Amitrypilene ??????? Anyone familiar

Hello,

I am just curious on the side effects of this, i had her on it for the 1st week every day (5mg) (to stop her from peeing in the house)then we went to every other day, she started to tinkle in the house again, so now i went back to the vet on Sunday he said stay w/ it every day and see if she does it anymore.
I noticed is she a little more tired than usual and her tongue sticks out a bit ( for some reason that scares me) is that just the meds? Is this stuff not safe, everyone tells me its not bad for them to take.
I just wanna be sure
thanks

Willow was on amitryptilene for a while for cystitis. Eventually I was able to wean her off of it, but I had to do it very slowly. Amitryptilene has a relatively short half-life, so it is out of their bodies quickly, and they need to received doses every day. Amitryptilene is an anti-depressant that also reduces inflammation in the bladder, so it treats the physical pain in the bladder as well as stress (which often causes bladder problems in the first place).

How do you give the pill? Do you wrap it in anything? Do you feed your kitty right after giving it? I would be sure to give food or water after giving the pill to be sure that the pill doesn't get stuck in the esophagus. My boyfriend's cat's tongue often sticks out a little, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him.

wow that made me feel so much better, i usually give it to her when hubby is home to help me, he holds her and i shoot the pill in her mouth w/ an injector it sems to work better then when i use my fingers, it usually goes down no problem unless it goes to the side then she tastes it and hates that. My vet just called and said that the does is so little and enough to take the edge off. He wants to only wants to keep her on it once a day for only a week then every other, i am afraid to do that she may pee again. But then u said it leaves the body quickly which makes me a little happier b/c when i weaned her down originally too every other then every 2 days she started to pee again (uggg) i didnt realize it leaves the system so quickly so thank you for that advice,maybe i keep it every other day for a while.

thank you so much
maria

Amitriptyline and other tricyclics are notorious for causing drowsiness, so that wouldn't surprise me a bit. Humans usually take it at night to minimize this effect, but I don't know what administration times are recommended for veterinary use. You might check with your vet to see if nighttime dosing might be better, so you can enjoy a little more waking time during the day with kitty.

The anticholinergic side effects of amitriptyline include dry mouth--so maybe the protruding tongue is an expression of this. It's hard to say for sure. It may be very benign, but a protruding tongue can also signal other health problems. I would suggest that you have the vet take a look the next time you visit. And always, if you notice any other signs of illness in your cat, go sooner!

It takes some time for a cat to become 'habitualized' and adjust to the drug. It is very commone for a cat to be 'dopey' for the first week or two as it's body adjusts to the Elavil.
Also, it does not work every other day! It must be given daily, typically twice a day. Also changing the dose after only 1 week is far too soon, as your cat has not even had time to adjust to the drug!