Review Detail
Caused severe drowsiness
I used low dose amitriptyline (10mg) as a sleep aid for sleep problems associated with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). I found it helped with getting to sleep. It basically knocked me out in a way that felt like a general anaesthetic.
That would have been fine but the next day I felt extremely drowsy and wobbly on my feet and was basically unable to function. It was like I was walking around like a zombie. My memory was also affected.
It could be that I was particularly sensitive but 10mg is already a low dose (much higher doses of 50mg+ are used for depression treatment) so there was little point tinkering with dosages.
Not a good experience for me. In terms of medications the benzodiazepines such as diazepam/Valium help with sleep without the next day side-effects and I have also found melatonin and phosphatidylserine supplements highly effective.
