Hi everyone,
i got put put on this drug for ibs and a tmj problem, but I've been in a foul mood ever since I went on thema couple of weeks ago. It seems to be helping my ibs a bit and is even making the tmj a bit easier but I feel irritable all the time. I don't know if it's making me feel drowsy or if I'm getting disrupted sleep because of it.
It's used mainly as an tricyclic antidepressant so surely this is the opposite effect it should have. I'm basically biting everyone's heads off for anything they say.
has anyone else had any experience of this drug? Is this normal?
What is TMJ?
Anti depressants cause mood changes; this is a common side effect. I would come off them slowly and try antispasmodics and painkillers instead for your IBS. Since they are only helping a bit, the side effects are outweighing the benefits. However, even if they were helping your IBS a lot, it would still not be worth taking them due to the severity of the side effects you are having. I take Buscopan and Nurofen mainly for my IBS and it manages my pain without mood swings.
Thanks for the reply pippa. I've tried those before and it hasn't done any good, which is why the doctor tried me on this. It's not a high enough dose to be used an antidepressant, it's just meant to relax things. It's one of those old school ones that they don't tend to use much for actually psychological disorders anymore. It makes you feel drunk in the mornings. I would love to find an alternative, but the off the shelf stuff doesn't work for me. It's post infection ibs.
Oh tmj, it's a jaw joint disfunction that I got from stress last year, that's all.
I had been on amitriptyline for 8 years.it lessens abdominal pain a bit but I remained emotional always.so I gave up it last year.it has also withdrawal symptoms.
I would ask your doctor for something else. There are other antidepressants that are used on low dose for IBS that may be more suitable. There are also other antispasmodics that are stronger and can be got on prescrption.Your doctor will be able to advise you.
have you tried anti spasmodics? Do they help?
oh dear. Maybe I should go try something else. I don't fancy getting withdrawal like with an ssri. They doc said they wouldn't do anything like that at 10mg. Just shows, if they've not actually had the experience of them themselves they might not always necessarily know.
Did it make any long term difference?
Anti spasmodics like Buscopan help me. There are others you can ask your doctor about. Ordinary painkillers like cocodomol and nurofen also help.
Dave,
Amitriptyline works for abdominal discomfort and abdominal pain(it only lessened my pain not cure)at its initials. After 3 months it works for depression.you can use nortriptyline safely for 3 months.After that its side effect will start.in my thought it is not a solution,not a fixation not a cure.So my advice is not to take it for long term.
Thanks for asking.
Antidepressant has nothingto do with nth.
It's because I have neuralgia in my face as a knock on effect of the tmj, which this type of drug helps with.