Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Antidepressants How have they worked for you?

I have always been a very emotional and sensative person. I'm 34 and that hasn't changed! Anyway, when I was around 15, I got IBS and it was terrible. Mostly pain and constipation. Treatments over 15 years ago were eat more granola and go away! Anyway, as I got older I started having panick attacks. I struggled often with depression. When I was in my early twenties, a dr put me on Prozac, my first AD. It was awful! I tried it for 6 weeks. I felt like someone had slipped LSD into my morning juice everyday! I was so shakey and paranoid. I would be driving somewhere and forget where I was going! My body didn't like it at all! So, I stopped taking it and thought I just had to suffer through life.

The next AD I tried was Wellbutrin, which was fine. I got the shakes and couldn't sleep for a few days but it went away and I felt better. It did kill my sex drive totally and after a couple of years, my dr switched me to zoloft. I was on that for years. A little over a year ago I felt it really wasn't working anymore so my dr tried me on Lexapro. I had terrible side effects at first. I was wired, shakey, couldn't sleep, paranoid and had the worst headache ever. I stuck with it and all the side effects went away. Once by body adjusted to it, I actually liked the Lexapro best of all. It didn't "cure" my IBS but I do think it helped. My mood was the best ever.

Back in February, I decided I wanted to get pregnant and wanted to stop the Lexapro. I weaned myself off and went through the same side effects. Although, this time, they didn't go away. After a month, I started to see a shrink because I could hardly get out of bed. I was crying all the time and seriously just wanted to die. I couldn't deal with anything. Most of us have experienced a bad PMS day, when hormones are raging and the world just sucks. Where everything makes you cry and your pissed off at everyone. Well, maginfy that by a 10000 and that is how I was everyday! It was awful. After doing a lot of research on AD's and pregnancy, I decided to go back on the zoloft as I have read that is one of the safests ones when you are pregnant and it isn't passed into breast milk.

I don't feel that the zoloft is as strong or whatever as the lexapro. I definately felt better on the Lexapro, which is similar to the effor that I saw some of you take. So, I will stay on the zoloft until I have a baby and I'm done breastfeeding and then I will probably switch back to the Lexapro.

Anyway, not sure if there was a point to that long post but just wanted to share my experience!

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Taking it one day at a time.....

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