# ibs, panic and paxil



## kimmy71 (Dec 13, 2002)

I posted this same message on the ibs board but thought it might be more applicable here...so i've pasted my original messageOk...so here goes...I have ibs c and d...depends on the day....and sometimes even the hour! ...I've had ibs since the age of 20 and am now 31. It used to be that I was just bothered by having to spend endless hours in the loo. It interfered with my life on some level..but I could get through it and I just planned things around my ibs. Well...its gotten alot worse..i'm not sure the actual ibs has gotten much worse but I've got myself into some sort of cycle where its all I think about. This in turn has caused my anxiety and now I'm at the point where I absolutely despise travelling anywhere. This really takes a toll on a person's life. It probably sounds pretty stupid but I get so nervous worrying about finding a bathroom on time that I'm sure I induce panic attacks and an urgent rush to the loo. I had a horrible incident a few weeks ago. Everything started out just fine on a trip to a town 2 hours away. I felt just fine. Halfway there..stomach cramping...no bathroom....had to pullover on a quiet country road to go. How humiliating! Thankfully it was night and dark with very little traffic. The thing is...I'm sure if I was at home in the comfort of my home...I wouldn't have even had to go...Travelling makes me so uptight..that it sends my body into some sort of panic...as soon as I'm aware that I'm a fair distance from the loo....the need to go just arises. So i go to my Doctor...embarrassed, and explain my problem with anxiety and ibs (she already knows about the ibs) and she prescribes paxil. I go home..take 10mg and fire up the computer to learn about paxil. I read such horrid stuff about paxil, its addiction and withdrawal symptoms, that I decide to not use it anymore. So now I'm back to where I was...living with this horrible anxiety. Does anyone here have any advise for me about what to try? Is Paxil the answer for me? Sorry for posting such a long message....I just don't know what to do anymore and how to cope with this. Thanks


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## JennyBean (Mar 23, 2002)

I also dealt with panic attacks brought on by my fears related to IBS. I started taking paxil about 8 months ago (wow, it doesn't seem that long ago) and I also read all of that horrible stuff. My doctor prescribed it to me, but I didn't decide to take it for a month because I didn't want to go through those horrible things. The beginning was a little rough, feeling out of it and really tired for the first few weeks, but then that all went away and I feel completely normal now.They even have a better pill out now to combat those bad side effects...Paxil CR (controlled release) so it lets out the medicine throughout the day so you don't have all those bad sensations. I really thought hard about taking Paxil, but now that I'm on it and my IBS isn't as bad and I don't have panic attacks about it anymore, I am really happy that I decided to take it.It may really help you, but it might not. So I can't really give you any advice, but just let you know that I went through all of that same stuff, and I became aware of all the bad (and GOOD) effects that I might get from the pill, so I made an educated decision to try it and hey, it worked out. So you just have to get as informed as possible, and if you decide to take the pill and it doesn't work for you, then at least you know that and can try something else.


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## kimmy71 (Dec 13, 2002)

Thank you Jennybean for your reply. I still have the paxil in my cupboard and do not plan to throw them away for awhile. I'm going to give Mike's hypnotherapy tapes a try first







.....and if I don't have any success with the tapes..I will probably give the paxil a try. I'm at the point where I need to do something to control the anxiety because living like this is not good. I feel as though I'm watching the world from the sidelines instead of being an active participant. I'm glad the paxil is working for you....and i hope to hear more stories about the successes of paxil. Thanks again for your reply! Have a Great Christmas


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## Peony (Aug 27, 2002)

I was very upset about having to try Paxil. Since my IBSD was triggered by a disease caused by antibiotics, I've been a little nuts about which medications I'd allow into my body.I've been on Paxil for a few weeks. It's made me feel horribly tired, but suddenly, my IBS is more manageable. It hasn't helped my depression all that much, but my tummy is more relaxed.I'm hoping that the longer I'm on it, the better the results. I will say, however, that I had two friends who were on it and both had to be hospitalized when they came off of it. On the other hand, I had a friend who took it for a few months and then cut it cold turkey. She never went through withdrawl.It's worth a shot, I think. I was at the point where I couldn't even leave my house because I was so scared about my IBS. I'm doing slightly better now. I go the whole day at work without geting sick.


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## kjprph (Jan 3, 2003)

Dear ibspaniker,I read your post and almost cried. It's as if I wrote it myself. I've suffered for about 10 years but I was never diagnosed with ibs. My doctor told me I had anxiety and put me on Paxil. It helped tremendously and my symptoms went away. After a few years of being on the Paxil I figured I had outgrown the attacks and decided to stop. I had no problems stopping the drug, but my problems came back, WORSE than ever. Travelling is a nightmare. My husband is patient but it's difficult when I need a bathroom on a seconds notice. I feel like my whole life is revolving around this. I knew this couldnt JUST be anxiety, I was having too many GI problems. After searching the web, I've finally found that I'm not alone! What I have actually has a name! Please feel free to e-mail me.Thanks for listening, Kris


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## mae (Jan 3, 2003)

I could'nt understand why my ibs was worsening. I was experiencing on average 4 bm's a day, a great deal of pain and fatigue. I didn't want to get out of bed! I had been taking Paxil for about a year. Since I stopped taking Paxil, my ibs has improved! Paxil can cause gastro distress! Please be aware of this side effect.


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