Amitriptyline
medicine used to treat cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS), depression and a variety of pain syndromes
Amitriptyline, formerly sold under the brand name Elavil among others, is a tricyclic antidepressant primarily used to treat major depressive disorder, and a variety of pain syndromes such as neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, migraine and tension headaches. Due to the frequency and prominence of side effects, amitriptyline is generally considered a second-line therapy for these indications.
The most common side effects are dry mouth, drowsiness, dizziness, constipation, and weight gain. Glaucoma, liver toxicity and abnormal heart rhythms are rare but serious side effects. Blood levels of amitriptyline vary significantly from one person to another, and amitriptyline interacts with many other medications potentially aggravating its side effects.
Amitriptyline was discovered in the late 1950s by scientists at Merck and approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1961. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. It is available as a generic medication. In 2023, it was the 90th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 7 million prescriptions.
Medical uses
Amitriptyline is indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder, neuropathic pain, and for the prevention of migraine and chronic tension headache.
“Amitriptyline” enters the record as medicine used to treat cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS), depression and a variety of pain syndromes. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Amitriptyline, medicine and used can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q58397. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1961 and 2023.
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This entry incorporates text from “Amitriptyline” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.