Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Desipramine, Imipramine = bad times for me (long reply)

Hello! Yes, I'm primarily D and it usually hits me when I'm really anxious or stressed. I just start Buspar (anti-anxiety) on Sunday, but it takes two weeks to work. Unfortunately, yesterday I had a crazy anxiety attack that lasted 6 hours, my doc told me to go to ER. Got some Lorazapam until the Buspar starts kicking in. Sigh.

Sorry for the digression...

When I took AD (9 years ago) my doctor at the university put me on:
1. desiprimine, very low dose, I think it was 25mg a day; later I switched to imiprimine
2. donnatal (before meals)
3. lomotil (as needed)
4. peptobismol for nausea
5. Tagamet for heartburn
6. 4 pills of ibuprofen every 4-6 hours during my period
But I was never told to change my diet! And as someone with IBS I shouldn't have been told to take so much ibuprofen! And you're not supposed to mix desipramine with donnatol: severe sedative effects. As a result, I remember very little from this time--I slept a lot and or I was on the toilet. So I became very constipated and bloated and only had a bm every two weeks which would end up being severe D. It was as though my colon had just become a big holding tank and wasn't doing it's job. I still get emotional thinking about this time-period.

I got really depressed--I have no idea how I made it, other than just letting myself get angry, stubborn, and using the university research library to find more out about gastrointestinal disorders. (Oh, and my dr didn't want me to see a GI!)

Side effects from the desipramine and imipramine were bizarre: my jaw would lock whenever I yawned (how freaky is it to be unable of closing your mouth), when I had to urinate I couldn't (I'd have to sit on the toilet for half an hour waiting to pee even though I FELT THE NEED!), I would sleep for 16 hrs at a time (this might be because I took it in combo with Donnatol).

After 6-months of dealing with the side-effects of the meds, I just stopped taking the AD and donnatol (which never helped with the cramps anyway). I dumped all the pills into trash and switched from Lomotil to the much gentler Immodium. I started drinking peppermint tea with anise essence drops. I also went on the pill which helped with the D attacks I got before and during menstruation. I went on Metamucil (following dosage procedures on packaging), started to eat more well-rounded, fat-free, fiber-rich meals, and continued this throughout college. Over time my D attacks only ocurred every six months, during a particulary stressful period or after eating something I shouldn't (my weakness--Hershey's Milk Chocholate Almond Bar).

Currently, I'm managing the IBS with Heather's Diet (I wish I had know about this in college! And people like you to talk to--I had a friend who continously teased me about having a parasite) and Benefiber, which I like a lot better than Metamucil. No gas, no weird taste. I started slowly 1/4 tsp in the morning, then after a week or two, upped it to 1/4 tsp twice a day. This seems to be helping. Right now I have this debilitating anxiety, which I know is playing a role in why my digestive system seems to be acting up again.

Sorry to go on and on.

I have a tendency to talk to much, but I hope this helps. Please feel free to ask me any questions.

Edited by Maria!Maria! (04/06/08 08:35 PM)

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