Hi Margaret!

[Guest guest]

Hi Margaret! Thanks for your introductory letter. You have one of those

dynamic personalities that just shines right through the print!

A year or so ago I was in the same situation of taking 10-20 mg of Elavil

per night and being advised by my doctor to increase the dosage because of

sleep problems. What my doctor had me do was to gradually increase the

dosage by 10 mg at a time once a week, until I got to a level where I felt I

was sleeping well. She says that the reason she does not advise her

patients to raise the dosage to 100 mg all at once is that she does not wish

to become the victim of a homicide by one of her patients! The 10 mg

increases once a week didn't leave me much drowsier in the morning than I

had been, but they did gradually improve the quality of my sleep. At that

time, I found that I could sleep well at 75 mg; I've recently increased it

to 100 mg because my pain has been worse, causing me to sleep less well, and

my doctor preferred increasing the Elavil to increasing the pain med. We

had words about that, but I must admit that increasing the Elavil has

worked, and I am in considerably better shape than I was a couple of weeks

ago.

I understand exactly what you mean about people saying things like, " I

couldn't live that way. " I have a dear friend to whom I almost never talk

about my illness because he invariably says, " That's terrible! " and I

invariably lose my temper and snap, " No, it isn't! It's my life! "

Take care,

cfsmail@...