Amitriptyline - Non-compliance is an important issue

I was particularly pleased to read on your web site Dr Serpell’s information on the drug amitriptyline, which I take for chronic daily headache/migraine.

I have had many problems with my treatment, largely due to the lack of understanding and up-to-date knowledge, of both health professionals generally, and GPs, in particular

Dr Serpell gave clear information on this form of medication, most of which I had found out over the years, but his article summed it all up very well, and will, I'm certain, be invaluable to others. Never before have I heard a doctor directly address the important issue of non-compliance in taking amitriptyline, due to feeling that one's pain is being dismissed as "psychological", or "all in the mind".

It doesn't help when doctors keep their patients in the dark about the fact that they are taking an anti-depressant. This happened to me, and I subsequently discovered from a work colleague (who had taken the same drug, but for depression), that amitryptyline was actually an anti-depressant. I felt as if I was being "conned" into treatment for psychological distress, and became paranoid about this, especially as I was also referred, at one point, to see a psychologist about my headaches!

Ironically, I do also suffer from depression. The headaches obviously made this much worse (and quite possibly vice versa). I now take medication for both conditions, but the amitriptyline was never for the depressive symptoms at all: purely for pain relief, and the sedative properties, which help me to sleep at night.

Thank you for the sharing of information, which I believe to be crucial.