How to lose weight on Amitriptyline

June 2, 2009 5:45 PM

I am on 75mg a day of Amitriptyline for migraines. Has anyone had any luck not gaining weight on Elavil/Amitriptyline? I have been on it for a couple months and am having a much harder time than I thought not gaining weight. Did any particular strategies work for you? Did the effect kind of wane as you got used to the medicine? Thanks!
posted by gibbsjd77 to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

Amitriptyline didn't make me gain weight, but then again it didn't help much with migraines either (but did give me terrible, anxious nightmares such as I've never known so I discontinued it after only a few months).
posted by onshi at 8:21 PM on June 2, 2009

I gained a bunch of weight on Amitriptyline in part because of the monstrous sugar cravings it gave me. Not sure if this applies, but if you have someone to help you ward off any sweets that enter your perimeter, it may help.
posted by jtron at 9:39 PM on June 2, 2009

Have you talked with your doctor about side effects? There are a handful of other tricyclics he/she might be willing to prescribe, which don't have the laundry list of side effects that Amitriptyline has. Alternately, you can see about lowering the dosage to the minimal level that's still prophylactic to the migraines. I had my meds shuffled around a few times before landing on a super-low dose of nortriptyline, which is almost unnoticeable day-to-day.

Good luck!
posted by Mayor West at 4:52 AM on June 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Everyone's experience is different; you should talk to your doctor because a survey of users doesn't tell you much. That said, I took Elavil for chronic pain and while it did wonders for me, I gained weight I've never lost. Other drugs in its class never did what Elavil did for me-- and I tried all of them. It might come down to a decision with your doctor about the trade off between the weight gain and the pain relief. Good luck.
posted by vincele at 9:14 AM on June 3, 2009

Have you tried beta blockers for migraines? I take 10 mg of atenolol twice daily, and haven't had a migraine in three years. Seriously -- it was like a miracle drug for me. (They're basically blood pressure meds -- the only side effect I can see is that I now have lower blood pressure, which isn't a problem.)
posted by vickyverky at 11:08 AM on June 3, 2009

It made me gain weight too. Another medication that has recently been prescribed to prevent migraines is Topamax (topiramate)... you can ask about it too. It's an anticonvulsant that is sometimes used for bipolar. According to Wikipedia (which in this case provides several sources), it's even been investigated for treating obesity. So that at least makes it sound like it won't make you gain weight. I've never tried Topamax myself.

Are your migraines frequent enough that you need to be on a daily medication to prevent them? Perhaps another medication you take causes them... if that's so, could you have your doctor adjust your other meds? In my case, it was birth control pills, but I see you're male.

Even when I was getting migraines monthly I just took Imitrex (or Relpax or another triptan) when it came on... that and a Vicodin and I'm usually fine in an hour or two. Unless I don't catch it fast enough and start vomiting - then it's off to the ER for injections of Dilaudid and Phenergan.
posted by IndigoRain at 10:50 PM on June 3, 2009