Hi gang!
RRMS - hoping someone can offer some wisdom and advice, I’m going mad.
I’m in the process of reducing my dose of Pregablin because the bloating and weight gain was getting worse. My neuro suggested introducing Balcofen AND Amitriptyline, which have made me put on even more weight. I am very much an ingredients only cook and rarely eat anything processed. I exercise when I am able to. I know a sedentary lifestyle and MS isn’t exactly going to shift the pounds, but I’m going up a dress size a year and I simply cannot afford to keep buying new clothes. I’m very depressed, which doesn’t make me want to exercise even if my legs will let me. Being perimenopausal also isn’t helping - women get all the fun, don’t we? - but I can’t believe how quickly the Amitriptyline has piled on the weight. I had felt less bloated and HAD lost some weight when I first started to reduce the Pregablin, now I’m heavier than ever.
My MS Nurse retired last year and I feel that my worries are being dismissed. I’ve been furiously trying to find alternative meds which will help with nerve pain, has anyone used Noritriptyline? Any help or advice would be greatly received.
I hope I’m not coming across as being vain, but I feel that MS has stripped me of so much self confidence and this is the cherry on top of the very crappy cake. Thank you xxx
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According to the professor of neurology at Barts, amitriptyline is best avoided and there are better alternatives available. He doesn’t mention weight gain as a side effect, but there still seems to be plenty of other reasons to stop using the deeply unpleasant drug.
If you consider the drug is causing weight gain, then it very likely is and another good reason to raise the problem with your neuro.
Amitriptyline: the neurologist’s dirty little secret
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I did try duloxitine, and was found by my manager under my desk, scratching at my wrists to make them bleed. Dreadful suicidal thoughts. I lasted 9 days on them.
Thank you so much for that, an interesting read! Much appreciated.
I almost wouldn’t mind the weight gain if it was helping my symptoms more, but it really doesn’t seem to be doing so. Thanks again x
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Good grief, that must have been absolutely terrifying and a clear case of the treatment being far worse than the symptoms.
Sometimes the comments at the end of the article include personal experiences and might be worth checking out.
I would normally suggest getting the advice of a dietitian about weight gain, but suspect that’s not going to help much if the problem is caused by a drug.
I hope you get the support you need and find a workable solution.
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Hi @jacquimartin75
Sorry to hear that you are struggling at the moment and it sounds like the weight gain is really getting you down.
I don’t have any advice on treatment alternatives as I haven’t needed treatment for nerve pain yet.
However I did wonder whether you’d considered HRT for perimenopause? It can be really helpful for dealing with those symptoms (which also include depression I think).
I hope you find something that helps.
Alison
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I was having a similar thought about HRT. Menopausal blues and poor sleep and changes in body composition/weight can have a lot to do with the loss of oestrogen. I know it isn’t for everyone but I feel that HRT plays a part in keeping me as well as I can be (which isn’t brilliant, admittedly, but better than it might be).
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Thank you for your response. I’m on HRT and have been for two years. I am going to try and get a GP appointment next week to discuss options x
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Managing weight and mood with MS and meds is really challenging, especially when energy is low and side effects pile on. Adapting ideas from corporate wellness programs like setting small exercise goals, planning meals, and including mental health support can help create consistent habits and feel more in control.
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I try to, I really do. I have small exercise / physio goals which I stick to as best I can. I stopped smoking years ago, I barely drink alcohol these days and my diet is very much an ingredients one, so as little processed as possible. I’ve given up so much, my social life is starting to dwindle as I don’t want to see people when I’m feeling down. Life seems to be built around this sodding illness and it gets so goddamn boring!
Sorry, I didn’t mean to rant. Just very fed up, forgive me x
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I am sorry that you are having such a rough time. It’s terribly hard when you’re fighting against the unwanted side-effects of the drugs that are supposed to make you feel better.
I am sure that you have been down the route of googling ‘why does (insert name of drug here) make me fat?’ and while it isn’t very encouraging at least it’s affirming - it’s not just you! Mirtazapine was a shocker for me - I put on half a stone in a couple of weeks and remember joking to a friend that its antidepressant effects surely come from dismissing all depressive thoughts from one’s mind and replacing them with thoughts of cake. I don’t even like cake, but could think of nothing else. It’s not even that I was eating much of it - I truly think I would have put on the weight by just looking at a cake sideways, and that’s the really scary bit. I was lucky and the cravings had worn off in a month and I was fine thereafter, so if you’re new to the latest drugs there’s a hope that the same will happen to you. But they have real, hard-core metabolic effects, these drugs, and I’m not convinced that it’s very well understood or that there are very good strategies for dealing with it. I hope that you can find a workable balance for you.
You are so right. I’m sure there isn’t enough understanding of what these drugs do to one’s metabolism. While I’m sorry to hear what you went through, I am glad I’m not the only one! In the grand scheme of all the s*** that we go through with MS, weight gain as a side effect is easily dismissed by care givers, GPs and neuros as everyone who is more sedentary is bound to out on a little, so why stress about more? Thank for for responding x
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