Have you taken anti-depressants?
No, never - 38.5% - 10 votes
Yes, before my UC was diagnosed - 19.2% - 5 votes
Yes, after my UC was diagnosed - 42.3% - 11 votes
broadwind
Regular Member
Joined : Mar 2009
Posts : 24
Posted 5/7/2009 12:10 AM (GMT -6)
Up until 2002 my bowel motions were normal, then I started taking Paxil in 2002 and almost immediately my bowel motions changed. I had more gas and bloating and the stool moved quicker through my intestine. It didnt worry me too much but now i have UC I'm wondering if the anti-depressant was the original cause. Most anti-depressants are known to cause microscopic colitis. Perhaps there is a link here to full-blown UC.
My question is how many people here have taken or currently take anti-depressants?
Sara14
Veteran Member
Joined : Mar 2007
Posts : 6235
Posted 5/7/2009 1:43 PM (GMT -6)
I have never taken anti-depressants.
kops2da
Veteran Member
Joined : Jun 2008
Posts : 2865
Posted 5/7/2009 2:28 PM (GMT -6)
I take Xanax which is for anxiety and it helps everything - dealing with UC and life in general.
ElaineNY
basa0806
Veteran Member
Joined : Feb 2005
Posts : 2103
Posted 5/7/2009 2:44 PM (GMT -6)
I started taking effexor xr in October for GAD
qwerty1
Regular Member
Joined : Feb 2009
Posts : 402
Posted 5/7/2009 4:00 PM (GMT -6)
I started taking anti depressants 2 years ago (come to think of it, having read your post, my symptoms started soon after I started on them) I came off them about
6 months later. And now I'm taking Citalopram for anxiety.
fruitgirl
Veteran Member
Joined : Feb 2009
Posts : 7150
Posted 5/7/2009 4:06 PM (GMT -6)
I am on Zoloft, which I started before I was diagnosed with UC, but after my symptoms began. My primary care doc thought that my diarrhea was because of the postpartum anxiety. So even though I was diagnosed after I began using Zoloft, I know it's not what caused my UC.
dakotagirl
Veteran Member
Joined : Apr 2006
Posts : 3402
Posted 5/7/2009 6:58 PM (GMT -6)
I started taking Effexor after my diagnosis when anxiety started interfering with my life. Thinking I didn't need it anymore I tapered of off in in March '08. Big mistake. I started flaring shortly after stopping. It took months to get things under control. The anxiety also came back - enough for my husband to tell me to get back on the meds. Finally after restarting the Effexor, mu UC calmed down too.
princesa
Veteran Member
Joined : Aug 2007
Posts : 2204
Posted 5/8/2009 10:23 AM (GMT -6)
I was put on Buspar when I suffered from IBS, before my UC diagnosis. I was also on an anti-spasmodic. The two together gave me so much brain fog, I fell down the stairs at my house. After that, I got off the anti-anxiety med. I never felt like IBS was caused by anxiety. In retrospect, I think it was caused by my extremely poor diet - high in sugar and carbs - and constantly ingesting gluten and dairy, which I know now are problems for me. Several courses of broad spectrum antibiotics also contributed to the downfall of my digestive health.
Shelliesv
Regular Member
Joined : Apr 2009
Posts : 208
Posted 5/8/2009 11:10 AM (GMT -6)
I was in remission with my colitis for 4 years and the week I started taking Wellbutrin XL was when I started to flare. The GI and regular
doctor say its unrelated, but it is awfully coincidental!
subdued
Veteran Member
Joined : Dec 2008
Posts : 3231
Posted 5/8/2009 11:39 AM (GMT -6)
I take Lexapro. I started taking it about a year and a half ago. I think the fact that I had taken such a hard drug--Prednisone--made me less fearful of taking a drug like Lexapro. Lexapro has really helped with my anxiety and depression. I can't imagine going back to a life without it.
Hi Shelliesv,
It's really hard to tell sometimes whether or not something is coincidental. I started hiking in the mountains for the first time in February a few years ago. That August I got my first flare up. I got my next flare a year later, again in late August. At the time, I didn't know why I had Colitis. I thought that perhaps I was allergic to something in the mountains. I got tested for allergies and found out that I'm not allergic to anything in the mountains. BTW, I also got my third and final flare in late August. I noticed that I got it after the weather started to change. I get cold easily and my body tenses up when it is cold, making it easier for me to flare.
Shelliesv
Regular Member
Joined : Apr 2009
Posts : 208
Posted 5/9/2009 3:06 AM (GMT -6)
I wondering if the antidepressants cause anxiety and that in turn triggers the UC flare - it's a thought! Wellbutrin has been know to heighten anxiety.
jeanneac
Veteran Member
Joined : Feb 2009
Posts : 1930
Posted 5/9/2009 8:36 AM (GMT -6)
I have been taking anti depressants for about 12 years now various ones. I now take cymbalta. Wellbutrin gave me anxiety and chest pains. Zoloft gave me some anxiety too after a few years on it. Cymbalta helps me with my energy, I take a low dose. I thought I read that zoloft and proton pump inhibitors were associated with a certain type of colitis. Kind of makes ya wonder, doesn't it??? It's all too scary sometimes.