# Anyone had success with Elavil for IBS-D?



## cowboy55 (Dec 12, 2002)

I just got on a new health plan and just had my first visit to the doctor. I told him about my IBS and asked about Lotronex. He said he's very conservative when it comes to drugs and that he wouldn't prescribe something until it had been on the market for at least ten years. 10 years! Sure, easy to say if you're not sprinting to the bathroom every other day.Anyway, he prescribed Elavil, which I'd never heard of, at a low dosage of I think 10 mg per day. Well, I did some research. Elavil sounds like it's good for pain, but not so good for reducing the frequency of D attacks. I suffer about two pretty explosive attacks/week, but I don't have much pain other than the actual pre-explosion cramps. It also sounds like it knocks people out and has some effects on the functioning of the brain. Basically, I don't like what I've found out. Elavil seems a really indirect, odd way of approaching the IBS. The doctor said that 10mgs won't give me any side effects, but I simply don't believe it.







Anyone tried Elavil before? Did it work? Any awful side effects? Thanks!


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## carolauren (Mar 14, 2002)

Well, Elavil at 10 mg was the first drug my doctor tried, and it did calm my gut considerably. It is not that unusual for it to be prescribed for IBS. The problem was, I just couldn't function on it. I couldn't think, my balance was affected, and it gave me a feeling of something heavy pressing on the front of my head. I also moved so slowly that it would have taken me half a day to get out of the house! For four days I kept cutting the dose down until the last day I took a tiny crumb--still felt the side effects.I've been told that these effects wear off over time, but I couldn't just shuffle around walking into walls in my house for weeks to find out.Side effects of any drug vary from person to person, though, you might be able to tolerate it.I would say your new doctor is unrealistically conservative (10 years!!!???)







and that there are lots of other things to try; check out the medications listing on this board, and read the archives if you haven't already.


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## carolauren (Mar 14, 2002)

By medications listing, I mean go up to the very top of the page and click on "Drugs" where the blue bar is. There is a good chart there. Good luck!


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## Jadair (Aug 28, 2002)

cowboy55I don't know what there is about elavel or however it's spelled, but my doctor gave it to me for my injuries i sustained in a fall. No, that's not all he gave me, I'm on several meds for my injury. Good thing compensation didn't cover it, cause I will NOT take any kind of antidepresants or any kind of SSRI's what so ever. One shrink messed up my life with over 15 different kinds of them pills, and I will not even look at them. I didn't know my MD prescribed it until the pharmacist said comp didn't cover it. I asked him what it was, he said elavil, i said forget it.endj


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## Jadair (Aug 28, 2002)

cowboy55,omg, just read my post, i'm all upset now. seems i came down hard on you. it was not meant towards you, just the way i feel about the drugs. and maybe he prescribed it thinking you had pain from your IBS. I dunno. I truly apologize. The pain pills I have for my whole body injury, do help a tad bit when I get IBS pain, but I don't think a pain pill is going to help that kind of pain. It could just be all in my head that my pain pills are helping a little.well...sorry again...Jadair


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## cowboy55 (Dec 12, 2002)

Jadair, no offense taken at all. I know how posts and emails can sometimes come out different than anticipated, but I didn't take your post as being angry at me at all. But thanks for the apology.Gasgirl, thanks for recounting your own experiences on elavil. I think I'm going to skip taking the elavil altogether. Jadair, you mentioned they prescribe elavil for pain and I've read that too, but I actually don't have that much pain from ibs-d other than when I'm actually getting those belly-whomping cramps.Now that I've read both your posts, I'm actually pretty miffed with my doc. I just started a new health plan and it was the first time I've seen the guy. I told him I have ibs and he immediately whipped out his pad and wrote down elavil 10mg. Didn't ask me if I was C or D. Didn't ask me if I have pain. Just said one of his patients was cured by the elavil, so I should take it. I've researched a fair number of drugs, but I'd never heard of elavil. I asked him what it was and said I wanted to know what kind of side effects there are. He told me it's an older anti-depressant, but that it shouldn't have any side effects at all at such a low dose. Well, gasgirl, I guess you pretty much proved him wrong. I basically feel that taking a head drug because it happens to slightly affect your gut is a bit crazy. Isn't that kind of like using an elephant gun to kill a squirrel? There's got to be a more targeted way to get at the gut nerves. God knows I don't want to tinker with my brain without being super careful.The 10 year comment was really out there I think. My doc said he doesn't trust the FDA. Well, perhaps it's time to find a new, younger PCP.


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## hunter3000 (Apr 30, 2002)

ive been on elavil for about 5 weeks,i felt like a zombie at first but that only lasted a few days,i was on 25mg,which helped a bit,my doc just jumped my dosage up to 50mg today,it has helped me a fair amount so far,they say it talks a few weeks to fully feel it working.


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## kimmy71 (Dec 13, 2002)

I was prescribed Elavil at 10mg also...a few years ago now by my gastro. I only lasted on it for 4 days because I just could not function. (yes...at 10mg/day) I was soooooooooooo tired and I couldn't muster up the energy to make meals, look after the kids...a total zombie state! But I have heard others that did not react this way....so who knows! My doc recently prescribed paxil for the anxiety this ibs is causing me..but I've chickened out of taking that so far and am going to try alternative therapies first. Happy Holidays Cowboy!


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## LoriAnn (Jan 31, 2002)

Hi everyone,I'd like to throw my 2 cents in here and come down on the side of elivil. I took it for 8 years, it was prescribed for FM but it did have the wonderful side effect of helping my IBS-D. It was so severe when I started taking it I was running to the bathroom upwards of 20 times a day.I did have serious problems functioning as well, but my doc pleaded with me to hang in for 6 weeks, telling me it would wear off. It did, and for a good 7 years I got my life back, but more than a year ago it stopped working, increasing the dose did not help. So I stopped taking it, no addiction or withdrawl problems. Last month he started me on paxil, which I will gladly take if it will do as much for me as the elivil did, but again I feel like a zombie, which from the posts I read, may or may not go away.But as far as the elivil goes, I'm a huge fan, and the cost, at least here in Canada, makes even more attractive at $10 for a 3 month supply, which is a far cry from some of the other meds that have been prescribed to me.Lori


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