and Jim replied,
>I was started on Amitriptyline Hydrochloride (the generic name for Elavil)
>when I was first in the hospital. When I came home I was still taking it. I
>asked what it was for and was told it was an antidepressants. Since I
>wasn't depressed and I don't like taking medication unnessarily, I cut back
>on my dosage and eventualy stopped taking it.
>
As a mater of information, I too took Elavil in hospital (but knew that
it was not "necessarily" for its antidepressant effect.) Elavil has been
used for years as a drug added to something else being taken for pain
conrol. But it is NOT a pain medication in itself. You raise a VERY
interesting issue -- you asked what the drug was "for" and was told it was
an antidepressant -- maybe it was beig used to help -- or at least to try
and help pain control (doesn't always work) --but it makes my blood boil to
hear people stopping their antidepressants because they don't feel depressed
--THAT'S WHAT THE DRUG IS SUPPOSED TO DO. I have heard of too many patients
who do this --then need to be re-started --
ANTIDEPRESSANTS are NOT short term medications --becuase depression is not a
short term phenomenon!
Anyway --not saying you are guilty of that Jim --but clearly, one of MY
pet peeves.
As I already said --ask your doctors what the medication is, what is
being used for -- what it is "usually" used for may not be the same -- most
common example these days is aspirin -- pain control, fever control for
years --but now significant evidence to suggest it is useful in preventing
heart attacks --
take the bull by the horns and educate yourself about your meds
--clearly some MDs are negligent --or too busy for this ;-(
bryan