# Citalopram? anyone tried this?



## MondayMorning (Mar 7, 2009)

ok, i've tried so many different AD's. has anyone ever tried this? i had a lot of success with effexor XR, but it made me too constipated. on the effexor i could eat just about anything i wanted.thanks


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## BayRat (Mar 28, 2011)

> CitalopramWhat side effects can this medication cause?nauseadiarrheavomitingstomach pain...http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001041/


It is not known for causing constipation, diarrhea is a common side effect. So Citalopram is not often recommended to people with D issues as it can make it worse.


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## PD85 (Aug 19, 2010)

Citalopram (Celexa) actually has a few studies for IBS for which it was found to work, and a few for which it hasn't.Works/Hopefull:http://gut.bmj.com/content/55/8/1095.shorthttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1192434/Doesn't:http://www.springerlink.com/content/r5j6h134513j3mx1/Basically, your standard SSRI's are likely to "change" things for you because of the amount of seratonin located in the nerves of the gut. But they likely won't make you go less often or eliminate the D.


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## MondayMorning (Mar 7, 2009)

PD85 said:


> Citalopram (Celexa) actually has a few studies for IBS for which it was found to work, and a few for which it hasn't.Works/Hopefull:http://gut.bmj.com/content/55/8/1095.shorthttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1192434/Doesn't:http://www.springerlink.com/content/r5j6h134513j3mx1/Basically, your standard SSRI's are likely to "change" things for you because of the amount of seratonin located in the nerves of the gut. But they likely won't make you go less often or eliminate the D.


oh ok.i thought this might work because the effexor XR worked so well.


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## MondayMorning (Mar 7, 2009)

nobody has tried it?


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Well it kinda doesn't matter whether others have tried it as you know we are all different. And we are likely to respond differently to meds. So all you can do is try it yourself hon if that is what you want to do.Wish you all the best either way.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Also have you searched the antidepressants forum for this med? You might get some hits there if you search for it and the brand name for it.


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## PD85 (Aug 19, 2010)

MondayMorning said:


> oh ok.i thought this might work because the effexor XR worked so well.


That's because Effexor isn't an SSRI. It is an SNRI.


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## Andy1 (Mar 18, 2011)

My Gastroenterologist has just started me on the course of this, I have been told it won't feel the effects of it till around 4-6 weeks. I am currently taking 20mg at night. However, in the few days I have been taking it, my diarrhea has become really bad to the point I am nearly house bound.


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## BayRat (Mar 28, 2011)

Andy1 said:


> My Gastroenterologist has just started me on the course of this, I have been told it won't feel the effects of it till around 4-6 weeks. I am currently taking 20mg at night. However, in the few days I have been taking it, my diarrhea has become really bad to the point I am nearly house bound.


That side effect may/may not go away and/or decrease over time. Ask your GI if you can include taking some Imodium till the side effect (hopefully) decreases. Try to give it 3 or 4 weeks (if you can), and if things don't improve then ask your GI for an entirely different option for an AD.I believe that Citalopram requires tapering down, so don't just stop taking it suddenly. If it remains bad or gets worse and you can't get in touch with your GI, call your pharmacist for advice about tapering off and see if it's safe to cut the pills in half so you can taper off on your own. Some meds have special coatings and/or are time released so cutting such a pill could potentially dump a high dose into your system and could do harm.


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## Andy1 (Mar 18, 2011)

BayRat said:


> That side effect may/may not go away and/or decrease over time. Ask your GI if you can include taking some Imodium till the side effect (hopefully) decreases. Try to give it 3 or 4 weeks (if you can), and if things don't improve then ask your GI for an entirely different option for an AD.I believe that Citalopram requires tapering down, so don't just stop taking it suddenly. If it remains bad or gets worse and you can't get in touch with your GI, call your pharmacist for advice about tapering off and see if it's safe to cut the pills in half so you can taper off on your own. Some meds have special coatings and/or are time released so cutting such a pill could potentially dump a high dose into your system and could do harm.


