Losing weight on amitriptyline

celticcurl

I gained 6lbs in just over two weeks on this drug. I've tried following slimming world which had worked for me in the past. No luck this time. It has massively reduced my pain but I'm planning on getting married and need to loses weight. I'm seriously considering coming off the drug.

amiehall

Well done on taking some sensible steps to get your weight gain under control. Weighing your food and logging your meals is definitely the right way to go about it. I would really encourage you to stick with it and give it some time.

I guess this medication means that it's going to take longer than it did previously. You just need to stick at it. Your body might be resistant, but if you maintain a calorie deficit for long enough, your body has no choice but to take energy from your fat stores. Good luck!

jenhug

I take 100mg of this a day, due to fibromyalgia. I too cannot shift the weight. I take some other meds that also list weight gain as a side effect. It really gets me down.

codemonkey

Well, I proved the doctor wrong. I saw another doctor and she suggested I change to something else as the amitriptyline wasn't working anymore. A few days after changing over, I noticed my jeans were falling down so hopped on the scales and I've lost 10lbs. Obviously water weight but still...

applepad

codemonkey wrote: »

Well, I proved the doctor wrong. I saw another doctor and she suggested I change to something else as the amitriptyline wasn't working anymore. A few days after changing over, I noticed my jeans were falling down so hopped on the scales and I've lost 10lbs. Obviously water weight but still...

Can I ask what you have been changed to? I don't care if its just water weight!

I am still in pain somI think I am going to have to put my do ese back up again. I hate being ill

codemonkey

I'm trying carbomazepine (I have trigeminal neuralgia so its a good one for treating that). Have to say I didn't realise just how much the trips knocked me out until I changed over and felt like me for the first time in ages.

The new one isn't trouble free though. I'm drowsy, dizzy and a little nauseous but so far, I do feel less chemically coshed.

Apple - I hate being ill too. I just want to go back to drug free me.

codemonkey

Thought I'd revisit this thread. Been through many drugs now due to side effects other than weight gain - regained all the weight I'd lost plus a few more pounds despite working out a LOT and eating more protein and fruit and veg and have now been given the fantastic news that as my current drug isn't working, I'm being put onto pregablin, which, joy of joys, lists weight gain as a side effect. According to Dr Google I can expect to put on 40lbs. I can't gain another 40lbs!! :(:(

dandelionclock30

Could you ask your G.P to refer you to the Pain Clinic at the Hospital so you can discuss all this with a specialist. Hopefully they can look at your medication and find something that is suitable without the weight gain. Could you explore something like accupuncture for pain releif?
If you want to lose weight and your a meat eater the way forward is things like chicken breasts and vegetables/chicken and salad/tuna and salad. fruit, skimmed milk, porridge, 1 slice of brown bread a day, no butter/sugary stuff/crisps chocolate etc.

codemonkey

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

Could you ask your G.P to refer you to the Pain Clinic at the Hospital so you can discuss all this with a specialist. Hopefully they can look at your medication and find something that is suitable without the weight gain. Could you explore something like accupuncture for pain releif?
If you want to lose weight and your a meat eater the way forward is things like chicken breasts and vegetables/chicken and salad/tuna and salad. fruit, skimmed milk, porridge, 1 slice of brown bread a day, no butter/sugary stuff/crisps chocolate etc.

I have requested a referral to a specialist but apparently the pain clinic will just put me on this same drug to begin with so I may as well co-operate. Acupuncture is certainly something I'm considering, but it will need to be done alongside the drugs initially.

I'd love to be able to go down the chicken/tuna route but I'm allergic to both chicken and fish (might be a way to lose weight :rotfl:). I eat a lot of veggies and fruit. I'm not banning butter and I like milk as you do need some dietary fat.

I'm eating relatively few calories, certainly few enough to lose weight of 1-2lbs a week, if I were 'normal'. Junk food is restricted to weekends but again, I'm not sitting about stuffing my face with doughnuts and cheeseburgers.

It's a difficult one. I'd love my size 12 figure back, but at the same time, I need the drugs otherwise I'm rolling about on the floor screaming with pain.

jenniewb

OP I was just wondering what you do for protein; you mention your diet and what you eat but it's all carbs (veg whatever the type is a carbohydrate) if you don't balance your diet, even if your eating not enough calories to normally gain weight, your going to be malnourished and this is going to result in your body doing weird things with your food storage and raise your cortisol levels; cortisol is a hormone which occurs when you are stressed (among other things) and as a result of a sort of flight-or-fight response which predates our current methods of survival.

If your body has high cortisol levels your body will work to store any excess calories/energy that it can around your waistline, it thinks your going into battle, it isn't sure when you will be eating again and it wants to make sure it has enough stores to get through.

Both malnourishment and not eating enough to sustain yourself can lead to heightened cortisol levels, a popular term for people who diet to extreme and do lose weight but have done so in an unhealthy way is "skinny-fat" because they can look skinny but actually have quite high fat percentages and this is (not all but partly) due to their higher cortisol levels, their bodies are experiencing undue stress.