Advice Needed
#340974 - 01/18/09 07:47 PM
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Janey
Reged: 10/25/03
Posts: 1716
Loc: Maryland
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I suffer from IBS-D, anxiety,migraines and I have trouble sleeping. About a year ago my doc put me on Elavil mainly because of my weekly, very painful migraines and for my other issues. I took Elavil for 3 months and honestly I felt the best I have felt in years. My headaches were few and far between, I was sleeping, very little anxiety and my IBS symptoms were almost gone.
I stopped taking Elavil because I gained 10 pounds in 3 months with no sign of stopping. I was already 10 pounds over weight and another 10 added to that was very upsetting for me. I was worried that I would keep gaining and gaining.
Since then I have been on other medication but nothing I have taken has helped all of my problems like Elavil. I am thinking of going back on Elavil but am worried about the weight gain. I was taking 25 mg a day and thought I would talk to my doc about starting at a lower dose and see if that helps.
I'm just not sure what price to pay for feeling good. One of my main IBS symptoms is nausea and I am tired of feeling sick to my stomach every single day. But, do I want to take the chance of gaining weight again?
Any advice or past experience would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
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Janey
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Hi, Janey -
One dr. I saw recommended Elavil when I was having the same symptoms as you. Having worked in the medical and mental health field, I can tell you it is generally considered a good medication for all these symptoms and it also has the plus of being an older med - that's been tried and proven.
I still am considering it - mainly due to the dyspepsia and nausea I have - especially in the AM. The drs. and pharmacists have said it's OK to take it even though I take Xanax, I have a "chicken little" mentality - due to my past experiences with drug reactions! :-)
I wonder if it's the drug that causes the weight gain - or if, like me, you just feel better and therefore, can actually eat so i.e. the weight gain. I know when I'm feeling good I tend to eat everything that isnt tied down!  - like an idiot because I know I'm going to pay for it later. 
I tend to favor the older, tried and proven drugs like this....
I'd say go for it and then if it causes your symptoms to subside and you eat and gain weight - deal with it then...
Trying to control weight is easier than worrying about every bite you put in your mouth.
Blessings! Dorothy
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"I Will Survive! :-)... I shall live and not die and declare the works of The Lord..."
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GaGa
#341004 - 01/19/09 10:25 AM
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Janey
Reged: 10/25/03
Posts: 1716
Loc: Maryland
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Thank you for your reply. Sometimes it helps to get another persons opinion especially when ones own mind is so full of thoughts about the subject that it is difficult to keep everything straight.
Elavil is known for causing weight gain because it makes you crave sweets. I have a problem craving sweets without medication. I also agree that my stomach felt better and I could finally eat without feeling sick so I probably ate more.
Maybe if I go into this knowing what I know I can watch what I eat and I can exercise more. It is possible that I can get control of the weight gain right from the beginning.
Again, thanks for your advice. I'm going to make an appt. to talk with my doc.
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Janey
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Re: Hi Janey
#341022 - 01/19/09 02:15 PM
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michele
Reged: 06/02/03
Posts: 6886
Loc: southeastern michigan
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I'm sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. Yes, elavil does tend to make one crave sweets and as you mentioned, your tummy feels better so you probably do eat more. I would suggest trying it again, maybe at a lower dose first to see if it helps and if not go back up to the 25mg dose that did help. I have a horrible sweet tooth myself and they are hard to resist but just know that you will have to limit them. If the drug makes you feel better overall, maybe you could try and exercise a bit more as well to try and combat the weight gain.
Being overweight is frustrating, depressing and generally not good for ones self esteem to say the least. I urge you to try and weigh the benefits of feeling better to being a little overweight. When I got sick, I weighed 125 pounds. After years of steroids, talk about a weight gaining drug, the inability to exercise because I was so ill, yadda, yadda, you know the story, I'm at my heaviest. I have gained 65 pounds in all. Yes, I feel fat and yearn for my old body however, through the years, I have also learned that there is so much more than being a size 6.
I have had to make some very hard choices about some very serious drugs and to me, it always comes down to quality of life. Is the drug in question going to improve my day to day life? Everything has side effects, I'm on several black box warning drugs but I choose to have as much life now as I can. I would rather be fat than in pain. Only you, my friend, can answer weather an extra 20 or even 30 pounds is worth feeling better! Don't you think your friends and family would rather have a slightly rounder AND HAPPIER Janey, than a skinny and sick Janey?  Love and hugs
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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I agree with michele.When my sisters compalin or my mom about there weight I say at least you can eat and not have to worry about food and what you can and can't eat. I say that you know now what they medicine does to you know you can just watch your weight and try to get it at a happy medium for you.hth
emmasmom
ibs-c ags
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Re: Migraines
#341030 - 01/19/09 04:10 PM
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Toady
Reged: 04/06/06
Posts: 1299
Loc: A small city, Northwestern Ontario, Canada
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Unfortunately I can't help on the Evalin matter as I'm not familiar with it.
But what about your migraines - do you know what your triggers are? Mine are stress and dehydration. The stress is inevitable, but the dehydration I can prevent for the most part. I was advised that 8 - 8oz glasses of liquid is not enough for me to stay hydrated. I need more like 12 to 16 glasses. So I drink a lot more than "average". Water, peppermint and herbal teas and fruit juices. I also found that chiropractic and massage therapy has improved my health so much so that my daily to weekly migraines that used to last hours to 8 or 9 days have been dramatically diminished to 1 migraine about every 23 - 25 days for a couple of hours. I have 1 other piece of ammunition in my arsenal - Maxalt. It's a rizatriptan and for me it works amazingly well. I have only have a few migraines that hung on for days in the past 1.5 years I've been doing the chiro, massage and Maxalt. That is compared to having one every second day to every week before as well.
I sure hope whatever decision you make works for you.
And if it were me and the choice was to feel good and weigh 10 lbs more or to suffer, sleep and not have anxiety attacks, I'd take the pills!!
Good luck - HUGS!!
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Cassandra
Live like there's no tomorrow. Love like you've never loved before.
IBS A 20+ years, Chronic Migraines, Chiari Malformation (decompressed June 22, 2010), Brachial Neuritis, and ??? the list just keeps growing, but I'm still shiny side up! 
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