Thanks for the reply. I had to stop taking it as I was just passing water every 30mins / hour, which got a little bit too much. It felt like I had no control at all over my BM. I'm going to need to book another appoint with the GI soon, I am also not a fan of taking pills if I can help it. I have also been recommended CBT / Hypnotherapy as a possible aid by the GI. What is AD?So I can strike off Amitriptyline and Citalopram from the list.


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## PD85 (Aug 19, 2010)

Andy1 said:


> Thanks for the reply. I had to stop taking it as I was just passing water every 30mins / hour, which got a little bit too much. It felt like I had no control at all over my BM. I'm going to need to book another appoint with the GI soon, I am also not a fan of taking pills if I can help it. I have also been recommended CBT / Hypnotherapy as a possible aid by the GI. What is AD?So I can strike off Amitriptyline and Citalopram from the list.


AD = Anti-DiarrhealEdit: or anti-depressant as explained in the next post


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## BayRat (Mar 28, 2011)

Andy1 said:


> Thanks for the reply. I had to stop taking it as I was just passing water every 30mins / hour, which got a little bit too much. It felt like I had no control at all over my BM. I'm going to need to book another appoint with the GI soon, I am also not a fan of taking pills if I can help it. I have also been recommended CBT / Hypnotherapy as a possible aid by the GI. What is AD?So I can strike off Amitriptyline and Citalopram from the list.


AD is short for Anti-Depressant. Sorry about not making that clear, calling them "AD" or "ADs" on the forums has become (too) common for me. If you do decide to proceed with another prescription AD, try to wait 2 weeks before using it -give your system a chance too clear out the Citalopram. This will decrease the chance of unanticipated adverse side effects.Were the ADs prescribed to help with Depression? If so, I can't even pretend to offer advice -out of my league.If it was prescribed to help with the diarrhea and/or abdominal pain of IBS then talk to the GI, there's other alternatives. It may take some trial and error to find the one that gives you the most benefits with the least adverse side effects. The links below are not an exhaustive list of the types, just gives you an understanding that you still have options remaining.TCA - Tricyclic antidepressant - Like the AmitriptylineSSRI - Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor - Like the CitalopramSNRI - Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor - Like the EffexorIf it was for stress/anxiety due to IBS then sure, consider trying alternative stress therapies. Traditional Cognitive Behavior Therapy with a well trained therapist can be very effective. In-person sessions follow more traditional methods, some even do sessions by telephone for the patient's convenience (disabled/home-bound/distance issues). There's also some types of a sort of hybrid CBT-Hypnosis method.Hypnosis has a hit-or-miss track record, mostly due to the non-standardized methods employed. Each Hypnosis therapist may employ unique methods that work well for some, but not others. And of course the patient must be amenable to hypnosis for it to even have a ghost of a chance.Relaxation techniques are another type of therapy to consider. Many techniques, like meditation, positive visualization, biofeedback, deep breathing, yoga, etc. can be found on the internet and offer enough guidance so that they can be utilized with minimal to no interaction from a trained therapist/practitioner.*Your health care insurance may offer help in accessing/paying for some of these alternative therapies. If you have abdominal pain you can try going through your insurance to be referred to a Pain Management group where these, and other, therapies may be offered. Sometimes local government, hospitals/clinics, and/or private organizations offer free/low cost classes that can be utilized for stress/anxiety relief. (meditation, yoga, even tai chi, etc.)


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## Andy1 (Mar 18, 2011)

Thank you for the informative reply. I am not suffering from depression as far as I know, so I still a bit surprised that I was prescribed AD. The main problem I am having at the moment is diarrhea and trying to bring it under control, at the moment I am just using Loperamide Hydrochloride which sort of helps. My GI seems to think, its stemmed from stress. I have been reading a information on CBT / Stress Therapies which seem to have had a high success rate, so i'll be discussing this with my GI on the next visit.


