Does Amitriptyline help?

Has anyone here been prescribed Amitriptyline (AKA Trip) as medication (or a part of it) to reduce the frequency of sleepwalking episodes? My doc seems to think it's going to make a difference but I'm not so sure as it's just another anti-depressant that has a bunch of side effects. I know it's also used as a sleeping aid and can possibly help with insomnia and ultimately prevent you from getting overtired, which in its turn can prevent sleepwalking episodes related to overtiredness. But if your sleepwalking is not related to stress or overtiredness wouldn't it be pointless to take it?

Lisyonok, these questions should be directed at the doctor who prescribed you the drug. However, if it is an anti-depressant, then it might serve to reduce your anxiety and allow you to think more clearly about your problems. What I'm saying is, it may indirectly 'cure' your sleepwalking problem.

Thanks for your reply. I don't think my doctor knows what to do with me anymore - I've been a serial sleepwalker since the age of 5, in that time I have been to a dozen different doctors (including a sleep clinic) and tried God knows how many different meds, none of it worked for me in the long term. I really don't have any psychological problems and I've got nothing going on in my life that I could worry about, so taking anti-depressants seems a bit pointless especially when they don't make any difference to my sleepwalking pattern whatsoever. Maybe I should quit popping pills and try hypnosis, they say it works for some people...

You can try as many different things as you want in order to get help, but have you tried a drastic lifestyle change of any kind? Think of it this way: People who are tired and lethargic throughout the day normally drink coffee or energy-boosting drinks to stay awake; and they believe that this is the right approach to take. However, the REAL right approach is to scarpt the energy drinks and just change their lifestyle so that they get more sleep at night.

Kevin

Yes, I got a dog recently so I have an excuse to go on long walks and get plenty of fresh air. Now she's 5 months old and twice the size she should be because I feed her in the middle of the night almost every time I have an episode...

I too have been sleepwalking since i was 5. I walk every night for the last 35 years and I've been to the stanford sleep center(top in nation) twice, sutter sleep center and Kaiser and each time was prescibed anti-depressants even though they've never worked. This is because most people don't sleepwalk past their teens...so their is no money being spent on it; so no doctors study it.(their is no profit in it!) So people like you and I r consistently prescibed anti-depressants because its the cure-all for doctors that have no clue. At stanford sleep center the majority of the patients r their for insomnia or sleep apnea...lots of people suffer from those hence alot of studies r funded and then lots of drugs get sold....I have driven cars, smashed windows, jumped thru windows, ran outside and up the street( 50-100 yards) before i wake, punched girlfriends/ wife, ran across a field of thorns(always hurts more coming back cause i'm awake somewhat), pulled wife out of bed by her ankles( thought i was pulling her from a burning car), got in a fight, broke countless lamps, mirrors, lights, pictures...(nothin like waking up to a pile of glass in bed).
I've tried other remedys: hypnosis( i'm unable to b hypnotised), homeopathy( worked for 1 month; i think? was livin alone) brainwave meridian sound therapy( helped for 2 months) but expensive.

Hi chefarmer, this thread is actually one year old and I shall lock it. You are welcome to create a new thread though. It is not useful to reply to old threads.

Take care,
Kevin