# If I was having gastro symptoms from a bad gallbladder would SSRI help ease the pain?



## Kamikazee (Jul 31, 2007)

I have always had a history of gastro symptoms for years such as diarrhea, loose stools, abdominal pain, and fatigue(can a screwed up gallbladder cause this? Even though the ultra scan was normal?). But about a year ago I got really sick with flu like symptoms that never disappeared, such as nausea, feeling like I'm going to vomit but I don't, headache, cold sweats, and a sense of derealization, bloating or a bad attack of some kind several times a week(don't know how to describe it). This lasted for 6 months and I notice I would get sicker after heating fatting foods like pizza or mcdonalds, one nite I ate pizza and in the middle of the nite I woke up and felt like I was going to die. The Dr. believed that it was from anxiety (which I didnt but I was so desperate I got on some) and they helped, but alot of the underlying symptoms are still there just not as bad. Like diarrhea, abdominal pain, a weird spacious type sense, dizziness, nausea, cold sweats, I guess the one problem I dont have anymore sense I got on anti depressants are the, what I thought where attacks which where getting really bad like 2 or 3 times a week when ever I ate something fatty. Like my whole stomach would swell up and I felt like I was getting stabbed over and over then my back would start to kill right in the middle area. It would hurt so bad I would just try to go to bed. I guess what I'm asking is if my main problem was my gallbladder would anti-depressants like SSRI some how stop these attacks from happening. It seems like the minute I get off the anti depressants all these problems come back. Several months ago I got off them for a 3 weeks and all the symptoms came back. ThanksAlso I just found out that my family has a strong history of having bad gallbladders, my mom had hers removed and her mom was suppose to but there was complications. My dad's dad had his removed and his mother to. Also Im only a 23 year old male. thanks


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## crstar (Jun 29, 2009)

if SSRI's r what help u, then u need to do what i did.........find out what SSRI' do............and then stay away from them....... they mess with the natural hormonal system in ur body & when u do that, yrs down the line something much worse happens.........and believe me there r worse things........i've had this horrible thing for about 6 yrs..........everytime i thought i had it licked, something world go wrong & it would come back with a vengeance..........u have alot of the symptoms i had for almost 8yrs..........it was a nightmare.......well, now i have a good idea what might help.........the ssri' r telling.......they mess with serotonin........here's how i help me.........look up serotonin, ssri' mess with the reuse of it in ur body.........about 80% or more of ur body' serotonin production is done in the intestines..........it controls the health of the intestinal walls, the contraction of those walls, the integrity of them..........when u don't produce enough of it, the intestines go ape........(b 4 i forget, there's a book that is good about the intestines, it's called fiber menace.....get it, it's very good).....tryptophan & 5HTP r the precursors of serotonin........tryptophan works longer, but takes longer to work, i like it most the time..........5HTP works fast, but can cause stomach upset........there is a really big thing about hydrochloric acid, but that story is way too long for this venue.........if u want to know about it, send me a message........ihave articles about it, medical/research articles..........alway take tryp & 5HTP with P5P (the active form of B6), a little vit c, niacin or niacinamide, & a small amount of chelated magnesium...........this stuff is powerful & helps alot of areas in ur body, that spacy & weird feeling is from not having enough of the brain stabilization........it's amazing stuff.......it takes awhile to find out how much works for u.........taking it at night is great for a good nights sleep..........help the overall pic, too.......try the calcium carbonate mentioned here, that will help, too..........the hydrochloric acid (HCl), is something most people can use more of & as u age, it only gets worse......stress makes ur body not make so much.............there is a book about this called, stomach acid, why u need it, by jonathan v. wright...... it's a good one, too.........


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## keycat (Apr 6, 2009)

If your symptoms are from IBS, SSRIs or other types of anti-depressants may help you, even if you don't have problems with anxiety. But I would make sure to get a diagnosis of IBS first. I've never heard of SSRIs being used to treat gallbladder attacks, but I'm not an expert or anything; you should ask your doctor. My mother has had problems with her gallbladder for years and she has to avoid eating fatty foods like the plague. I don't know - it sounds like before you do anything, you need to determine exactly what your symptoms mean - whether they are from gallbladder problems or IBS.


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## Kamikazee (Jul 31, 2007)

