Posted by cpallen79 on July 21, 2004, at 20:39:16
In reply to Re: nortriptyline + celexa (+ trazodone?) for ocd ibs, posted by yeltom on July 19, 2004, at 21:29:26
Howdy! In answer to your question, not a doc, jsut a man obsessed with feelin good, so I tend to watch otu for side effects of meds (even my PDOC is impressed- at least i think LOL). I have IBS D these days- used to get plugged up to all hell as a kid, now its painful cramping which can easily induce panic in me. I've noticed that since I started Trazodone that I feel more cramping and pain... then again I have a very active imagination, hence I wouldn't be surprised if it was just me. I've foudn ssris can be helpful, and have considered a tiny dab of a tca as well, who knows though. I'll keep you posted on what I do.
Cheers
Chris
> What sort of IBS do you have? In what way does trazodone make it worse? I've tried levsin and robinul, but they have their own annoying side effects, so I figured if I'm going to have to deal with side effects, I might as well take something that fits in with my psychiatric goals. Hence the tricyclic idea. Thanks
>
> > Hello, I also have been blessed with IBS... what a fun thing. I'm wondering if perhaps another SSRI might help instead of the Celexa... One you may want to watch otu for is Zoloft as it tends to aggravate IBS, at least initially.
> > Something wierd I noticed is that trazodone seems to aggravate my IBS a bit, but I enjoy that it helps me sleep, hence I keep it in my arsenal. Maybe try another SSRi for gut regulation instead of Celexa. Another option is an antispasmodic like Bentyl or Levsin
> > Best,
> > Chris
> >
> >
> > > Nortriptyline is not as powerful a sleep aid as trazodone and has a much longer half life, such that you are probably going to be feeling more of the effects the next day--my reference shows a half life of 18-44 hours for nortriptyline and only 4-9 hours for trazodone. I also found nortriptyline to induce constipation, this at higher dosages than what you are taking, however (50 to 75 mg/day). This is not an uncommon side effect of tricyclic antidepressants, even ones that are low in anticholinergic effects as nortriptyline is.
> > >
> > > The trazodone isn't actually a med that you can become dependent upon like a benzodiazepine sleep aid (Halcion, for instance), but it may be that with all that's going on, you need something as powerful as trazodone to get you to sleep. I know very little about IBS, but from what I can gather, I think the reasoning to use nortriptyline in this situation was sound. Unfortunately, even with good planning, things often don't work out as one hopes in endeavors where there is a psychiatric component. All I can suggest is to reconvene with your doctor(s).
> > >
> > > I am ignorant in this area, but is there any chance the Celexa could be part of the IBS? I ask because of a friend of mine takes Paxil and suffers from this, but he has a multitude of other problems that may be factors also.
> > >
> > > Todd
> >
> >
>
>
poster:cpallen79
thread:367805
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040719/msgs/368773.html