Awww I have just run out of amitryptiline again!! I rely on 75mg every night for my massive 3-4 hours sleep and have been taking it for 7 years. I have only done this a couple of times before and it was so horrendous I am too scared to go to bed tonight. Iswore it would never happen again. The other experiences made the film "Trainspotting" look like a walk in the park. I reckon it has got to be worse than cold turkey for heroine addicts. Just wondered if anyone else has/had this problem? I would have gone to an out of hours doctor but it is not really an emergency. So I am not looking to the long night ahead and trying to get to the pharmacist somehow in the morning...
Awwwww, I'm so sorry, Jo! How awful for you. I hope like heck that you get thru tonight without much pain. I take that you have nothing else in the house that will help with the pain? Would a bath with Epsom salts help at all? I sure wish I could help you or give you some of my meds.
Too bad you didn't go to the after hours doctor. Who cares if it's not an "emergency?" If you're in THAT much pain, it's an emergency, in my opinion. If you can still go, I'd strongly encourage you to go.
Giving you a gentle hug and keeping you in my thoughts,
Pet
Aww thank you. I have amitryptiline to help with the insomnia really and to suddenly stop/run out is so horrendous. If I can get close to sleep I end up having sleep paralysis. If you have ever experienced it, it is quite awful. It fees like you are being pinned down by some invisible force and feels like some threatening "being" is over you. You cannot scream for help or move in any way.
My pain is really currently untreated anyway because I only have tramadol (over the maximum daily dose) which is useless and makes me feel extremely nauseous. Last weekend I waited up for an emergency doctorto give me a morphine injection and sleeping tablets only to be met wih a grumpy old man recommending paracetamol!! (The lowest form of painkiller you can give to small children) I was gobsmacked and then he went to his car to pull out a prescription for voltarol gel, which he couldn't even spell!! 2 o'clock am and still crying in pain... for nothing. I mean how ridiculous! I had to wait to the next day to get it, and how long is a tube of gel going to last when I have to cover my whole body?! I tell you now, less than 24 hours... And how the hell am I supposed to reach the whole of my back and other parts I can't reach?! I just give up some times. This is why we have depression too. Because we are not taken seriously and neglected to be treated properly!
Thanks for your thoughts Pet and much appreciated hugs
Jo
Oh Jo, that's really heartbreaking to hear of how the doctor treated you. I still think a lot of male docs think it's just bored or hysterical housewives, instead of taking this illness seriously. It enrages me that they refuse to give pain meds to people in horrendous PAIN! OMG. They should have to spend a month or a year in the same pain, so they never forget it and learn some compassion.
Ok, the sleep paralysis sounds truly awful. Like an awful, awful nightmare, only more real. I take it that this symptom comes on if you don't have the amiltryptiline? Is there any kind of explanation as to WHY this happens? Or does it just fall under the "it's fibro, no more info available," type of answer?
At any rate, I hope you get sleep tonight and that it's peaceful. you deserve it.
Pet
Yes, sometimes I feel they think I'm a drug addict wanting harder drugs. No, I want to get rid of this pain! I wish sometimes they just had a week or month in our shoes, which is not very nice but maybe we would be properly treated for once. Totally agree there! As most of them are men, no offence guys, they would be such divas about it wouldn't they!
The sleep paralysis is a sleep disorder/problem where you are kind of trapped in between awake and sleep states. You are not paralysed totally during sleep but to a certain extent, or we would all wake up black and blue. I can't remember everything I've read (as you do) but you are aware that you are awake but your brain is almost at dream state and it just goes horribly wrong. Have you experienced that sudden falling feeling or jolt as you are drifting off? It's around that state of mind/sleep that it happens. I get this quite a lot but the sudden lack of amitryptiline must react with my brain somehow and make it ten times worse. You start "tripping out" and hallucinating too, like living a real nightmare like you say. I'm not sure. I guess it's like a heroine addict just stopping and having the "cold turkey" effect. Thats why a lot of medication you have to ween off, including amitryptiline, because you get those horrendous results.
Thanks for the hopes of peaceful sleep tonight. I really do need it after this week, but I am too scared because of the sleep paralysis etc. If I drift off, I drift off, but not intentionally.
Take care
Is sleep paralysis like when you want to wake up and know you need to but you can't? And think you're trying to open your eyes and they feel super heavy. I don't really think so. What you're experiencing sounds so scary. I hope only for peaceful sleep for you tonight, Jo. I can see where withdrawal symptoms could bring on something like this. (I had horrible ones when getting off Paxil suddenly.) It's a shame that the drugs have such far reaching side effects. It's too bad that docs can't tweak our actual genes to correct the problems, instead of simply medicating them.
No, it's when you're just going into sleep, or coming out. It is probably very close to when you're describing but not the same. It's really difficult to explain, and it is very scary. Have a look on wikipaedia or other places for a definition/explanation too. It is a lot easier and clearer than my explanation. It is why I am keeping myself awake all night and hoping to make it to the pharmacist for my prescription. I don't know if i can make it until tomorrow night to get some sleep though, but I am giving it my best. I wll definitely be making up for it at the weekend, trust me.
I tried that for sleep and after a little while it made me really sick from serotonin syndrome. Wish you lived near. I have a whole bottle of it I’m not using!
Awww you tease! Hahaha. Sorry for sounding silly, but what is serotonin syndrome? I know low serotonin levels is a cause of depression, but I have never heard of serotonin syndrome.
So how did you make out last night, Jo? And did you get your meds today?
I did not sleep a wink, so no sleep paralysis thankfully. And oh yes! I hobbled and span my way out to the pharmacist and got me a four hour sleep last night. Better than nothing... Thanks Pet!! x