Elavil Withdrawal & Detox

Elavil is an antidepressant with legitimate medical uses that can cause dependence. This means a person may go through withdrawal if they suddenly stop taking it. 

Withdrawal symptoms can vary in severity and may include headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, sleep disturbances, and more. 

If you want to stop taking Elavil for any reason, talk with a doctor about the best way to do so. With a tapered approach that is medically supervised, you can often completely avoid withdrawal or at least experience it at a far lower intensity than if you just suddenly stopped taking the medication.

What Is Elavil Withdrawal?

Elavil is a brand name for the drug amitriptyline, an antidepressant. Elavil withdrawal is a set of unpleasant side effects that can occur when a person suddenly stops taking Elavil or sharply reduces their intake of the medication rather than slowly reducing the dose they take over time, as is recommended. This is known as antidepressant discontinuation syndrome.

Elavil withdrawal isn’t usually life-threatening, but in severe cases, it can cause symptoms like psychosis, hypertension, tachycardia, tremors and seizures, severe mood changes, and more, which can warrant immediate medical attention.

What Causes Withdrawal From Elavil?

Continued use of Elavil can cause physical dependence, including when the drug is only as prescribed. This occurs when the brain slowly adjusts to the presence of a drug and can’t suddenly switch back to its “default” state in that drug’s absence. Instead, in the absence of that drug, the body goes through withdrawal, involving unpleasant symptoms as the body adjusts to the absence of the drug. 

This is not the same as addiction, although many people suffering from drug addiction are also physically dependent on the drug they’re addicted to. It’s very common for people to become physically dependent on certain types of medications that they take regularly as prescribed.

What Are the Common Symptoms of Elavil Withdrawal?

Elavil withdrawal is most commonly associated with nausea, headache, and fatigue. Some people may feel worse emotionally, such as temporarily becoming more depressed, although this symptom is often difficult to distinguish from the fact that, in stopping antidepressant use, a person is likely to start feeling the symptoms they had originally started taking Elavil to suppress.

Factors That Determine the Intensity of Withdrawal Symptoms

The severity of a person’s withdrawal symptoms can depend on multiple factors.

For instance, your dosage amount and duration of use play a significant role in determining how severe withdrawal or discontinuation will be. Your individual physiology is also an important factor, as each person responds differently to medication. Similarly, other existing medical conditions or misusing multiple substances while taking Elavil can exacerbate the intensity of the withdrawal symptoms.

One of the most common issues that leads to intense withdrawal is suddenly stopping the medication. This isn’t recommended, as the brain goes from the continued presence of a substance it has chemically accommodated to the complete absence of that substance. 

This is a major chemical shift that isn’t generally necessary. It is usually easier and much safer to taper doses, allowing the brain to gradually shift back to the total absence of Elavil.

How Long Does Withdrawal Last?

Withdrawal from Elavil can occur within one to three days of reducing or stopping medication, and it can potentially last six to eight weeks. 

Withdrawal is usually mild and unlikely to be dangerous for most people. If you experience severe symptoms like psychosis, seizures, or severe anxiety, you should contact your doctor immediately. You’ll likely be told to start taking Elavil again to alleviate these withdrawal symptoms, at which point a slower tapering of use can begin. 

Elavil Withdrawal Timeline

There isn’t a solid Elavil withdrawal timeline backed by significant research, as it’s generally just recommended that people slowly taper their Elavil use to either avoid withdrawal completely or experience it in a much milder form. 

Again, withdrawal will typically begin within three days of reducing or stopping Elavil and can last up to eight weeks. The more suddenly one stops, the more likely withdrawal symptoms are to be intense and long-lasting. 

While not a part of withdrawal, it’s also worth noting that previous symptoms one was taking Elavil for, such as anxiety and depression, can recur within one to two weeks of a dose reduction. Talk to your doctor about how best to manage these symptoms if they occur.

Detoxing From Elavil

Detoxing from Elavil can be unpleasant if you suddenly stop taking the medication, but this isn’t the recommended way to stop taking it. Instead, talk to your doctor if you want to stop taking your medication. They can help you gradually reduce your dose to avoid withdrawal, allowing your body to adjust to the drug’s absence more gradually.

Initially, doctors will usually reduce a patient’s dose by 25% to 50% of their daily dose each week to month. Then, they wait to see if withdrawal symptoms occur. If they do, the tapering process is slowed further to better ease the patient to drug abstinence. 

If withdrawal doesn’t occur, the doctor will usually continue at the original pace of tapering until the patient no longer is taking any Elavil.