# IBS-C Experiences..



## CrampsMan (Feb 22, 2021)

Hi all, new to the forum and just looking for any similar experiences out there. Over the past 2-3 years i've been dealing with occasional to now more frequent constipation. When this happens i get very bad stomach cramps that come in waves over 1-2 days. Usually the pain passes with a bowel movement. But it has changed my quality of life for the negative. I've tried alot of OTC remedies but none that was a "go to" and worked. So a few days ago my GI doc gave me a sample of Linzess which i started taking. it seems to work somewhat but noticed im getting headaches/sinusitis pain now. Reading this could be a common side effect of Linzess. Also worth mentioning is I take Cymbalta and have been tapering off it since August of 2020. I'm wondering if the taper off Cymbalta has made my constipation issues more frequent/severe. So my questions are: Anyone else experience headaches from Linzess and if so did they stop after getting used to the medication? And can tapering off Cymbalta in some way cause constipation/IBS-C to worsen?

Thanks alot in advance for reading my story.


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## aries_wmn (Apr 28, 2019)

I think trying Linzess is a good idea when OTC remedies have failed. It will take several weeks to fully take effect. I did have some sinus side effects from Linzess, but it helped with abdominal pain.


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## CrampsMan (Feb 22, 2021)

aries_wmn said:


> I think trying Linzess is a good idea when OTC remedies have failed. It will take several weeks to fully take effect. I did have some sinus side effects from Linzess, but it helped with abdominal pain.


Thank you for responding. Do you recall if your sinus side effects went away eventually?


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## aries_wmn (Apr 28, 2019)

TBH I'm not sure, it's been awhile since I've taken it. I would it give it at least a few weeks, though.


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## aries_wmn (Apr 28, 2019)

Also, re Cymbalta.

It's theoretically possible that tapering off Cymbalta is making your C worse, but it's not the most likely reason, unless you noticed that Cymbalta helped your IBS symptoms when you began taking it.

I've taken several different antidepressants over the years, and most did not impact my IBS one way or the other, with the exception of Celexa and Trazadone. However, I've never taken Cymbalta.


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## Kellieanna1960 (Mar 8, 2021)

trazadone exacerbated your IBS? Did you wean from it or simply reduce dosage?


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## Kellieanna1960 (Mar 8, 2021)

Did Trazodone worsen your C symptoms? How did you handle this?


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## KilllerQueen (Mar 13, 2021)

I take Cymbalta and havent had a problem. However, Ive been on LINZESS one week. No diarrhea yet but stool texture is changing for the better. 
However, within a couple hours of taking it, I am constantly thirsty the rest of the day. Like drinking 2 gallons of electrolyte water thirsty!
Has this happened to anyone? Is it a side effect that goes away?


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## CrampsMan (Feb 22, 2021)

Thx for the responses. My experience so far with Linzess is the first week I was taking 72mcg which had very little effect. I changed to the 145mcg and things got moving regularly but have to admit it's making my stool too soft. Not sure if this will change but we'll see. It's definitely helping with pain and has got things moving.

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## KilllerQueen (Mar 13, 2021)

Im having the same response to the 145mg & still taking stool softeners. Im wondering if I should increase to the higher dose. When you did it, did you do it on your own or talk to your doctor first?


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## CrampsMan (Feb 22, 2021)

I spoke to the doctor first and he gave me the 145mcg.

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## KilllerQueen (Mar 13, 2021)

How long were you on the lower dose before asking to switch? Ive been on the 145mg one week.


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## CrampsMan (Feb 22, 2021)

Approximately 1 week.

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## aries_wmn (Apr 28, 2019)

Kellieanna1960 said:


> trazadone exacerbated your IBS? Did you wean from it or simply reduce dosage?


Trazadone actually helped a lot with the pain, it made it a lot better, for a few weeks. But then it stopped helping. I stopped taking it for reasons unrelated to IBS.


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## Hanging in (Apr 1, 2021)

Studies have shown no benefit of upping the Linzess from 145mcg to 290mcg. I get ONLY diarrhea from Linzess. I have no other symptoms with it. Many report that Linzess loses its effectiveness in time. If that happens to me, I don't know where else to go. Motility caused me hellacious gas and I had to discontinue it.

As an aside, I feel that Linzess causes incomplete evacuation for me after my morning routine (145mcg). I'm pretty stopped up late in the day. I'm trying to find something else to take that might give me a BM later in the day without success. Miralax is a spectacular failure despite numerous attempts.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

about linzess and D:

i've mentioned this on the board before so maybe you've already read it but-----one of my gastro docs has done research and has run clinical trials on linzess. he told me that linzess works on the same receptors that food does. so generally, the closer you take it to eating a meal, the more diarrhea you get. and conversely, the more time that elapses between taking linzess and eating, the less D you get. it's all in experimenting and finding out what works best for you. and, of course, YMMV.

so if you're getting too much D try taking it an hour before breakfast instead of a half hour before as prescribed. you'll probably have less D that way. some people take at even two hours before eating or at night, on an empty stomach, before they go to bed.


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## cjell (Apr 1, 2021)

OK so I'm new here. I just started trazodone for night-time use for ADHD-associated insomnia (great to know that literally all of my issues are connected lol). I'm glad that it helps/doesn't have an effect on IBS-C, I'm not interested in going back to my melatonin dependence. I was a little scared when I saw it mentioned because I'm growing tired of the never-ending medication musical chairs. I also started miralax (which works great for me) on a doctor recommendation a few days before I started the trazodone. Just learned from drugs.com that the two interact....

I'm going to try docusate first, but y'all seem to like linzess. I'm very interested in trying it. Will my GP be able to prescribe it, or should I try and get a referral to a GI doc?

I am going to speak with my pharmacist later about miralax/trazodone.


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## aries_wmn (Apr 28, 2019)

Some GP's will prescribe Linzess, so it's definitely worth asking.


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## CrampsMan (Feb 22, 2021)

Hello all, wanted to resurrect this thread and see what other experience people have had including successes and failures. I have been taking Linzess 145 daily for about 3 months. Everything was really working great until recently. I usually take it in the morning before breakfast and within 2 hours or so i'd have a BM (loose but still somewhat satisfying). On a few occassions where it didnt work i tried another Linzess before lunch and that would usually help with a BM a few hours later. This all changed in the last couple of weeks and seems like its having little to no effect. Googling on Linzess effectiveness and it seems very common that it just stops working after awhile which varies from person to person. Spoke to my GI doc and he suggested going up to 290 or adding Miralax. So today i took a dose of Miralax and a Linzess about an hour apart before lunch so im waiting on an explosion







Anyone out there experience this and find a way to get jumpstarted again? I was really happy when this was working so well but concerned things are going back to my pre-Linzess days.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

so sorry this happened.

did you read my post above about linzess and food? anyway, try taking linzess with breakfast instead of a half hour before, as perscribed. that might jump start it into working for you again.

good luck.


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## CrampsMan (Feb 22, 2021)

annie7 said:


> so sorry this happened.
> 
> did you read my post above about linzess and food? anyway, try taking linzess with breakfast instead of a half hour before, as perscribed. that might jump start it into working for you again.
> 
> good luck.


Hi and thanks for responding. I've tried it many times within a few minutes of eating breakfast and i can't seem to recognize any pattern that works better than any others. Maybe i'll try it the night before and see how that goes. Thanks again.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Thanks.. good luck


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