Hello lovely people.
I’ve not posted for weeks. Wish I could say it’s because I’ve been out enjoying the sunshine but it looks like Summer may have passed us by this year.
Around 10 weeks ago, I made the decision to trial
either CBD or Amitriptyline to help with neuropathic issues. My first choice was CBD but unfortunately, it interacts negatively with Clopidogrel. I asked the doc if I could change to a different antiplatelet but he said it would have to be my stroke consultant who made that decision. He wasn’t happy about the CBD because it’s not a conventional medicine and ‘not what he’s been taught’. I pointed out, nicely, that when conventional medicines don’t work, we sometimes need to think outside the box. In the meantime, I agreed to try the Amitriptyline and the doc wrote to my stroke consultant, who said I could change to Aspirin and Dipyridamole but that it may not be as well tolerated as Clopidogrel.
I really do have an aversion to pharmaceuticals and before the stroke, I was drug free, apart from a tiny dose of Escitalopram which is another story for another time but has possibly coloured how I feel about putting toxic drugs into my body, drugs that docs often know very little about even though they say they are safe. Lived experience can tell a different story.
Coming back to Amitriptyline. I was taking 10mg at night and wasn’t expecting anything, to be honest. After 5 or 6 weeks, a friend remarked that I seemed a lot more cheerful and hubby said I seemed to be having much better days. I had to agree. Although I usually sleep well, I was getting a good 7 or 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep with no waking to use the loo like before. I was feeling positive and motivated even though there was no real noticeable change in the neuropathic discomforts. I reported back to the doc and he suggested doubling the dose or even tripling it if I wanted. I doubled it. After 5 days, I was starting to hallucinate at night. I was waking up and seeing things that scared me. They weren’t nightmares, I was awake. I decided any drug that can cause that to happen is mind altering and definitely not good. I tapered off over a couple of weeks. The hallucinations seem to have stopped but now I’m back to feeling really rubbish again.
I’m having to weigh some things up in my head. Was the Amitriptyline, even at such a low dose, bolstering serotonin/dopamine levels in my brain? If so, will the positive effect remain at such a low dose or will it need to be increased as tolerance increases?
Would upping the dose of Escitalopram and disregarding Amitriptyline altogether have the same positive effect? (I’d prefer to take one small dose of one or the other).
Do I try the CBD? (Pros: Research is showing promising results for neuropathy. Works in harmony with our body. Do not have to keep increasing dosage for required effect. Cons: No guarantees it will work and will have to change currents meds to accommodate it safely).
Amitriptyline can be difficult to stop, especially if used long term, even at low doses. Ditto Escitalopram. It’s still unknown how these drugs actually work, which, to me, is scary. But, does it even matter? I’m 66 and 13mths post stroke. The only thing that really stops me from getting out more frequently is because I feel rubbish. But for 2 or 3 weeks, I was doing a lot more and would’ve been out visiting friends if our automatic car hadn’t been stuck in the garage needing work done.
Am I making too big of a thing about this? What would you do?
Maybe I’m just having a run of bad days. Something feels ‘off’ in my body - no appetite, bit nauseated, extra tired. Could just be the after effects of the Amitriptyline 