# SSRI work for me!



## SelinaKral (Jun 11, 2010)

I've had IBS-D/C for many years. Almost constant pain, unpredictable diarrhea/constipation with no pattern. I couldn't eliminate any bad foods, because there were no good or bad, only bad and worse. Probiotics were not helping.Then I developed agoraphobia because of a very stressful event in my life. I've always been a bit on the anxious side, but had it under control; now I almost couldn't go outside. So off to a psych I went and got the SSRI citalopram (local brand; it's also in Celexa and Cipramil). It took 6-8 weeks to fully kick in, but it helped with the agoraphobia (I'm completely free of it now) and anxiety - and I also GOT RID OF IBS. I'm taking the citalopram for about two years now and only had two or three mild and short IBS episodes during that time. I could eat and drink almost anything. I gained 20 lbs and don't look anorexic anymore.The hitch is the meds didn't "cure" my IBS; I'm now trying to wean myself off the citalopram and some of the IBS symptoms are slowly creeping back. So, I will need to do something about it, either go back up with the meds, or find something else with similar effect. But I'm sure you can imagine what the "break" meant for me - I escaped from the vicious circle and took some rest, and now I have the energy to look for possible solutions again. And if I don't succeed and it grows over my head again, I can always go back to the SSRI meds.I'm not a big fan of any meds and certainly not a fan of the overuse of antidepressants as we see it today, but I'd say in this case - when it really improves the quality of your life and you've tried almost everything else and nothing quite worked - it is justified.So don't be afraid to try SSRI antidepressants, it might be worth it.


----------



## em_t (Jun 8, 2010)

I'm so glad you found something that works. When you have IBS you'll try almost anything to make your symptoms better! I was on Citalopram for a short period of time but it didn't agree with me at all but have now switched to Fluoxetine (Prozac) in the past few days so hopefully it will have some effect on me. I found amitriptyline really good for pain but unfortunately made my constipation worse. That's actually really cheered me up because I was reluctant to try antidepressants because although I can get very low about my IBS I'm not clinically depressed. So glad you've something that worked and has helped you gain some weight!All the bestEm xx


----------



## SelinaKral (Jun 11, 2010)

I've read somewhere serotonine is very important in the gut (in the gut neural system), just as it is in the brain. That's why SSRIs (or selective serotonine reuptake inhibitors, in case someone didn't know) may help with IBS - even if the victim is not actually depressed. If it wasn't for the unhappy event that made me depressed and agoraphobic, I would probably never consider SSRIs for IBS... I might as well thank for getting depression, LOL







I should probably add the first weeks with citalopram were not pleasant at all. I started slowly, with a low dose, but still I got many side effects - I was shaky, sleepy, lethargic, my teeth were clenched and I had an urge to yawn all the time. My doctor warned me I have to endure, that the side effects will go away. And they did, after a month or so I had none. I know people who got scared of the SE and stopped taking pills too soon to feel any positive effects.


----------



## Lookin'foraLife (Jan 2, 2009)

But don't you feel a bit "out of it" on the SSRI?Like watching life from the sidelines?


----------



## Kerith (Jul 18, 2011)

I'm on fluoxetine and I haven't had a lot of trouble with side effects. While I was still on hyoscyamine also after about a year I started having significant problems with lethargy, disorientation, and poor memory. There's no way to know for sure, but the side effects came on around the same time as a major change in my IBS, so I think the side effects were somehow related to that change. I'm off the hyoscyamine now and suffering no side effects worth noting from the fluoxetine. I have noticed that it makes me feel sort of dry sometimes and it occasionally makes me drowsy, but that's about it. My GI doc has recommended staying with the fluoxetine to keep my anxiety at bay, so it can't exacerbate the IBS. After two years of trying to get my IBS under control, I'll do pretty near anything that seems to help, and the fluoxetine is definitely preferable to the IBS symptoms.


----------

