About Nortriptyline

Nortriptyline is an antidepressant medicine that's used to treat depression, but can also be used to treat nerve pain.

It's thought that nortriptyline works by increasing a chemical called serotonin in the brain. This helps to improve your mood.

For pain relief, it works by changing the way your nerves receive pain signals, so your pain goes away.

Nortriptyline is available on prescription. It comes as tablets and as a liquid that you swallow.

Key facts

• If you take nortriptyline to treat nerve pain, it usually takes a week or so for pain to begin to get better.
• If you take nortriptyline for depression, it can take 4 to 6 weeks to work fully.
• Common side effects include a dry mouth and constipation. They're usually mild and go away after a couple of weeks.
• Nortriptyline can make you feel sleepy, so if you take it once a day it's best to take it in the evening or before you go to bed.
• If you want to stop taking nortriptyline, your doctor will reduce your dose gradually to help prevent withdrawal side effects such as headache, muscle pain, or feeling sick or tired.

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