Protriptyline is an antidepressant medication used to treat major depressive disorder and is also effective at treating anxiety disorders. It is also used to treat ADHD. It belongs to a category of antidepressants known as tricyclic antidepressants. You may also know it as Vivactil.
Protriptyline Side Effects
There are many potential side effects to be aware of when taking protriptyline. Side effects are common amongst most antidepressants. Some of the side effects of protriptyline include:
Nausea
Vomiting
Dry mouth
Dizziness
Weight gain
Constipation
Blurred vision
Drowsiness
Headaches
Changes in sex drive or function
Skin sensitive to sunlight
These are just some of the side effects of protriptyline. If you are experiencing any of these or more severe side effects, it is important to discuss it with your doctor. They will decide if the potential benefits of the drug still outweigh the side effects. Often with antidepressants, the side effects will go away on their own after taking the medication for several weeks.
How Long Does It Take For Protriptyline To Work?
Protriptyline is very similar to other antidepressants in that it can take 1-2 months before you start to see any improvement in your symptoms. You may start to feel its effects in as little as 1 week, but for most people it will take longer than this.
How Long Does Protriptyline Stay In Your System?
Protriptyline has a half life of between 54 and 92 hours. This means it will take that amount of time for half of the drug to be eliminated from your system.
How long protriptyline stays in your system will depend on a number of factors including age, body mass and metabolism rates. The drug is still detectable in your urine for up to a week after taking your last dose.
Does Protriptyline Make You Tired?
Protriptyline can make you tired, but it is considered more stimulatory than most other tricyclic antidepressants so you may find that it makes you more awake and alert.
You should tell your doctor if it is making you either awake or tired, as that will help them to determine when you should be taking the drug and what dose you should be taking. Often with antidepressants that make you tired your doctor will advise you to take them at night so that you are not tired during the day. If protriptyline is making you awake and alert, then taking it during the day may be most beneficial. Your doctor is the best person to speak to about this, so please take it only as your doctor directs you to take it.
Protriptyline And Alcohol
Mixing antidepressants with alcohol is never a good idea for a number of reasons. Alcohol is a depressant, so it may interfere with the effectiveness of any antidepressant you may be taking.
The other problem of mixing protriptyline and alcohol is that it may cause unwanted side effects, or it could make the side effects you are already suffering worse. You may feel tired, dizzy or confused if you mix alcohol with this medication.
Protriptyline And Pregnancy
At the moment, there is insufficient research to show if protriptyline is safe to take during pregnancy. There have been animal tests which showed that it didn’t cause any harm, but not enough research has been done to show its effects with humans. Speak to your doctor if you are pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant while taking this medication and they can advise you of the best course of action from there.
Protriptyline Withdrawal
You should never stop taking any antidepressant suddenly, as it may cause withdrawal side effects. Instead you should taper off the medication slowly and under your doctors guidance. Tapering off the drug slowly will help to reduce the likelihood and severity of any withdrawal effects and will help your doctor to monitor your progress and symptoms.
Protriptyline Review
Usually, I will share with you what my experience was like when taking this medication, but in this case I can’t because I have never been on protriptyline.
I have been on other tricyclic antidepressants and my experience with them was that they generally gave me more side effects when starting them than what other antidepressants did. For that reason, I felt more comfortable taking other antidepressants, such as SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) which are a different class of antidepressant.
That doesn’t mean that you will have the same experience as me, and your doctor will know best which antidepressant to put you on. If the more common antidepressants have not been effective at treating your depression than protriptyline may be the answer for you.
An Alternative To Antidepressants
I have been on a lot of different antidepressants in the last 10 years. And I do mean a lot. To me it felt like a constant merry-go-round of starting a new antidepressant, waiting for the initial side effects to subside, seeing if the medication helped my symptoms, adjusting the dosage, then coming off the medication and trying something else. It just seemed to go round and round without really ever getting anywhere good.
When I got sick of going through this, I started doing my own research into different ways of treating depression without medication. This was when I came across a course called Destroy Depression.
This course is what turned my depression around, without medication and without side effects. It has been a long time since I have had to be on antidepressants and the money I have saved is much, much more than what the cost of the course is.
Basically, the course is a 7 step strategy that teaches you exactly what you can do, right now, to get on top of your depression and stay there. Once you have gone through the 7 steps, there is another section which teaches you about how to manage your thoughts and feelings effectively by using cognitive behavior therapy. I’ve seen a lot of CBT, but the way it was presented in this course made it easy to follow and more importantly, easy to put into action.
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Please note – the product links on this page are affiliate links, meaning I receive a commission if you make a purchase through that link. It doesn’t cost you anything extra and helps me to keep the website running.
