pain down my neck and tiredness. I assumed it was the side effects of the new medication but am now thinking it could be withdrawals from the Norotryptylene after reading what you said. I hope it stops to soon as it's very painful. I hope you're feeling better soon!
hello. ;im currently going through a nightmarish withdrawal with the nori. My body gets so feverishly hot that I would break out in sweats to apoint of near passing out. My heart also races on and off and when it does race, I end up with laboured breathing. And the pressure in my head is rediculous! It's been one week since I stopped taking the nori and the withdrawal symptoms are out of control! Worst of all, I don't see any end in sight! Are you still experiencing withdrawal symptoms?
I just started weaning from nortryptoline 4 weeks ago after a year. The next day my foot pain went away. I am convinced that this drug kept me in pain for a year. I'm a very healthy/active person who got injured on a tennis court. I took this for pain but noticed a pattern..wake up feeling myself then 3 hours later, foot and leg weird nervy pain. Last night was my last time taking this drug and I already can "feel" like I used to. It completely numbed me and didnt allow me to use my instincts. My friends who have migraines swear that their chiropractor helps them .
i tapered off 10mg per week i have low energy malaise back chills back or heart palpatations - felt in the back with chills