# Thinking About Anti Depresents



## 13802 (Feb 24, 2007)

Recently ive been having really bad lower abdomen cramps. The Doctors tell me that its due to my anxiety problems and its causeing my stomach to play up and because im constantly worried about it It not going away. (Always thinking about my stomach and whats wrong) I was on Seroxat (Paxil) For many years with panic attacks but havent been on them for a while now. The doctors are thinking about putting me back on them and are sending me to CBT. Please help. Any advice you can give me would be much appreciated.Andrew


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## Guest (Feb 27, 2007)

Andrew - I hear what you are saying - and obviously you've been on something before for anxiety - but as you know any anti-d is a serious beast and if the main problem is IBS-related rather than psychological - then maybe anti-d's shouldn't be your first port of call. In any event - as you will also probably appreciate, any of these drugs are very ideosyncratic - one man's poison etc. I'm on mitrazapene but thats because I had a bad depressive episode about 12 months ago and a 6 week stay in a psychiatric unit.In any event - you need to work closely with your doctor/specialist on this - any advice we can give you is just that and relates to our own personal experiences.I wish you wellSue


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## 21723 (Aug 19, 2005)

Not sure if anxiety can cause stomach cramps and pain. I have IBS-D and tried about 6 popular antidepressants for it. They really had no effect on it. Imodium and Lomotil seem to work best. I am going to try for Lotronex this year. Most antidepressants increase serotonin, which should go against IBS so I really donâ€™t know why doctors prescribe them. I guess they still think itâ€™s all in our heads. Lotronex works by lowering serotonin levels in the gut. If your IBS-C I guess thatâ€™s a whole other thing.


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2007)

This seems to be a worrying trend - I've a mate here who has very severe IBS/D and has been prescribed an SSRI - now, they are serious buggers and it seems odd to prescribe summat like that. I only take them, cos frankly I had to for depression - I would certainly consider other options if my problems were IBS-related.Sue


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## 15976 (Nov 22, 2006)

I believe they prescribe them in lower doses like they do for headaches. When people are really suffering, whether from depression, IBS, or anything else...they will try just about anything to stop it.I agree it shouldn't be prescribed for people who have an occasional bout but those who have it daily and 5-6 times per day...it gets hard on the body and is hard to work.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Yep IBS can be severe enough to require daily medication so a person can function at all.If you have a loose stool or two a week it isn't worth it.If you are curled up in a little ball screaming in pain most of the day every single day for months or years on end, it is probably worth trying a drug that in addition to altering moods can reduce pain.There really isn't a whole lot of other options for severe IBS pain, there really isn't. Sedating someone into a stupor with narcotics really isn't an option, either. Especially because narcotics will eventually cause the abdominal pain to get much more severe for some people.These drugs have many many functions and depression is not the only thing they fix.Antidepressants typically reduce pain at very low doses and at those doses the side effects are much milder.They aren't giving the doses of these things you need to lift severe depression to IBSer, Really they aren't. I do not know how to convince anyone that we are talking two very different dose ranges.For example with Tricyclics IBS is 10-75 mgs and depression is 100 mgs on up, usually in the 150 mg or sometimes higher range. With SSRI's IBS is treated usually with the lowest dose pill they make for that one, and Depression treatment (unless the depression is pretty mild) usually requires a higher dose than that.The side effects of these drugs are dose dependent.No one is saying toss them at every IBSer, but really there are people with IBS problems severe enough that something has to be done or the person can't work or take care of themselves. Really Suev I think if your IBS was as excruciatingly painful as mine and there was no other option you might be willing to try a very low dose of an antidepressant if it meant you could walk to the mail box without dropping to the ground doubled over in pain. I'm glad your IBS is not that severe, but don't assume everyone else's IBS is easily controlled and it is extremely dangerous, unwise, or stupid, to try antidepressants. IBS can be as disruptive to daily functioning as IBS, it isn't just a minor inconvenience for an awful lot of people.I don't want to see people suffer needlessly when there is medication that can help and their symptoms are so severe they need medical help.Absolutely try other things first, but if you need them, take them.K.


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## Guest (Mar 4, 2007)

Hang on there - of course I'm not suggesting that anti-depressants aren't the answer in some cases but I do take an anti-depressant (30mg - so not a high dose) so I do know something about them and I do know - even at doses as low as 10mg (cos I've been on Prozac) that the side effects initially can be very scarey and I'm sure there are other things that can be tried FIRST - of course if the symptoms are severe - who the heck am I to deny anyone anything - I'm not medical for heaven's sake and I have certainly NEVER implied anyone who has taken them or been prescribed them is stupid - thats never a word I've used - as if I'd be so insulting - I'm just telling it as it is. In fact I'm an advocate of anti-depressants - I sincerely believe they saved my life but all drugs have their place and surely they cannot be the first port of call, even in severe IBS. Sue


