# Elavil - anyone tried it? and elavil vs. zoloft



## jw01 (Feb 18, 2004)

Hi. My doctor put me on Elavil and Zelnorm. I've been on them about a week and haven't seen any improvement. Still bloated and very gassy...maybe even worse than before. Anyone tried Elavil before? I used to be on Zoloft and it worked ok, but not great. My GI says tricyclic is better; my primary physician thinks SSRI is better. They disagree on Zelnorm for maintenance vs. short term also. Go figure.Any ideas?


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## susaloh (Dec 28, 2002)

Hi!Which one's better for you depends on your main symptoms. Tricyclic ADs are recommended if you're predominantly D or Pain type. I got worse in the beginning until I switched to a slow release capsule of amitryptilene/elavil.Elavil is amitryptilene - a few messages further down you'll find my story in all detail. It has been my wonderdrug for almost 10 weeks but now I'm going through a bad relapse. May have been a bit careless with nutrition or maybe it was just coincidence, anyway I've been having the worse cramps ever. Once the attack's is in full swing, the amitryp. doesn't make a big difference - it's good for my day to day IBS but with these heavy cramps nothing helps but cutting down to rice only for several days....Anyway, it's been the best 10 weeks for years...Susanne


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## sinaj1020 (Feb 16, 2004)

Hi, I have had IBSD for 16 years. I changed doctors about 6 years ago and she put me on Elavil also called Amitriptylin. I have been on 25mgs for 6 years. I take one 25mg each night before bed. It will take 2 to 4 weeks before you will notice if it is working. Give it time. It helped me tremendously with my anxiety. Unfortunately, I changed from getting my prescription filled at my local pharmacy to getting it filled through a mail order. Apparently they used the generic form and after about a month being on it I started having real weird dreams. My anxiety and frequency in the bathroom has slowly progressed. I am back to square one!! UGH!! I went to my dr. on Monday and she wrote me a new prescription and I went back to my local pharmacy and I got the old form back again. I am hoping that will make a difference. I also asked her about Librax and she wrote me a prescript for that also. I tried one this morning for the first time and it helped me incredibly. I am new to this site but I am so happy I found it. I have already found a ton of valuable information. Librax for one!!I hope you give the amitriptylin a try and find it helpful. Janis


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## Guest (Feb 24, 2004)

I am thinking of trying it. I take imipramine which is also a trycylic antidepressent and I noticed it dries everything up at high dozes but I sleep a lot and gain weight which caused some back pain. My doctor said that Elavil is even more sedating so I don't know what to do.


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## chihuahua_girl (Mar 16, 2004)

I gained about 20 lbs on elavil. (on for 2 months) I was exausted in the mornings (I took 50 mg at bed time) My primamry complaint at the time was nausea, which did actually go away with the medication. However, I am no longer nauseus, but I have other IBS-D now. i stopped the elavil, and cant seem to lose the weight!


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