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## BayRat (Mar 28, 2011)

Andy1 said:


> Thank you for the informative reply. I am not suffering from depression as far as I know, so I still a bit surprised that I was prescribed AD. The main problem I am having at the moment is diarrhea and trying to bring it under control, at the moment I am just using Loperamide Hydrochloride which sort of helps. My GI seems to think, its stemmed from stress. I have been reading a information on CBT / Stress Therapies which seem to have had a high success rate, so i'll be discussing this with my GI on the next visit.


You're most welcome for whatever help that was. And I'm certainly no medical expert so speak to your GI, s/he would know what's best for you to try next. Just trying to give you the idea that you're by no means out of options for Anti-depressant choices.Anti-depressants aren't just used for depression. They can be prescribed for off-label use for many reasons as aids in various medical conditions, as are many other medications. Depression would be an on-label use. Off-label use for IBS'ers includes being used to decrease diarrhea (many Anti-depressants are a bit constipating as a side effect) and/or for abdominal pain (some Anti-depressants have been shown to decrease neuropathic abdominal pain).So far, I've found Imodium (loperamide) Gelcaps to be the most effective of all the types offered (caps/tabs/gelcaps/liquid)Something non-prescription to consider is Calcium Supplementation. It has helped many with diarrhea problems.LINDA's Calcium InfoIBS has no known cause, which usually means that there's more than one, and so there's many theories. Doesn't honestly matter, the resulting symptoms are the same, just the cause and treatment would be different. So yes, symptoms of IBS can originate from chronic stress, anxiety, even traumatic events.It can be the other way around, too. IBS causes many, many people to suffer from anxiety/stress. IBS can be a very chaotic condition and the treatments are rarely 100% effective. The symptom severity is commonly of a waxing and waning nature, sometimes diarrhea/pain attacks occur with little or no warning or obvious cause. That kind of life situation could make anyone a bit jumpy. Sometimes this stress/anxiety can escalate to maladaptive/maladjusted behaviors and cascading negative thought patterns.Either way, CBT and/or Relaxation Techniques can really help you out.


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## cookies4marilyn (Jun 30, 2000)

I have been on just about all of the above mentioned meds at one time or another, beginning in 1988 up to 2000 or so. None of them worked long term - if at all - so I did reluctantly use relaxation techniques found in the gut-specific protocol in the IBS Audio Program - this helped the symptoms as well as the mind-body aspects - and I did it as a last resort and it proved to be more helpful than the meds. So something to consider - feel free to ask me any questions if you wish - info on my full story in the journey link below which lists some of the meds - anti-depressants, SSRIs, anti-diarrheal, anti-spasmodic - you name it, I probably was on it! LOL


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## MondayMorning (Mar 7, 2009)

im still kinda leery of using this because of the reports of D...


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## Leey2000k (Nov 14, 2010)

MondayMorning said:


> im still kinda leery of using this because of the reports of D...


 Yeah I have been given a course of these by my Doctor "Only 10mg tho" to try and calm me as I am really having a hard time with the nausea and Wind.I'm not sure whether to take them or not tbh


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## BayRat (Mar 28, 2011)

It's not a given that it'll make the D worse, Some people have no such side effect at all, for others, the D gets a little worse then goes away/back to 'normal' after a few weeks. You can always try, and if it makes the D worse then wean off. If you already have the script filled, call the pharmacist and ask if it's safe to cut the pill. If it is, try a wee half dose for a week or two and see how it goes. All anti-depressants (heck -_all medications_, including simple aspirin) have side effects, most vanish/decrease with time, usually in a few weeks.And consider that the worsened D may be due to the situational trigger of taking a new medication. it might be just the 'stress' of taking a new medication, or anxiety & trepidation about taking an anti-depressant, that causes the D to get worse. We all know that stress/anxiety can do that. It can cause short term acute attacks or long term flareups. There's no easy method to rule stress/anxiety in/out as the culprit. It's a question that only each of us individually can answer.


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