Elavil (Amitriptyline)

What is Generic Elavil?

Elavil is a pharmacological drug from the antidepressant group which has a pronounced anti-ulcer and antibulemic influence. It has sedative, thymoleptic action. It has an additional analgesic effect of the central genesis.

The drug has little effect on dopamine transport and, therefore, does not affect the reuptake of dopamine. During exposure, derivatives of Amitriptyline is metabolized to nortriptyline - a more powerful and selective inhibitor of the reuptake of norepinephrine which complements its effect.

In what kind of disease treatment Elavil is helpful?

Elavil is appointed exclusively by a doctor in case of necessity the treatment of depression states of different nature: reactive, involutional, endogenous and medicinal. So with the help of this drug is treated depression which occurred on the background of alcohol abuse, organic brain lesions which, in turn, accompanied by sleep disturbances, feeling of an irresistible anxiety, agitation.

Thus, indications for use of Elavil are as follows:

• All kinds of schizophrenia;
• Inorganic psychosis unspecified aetiology and genesis;
• Depressive symptoms of all types;
• Recurrent depressive disorder;
• Bulimia of a nervous origin;
• Emotionally unstable personality disorder;
• Violations of behavior and social adaptation;
• Inorganic enuresis;
• Migraine.

In addition, widely studied experimental use of amitriptyline in:

• Eating disorders of various types;
• Insomnia;
• Urinary incontinence;
• Cyclic vomiting syndrome;
• Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction.

What should I tell my health care provider before I take Generic Elavil?

List of contraindications for use of Elavil include the following states:

• Disturbances in myocardial conduction;
• Severe hypertension;
• Kidney disease in acute form;
• Liver disease in the acute form;
• Atonic bladder;
• Prostatic hypertrophy;
• Paralytic ileus;
• Individual hypersensitivity to the drug;
• During pregnancy;
• Lactation;
• Children up to age six.

How should I take Elavil?

Tablets must be taken internally in a whole form, drinking with the plenty of water.

Dosage information

Elavil is presented in the form of tablet; each contains 10/25/50 mg. The initial dose for adults may be twenty-five - fifty grams. The drug is taken once a day in the evening before the bedtime. For the first five - seven days the dose can be increased to one hundred and fifty - two hundred grams which are divided into three doses per day.

In the absence of the desired effect during three - four days after the beginning of treatment with Amitriptyline further continue therapy is impractical.

Elderly patients with minor pathologies can be prescribed a low dosage pills from thirty to one hundred milligrams per day. After improving the dosage is reduced to a minimum, twenty-five - fifty milligrams a day.

What may interact with Elavil?

Amitriptyline has a specific effect on a regulatory function of the nervous system, interacts with a number of significant drugs which are used in the treatment:

• Monoamine oxidase inhibitors which could potentially cause a serotonin deficiency syndrome;
• CYP2D6 substrates and inhibitors, such as fluoxetine, due to risk of increased plasma concentrations of the drug;
• Guanethidine. Is possible the suppression of the antihypertensive effects of the drug;
• Anticholinergic agents such as benztropine, hyoscine and atropine, which can aggravate common anticholinergic effect manifests itself, usually in the form of intestinal obstruction and tachycardia;
• Antipsychotics. Their use with amitriptyline can cause an increase in sedation, anticholinergic, epileptic and stimulating effect of increasing body temperature;
• Cimetidine; due to liver metabolism disorders of Amitriptyline and therefore increase of the plasma concentrations of the drug;
• Analgesics, such as tramadol.

Also develops an arrhythmia during taking cocaine.

What should I watch for while taking Elavil?

Antidepressant effect during use of Elavil begins to manifest itself in two - three weeks after the start of treatment. Caution in the use and purpose of the medication must be followed in the cases where there is a history of the patient diagnoses such as:

• bronchial asthma;
• affective insanity;
• alcoholism;
• epilepsy;
• inhibition of hematopoietic function of bone marrow;
• hyperthyroidism;
• Angina;
• heart failure;
• ocular hypertension;
• angle-closure glaucoma;
• schizophrenia.

During treatment with of Elavil it is strictly forbidden to drive a car of any category and be engaged in work related to potentially dangerous machinery which requires high concentration of attention.

Also in the period of treatment you cannot drink alcohol in any form.

What side effects may I notice from Generic Elavil?

Amitriptyline can cause very unpleasant side effects. These include:

• blurred vision;
• violations during urination;
• dryness in the oral cavity;
• increased intraocular pressure;
• increased body temperature;
• constipation;
• functional intestinal obstruction.

When these symptoms are occurred at the beginning it is necessary to reduce the dosage of the drug. As a rule all the signs soon after lowering the dosage go away. Thus they may disappear immediately after the habituation of the patient to this drug. During the course of treatment with Amitriptyline can be observed side effects such as:

• drowsiness;
• the weakness of the body;
• onset of fatigue;
• ataxia;
• insomnia;
• nightmares;
• dizziness;
• excessive irritability;
• confusion;
• tremor of the extremities;
• impaired attention;
• motor excitation;
• hallucinations;
• convulsions;
• paresthesia;
• tachycardia, arrhythmias;
• heartburn, nausea, vomiting, stomatitis, discomfort in the epigastric region, changing the color of the language;
• anorexia;
• an increase in liver enzymes, jaundice, diarrhea;
• galactorrhea;
• changes in libido, testicular swelling;
• itching of the skin, purpura, urticaria;
• hair loss;
• swollen lymph nodes.

When you notice at least one of these side effects you should immediately contact your doctor for advice on changing the drug or reducing its dose.

In case of overdose or long-term treatment with this drug may experience the following symptoms: confusion, not passing drowsiness, dilated pupils, dizziness, dysarthria, muscle rigidity, arrhythmias, coma, respiratory depression, seizures, confusion and agitation. The following measures should be taken as a first aid: first of all immediately stop treatment and then make intestinal lavage, gastric fluid infusion, a symptomatic therapy, blood pressure maintenance therapy, therapy to maintain fluid and electrolyte balance.

Where can I keep Elavil?

To keep Elavil you should in the place inaccessible to small children at a room temperature.