[bguy]

Well I decided to join the forum today. A little about myself, I'm a 24 yr old male residing in Canada who has been suffering with IBS-C for around 5 years and desperately need help before this disease becomes the death of me...I've been do the family doctor around 20 times regarding this condition, so much so he's reluctant to see me anymore, as I'm trying desperately to ease this damn condition of mine. I've tried various medications to no avail, including Buscopan (muscle relaxant), Dicetol and briefly an SSRI. I didn't give the SSRI a fair shot, as I was actually scared to start taking it in the first place. After a few days of use I experienced bad stomach aches and discontinued. The family doctor ended up sending me to a specialist, who ran a bunch of tests, including endoscopy and barium swallow, both did not yield anything. As far as they know I also don't have any blockages, as they've x-rayed a few times. The last visit to the doctor resulted in him strongly urging a I try and stick to zoloft to see if this would help. I'm strongly thinking about trying the med, although I am fairly against SSRIs and know that some of the side effects can be ugly. He's prescribed a small dose of 25mg/day and says he doesn't want to increase it, as the goal is to subdue the pay and decrease the feeling of being bloated 24/7. Has anyone tried zoloft for their symptoms of IBS-C? Lately I feel as though my intestines are so tight, I can't even pass gas and I just feel like hell. I go to the bathroom daily, due to a fiber supplement I take before bed, but BMs are inconsistent and the feeling of lack of full evacuation flairs up the IBS right away again. I feel extremely uncomfortable all day (bloated, pains, etc) and it's really affecting my personal and professional life, as I'm VERY edgy lately and it's all due to the IBS. I feel as though I'm going crazy and have no patience for people anymore. This isn't who I am and it kills me to see what this disease has done to my overall demeanor. I frequently snap at people and family at home and just feel completely high strung.ANY suggestions are extremely appreciated. I've been reading around, but haven't found much in regards to the effectiveness of Zoloft on IBS-C. I need to find someone to help me with this soon, as it's completely ruining me.

 

[nowandthen]

Well, the moderator of this board talks about Zoloft and how it can help with IBS.I have anxiety as well as IBS and have been on almost all of the antidepressants exceptZoloft. I want to try it, but the Lexapro is working well for me so my doctor doesn't want me to change. Anyway, that's a pretty low dosage of Zoloft so I think it's wortha try. Antidepressants can have side effects but they increase as you go higher. Theyhave helped me immensely over the years. You may want to switch to a fiber that causes less bloating. If you read up, you'll findthat Benefiber and Citrucel cause less bloating than Metamucil. I don't know what to suggest about pain because I don't have that, but I think theZoloft may help you with that.

 

[bguy]

Could you please confirm what sort of relief you experienced on the Lexapro?My pain is more of a severe discomfort (feeling extremely uncomfortable in my own skin, avoiding social activities in the evenings, etc), although I'm an average weight (170lbs) and in relatively good shape. I've self medicated over the years with alcohol, which I need to kick eventually, because it ends up worsening my mental state and depression from IBS.

 

[nowandthen]

I have an anxiety/depression disorder so I need the medication.It helps me tremendously. The Lexapro lifts me out of my cloudof depression so that I'm not so negative all the time. I feelmore optimistic. It helps the anxiety so I don't worry all thetime. I'm also taking a small amount of Buspar for the anxiety.It sounds like you may have social anxiety disorder. Because Lexapro is a newer drug, it has fewer side effects thanthe others. I've had fewer side effects with Lexapro than I didwith Prozac or Effexor.When I get off antidepressants, I feel every little ache and painso it does help me physically too. That's why antidepressants areoften used to help people with fibromyalgia (especially Cymbalta).