Sertraline & the bowels!

Treatment and medication
1

Can anyone offer any advice?

I've been prescribed sertraline & managed about 2 weeks on 25mg dose, now moving up to the full 50mg dose. I was wondering if anyone knew if the affect it has on loosening bowels fades as you go on taking them? The problem is that I just can't physically deal with that as a side-effect, as I'm 4 and a bit years in remission from bowel cancer, part of the treatment being about 23cm of my bowel being taken out. If I knew it might fade then I'd carry on, however I'm aware that loosening of bowels is something that is common with SSRIs and ADs in general.

2

Hi Mark...Poor you...It usually does stop after a little while.I would try and persevere,although perhaps you may be super sensitive to that side effect because of your surgery.I would like to think your G P is savvy and hopefully he prescribed this medication because you would be O K with it.All the best to you Mark and keep us posted.Sally

3

hi mark,

yes it is, i've heard alot of people on here reporting they have struggled and still are with that. just to put your mind at ease, i have a terribly sensetive stomache to almost anything, but i've had probably 3-4 episodes of having to make a dash to the toilet during the whole time on sertraline, i've been on it a year now and it does fade yes.  hope you are feeling better soon and take care :-)

 

4

I have been off Sertraline for 13 months.  I still have loose bowels and tummy cramps most mornings, having to make a bee line to the wash room. 

Everyone responds to meds differently, and I had a great sensitivity.

5

Hi Mark

As I have been on Lustral for quite a long number of years, cannot remember if loose bowels were an early side affect which then settled.  What I will say is that Lustral has the least side effects of any of the anti-depressants, so stick with until you have been on 50mg for at least six weeks is my advice.

ronnie

6

Hi Mark,

I am sorry but I really cannot help, but wanted to offer my support.  Sertraline is my favorite antidepressant because I have virtually experience no side affects with it.  

Wish you the best and understand how difficult it must be to deal with what you are dealing with and why.

Dawn

7

Hi, I had the opposite affect from taking 50mg sertraline and was always constipated. However, my friend who was on Prozac suffered loose bowels and had to go to the toilet after eating.

This hasn't changed for her and she's still the same. I believe this to be quite unusual though as its supposed to be the body adapting to the drug as passes eventually.

I hope you feel some improvement over the next month.

8

Hi mark..

This did happen time for the first 6 or so weeks but definitely went away . I have now been on them for almost 4 months and no longer have any side effects at all just feeling good ...stick with it and hopefully you will look back on this when you are feeling better.

Nat smile

9

Thanks for all the replies! 

I'm now on 50mg dose and though my trips to the toilet are more frequent, I think I'm coping OK. 

Mentally it's working, so I'm hoping the looser bowels will pass. However, in my first post what I didn't mention is that I took Sertraline about 14 months ago & found it instantly very beneficial but had to stop taking it after 4 months due to the looseness of my bowels. Which in itself caused a great deal of anxiety about whether they would return to normal! As I'm sure part of the contributing worries to my anxiety/depression weren't helped by concerns about my own continence post cancer treatment.

I flagged up to the Doctor that I thought Sertraline  was causing my bowel problems & 2 GPs both stated that the Sertraline couldn't be causing the problem! I was shocked (& confused!). Also one of the (Senior!) doctors just suggested I stop taking it immediately if I wanted to, no tapering off! 

Anyway, I tapered off properly & the Doc started me on Prozac. By this point I was feeling a lot better than when initially prescribed and when the Prozac started making me feel absolutely awful, tired & depressed (not to mention wiping out my libido) I just stopped taking that. Really I should have continued on an AD, but I didn't. 

This time, I chose to try Sertraline again as I knew it worked mentally, and I knew I'd have to keep an eye on the side effects. 

It is frustrating though, I'm desperately keen for the Doctor to take a bit more interest in finding me the appropriate SSRI.

At the moment, it IS affecting my bowels, but I'm on the line with it really, if it gets any worse I'll have to consider stopping.

Since I posted this thread, I have noticed a lot of posts about Sertraline & it's digestive effects, someone even stating that it's the worst of the SSRIs for causing diarrhea. What's interesting is that we tend  to think of Seratonin as a brain thing, but actually I've read that up to 95% of the seratonin in the body is created in the bowel. In fact the whole gut is the Enteric Nervous system and really functions as a second brain! SSRIs are also used to treat IBS