You may get some better answers from other people on this forum. I have never heard of amitripyline being used as primary therapy for depression these days. It's usually used for chronic pain or sleep problems.

If I was going to take a drug in that family for depression, I'd probably go with nortriptyline. I think it has fewer side effects. (I have never taken more than 10 mg of amitriptyline and didn't tolerate that very well, so my experience may not be relevant to you.)

I take 15 mg Remeron at bedtime, mostly to help my sleep. It is more sedating at lower doses. I started off at 7.5 mg. I think that 30 or 45 mg is a more commonly-used dosage for treating depression.

If you do decide to try Remeron, I would strongly suggest starting at 7.5 mg or even lower than that. I started off with half a 7.5 mg pill for 3-4 days then increased to 7.5 mg.

I know you asked primarily about amitriptyline. I have terrible antihistamine-like effects from it, so I don't have advice about it.

I like the low-dose Remeron. It works great for regulating my sleep and seems to be helping my depression some, too. I also take Cymbalta 60 mg, and Cymbalta + low-dose Remeron is a pretty commonly used combination.

The only side effect I've really noticed from the Remeron was increased appetite for the first 3-4 months that I took it. I've been taking it for about 8 months now. I gained 10 pounds the first month that I took it, but no more after that. I am just now starting to lose a bit of the 10 pounds that I gained.