I was prescribed nortryptaline(sp?) many years ago as a sleep aid. I never had any effect from it one way or another. I tried it for about 6 months and tossed it. Moved on to Restoril, which did help for awhile.

Maybe nortryptiline works for some, but it sure didn't for me.

Regards,
Deepster

I was prescribed Nortriptyline ~2 months ago, it was supposed to help with insomnia. In my case, it made things worse - it would take me hours to get to sleep. Taking Ambien made things better, with Ambien, I could fall asleep in 90 minutes to 2 1/2 hours.

My pdoc took me off Nortriptyline this morning, and put me on Lamictal (I'm bipolar) and is continuing the Ambien.

If it were me, I would talk to your doc about it.

Being a secondary amine of the Tricyclic Antidepressant group, Nortriptyline as well as Desipramine ( those are metabolites from Amitriptyline and Imipramine, Tertiary Amines), which works by blocking the re-uptake of Noradrenaline rather than Serotonin, they may be activating after a couple of weeks after the bodies adjusted to them.

If insomnia is the problem, Tertiary Amines such as Amitriptyline, Doxepin, Dothiepin ( a Thio analogue of Amitriptyline), Trimipramine ( which does not suppress REM sleep) can be useful.

Trimipramine comes under the name of SURMONTIL.

Other option could be sedating anticonvulsants such as Topiramate ( TOPAMAX) and Pregabalin ( LYRICA).

HYPNOTICS could be useful such as Zolpidem, Zopiclone, Ramelteon ( it has many interactions with other medications), Eszopiclone ( approved for long term usage), or benzodiazepines such as Halcion ( Triazolam,very short acting, chemically structurred like alprazolam or XANAX), MOGADON ( Nitrazepam, this is the parent drug which its metabolite is Clonazepam or KLONOPIN/RIVOTRIL), Dalmane/Dalmadorm (Flurazepam, this has a long half-life in the body) and Midazolam ( chemically structurred like Alprazolam/Xanax).

Some OTC antihistamines are useful too, such as Diphenhydramine ( Unisom in Australia), Doxylamine Succinate ( Dozile in Australia) and Hydroxyzine ( Atarax).

Hmm - it really makes you realise how different people react to different meds. I'm finding the nortriptyline is really helping with my insomnia.

I was on two different ssri's before I switched to this tricyclic. Supposedly ssri's are more tolerable than tricylics. That definitely was not the case with me. My side effects were very extreme, especially with cipralex. I felt extremely ill, and was unable to sleep at all.

I'd say it's worth trying different meds. I've heard that most people go through several trials before finding something that works.