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

You just made it sound to me that it was terrible that any doctor would ever give anyone with IBS something as "dangerous" as an antidepressant.That is the exact same sort of logic that has been used by some here in the US to try to stop all research and approval of any drugs specifically for IBS.Yep you should only take medication you need, but there is so much pressure out there by people saying all any IBS person needs is a bit of fiber and they'll be fine that I don't like seeing us saying on this site anything that sounds like IBS is not severe enough to need medication. Even "serious" medication. I don't know if you know how hard it was to fight the system to get Lotronex back on the market in the US and how other IBS drugs are being blocked. Heck most countries won't approve Lotronex because IBS is to them a mild condition that shouldn't need any drugs, ever, for anyone. I've tried to say on a couple of threads that some people need it, but that doesn't seem to change your opinion that sounds like IBSers shouldn't consider antidepressants.And that bothers me when people say things that sound like that.I've responded a few times and nothing seemed to change about your opinion that seemed to be that antidepressants were not appropriate unless you had a mental illness that needed them. Antidepressants effect a heck of a lot in the body other than mood.95% of the serotonin in your body is in the gut nerves. Serotonin is used for a lot of functions, not just mood. That is why antidepressants get used for lots of disorders. Serotonin is a big player in a lot of conditions, and those are pretty much drugs we have to effect serotonin anywhere in the bodyI'm sorry if I stated things very strongly, but I felt you were completely ignoring the points I've been making in response to you on other threads.Glad I finally got your attention. And I'm glad you do see that some people need them. Usually by the time someone comes on her asking about them they have already run out of other options and I while saying be careful is appropriate saying things that sound like they have no role in treating IBS just isn't OK with me.Antidepressants won't help everyone (with any disorder). A very small percentage of people have very bad reactions, and you should watch for those, but it isn't something completely wrong to try for IBS.K.


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## Guest (Mar 4, 2007)

I don't think I've ever been accused to blindly sticking to one point of view - I'm willing to learn just as much as the next person and god knows how awful it can be suffering from any type of illness - mental or physical - just because I only suffer from IBS mildly doesn't mean I don't appreciate how awful it is for some people.What scared me (and please bear in mind I'm a Brit and I'm not sure how widely they are prescribe here for IBS - though I do know they can be) is that some who post on this thread seem to be almost casual about "shopping about" for what SSRI or whatever to "help out" with IBS - as you know they are serious drugs - and it seems that they are seen as a "quick fix" to cure all. Sue


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

It's just I know what I've said here, even on threads you have been on, and it doesn't seem you ever heard me at all.I guess I do not usually see it as "casual shopping" about.They are widely prescribed for a lot of things in the US, but I tend to find it more likely people won't take them even if the doctor says they should because they are afraid of the "stigma" of mental illness (or read all the propaganda I talk about below) than people seeking them out for a "quick fix" they don't need. There may be some, but most people IMO don't seem to think they are harmless drugs that one just takes on a lark to see if it helps.The dangers are pretty widely talked about in the US, including a lot of people who are trying to scare anyone away from taking them for anything ever. Some of the anti-antidepressant web sites are filled with a lot of mis-information intended to make people so afraid of them they won't take them even if they need them. I see a lot of those misconceptions are widely believed enough a lot of people here seem to have heard their message and believe they are are way more dangerous than they really are. The one thing I don't like in the US is that insurance will pay for the antidepressants or other drugs for mental illness but doesn't want to pay for the therapy that many of these people need as well.


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## Guest (Mar 4, 2007)

I think you are being very unfair to be honest - you have your opinion - absolutely fair enough - but I'm sorry, I have been on these drugs and I do know what I'm talking about too - I don't think you hear me either.I'm sorry but you obviously haven't read all the posts I have then - there have been remarks like "well I've tried X, I've tried Y - now I think I'll try Z" etc - surely you must see that they are over-prescribed ON OCCASIONS.I'm not going to carry on about this - you've had your say, I've had mine - and yes, I did acknowledge that these drugs have a place, and yes, I'm prepared to learn from you that they have a place with the treatment of severe IBS - but I'll still stick to my guns and say, on occasions they are over-prescribed.Sue


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I never said they weren't on occasion over prescribed or that there aren't dangers. *sigh* I've just run into a lot more people that won't take them even if they need them than people that are out shopping for the doctor that will give them out like candy.I'm sorry you are one of the small percentage of people that have had a really bad reaction to them.Just because it happens to you doesn't mean it happens to most people.I've got a few drugs I have very unusual reactions to. Which is not any fun, but doesn't make them excessively dangerous for other people.I am glad you see they can have a role in treating IBS.


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2007)

You want to sigh - you have these 2 tigers over for sausage and chips!!!Sue


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## 15908 (Mar 6, 2007)

Maybe things get complicated because we still call SSRI's "anti-depressant". They are proven to work for other illnesses that need a serotonin boost, such as PMS, migraine headaches, fibromyalgia, CFS, etc that I know of. So in my opinion, calling SSRI's anti-depressant is almost a misnomer because it doesn't tell the whole story. Some people call them "serotonin-booster", and I think that is more accurate.Some of the SSRI's are long acting and much more benign with fewer side effects than others, so we cannot really say all SSRI's are dangerous and we should take another option first. Either way, all drugs have some side effects, and we should all make informed decisions on what to take.Skunk,From what I have read and what I know, Paxil is a very fact acting SSRI, hence more side effects and there will be withdrawal symptoms too if you get off it too quickly. Personally, I wouldn't try a really hard-core potent one like that to start with. Maybe you can try a long acting SSRI's with fewer side effects like Prozac. That is what I am trying (marketed as "Sarafem" for PMS)tmm


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## 13802 (Feb 24, 2007)

I think youve missed the point ppl. I have been on Seroxat before. I have never had serious side affects, and I never had any problems coming off of them. In fact they saved my life!


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## Guest (Mar 8, 2007)

Oh blimey - I think I've dug myself into a total hole - absolutely anti-depressants have saved my life too and I can see that they appear to have a role in managing other conditions. The point I wanted to make - cos, frankly it seemed like SOME people (and I'm stressing some) seemed to treat them without the respect they deserve - I think I'll try this - I think I'll try that - as long as you tread carefully and give them time, then yes, absolutely fair play.Sue


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