Does the exhaustion and brain fog from elavil wear off?

[mom_in_ma]

We'll, I gave in and am going to try elavil. I took 1/2 of a 25mg tablet last night. I didn't sleep and am exhausted today. My body feels like lead.

Does this feeling eventually wear off? I hope so! My bladder did feel a bit better this am.

[Kara29]

One trick I used to do with Elavil is to take it with Milk. For some reason it interacted with a small glass of milk and a snack. I used to work at 5AM so I had took the Elavil (50mg) at 7:30PM the night before. By the time I arrived at work it had worn off and the lead feeling disapated so I could work. Would you have the ability to take it earlier in the evening?

I hope with time that you find a way to take it so you sleep and can be alert for your day.

Kara

[leelee88]

I agree with Kara, If you could take it a little earlier in the pm the effects of the meds will wear of by the am...

[mom_in_ma]

Actually, I took it last night at 8 pm just for that reason. Doesn't seem to have helped. I'm so glad I didn't try to take it in the morning!

[Berkshire Road]

Robin -- Nortryptiline is a good alternative for people who can't tolerate elavil. I stuck with the elavil for four weeks, and I feel like I slept the entire four weeks. So now I've started nortryptiline and the side effects are much less, and it actually seems to be working better. You could ask your doctor.

[GriffsMommy]

Robin
I started taking Elavil a couple of weeks ago. The first night I took it I took it as it was directed and took it right before bed. The next day at work I thought I was going to pass out at any moment. I felt like I needed toothpicks to keep my eyelids open. I took it earlier the next night and still felt pretty tired the next day. After the third or fourth day I felt a lot better. Now I don't even get sleepy when I take it at night, it just seems that once I get to sleep I stay asleep much better than I did before. Obviously everybody reacts differently to meds since Carolyn still felt like a zombie on it after 4 weeks but I would say give it some time.

[mom_in_ma]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate your suggestions and hearing about your experiences. I'm going to give it an honest try and stick with it.

[Ginny]

That feeling does go away but I'm sorry to say that it takes about a month. They have 10 mgs and possibly 5 so start low and work your way up. Elavil has helped me sleep without waking up many times at night. It is worth it if you can get through the beginning part.

Ginny

[Mel53H]

My doctor told me to take 25 mg at night every other day and then slowly work up to everyday. It helped! Otherwise you turn into a zombie.

[vm]

Those feelings left for me after about a week on it. You might try taking it even a little early than 8pm - might help a little.

[amartaingirl]

weird

for the first week on elavil..it wired me
kept me awake

ever since..it knocks me out

[Braedley]

I found it worked best when i had a small snack with it - it is the only thing that helps me sleep really well (Ditropan XL is good, but this is even better) - the only downside is the fog in the AM...but my doctor told me it will subside eventually, your body just needs to get used to it...

i take it about 10-12 hrs before I have to be up and getting ready for work, and it helps a bit with getting up in the morning...

[mom_in_ma]

Well...unfortunately, I'm not sure that I continue with this drug. It seems to be causing retention...which I know can be a side affect. It's also causing my anxiety to go through the roof.

I had been doing ok with my anxiety and didn't feel depressed (frustrated and mad at my IC, YES, but not really depressed). I'd been able to keep moving despite the pain. But today, all I want to do is crawl under the covers and not move. The anxiety feels like it's taking control. Ugh.

[born2swim]

We all react to meds differently. Elavil gave me wicked gastroparesis (my GI tract stopped moving). I was on 10mg, so I cut it down to 5mg and got the same effect. The cloudy mind is terrible (I'm a student and I can barely focus on this posting). If you have a side effect that you just can't deal with, try another med in the same class. My doctor said that the tricyclic antidepressants (like Elavil) are terrible antidepressants, but do great things for the nerves in the pelvis... like the bladder. People seem to get great results from it, but I don't think I can deal with that gastroparesis. It is extremely painful and made me dry heave (all the contents in my stomach just sat there like a rock for a few hours). Slow gastric emptying is TERRIBLE!

So, if you can, give it a try... if you can't deal with it, try something new. I'm going to talk with my doc. next week and try something else.

[ihurttoo]

I know your exhaustion and "brain fog" are from the Elavil, but I wanted to mention for others reading that Fibromyalgia can also cause those symptoms, (just in case they may have it and not realize it and be attributing their symptoms to something else.) The brain fog with Fibro patients is so notorious that they actually call it "Fibro fog".

Anyway, in your case, I agree with the others that taking it with food and earlier in the evening would probobly help some. As for the retention, it can definately cause that, so you shoud mention it to your Dr. He/She may want to decrease your dose or switch you to a different med.

I hope that the side effects go away soon, or that you can try a different med that doesnt do this to you. I hope you start feeling better soon!

Hugs,
Amy