I am a 28 years old male and I have been using amitriptyline for 5 years for depression and anxiety. I have been ok with 100 mg over night for several years, but I noticed that the medication stops working less efficiently a few months ago. My depression and anxiety have broken through again. On advice of my doctor I increased to 125 mg and later 150 mg, which I have been on for 4 weeks now. I do not notice improvement. My question is if anyone has experience with amitriptyline losing efficiency over time, despite a dosage increase? What are my best next steps?

Ms. Rachna MishraPsychologist10yrs exp

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1.Use Deep Breathing Deep breathing is another effective way to relieve stress and anxiety. It helps you with physical symptoms such as shallow breathing and rapid heart rate, and it also helps with controlling your thoughts. When you practice deep breathing, you're forced to take your thoughts off of whatever is causing you anxiety and to focus on the breathing technique that you are using. 2.Keep A Journal Journaling can be an effective way to deal with your anxiety and to find relief. It helps you to take all of the things that are rolling around in your head and get them out of your head and down on paper. Sometimes seeing the things that we're worried about on paper can help us to see that they're not as big of a deal as we thought they were. It can also help us to find solutions that we have been overlooking. 3.Hang Out With Friends If you're struggling with anxiety, sometimes the last thing that you want to do is go hang out with your friends. Even if it's an activity that you enjoy with people that you like, the thought of it can be stressful. Your brain already feels overwhelmed with things that you feel you need to figure out, and it can seem like a bad use of time to do something fun. 4. Exercise, Find What Works For You : You might be tired of hearing about how great exercise is for your health. But, the reason you hear about it so much is that there's no way around it. Exercise it's good for both your physical body and for your mind.Getting regular exercise has been proven to help you sleep better at night, clear your head, and boost your mood. It's a great way to use up all that pent-up energy that you have in a way that's going to benefit you in multiple areas of your life. 

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Dr. P K SukumaranPsychiatrist57yrs exp

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It will not lose efficiency. If you require you may change it 

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