[lima01]

I started on my old stash at 10mg . psych gave me 25 mg . I had to add the ten to it for 35 mg . I have gotten a little better but last night was horrible talking in my sleep, awakenings, deep dread of the dawn and a new day . Back sliding some . Trying to work outside very hard clearing land for exercise .
I want to be tried at night to sleep . Allergic to sssri's , Doc wanted me to go on remeron , i'm afraid of its side effects 2 more weeks before i see him . been down over 5 weeks , self harm reduced thoughts . I am impatient wanting some more relief . I have been told to ask for at least double the amount of amytripline . Or maybe 75 mg , Its an old drug but I seem to tolerate it so far .

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.

[AnxietyMaster]

You can go up to 150mg per day imo. The side effects will get better. Has the orthostatic hypotension caught up to you yet?

[lima01]

no abnormal dizzy spells , i am old 70 , still work hard . I have upped my amy to 35mg from 25 mg as i had some 10's . I am thinking of asking doc to go to 50 or 75 mg it has reduced my depression some but i am not falling a sleep like I was . Getting the relief of sleep is very important to me. only started two weeks ago on 25 . Trauma of loss has triggered the deep depression . Was on 10's for two weeks before that . Maybe I'm getting used to it . I take a 1 mg clonazepam with it to help but last night was not good .