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Hi. I too feel that the starting to take Lexapro about 3 months ago has really helped me. It was the delicious icing on the cake b/c I felt that I was already on the road to stability with Heather's diet/acacia/hypno, etc.. Then I started the Lexapro b/c I could not keep my anxiety at bay and I was still having a few attacks. Since then, I am having problems with gas and bloating but no d, and I hear you...awesome to not have those cramps/painful spasms with bms and REPEATEDLY like I used to  . Thank goodness I have not been keeled over on the couch except for a few bad gas episodes but I am so much more confident going out. I too worry about getting used to the drug. I told my doc originally that I was apprehensive to start it b/c if it worked I'd want to stay on it forever. What does your doc say about staying on Elavil forever? I imagine that's what you would like to do, right?
I also think though that being on this site and being aware of our diets, stress, etc. helps along with the meds...kind of like the combo of meds and cognitive therapy. This board is my cognitive therapy!  So glad to hear that you're feeling well and finding joy in your life. I hope others can find success like we have. (By the way, I have gained weight too but I didn't want to!)
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Originally IBS-D for a million years!
Then IBS-A, Now a transformed slightly C
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Lisa,
I am not a Pennsylvania native. I was living there because my husband was investigating a problem on the assemby line of one of the factories there. We lived there for less than a year. We did a lot of sight seeing during that time. Heck, we lived within 10 minutes of two National parks. Pennsylvania is just so beautiful to me because I love hills and trees. I now live in Indiana where there is not enough of either  but it's still an OK place to live.
I went sightseeing in Philly once and at the end of the day, I realized I did not have enough money to get my car out of the parking garage! All the banks were closed and I was stranded with my 2 year old son. A museum employee saw me crying outside on a park bench and he gave me $10 and told me to get home safely. I have always thought a lot of PA for that reason too. People were friendly there.
I hope you get to take that trip this summer. the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon is up there too. Very nice.
Laura
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Yes, I explained to my doc that I want to be on the Elavil forever. His response was only that he has patients that have been on it for a few years that had great success with it. He couldn't tell me if I'd become tolerant of it. I'm hoping that I don't because it would certainly be a tease if I feel better for a year or so and then go back to my old IBS ways . I'd imagine then maybe he'd prescribe some other type of antidepressant at a low dose that helps with IBS. Who knows! I just hope from this point on in my life that I never have to feel like I had for 20 years! The last few have been the worst. I think my hormones just started getting wacky from getting older and somehow this drug helped put them in line? I really was at the point that I would do whatever it took since IBS really started dictating my life and it never had in the past. I was able to cope with it and it seemed like recently I just couldn't cope and keep on top of it by being positive.
Are you on the Lexapro for IBS or for anxiety? Is that a AD or anxiety med? Apparently Elavil is a AD and is used also for the treatment of migraines. It does something to the seratonin in your brain to tell your gut to slow down? I think that's how he explained it to me for the use in IBS patient's. Well whatever it's doing to my brain is working and that's all that matters. I do have to get used to though being slightly C. It does get frustrating sometimes cause that too is uncomfortable but honestly, it seems much more bareable than D 
Take care and I'm glad that you are feeling well too! It's nice to read other "well" stories.
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~~~Lisa~~~
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I used to live in Sandy Lake, PA. I loved it, too. I miss all the open space we had.
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***********************
If you're not dead, you've still got time.
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Hmmmmmm.....you got a good impression from Philly? Interesting because it isn't known to be the best of towns. Don't get me wrong it just like your typical city and does have some neat old buildings/houses and of course the "Liberty Bell" but some parts of Philly are just downright bad! Like near Temple University. Not a good area. Guns and violence. My 12 year old son has some infactuation with Temple and claims he wants to go there for college and I just cringe when he says that. I say, how bout a nice Catholic College in Allentown just close to our house I have 6 or 7 years to change his mind 
I have a friend who lived in Indiana but did end up moving back to PA where her family is. My neighbor is also from Indiana. I wanna say South Bend? Is that a place there? It's funny how you use other words for things. Like "pop" for what we call soda here and you call sneakers "tennis shoes".  I think she refers to bags as "sacks". We laugh and tell her that only santa has a sack. Each state though has their own form of slang words. It's interesting to hear them though. It's funny though because she says that PA reminds her a lot of Indiana as far as where she came from. She said it's not too much different. I think you get much more snow than we get which is fine by me! I HATE snow and winter with a passion!
