Antidepressants are used to treat depression, anxiety, or both by correcting imbalances in brain chemistry. For people who have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), doses much lower than those usually used to treat depression can help relieve symptoms of IBS such as pain, bloating, and feeling like you are unable to pass a stool.
They may be used to treat chronic, unremitting abdominal pain that interferes with your daily activities. Here are some examples of antidepressants used to treat IBS. Your doctor may give you one that is not in this list.
- Amitriptyline
- Bupropion (such as Wellbutrin)
- Citalopram (such as Celexa)
- Desipramine (Norpramin)
- Fluoxetine (such as Prozac)
- Imipramine (Tofranil)
- Paroxetine (Paxil)
- Sertraline (Zoloft)
- Trazodone
- Venlafaxine (Effexor)
FDA Advisories. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued:
- A warning on the antidepressant Paxil (paroxetine) and birth defects. One new study showed that women who took Paxil during their first 12 weeks of pregnancy had a slightly higher chance of having a baby with birth defects.
- An advisory on antidepressant medicines and the risk of suicide. The FDA does not recommend that people stop using these medicines. Instead, a person taking antidepressants should be watched for warning signs of suicide. This is especially important at the beginning of treatment or when the doses are changed.
