Can certain meds cause flare-ups?

 

Hola,

I was diagnosed with IBS when I started going through the menopause..we were stationed in Spain and I thought it was the water or the food that was causing the pain and misery. They did a  lot of testing and IBS was the verdict.  Through the years I have learned to manage this disease pretty well in spite of some flare ups that have been pretty nasty.

about 6 months ago I went to a cardiologist for a check up for my heart since I was born with a congential heart defect that was corrected when I was a teenager but left me with high blood pressure. My BP meds were not working as well as they should so he changed my meds and now I am on three different meds.  They are working fantastic on my BP but they do give me gas....the thing that really messed me up was the meds for cholesteral...I think.  He put me on Zetia, which works in the gut....well, I took it of two months and then man, I had a horrible flare up, which I attributed to the Zetia.  I was miserable on a trip that was supposed to be a fun one...to LA to visit my youngest son...it was not a good trip...I had stomach pain and gas the whole time.

When I got back home I decided to take myself off the Zetia to see if my flare up would ease up and it seems to be working.  Its only been a week since I stopped this med and I feel much better.  The doctor also put me on Pravachol but I will not take it  until I completey get over this flare up.  By the way my cholesteral is not that bad but the doctor wants it to be perfect!!

Has anyone every reacted med like this  I did?  Just wondering ...my husband kept telling me that it wasn't  the meds but I just knew that anything that works in the gut was bound to mess me up.

Would appreciate any info on this.

Texasbrat~~

Hey, Thanks for the info about cholesterol drugs. Actually since I went off the Zetia I have been feeling much better. I think that my IBS flare up is going away gradually. The BP meds do give me gas but its tolerable so I am not that concerned about them...the one that really put me over the edge was that Zetia. I had been taking the BP meds for four months without an IBS flareup but when I added the Zetia ...thats when all the trouble started.

I totally agree with you about living past mid-life and having your quality of life compromised by drugs. Life is to be enjoyed, food is to be enjoyed and it sucks when your gut is in turmoil.......

Thanks for replying...It helps to have this type of forum so we can exchange info like this. When I got this condition I was overseas and couldn't talk to anyone about it...after all talking about your gut is not the best topic of conversation. We lived in Spain and I used to get a lot of food posioning so I thought but it was IBS flare ups I later realized.

Texasbrat