anyone take antidepressants for IBS? any luck?

[Matthew007]

I'm dealing with anxiety (big time..) had a panic attack at a christmas work party but my biggest problem is my IBS.  I've tried all the different fibers and when I get a bad case of IBS-C I used ground up flax seed...

but now anxiety/depression is getting me too so I'm scheduled to see a doctor in a few weeks but was just wondering if any of you had any luck with antidepressants with your IBS? :S

Thanks

Matthew

[Matthew007]

thanks for the reply you guys (AndrewGut/MattyTaylor)

Yeah I gave up on doctors (probably a bad idea) and have been doing trial and error with different fibers and solutions for IBS-C but I'm still hating life with my anxiety issues which make my gut just go bezerk...

but thanks i'll look into peppermint, not sure if that's fructose free or not but I'll look into it, my diet is pretty limited - I finally caved in and made a doctor appointment for the 6th of Feb. next month and hopefully I'll try some SSRI or something to help bring up some seretonin levels... it's worth a shot but thanks for the advice you 2.

[AndrewGut]

wow same here. My anxiety also triggered my IBS. it was awful! When I'm about to have a huge flare up (for me, that's diarrhea), I consume peppermint and it stops it in its tracks. Have you tried it?

[MattyTaylor]

I take 15mg Lexapro for my anxiety, was diagnosed with PI IBS in November. It helps me out some, definitely helps keep me calmer during flare ups. I think going gluten free has helped me out the most though. I think you just gotta find the right medication/diet that works for you though, which just comes down to trail and error on what foods you eat. I think finding something to help with your anxiety is a good idea though, because like everyone has said, anxiety and ibs go hand in hand.

[Matthew007]

Thanks for the reply tschock - yeah from the research I'm looking at it seems worth a shot to try...I'm reading from others that it seems to go together.

my problem is - I'm worried about getting sick in public (IBS) wise which leads to anxiety..and then IBS goes bezerk... and it goes super downhill after that...

so yeah I think it's worth a shot I guess - thanks for your time :)

[tschock]

Sometimes the pills do help, as depression/anxiety and IBS go hand in hand.
They say that one causes the other...either way you look at it.