Amitriptyline/ Ativan Reaction

Amitriptyline 50mg Tablets



I've been taking Amitriptyline for the last month and so far, it's helped me more than any other medication I've tried.  I did have an unsettling experience yesterday, however.  When I woke up, I immediately recalled a few bizarre, disturbing dreams I'd had that night.  I'd stopped having sleep disturbances, for the most part, some time ago so I found the dreams puzzling.  I've been taking Ativan/Lorazepam for the last two years to help me sleep.  Doctors have discouraged this and even scolded me for taking it since it's a "controlled substance" and "not to be used as a sleep aid" but that's a story for another post. 

Since I've been taking Ativan and Amitriptyline I've actually been sleeping quite well.  So when I woke yesterday morning I was confused but that feeling vanished the instant I walked into the kitchen and saw the pills sitting on the counter.  Apparently, I'd removed them from the bottles but never actually taken them.  This explained the dreams, as well as proving (to myself mostly) that I wasn't experiencing a placebo effect from either of the drugs. 

My day wasn't going very well, so conflicts with my husband, two year old and the hotel I manage, caused a completemental collapse.  At about ten am, I had a full blown anxiety attack complete with cold sweats, shakes and shortness of breath.  It had been quite a few years since I'd had one, though they were once a very  common occurrence (along with severe panic attacks).  I took a hot shower and calmed down quite a bit.  A couple hours later, however, another attack hit and I found myself laying on my bed, hardly able to catch my breath, shaking uncontrollably and soaked in cold sweats.  My husband, who was formerly an EMT/ fire fighter instinctively took my pulse and got a cool damp cloth for my head.

I've taken Lorazepam on and off for years and never had this kind of withdrawal reaction.  Maybe it was the combination of the two drugs together.  I don't know, but after I took 1mg of Lorazepam during the second attack, I felt much better. 

I recently read a theory that suggests FMS and/or ME/CFS sufferers may acquire a "chemical sensitivity".  In the past, I wasn't typically sensitive to medication side-effects as I am now, so it's a possible explanation.  I only know that I'll never forget to take my pills before bed again!