# Alternatives to Elavil for IBSd



## muttleytm (Jan 8, 2013)

I have IBSd have been prescribed Elevil and Bentyl. I take 50mg of Elavil. It has helped my IBS a lot.

However, I have gained a lot of weight. I suspect it is from the Elavil. The weight gain is starting to cause some problems: I am testing as pre-diabetic and I am having knee pain and leg pain issues (I have had surgery on one of my knees). I think it is time to look for something else.

I see that the FDA has recently approved Viberzi and Xifaxan. I think the Viberzi is sort of a souped up Immodium and the Xifaxan is an antibiotic that only works in the gut and is used for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.

Does anyone have any experience with either of these? Or have any suggestions of alternatives to Elavil?


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## rajiv_gupta (Jul 16, 2014)

i have been taking Xifaxan for more than two years. when i started taking Xifaxan it really helped to control the diarrhea but with passage of time its efficacy is reducing.

not sure why, may be the bacterial overgrowth in the gut is now getting immune to it.

I also tried Elavil ( Amitriptyline ) for few days but discontinued because i also suffer from open angle glaucoma.

can anyone help me to understand if i can take Amitriptyline with open angle glaucoma as in the listed side effects of Elavil only close angle glaucoma gets exacerbated.


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## Leo41 (Dec 13, 2010)

Well you likely know Elavil is a tricyclic antidepressant. It's action is by helping correct the brain gut connection issues which gives some of our IBS issues, and effects serotonin levels/uptake. The drugs you listed will have no function anything like Elavil. For us D types the non-SSRI meds are the best, but of course they all cause weight gain. One of my docs prescribed me Remeron which I hear works even better than Elavil, but of course main side effect... weight gain. So I have not taken it yet... holding that back as my weapon of last resort if all else fails.

I keep preaching this but try heathers teas... peppermint and fennel they are incredible for symptom control.


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## tltrull (Nov 12, 2005)

I had the same weight gain problem as you. I started at 25mg and eventually went up to 75mg. On this dose I gained 40lbs!

I do believe it can also affect your other body systems as my cholesterol skyrocketed to 325 and my triglycerides to 460! My thyroid tests were 4.70 indicating hypothyroid even though I had always been underweight before this medication. My doctor tried to put me on medication for low thyroid and the high cholesterol with the belief that my thyroid was causing the weight gain and other labs to be off.

I told her it was the Elavil and she swore that this could not have caused all of this, so to prove her wrong I stopped all of these meds. she and the GI had me on. I not only wanted to show her I was right, but was also tired of taking like 12 pills everyday. Just because something is not well documented does not mean it cannot or does not happen.

I was only on these before I got the high results:

Lotronex 4mg/day

Elavil 75mg/day

She added these because of the results:

Crestor - Cholesterol med

Lovaza - (basically a prescription fish oil for the triglycerides)

Levothyroxine - Thyroid medication

9 months after stopping I went back to see her for repeat labs and to prove her wrong. I made no changes to my eating habits or activity level.

I had lost 30 of the 40lbs

Thyroid - 3.05 - now normal

Triglycerides - 76 - normal

Cholesterol - 174 - normal

Now tell me elavil cannot cause this........


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## inflamez666 (Aug 14, 2015)

I was on elvail 10mg and 40 mg of bentyl I rarely took it all. It kinda worked at first then it stopped. Can someone tell me exactly what each does, what was your symptoms before and after elvail worked for you, and what did it do after?

I think I am IBS D. I have one normal bowle movement I day I need to push out with coffee in the morning then I have a bunch of little ones after each meal and throughout the day. They are usually thin and stringy and wet. Furthermore....sometimes I feel like i have to go and can't and a wet brown mucus is there when I whipe? I thought this was all C for awhile but now I'm thinking cause I'm going 8-10 times a day I have D and it feels like C cause I keep going and going with little coming out. I feel imcomplete alot.


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## lithium (Oct 9, 2015)

inflamez666 said:


> I was on elvail 10mg and 40 mg of bentyl I rarely took it all. It kinda worked at first then it stopped. Can someone tell me exactly what each does, what was your symptoms before and after elvail worked for you, and what did it do after?
> 
> I think I am IBS D. I have one normal bowle movement I day I need to push out with coffee in the morning then I have a bunch of little ones after each meal and throughout the day. They are usually thin and stringy and wet. Furthermore....sometimes I feel like i have to go and can't and a wet brown mucus is there when I whipe? I thought this was all C for awhile but now I'm thinking cause I'm going 8-10 times a day I have D and it feels like C cause I keep going and going with little coming out. I feel imcomplete alot.


Elavil(Amitriptyline) is a tricyclic anidepressant. It is able to help with pain of the IBS since it possesses analgesic properties. It also can slow down the motion of the gut leading to less diarrhea. Bentyl(dicyclomine) prevents painful spasms of the gut muscles.


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## Noca (Oct 24, 2015)

On 30mg of Amitriptyline and 12.5mg of Trazodone, Neither do anything for my symptoms. I just use them for sleep.


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