How the heck do I know if my higher heart rate is due to anxiety or amitriptyline? IM SO CONFUSED. Please help

Medication 💊 Antidepressants
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1

Hello everyone,

I feel so confused. I’ve been taking amitriptyline since June and only got up to 40mg yesterday. Before I even started taking it I noticed that I would have a higher heart rate and shortness of breath, but it was usually in the morning and would go away if I did a little exercise. This started to get a bit worse right before starting ami and instead of just in the morning it would happen throughout the day. I have been tracking my heart rate with Fitbit and nowadays the only time my heart rate goes below 90 is when I’m sleeping or about to fall asleep. When I checked my Fitbit data from last December it was not like this so I don’t think my heart rate has always been doing this. My resting heart rate is also now in the 80s and it used to be in the 70s according to my Fitbit from last December. I really feel so stuck. I can’t tell if its anxiety or ami or its some kind of messed up anticipatory anxiety that I think the ami will cause higher rate and thus my anxiety causes it to be higher. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to give up on something that might help me feel less dizzy. Any advice at all?

P.S I have seen my PCP and did an EKG to check that it’s not due to some other factor and everything seemed normal.

2

I had to stop both Ami and Nortriptyline due to racing heart and feeling shaky, the locum idiot GP I saw tried to blame my thyroid meds but as it only started after I trialled both drugs I was pretty sure it was due to that and as soon as I stopped them both symptoms went away. Although often recommended for VM/ MAV and widely prescribed they dont suit everyone.

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maybe ask what your doctor thinks is causing it??? they should be the one that makes the differentiation. do not unilaterally pull yourself off a drug

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You noted you had these symptoms before Ami.

For sure, Ami won’t fix that and might make it worse.

But also note that 40mg is on the higher end of MAV dosage. I was on just 20mg.

Maybe drop to 30mg and see how you feel?

5

Hi,
I just started Ami yesterday night with Ami and felt the same, very shaky and anxious. I think that it is a very low dose but I am also taking Remeron and a long list of meds. I still feel anxious. Not sure if this shall pass in the following days or if it is a bad reaction.
For those who found relief for dizziness, when did you start to notice the beneficial effect? TIA

6

I tried both Amytriptyline and Nortriptyline for MAV and had issues with tachycardia and the shakes on both. I think I stuck it out and got to around 30mg but had to quit. Vestibular conditions come with a side helping of anxiety already due to constant feelings of instability and fast heartrate and shakiness just adds to those feelings of panic.

It could be the Ami, both states you describe are known side effects, or it could be its reacting with one of your other drugs. Those old tricyclic antidepressants arent used much now except for " off label" conditions like chronic pain, neuropathy or migraine, due to their higher side effects, compared with modern SSRI’s.

7

second month @20mg, dizziness eliminated, but started to see improvement after 3 days - particularly with nausea.

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8

I took some drops of Klonopin and feeling better from my Anxiety now.
Hope it works so well for me as it did for you. Thanks for your answer 🫶🏻

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9

A smart watch that can monitor your heart rate throughout the day and night might help. If your heartrate stays high while you’re sleeping I would think that was an indication that it could be caused by meds and not just anxiety? I wore a heartrate monitor for 24 hrs that showed that my heart rate was actually within normal range while I slept and it was just anxiety raising it at times during the day.