# How Quickly Does AntiDepressant Treatment work?



## Emmab2003 (Apr 22, 2004)

If my poor Mom doesnt get help soon, I dont know what we will do.She is 81, losing weight and not eating well.We know she has more depresison than IBS, but we are treating for IBS because all her worry is on her stomach. All tests have also come out negative for more serious stuff.Does anyone know how fast a treatment with anti-depressants for this sort of thing begins to work?I dont know how much longer it will be if she keeps on this downhilll spiral, before she really ends up sick from not taking care of herself and eating well.Thanks for any info.


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## Guest (May 19, 2007)

I'm so sorry for your troubles - its not fair to be 81 and suffering like that - your poor mum.Well, how long is a piece of string - anti-depressants are very ideosyncratic - I had to try 3 (well 3rd time lucky) before I got any benefit. I'm on 30mg mitrazapene and they took about 6/8 weeks to work. Your mum may be lucky - some people seem to feel amazingly much better within 4 days - the young lady who I shared a room with in the psychiatric unit almost bounced back within hours - but do be patient - I should say 6/8 weeks is about typical - again, with your mum being older - this may have an inpact.Work closely with a sympathetic doctor and watch for any side-effects.I wish you and your mum all the best.Stay in touch, let us know how you get on.Sue xxxx


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## 21723 (Aug 19, 2005)

Emmab2003 said:


> If my poor Mom doesnt get help soon, I dont know what we will do.She is 81, losing weight and not eating well.We know she has more depresison than IBS, but we are treating for IBS because all her worry is on her stomach. All tests have also come out negative for more serious stuff.Does anyone know how fast a treatment with anti-depressants for this sort of thing begins to work?I dont know how much longer it will be if she keeps on this downhilll spiral, before she really ends up sick from not taking care of herself and eating well.Thanks for any info.


Why is she depressed? If it is because of the IBS I would try and address that first. Antidepressants alone usually will not help IBS and will often make it worse.


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## Emmab2003 (Apr 22, 2004)

pooman said:


> Why is she depressed? If it is because of the IBS I would try and address that first. Antidepressants alone usually will not help IBS and will often make it worse.


It's hard to explain. She is Celiac first off, so she cant just eat anything.What happened was she probably accidentally got some wheat/gluten back a year or so ago. She also ended up on this BP pill which gave her the big D. She lost weight. Then she became afraid of most foods. Celiacs can develop extra allergies to foods, so we didnt know for sure if that happened.After having every single abdominal and blood test they could find, she came out with flying colors.But now she sits and focuses on her stomach all day (every bubble, gurgle and loose stool.)We know there were some things in the family which caused depression and they really came out this past few weeks . She went back on the low low dose of Paxil just today. She really finally admitted to the depression. It's making her sick all over right now, even though her health it just fine according to every test.The doctor felt an IBS protocol and 'diagnosis' was a good way to get my Mom to take a small dose of meds. She feels like it will help my Mom all the way around, but Mom is stubborn and this was the best plan of attack we could figure out. Does that make sense? You might say Mom has that anxiety part of IBS. I have it to. She doesnt go out of the house and panic or have problems but her focus is so much on her tummy woes that she is making herself ill just by that.We'll see if this works. I sure hope it does.So, no, what came first the chicken or the egg? In this case the depression came before what we are loosely calling IBS. Also the foods that bother our stomachs when we have IBS episodes are bothering her right now.Her gastro said you normally dont lose weight with IBS, but we feel it is from not eating and from fear--that is the cause of her weight loss.


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## 21723 (Aug 19, 2005)

Unfortunately her story is way too common. I can certainly relate to her problem and understand her fears. I am 15yrs IBS-D and have recently started on Lotronex. So far I am doing very well on it and finding it has no side effects. Most antidepressants have a slew of them and may cause diarrhea. I tried about 6 different ones and they did not help my IBS or fear/anxiety. It is my belief that fear/anxiety is a normal symptom of IBS and cannot be treated unless you address the IBS first. If the individual has a history of depression/anxiety and developed IBS after it that may be another story.


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## 14989 (Aug 3, 2006)

Well, to be honest, I'm somewhat weary to believe her stomach issues are completely caused by IBS. As an 81-year-old woman, there are a number of other potential issues that may come into play.Regardless, the amount of time it takes for ADs to kick-in is, for the most part, situational. Drugs such as Zoloft can take around a month, while Elavil, could take only a few days.


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