[laure1122]

I only have a month's supply of Lotronex left, so I went to my doctor (i have had IBS-D for 7 years). He recommended I take Pamine, because it has very few side effects. I also have a lot of anxiety associated with IBS. He suggested I go see a separate doctor to treat the anxiety. He said perhaps I should try Xanax. Does anyone else have these symptoms? Is anyone else on these meds? Any information would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[danik]

Xanax is a strong anti-depressent, also addictive. I am on a less potent one, Amitriptyline...side effect with it is C so it does well for my anxiety and the IBS-D.My brother was on the Xanax..short term. It did a wonderful job but just remember that it is addictive.

 

[Kathleen M.]

Xanax is generally used for anxiety not depression.K.------------------I have no financial, academic, or any other stake in any commercial product mentioned by me.My story and what worked for me in greatly easing my IBS: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/Forum17/HTML/000015.html

 

[Guest]

I took Pamine and it was not very helpful to me. I switched to Bentyl and at least it is helping a little bit more.

 

[danik]

kmottus is correct, I misquoted the use of Xanax..it is for anxiety. What I am taking is known as a tri-cyclic anti-depressent. I don't know how that compares to the newer SSRI anti-depressent. I do know that it is more like to cause C where as my doc said the SSRI's are likely to cause the opposite. Hopefully kmottus will be back on this post and can clarify how the Amitriptyline (tri-cyclic anti-depressent works exactly) I would be happy to know as well. I will say the past three weeks on it have been WONDERFUL...I pray it continues. If you are IBS-D, I would recommend asking your doc about the option.

 

[Kathleen M.]

Tricyclic antidepressants in general while they also alter serotonin levels they seem to do so less specifically than the SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and are more likely to cross react with other neurochemcical receptors than SSRI's seem to be.The greater cross reaction ability may be part of why tricyclics at doses that ease depression often have more side effects than SSRI's do. OTOH the tricyclics may be as or more effective. at least in some people, than the SSRI's for treating chronic pain conditions, although I'm not sure if anyone really knows why, and the tricyclics generally will relieve pain at doses lower than used for depression and at the lower doses they tend to have fewer side effects than they do at depression treating doses.Part of what they think antidepressants of all kinds (and while one may be better for something than another in a population, each individual reacts differently so what works for you in particular may not match someone else. This is true both for treating depression and treating chronic pain syndromes) is that there are gateways in the neuropathways that transmitt pain sensations to your brain. The antidepressants may be closing these gateways or making it so the threshold for opening the gateways is higher. Usually you don't feel every stimulus that triggers a nerve, Some level of stimulation has to be reached before the signal gets sent up to the brain. If you can alter the threshold or block the transmission at some point then the brain doesn't get the signal and thus it can't send the signal up to your concious mind so you will be aware of it.K.------------------I have no financial, academic, or any other stake in any commercial product mentioned by me.My story and what worked for me in greatly easing my IBS: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/Forum17/HTML/000015.html

 

[laure1122]

Thanks for all this information....keep it coming! I will let you know what I decide to take and if it works for me.

 

[Guest]

I posted earlier about Pamine. It is the only thing that worked for me. From what my doctor has told me, Pamine does not cross the blood brain barrier Bentyl does. This means you most likely won't get tired, dizzy, or blurred vision from Pamine. My doctor also told me that the Navy uses Pamine because of the lack of side effects, and if its good enough for them...

 

[laure1122]

Nick,how often do you take it? The instructions say before every meal, but my doc said only use it when I get sick....but isn't it preventitive if I take it before I get sick?

 

[Guest]

My doc told me to take Pamine like a half hour before each meal, and I never get sick any more. Even when I have fried foods ie KFC!! Sometimes I will get stomach pain even if I don't eat, the Pamine takes like 20 minutes to set in when I am in the middle of an attack.