Anti depressant interference with IBS. Can anyone help?

[Zoe99]

Hi over the past year I have changed from flouroxatine to sertaline - day and mirtazapine - night. But when having an IBS attack they make it 10 times worse. In chronic pain desperation I have stopped the anti depressants. I know that it is dangerous to do this but I'm not getting any from help/knowlege from my doctor as to what anti depressant is suitable with IBS. Can anyone help through their own experiences? Ps I don't think the sertraline was working anyway.

[mvillarreal]

Hi there! How long were you on sertraline? I also have IBS, and when I first started taking it, I would have really bad IBS attacks, but after about 3 weeks, it finally went away as my body got used to the medicine. If it's something that's been way longer than that (and especially if you don't feel like sertraline was working for you), I don't have professional knowledge to give you, but I would consider switching doctors. What do you mean when you say your doctor won't give you help/knowledge? Do you tell them about this issue, and they just ignore your concerns. If that's the case, definitely switch doctors. That's about power (is it a male doctor? That might especially be a telltale sign, as male doctors often tend to assume that you're just being dramatic or making things up if you're a woman), and it's NEVER okay.

[Zoe99 in reply to mvillarreal]

Hi thank you for your reply. It's a female doctor and she doesn't have any IBS experience. Been on it for a few months with no ease so just can't handle the pain of anti depressant anymore. I also inject vit b12 myself and doctor has no clue about vit b12 deficiency but from what I gather many doctors don't know how to manage b12 deficiency in the correct way.

[mvillarreal in reply to Zoe99]

Oh. I see. Well, have you asked your doctor about getting off sertraline and seeing about trying something else?