# is that true that SSRI antidepressants are not effective to IBS?



## catmistry (Feb 23, 2004)

Hello guys, I just read a news article that SSRI or SNRI antidepressants(ex: Paxil, Seroxat, Prozac, Effexa, etc)are not effective to relieve IBS symptomes. And they say that something that has any good influence to IBS is tricyclic antidepressant. Is That True?I'm devastated. I mean, I had good two months thanks to that Seroxat and now I'm taking Effexa, and now I'm about to change my prescription to Paxil, which a lot of people in this board recommended.Do your doctors still prescribe Paxil to treat IBS-C? Is there any people who has experienced soem good effect by taking Paxil?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I think the tricyclics have more data, but some people do better on the SSRI's. Was this a scientific journal article, something on the web, or a news article?? A lot of really bad info gets around so with anything like that you have to judge whether to trust it or not. The newest SNRI, Cymbalta, got developed for depression but the early data indicated it could be very effective for IBS, just depression is a better market to go for in the approval and making money off of it sort of thing.My impression was Zoloft seems to be a good one for IBS-C based on what some people have said. I think of the SSRI's it seems most likely to have a diarrhea side effect rather than constipation.Antidepressant response is always idiosyncratic even for depression. The tricyclics often are constipating, and may have more side effects than the newer antidepressatns.I don't know if Cymbalta will be available in Korea soon, I also don't know of Zelnorm/Zelmac has been approved there or not.K.


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## catmistry (Feb 23, 2004)

thank you for your answer, Kath M. I'm relieved that newer antidepressants are still supposed to be valid in IBS-C treatment.Zelmac has been launched last year in Korea, and I'm taking it, but, you know , it's not perfect that much.again, thank you and maybe it's too late but anyway, happy new year. (^___^)


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## jjohnson (Apr 29, 2004)

pipilongstocking,Paxil and Seroxat are different trade names for the same drug, paroxetine. If it is working for you, by all means continue taking it, and don't be deterred by anything you may have read.


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## 20327 (Jun 5, 2005)

Paxil May Help Irritable Bowel Syndrome Antidepressant Has Strong Effect in Those Not Feeling Fit After Fiber By Daniel DeNoonWebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MDon Monday, May 10, 2004 May 10, 2004 -- The antidepressant drug Paxil may help some people with irritable bowel syndrome feel better. A new clinical study shows that Paxil, a type of drug called an SSRI, improves some irritable bowel symptoms. Although Paxil is mainly used to treat depression and anxiety, none of the patients in this study suffered from depression. In fact, says study leader George Arnold, MD, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, patients with no hint of depression responded well to the drug. "Paxil worked extremely well," Arnold tells WebMD. "These drugs are designed to treat anxiety and depression, but they work on irritable bowel in people without depression." The cleverly designed study showed that more than one in four irritable-bowel patients get enormous relief simply by going on a high-fiber diet. "On just the high-fiber diet, 26% of the people who were having a lot of symptoms felt well enough that they didn't want anything more done," Arnold says. "Their pain and their bloating improved, and their overall well-being improved enough to say they didn't want any more treatment." Because people who enroll in clinical trials tend to be those with harder-to-treat irritable bowel syndrome, Arnold says that a high-fiber diet would help far more than 26% of patients. When Fiber Fails Not everybody with irritable bowel syndrome gets better after going on a high-fiber diet. In the Arnold team's study, those who didn't get better with a high-fiber diet went on to the second part of the study. The 81 patients in this part of the trial were randomly assigned to get Paxil or an identical-looking placebo for 12 weeks. Neither the patients nor their doctors knew which drug they were taking. Nearly two thirds of the Paxil group -- 63.3% -- reported improvement in their overall well-being. Only 26.3% of the placebo group reported this kind of improvement. Paxil didn't help with abdominal pain or bloating. But patients who took Paxil had significantly better improvement in other symptoms -- straining, urgency, and a feeling of incomplete evacuation -- than those who took a placebo. At the end of the 12 weeks, patients could choose to continue on their medication -- without learning whether they were taking Paxil or placebo. In the Paxil group, 84% wanted to continue. Only 37% of the placebo group chose to continue treatment. After six months, 76% of the Paxil group and 36% of the placebo group were still taking their pills. These findings impress Reza Shaker (sha-CARE), MD, chief of the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the Medical College of Wisconsin."It is an interesting study, and I think it is a real effect of Paxil they are seeing," Shaker tells WebMD. "I like this study because it is independent -- the drug companies did not pay for it -- because it was randomized, and because it has a six-month follow-up. It's a relatively small number of patients, but still it is very promising that in a subgroup of IBS patients, SSRI antidepressants may be helpful." ---------------------


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## NancyCat (Jul 16, 1999)

My gastro is an IBS expert and she has me on small doses of both elavil(older trycyclic) and paxil (newer ssri). The 2 of them together seem to help (me).When I added the paxil I definately noticed that I felt even better. Remember that meds used to treat IBS vary in how and if they work, just as IBS itself is individual. Stay w/what works for you. Sometimes you have to try several meds before you find something that works.


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