I'll have to check into the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. I didn't know it was even there!
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~~~Lisa~~~
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Sandy Lake? Where is that near? So you went from PA to California? What a difference in culture, climate and everything!!!!! I would think PA would be boring compared to CA?
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~~~Lisa~~~
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Sandy Lake is way up in NW PA. It's a little town, which last I checked, still only had about 900 people in it. It pulls up on Yahoo Maps. I've lived in Alabama, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, California, and Oregon.
Big change in culture and climate in all the places I've been. I like SoCal the most, but you really can't get much space to yourself down there unless you go inland. And then it's just hot. 
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If you're not dead, you've still got time.
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Hi Lisa, so glad you feel better on Elavil!
I just wanted to throw in my experience from Elavil, so everyone is aware that there can be side effects. I was prescribed Elavil after being diagnosed with Fibro, since it's an AD that is often prescribed for sleeping problems (I hadn't slept for 5 days at that time). The doctor pointed out that it would have the positive side effect of helping my IBS as well. Anyhow, I was on it for a couple months, and it did its job -- I was able to sleep for the first time in ages. But that is where the positives end. I can honestly say I HATE elavil. It ruined my life for the next two years. I gained 30 pounds in one month (!!), and my metabolism got so out of wack that I was eating everything in sight. I felt like I had lost control, and even though I quit taking the Elavil, my metabolism was seriously screwed up for a VERY long time. I went from being a thin, active girl, to a 30 lb heavier seriously depressed person within ONE month. The worst part was feeling like I had lost control. I could not be alone in the house for 5 minutes without raiding the kitchen. I would eat and eat and eat, everything in sight, even if it wasn't mine! Long story short, I developed an eating disorder, on top of all the other problems. I would venture to say Elavil had serious long term psychological effects on me, long after I stopped taking it.
About that same time (this was summer 2005), another active board member (Ruchie) had the same response to Elavil. She gained alot of weight within the first month or so as well, and couldn't get it off.
Granted, it doesn't affect everyone this way. But there are quite a few of us it does. Google elavil and weight gain, and you'll get quite a few hits. According to this site, Elavil causes a general weight gain of 1-9 lbs in a month, but a minority of patients gain 30-45 lbs in 2 to 6 months. I was the unlucky minority, unfortunately.
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Heather
"Quod me Nutrit me Destruit"
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Wow! Sorry you had such a rough time. But thanks for pointing out the possible side effects. It's important everyone knows as much as they can about any medicine they plan on taking.
Can I ask how many mg you were taking a day? I've been taking 10 mg at bedtime for a year with minimal to no side effects, but I think I remember Ruchie saying she experienced her side effects even at this low dose.
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About 12 years ago, when I was first diagnosed with IBS, I was put on a different tricyclic AD. Desipramine and then imiprimine, at 25 mg twice a day, with my doctor at the time thinking it would help with IBS and help me gain some weight. Well, that dose was way too high for me and taking it along with Donnatal was a big mistake. I always felt heavily sedated, either I was like a zombie or I'd sleep an entire day at a time; the AD caused my jaw to lock and I experienced "difficulty urinating." (It was very difficult to start peeing! I sat on the toilet once for fifteen minutes or so just trying to go. Scary!) My IBS symptoms didn't improve and I didn't gain weight. I actually lost some weight during that time. That was a horrible experience for me and for years I refused to take any medication, other than the BC pill.
So, recently, when my current doctor recommended Elavil to help me sleep, manage pain from lupus and IBS symptoms, I wasn't too happy. But she started me at 5 mg and after a month increased it to 10 mg. Fortunately, that's been working for me, but if I were to become tolerant to it I'm not sure I'd want to increase the dose.
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