Hi Please help me!  

I personally have tried Amitriptyline. I was on it for about 7 months. It worked well for me, but the side effects became too bothersome for me to stay on it. I had weight gain and twitching at night when I was trying to sleep. I thought I was sleeping better on it, when in fact, I was not. But this is just what I experienced. Everyone is different, which is why all side effects are potential.  

You said your doctor referred to  Amitriptyline as an "old time medicine". I can tell you it has been around for quite some time and has been used to treat Migraine for longer than some of the other hundred drugs that are out there.  

Amitriptyline is a tryciclic antidepressent, which may help not only with Migraine, but with depression, anxiety and other mood disorders. It works by affecting the balance of certain natural chemicals (neurotransmitters) in the brain. You can read more about Amitriptyline by clicking: HERE.  

Good Luck! I hope the Amitriptyline works well for you!!

Eileen Gray  

Well,I look at it this way.  Yes, Amitryptyline is an older medication.  That certainly does not mean it is less effective.  Like other meds it works for some and some struggle with the side effects from what I have researched.   I myself take only 20mg.  I have used this in conjunction with  60mg. Propranolol.  I have taken the two together for about 2 years now.  In general it has helped me in regard to how many and how painful my Migraines used to be.  I still need the occasional Imitrex or Fiorocet but not on a weekly basis.  I did have to give the meds about 3 months to kick in for the full effect.  At first the Amitryptyline made me sleepy so I took it only before going to sleep.  Now it does not bother me at all.  I never had any problems with the Propranolol but I also do NOT have low blood pressure.   The only complaint I still have with the Amitryptyline is some weight gain.  It gives me more carb or sugar cravings.  But I had that BEFORE taking it also,lol.    I believe as others have said with diet and some exercise you can avoid the weight gain.  I am just not a big exercise person unfortunately.  One good thing is this med is inexpensive.  

I do tend to get very low grade Migraines more than usual without any trigger awareness.  For this my neuro suggested taking Topamax at a low dosage.  I have not done this yet and I am not sure If I can just add this to the mix.  I look at it this way.  If something is working fairly well for my Migraine condition I will leave it alone and deal with the weight gain.  If the weight gain is too much I will have to ask about something else.  All doctors are not the same.  Mine somewhat agree when I suggest things I read here fortunately.  You just have to ask questions and insist on answers from some doctors.  If they are narrow minded I would ask another one.  I just wish my obgyn and neuro would be more in sync.  I believe some of my triggers are hormonal so I  also take Lybrel (BC pill).  You take it continuously with no cycle.  Be careful,a lot of woman can not take this due to other health (stroke) conditions.  My doctors do not have any problem with this med at the moment.   I actually do cringe at the idea of going off anything that could change my hormonal headaches. 

I hope this was not to much info.  If you need anything else ask away.

Khrystaa

Amitriptyline was the first migraine preventive my neurologist prescribed for me.  It seemed to help a lot during the first 6 weeks and the only side effects I had was that I was a little tired during the day for the first 2 weeks I was taking it.  My neurologist told me that it would take 3 months to get the full effects from it and at 3 months I knew that it was not working very well for me.  I was back to having migraines almost every day.  I was taking 50 mg of amitryiptyline at night.  I gained no weight at all on the drug and really experienced no other noticeable side effects.  I am now taking 25 mg of amitriptyline and 50 mg of Topamax and am now feeling like I'm finally starting to feel better.  But everyone is different - my sister also has migraines and she is only taking 50mg of amitriptyline and is having a great experience with it.