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Amitriptylin ( was Azathioprine) and dreams???

486 views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  LoopyLoo 
#1 ·
My Rx for amptriptylin is for one or two pills every night, my call on whether to take just one or both. Taking only one, I start to have rough nights again where I can't sleep. So I go back to taking two pills and then I definitely sleep. And sleep and sleep. It's usually 11 a.m. before I can drag myself out of bed. But it's restful and deep sleep and it seems to help if I can do it for a time.

So my question: Why does the drug give me amazing and lovely dreams when I take two pills? On one I never, ever have nightmares (a nightly event in my life before starting the drug). On two, I dream gorgeous dreams filled with flowers and amazing costumes and good feelings when talking to people that in reality I would feel very bad talking to. I dream of my dad, who died many years ago, and it's always nice. I swear, it's almost like I'm taking some hallucinogen.

Anybody else? Any guesses?

Sunny
 
#2 ·
Hi Sunny :)

I don't get that effect, but some people report it making them very sleepy. Perhaps it is helping you to reach a deeper state of sleep which is a great thing all round don't you agree :) Hope it keeps having good effects for you, I don't know what I'd do without it.

love
Lily
 
#4 ·
Ah Ami! I had that for a few months once and yes it does make you dream. I'm glad yours are nice dreams, mine were not quite alarming really!
PS you are not a bonehead :p

love
Lily
 
#5 ·
Hello Sunny
I have changed the title for you ;), probably spelt wrongly. I'm glad you are having good dreams - I had that experience with another drug ( Quinacrine) and it was wonderful. Interestingly the dreams also included lovely encounters with my dead father and brother, most therapeutic.

By the way, I too am sure I sleep better even on low dose azathioprine

Many Hugs
Clare
 
#8 ·
Hmm I'm having the opposite effect. I never had dreams (or remembered them) before. Since taking Amitriptilyne, I have had rotten dreams..sometime nightmares. Also, I wake up all the time talking about things that happened several days before. Or giving instructions, answering questions that were not really asked and other weird things. It was getting real bad at one point because I was keeping my husband up because I was talking or blubbering as he says. So, we cut the dose in half. I was taking 75 mg. The other thing I noticed is twitching. It can lift my leg up no problem and trust it is not small or light weight. Heck I can't even pick it up. It is much worse when I am tired. But, on the other hand, it was the only drug that seemed to help with my knee pain. Even, so I think I have to get myself off of it.

It is different for everyone, so if there are no negative side effects..stick with it!

Annette
 
#9 ·
Isn't it odd how one medication can affect us all so differently? Yes, I twitch a good bit. But I was doing that before the Ami, so I don't think it's responsible. My dreams are very therapeutic on the higher dose.

As for azothiaprin, Clare, it's the low dose that puts me right to sleep. I'm supposed to take one pill night and one morning. I couldn't do that. The single pill just knocks me out .... great for night but not so great for mornings. So I take both at night. And oddly, that doesn't seem to affect my sleep pattern at all. :p Who knows?

I'm just glad to hear I'm not the only one whose dreams are affected. And I'm glad I get the good ones. :lol: I don't think I could handle more nightmares.

Sunny
ok, NOT a bonehead
 
#10 ·
I've been on Amitriptyline (25mg) for 3 weeks now and it does help me sleep but I have had very real dreams. On other meds I sometimes can't tell the difference between dreams and reality but I can seperate them now.

Mine are not unpleasant but always relate to people from my past - school, boyfriends, etc. I did wonder why these people were in my dreams when I hadn't thought about them for years. I haven't had been able to sleep well for years and especially now when in pain so it's a godsend. I do struggle to get up early in the mornings though.

Hugz,

Pam xxx
 
#11 ·
Pam, amptriptylin (sp?) was and continues to be a godsend. No matter how bad the pain is, I can always take two and have a deep and mostly refreshing sleep. I can't escape the worst of -- inevitably a snake creeps into my dreams and I dream it's biting my face and I can't tear it off. I know -- too much information. Sorry. But I still have trouble getting up in the morning if I take two pills. I could NOT get up on a schedule after two and go anywhere. But taking one, my body adapted pretty quickly. If the rest of my body will let me get up, the pill taken the night before won't stop me. Mornings are bad for me. I wake up in pretty awful pain so I take my ms contin as soon as I wake up. A lot of mornings I take it around 6 a.m. when the dog needs to go out and head back to bed for more sleep. Otherwise, the first hour of my morning is spent drinking strong, hot tea while waiting for the pain meds to kick in.
 
#12 ·
That sounds exactly like my morning routine - I get up to let the dog out and take my pain meds then go back to bed....with pooch beside me ;)

I'm not working at the moment but I'm worried about going back to a normal routine. I don't seem to come to properly until 1pm. Sometimes I've arranged things in the morning on purpose to try and get back into a routine but it hasn't worked out and I'm usually back in bed by the afternoon.
 
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