# could antidepressant cause IBS



## vipers (Dec 6, 2002)

Has anyone actually had IBS symptoms being caused by an antidepressant. I have been on Effexor XR for about 4 years and have had stomach problems for 2 years. Is it possible discontinuing this drug would help my symptoms. I am afraid to get off of it considering its the only antidepressant that I tried which worked for me and I tried quite a few of em.


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## spencerg (Mar 7, 2003)

Yes, Effexor can DEFINETELY cause IBS like sympotms/make it MUCH worse. I was hospitalised for 4 days last year because of what Effexor had done to my stomach. I saw the top gastro in the UK and he told me he had seen this before with Effexor. I was diagnosed as being in a 'Venlafaxine Crisis'. I had severe nausea, stomach cramps, diahrrea, no appetite - you name it, I had it. I weaned off the Effexor and things improved as soon as I started cutting down. Effecor is a killer on the stomach. I am now Effexor free, still have IBS, but NOTHING like it was when I took that drug. Im now on Remeron by the way.....Hope this helps. Spencer.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

As well as helping with IBS symptoms in some people certain antidepressants can cause GI symptoms.Talk it over with the doc because you did OK for a while it may or may not be the antidepressant, but it may make sense to either switch or see what happens when you stop.DO NOT stop on your own, depending on the antidepressant you can get side effects when you stop so make sure you do it under medical supervision. Sometimes they have a taper down schedule, sometimes they switch you from a shorter acting one to a longer acting one to ease the side effects as the blood levels of the drug will change slower tapering off a longer acting one.K.


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## Susan Purry (Nov 6, 2001)

SSRIs make my IBS symptoms A LOT worse! Doesn't cause the IBS, just aggravates it. So do some antibiotics.


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## alb620 (Apr 17, 2014)

I began taking Lexipro a year and a half ago. The very frst night, I awakened with nightmares and hallucinations. My descending colon seized up and had painful diarrhea. My bowel has not been the same since.

I had to do a prolonged water fast to allow my bowel to heal. Since then, I have remedied the depression and manage the other symptoms with a raw food diet (for me, only fruits, vegetables, and sprouts). I also practice yoga.

WIth these changes, my condition has become manageable.

I am not a supporter of anti-depressants. I believe a change in diet and lifestyle are more beneficial. But, everyone has a different experience, it seems. Anti-depressants seem to have helped my mother, but I will never take them again. They made my problem MUCH worse.


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## D :( (Aug 11, 2009)

In my personal experience, it seems that people on Celexa (citalopram) tend to have issues with diarrhea. I'm sure there are a lot of others that can cause issues as well, and it varies because everyone responds differently to them. Fortunately, I have been on a low dose of Zoloft for two years now and it never made my IBS worse, but other people have had problems with Zoloft so ymmv.


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