Posted by SLS on July 16, 2009, at 6:02:00
In reply to TCA's - sleep architecture / anti-cholinergic s/e, posted by g_g_g_unit on July 15, 2009, at 22:20:47
> hey, i was given amitriptyline 10mg to help with sleep. i was just wondering if a) it has any positive effects on sleep architecture, and b) are anti-cholinergic s/e's present at such a low dose?
>
> (i've tried nortriptyline for sleep, but it has absolutely no benefit in that respect).I never thought nortriptyline was good for sleep, except for the first few days perhaps. It can increase REM sleep latency as well as suppress REM later in sleep. Interestingly, people who are depressed often have reduced REM latency and increased REM sleep overall - just the opposite of the illness.
Trimipramine (Surmontil) is an interesting TCA. It actually improves sleep architecture. It is often given for more anxious depressions and sometimes as a sleep aid. Trimipramine isn't used very often. It is sort of the black sheep of TCAs. It doesn't inhibit the reuptake of norepinephrine or serotonin.
I don't think it helped me sleep. As far as side effects are concerned, I didn't find it as bad as imipramine and about the same as nortriptyline.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:906967
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090709/msgs/907020.html