ibs

[nicola123456789]

Hi all,
Just wanted to share my ibs story in case it helps anyone else.

For years i've had ibs type symptoms incl
v noisy stomach,
left side abdo pain,
constipation
bloating
feeling like my colon is blocked
feeling unwell and run down.
in addition to these
i had a sciatica pain, stiff hip joints,
After trying merbevine, buscopan having blood tests etc, no help, i asked my doctor about antidepressants as i'd heard they can help.
I started taking citalopram and i felt the difference immediately. They take a while to get used to but they've changed my life. All of the above gone!

Thank you for this post. I have virtually the same symptoms but am IBS-mixed so can swing between constipation and diarrhoea and something in between! I also have awful upper issues with indigestion, acid, burping and nausea. I’ve had all the tests and they’ve come back clear but these symptoms completely control my life, I hate them. I’ve tried all the ibs meds, cbt, hypnotherapy, cut things out of my diet, tried the low fodmap diet 4 times. Nothing helps.
I have had a box of Citalopram in the cupboard since December but too scared to take them in case they make my symptoms worse, give me awful headaches or cause loads of weight gain etc.
Now looking at your post I am wondering if I should try them.
I am scared to though as I’ve never taken antidepressants before.

Hi Imahogg,
I was a little over excited when i posted this. In reality i haven't been taking them long myself. It does make sense to me though that my brain to gut signals have become disfunctional. My brain seems to have become over sensitive to the workings of my gut so the normal functioning of it has become heightened and i feel every movement/ noise/ pain that most people wouldn't notice. Does this make sense to you? I am still coming to terms with the drugs, still feeling a little disconnected hopefully this will pass soon. I take 10mg a day so not much. If you can take some time off to get used to them that might be a good idea. I was at a real low with my ibs, utterly fed up with it. I want to start travelling when covid allows so i want to get the ibs under control. I'm hoping to get to a better place with it now. PS i am also taking mebervine and buscopan as well which might be helping in combination when they did nothing without the citalopram, though some people say they can take a month to work??

@nicola123456789 do you know if you had IBS-D or IBS-C?