Thank you both for the reply I have been diagnosed with IBS from my local doctor but as my symptoms continued to get worse I pushed him to the point that the refered me to a gastro specialist. He did all the regular test as a colonscopy, endoscopy, barium x-ray and breath tests. To find nothing of any major consequence. One detail I always left out when I visited both my regular doctor and the specialist is these attacks I would get periodically. I always figure they where just bloating but now I'm wondering if maybe they where gallbladder attacks because they match similiar symptoms other people have listed and usually always happen after eating fatty foods like mcdonalds and pizza hut so thats why I'm digging on this topic. In a nut shell attacks felt like a dual pain in my mid to up abdominal region that felt like a knife stabbing me over and over, that got so severe that my mid back would start to hurt and I would have to lay down. Some times at the worse I felt like I would puke even though I never did. I havent had one of these attacks in a long while because ever since I got on my anti depressants they have stopped. Which my doctor put me on for my ibs. Because my symptoms changed from just regular diarrhea and abdominal pain. To nausea, a constant weird knawing pain in my mid abdomin after eating, dizziness, derealization, cold sweats and what felt like a low grade fever I felt like I was going to either pass out at any moment or die from these new symptoms. He believed these extra symptoms where from anxiety and put me on anti depressants which I think is bs. And I was wondering if these new symptoms where maybe from my gallbladder.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Follow me here a minute if you would,IBS'ers _usually_ have trouble with fatty meals like you describe that you had eaten. SSRI's help IBS in some people... maybe your gall bladder is fine and you are just one of the people that are helped by SSRI's?????GB attacks come on rather suddenly... last for hours and hours and are accompanied by SEVERE ~ as in the WORST you can imagine ~ pain usually with vomitting. And then.. for me.. once I was empty... ie the throwing up stopped.... the pain would ebb off rather quickly. I'd sleep and then be somewhat ok. And for me... I wasn't even eating McDonalds or other junk & fatty food because I already HAD IBS D before my GB went bad. And.... you betcha.... I still had it after.Maybe just try avoiding the fatty foods since you don't seem to have these attacks unless you eat that stuff??? Then perhaps you can get off of the SSRI's if you don't want to take them any longer.Also your Doc may be right in _some_ respects about the anxiety... To me AND I'm NOT a professional and this is JUST my VERY humble opinion and thoughts on this...Many times with SOME IBS'ers, it isn't necessarily anxiety in the sense of conscious _fear_ but it is as if our bodies go into fight or flight mode.. when there is no reason for it. The body may percieve a reason for it in error though.. maybe... (Keep in mind this is just my lil opinion... so find your salt shaker....) So we have the whole chemical reaction going on in our bodies for surviving (Fight or Flight!!!! Like our bodies are going ARUUUGA! ARUUUGA!!!... ALERT!!!... DEFCON 1!!!!!) and there is like NO crisis. LOL And without paying _close_ attention to our bodies.. we may not notice this right away.. until we begin having symptoms. (And this can take ALOT of practice to notice. AND... not everyone CAN notice these initial subtle changes... depends on how attune one is.. how LOUD one's body does this little freak out.. etc)Then of course, we can consciously try to calm our bodies down by any numbers of methods.... relaxation techniques, meditation, self hypnotherapy etc... Takes practice but it can be done.*OR* one could take SSRI's which may seem to negate or head off (Whatever they do... I don't know specifically) that particular ALERT!!!! response from happening in our bodies.I'm not saying this happens to EVERY IBS'er... just some. But that is what your Doc may have been alluding to as far as anxiety maybe.With all that being said... Make sure your Doc knows about your family history of GB problems. And you _could_ ask for him/her to check your GB's function. But the best thing you could do is skip the fatty/junk food. Who knows??? You might be the only one in your family to skip GB problems.All the bestBQ


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## keycat (Apr 6, 2009)

It's possible that your doctor thinks you suffer from panic attacks; certainly, a person having a panic attack can experience many of the things you describe: derealization, dizziness, nausea, etc. However, what stands out to me in your description of these attacks is that you experience mid to upper abdominal pain. That is the kind of pain my mother gets when she has gallbladder attacks. I have pain associated with IBS, but it tends to be much lower than what you describe - always below the navel, and it doesn't tend to be that severe. Occasionally I have had severe pain with IBS, but it's more of a cramping pain, always in my lower abdomen, and always associated with severe diarrhea. It also goes away quickly after the diarrhea stops. If I had to guess, based only on my own experiences and what you've written here, I'd say that you've been having gallbladder attacks. Have you discussed this possibility with your doctor? You should tell him or her that you have a family history of gallbladder problems, if you haven't already. Also, in the future - if you have another attack that is so severe that you think you might die, I would urge you go to the ER immediately. Severe abdominal pain, especially if it is accompanied by nausea and fever, should be checked out right away. I found this site on gallbladder attacks you might want to look at as well: http://www.gallbladderattack.com/gallbladdersymptoms.shtmlGood luck!


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## Djwulff (Jan 15, 2015)

I suffered 6 years with "IBS". It finally got so bad I went on Prozack because I couldn't eat, everything hurt me, I lost weight and became depressed. A few days later being on Prozack my stomach calmed. I had already had an appt with a GI doctor so decided to give it one last try. She scheduled me for a HIDA Scan which measures the percentage your gall bladder is functioning. Turns out my gall bladder was barely functioning. The past doctors only did blood work, sonogram and a cat scan and came up empty. After that got an endoscopy and found a polyp and hiatal hernia caused from my bad GB. Decided to go off the Prozac and less than two weeks later all symptoms returned. Went back on Prozac until my gallbladder surgery. All this to say for some reason the SSRIs calm my gall bladder enough to help me function.


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## D :( (Aug 11, 2009)

SSRIs are awesome. I'm on Zoloft and it has helped my IBS so much.


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