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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Kari on September 17, 2002, at 13:05:07
Hi everyone,
My brother suffers from irritable bowel syndrome and possibly colitis. He is also somewhat depressed and has severe obsessive symptoms.
I was wondering if an SSRI might help alleviate his symptoms. Does anyone know what effect these meds have on IBS?Thanks,
Kari.
Posted by Ritch on September 17, 2002, at 13:33:03
In reply to SSRIs for IBS?, posted by Kari on September 17, 2002, at 13:05:07
> Hi everyone,
>
> My brother suffers from irritable bowel syndrome and possibly colitis. He is also somewhat depressed and has severe obsessive symptoms.
> I was wondering if an SSRI might help alleviate his symptoms. Does anyone know what effect these meds have on IBS?
>
> Thanks,
> Kari.Kari,
I've heard that they *can* help, but I think only the constipation-predominant type of IBS. I have a mild case of diarrhea-predominant IBS (with accompanying photophobia), and SSRI's definitely make it much *worse*. For "classic" IBS, I believe amitriptyline is the drug of choice,
Mitch
Posted by Eddie Sylvano on September 17, 2002, at 13:38:07
In reply to SSRIs for IBS?, posted by Kari on September 17, 2002, at 13:05:07
> I was wondering if an SSRI might help alleviate his symptoms. Does anyone know what effect these meds have on IBS?I can sympathise, having both IBS and depression. I've read that imipramine has been effective in dealing with the *pain* from IBS, and would probably alleviate some of his depressive symptoms as well. It's pretty harsh in higher dosages, though. As for SSRI's, I've been on serzone and effexor (though neither are true SSRIs), neither of which seemed to do much for my IBS.
If he's markedly obsessive, he might try Paxil.
I've also found that OTC drugs like loperamide (Immodium) can help squelch IBS, but you wouldn't want to take it daily.
I'm always trying new avenues for relief, and I'll report any sucesses to the board.
Posted by Dinah on September 17, 2002, at 15:56:35
In reply to SSRIs for IBS?, posted by Kari on September 17, 2002, at 13:05:07
Luvox made my IBS (mainly diahrrea and bloating) distinctly worse. :(
Dinah
Posted by IsoM on September 17, 2002, at 20:11:44
In reply to SSRIs for IBS?, posted by Kari on September 17, 2002, at 13:05:07
TCAs made my son's & my IBS worse due to constipation but did cut down on the pain somewhat. SSRIs made us gassy instead but I've learned to deal with that. ADs didn't really help much.
If you live in Canada, there's an excellent med for it - Dicetel, a calcium channel blocker specific for the intestinal system. Completely eliminated all symptoms. It's prophylactic ( a med you need to use all the time to stop symptoms from developing), but the great thing is after being on it for a while, the IBS seems to have gone into remission.
http://www.solvaypharmaceuticals.com/html/products/Gastroenterology/dicetel.html
Posted by jrbecker on September 18, 2002, at 13:30:17
In reply to Re: SSRIs for IBS? » Kari, posted by IsoM on September 17, 2002, at 20:11:44
I had very little problems on celexa. It seemed to have a mild constipatory effect, which was good in my case as long a I got enough fiber and ate regular meals of moderate portions. It will not induce diarrhea phases unless one is prone to binging spurts.
Posted by Kari on September 18, 2002, at 15:04:24
In reply to SSRIs for IBS?, posted by Kari on September 17, 2002, at 13:05:07
This is the end of the thread.
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