Subject: Re: Info Wanted on CHronic Pain References & Treatments

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 1995 05:23:48 GMT

Bob-
    It is an accepted practice for AMITRIPTYLINE to be used for chronic
pain. There has been amazing results.

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From: [email-masked] (Alice Claire Mansfield )
Date: 11 Aug 1995 00:39:10 GMT

>pain. There has been amazing results. 

Yes, and amazing adverse effects after long-term use.  One morning I
went to work and had no idea what my computer was, how it worked, what
it was for, etc.  My boss came out to give me a long, hand-written
document to type -- and it looked like Greek to me.  I couldn't
understand a word of it.  It was a dreadful experience. I called my
doctor and he told me not to take any more Amitriptyline because it
obviously had reached a level in my body that was too high and my
central nervous system was acting up because of that.

We went from there to Doxepin, another tricyclic.  After a couple
years, I began to notice now and then short-term memory loss, slurred
speech, problems with motor coordination -- which I chalked up to
fatigue and stress.  Then one morning when I went to get out of bed, I
couldn't move my left side.  I was paralyzed.  What a nightmare!  I
kept struggling to get my body off my bed, but it just would not
cooperate. So I lay there a while and relaxed -- and took deep breaths
-- and prayed -- and eventually I was able to get out of bed.  I was so
discombobulated that it took me three hours to get ready for work
(luckily I get up early!) and I wasn't quite connected all day long. 
Again, my doctor told me to stop the Doxepin.

Yes, both meds helped me greatly with my chronic pain, but I've sworn
off tricyclics.  I'm trying to find other ways to cope -- not that I
didn't already have some because the pain was never completely gone --
but now that I don't have a drug to fall back on, by my own choice, I
need to be more creative and clever in my coping skills.

Not everyone necessarily has these problems with tricyclics, but I
thought I'd mention it for what it's worth.  I don't read any of these
newsgroups regularly, so if anyone has any questions, please feel free
to e-mail me directly.

Alice Claire Mansfield      Falls Church, VA
Magnificat anima mea Dominum!       Lk. 1:46

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From: [email-masked] (Richard Jacobson)
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 1995 03:27:56 GMT

[email-masked] (Sharonetti) wrote:

>I, too took Amitriptyline, although for only 2 months.  It so freaked me
>out that I had to stop taking it.  I was taking it for supposed
>depression.  I walked around all day (after I finally was able to roll out
>of bed) like a zombie.  I couldn't concentrate, I had no appetite, I had
>constant indigestion...If you look in the drug books for side effects of
>this drug....I had most of them, and that was, first on 25 mg of the
>stuff, then only 12 mg of it.  I felt worse after I started taking it than
>I did before.  When I quit, I started taking an herbal product called
>Power Trim, which was supposed to help me lose weight.  It didn't do that,
>but it made me feel GREAT! I later found out that the major ingredient Ma
>Huang is a natural anti-depressant.  I still take it occasionally to give
>me energy.  I am trying to stay totally away from synthetic drugs and
>prescriptions and using herbs for all that ails me.  I'm quite happy doing
>that, knowing that I'm not putting toxic substances in my body. 

>Sharon Tognetti, beautiful, green, Woodland, WA 

Er Sharon...... What do you think is in Ma Huang? Ever hear of
ephedrine. It is a bronchodilator and sympathomimetic which
can lead to serious problems in susceptible individuals. Where
did you get the idea that it was a "natural anti-depressant"?
I realize that there are some who think that if something
is "natural" then it must be good and if something is
"synthetic" then it must be bad. When it comes down to
it everything is composed of chemicals. It always fascinates
me how man could be so against things that are manmade.
Perhaps this underlying self hatred may be the root cause
of much of the depression. Food for thought.

Aloha,

Rich
------------------------
Richard Jacobson

Better to be unsure about something
than to be certain and be wrong

Here today, gone to Maui

Always remember to put Horace before Descarte

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From: [email-masked] (Norman L. Rust)
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 1995 09:37:20 -0700

> Sharon Tognetti, beautiful, green, Woodland, WA  

 Sharon, in addition to Ephedra, you might look into using light therapy
for sunlight affective disorder, I use to live in Vancouver and know how
sunless it can be up there. Sharon Rust

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From: [email-masked] (Sharonetti)
Date: 11 Aug 1995 22:08:20 -0400

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From: [email-masked] (Richard Jacobson)
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 1995 23:17:07 GMT

>sunless it can be up there. Sharon Rust

I think you mean "seasonal" affective disorder. 

Aloha,

Rich
------------------------
Richard Jacobson

Here today, gone to Maui