I was already on a low dose of antidepression as a sleep aid for about 2 years. It worked very well for that. I did have trouble with constipation at foirst along with a few other side effects. They weren't bad enough for me to stop, as the pills worked so well with my insomnia. After a while, a month or so, all of the side effects went away. Except now I have IBS.....hum.

what are your IBS symptoms if they're not constipation?

hey. my doc put me on anti depressants to try to help with my ibs and me talking myself into it.
i found i think they are making me constipated too.
before only suffered from Diah...

it sucks. I take softeners without laxatives every day or every other day but then sometimes they give me painful cramps and sometimes diarhea which makes me feel week but mainly the painful cramps suck. I also try to take a few psyllium capsules each day, but it just sucks never knowing how something I take is going to make it better or worse. The antidepresents have helped me so much though that it is worth it. I have to find a way to deal with this. Well, I would consider trying a different SSRI but only if I knew a little more about it to believe it would actually not make me constipated too- are they chemically different, no I don't think, and this is a chemical reaction. I don't want to go through withdrawals, it's not worth it.

stefunny , I am not sure, but I do believe any medicine can cause stomach problems. I suffer with IBS and it may be from antidepressents.

The doctors i have seen suggested anti depressants as the last resort to see if it would calm the symptoms of my IBS. I didnt like the thought of it so i havnt tried it. I feel like there should be a better amswer to things than just getting on anti depressants. So i guess there might be different types of anti depressants, or maybe doctors views are just very different. Man i wish they knew more about how to treat it!

Actually I take Paxil CR and it helps with my IBS. A lot of times they prescribe Paxil because it helps. It also just depends on what type of depression you have. Paxil may not work for you just depending on the type of depression. But it helps me.

You gota tuff it out past that initial phase of approx 4-6 weeks, of a trial, of getting used to a new anti-depressant. It is such HARD WORK, I have done it a bunch of times, but found it worth it. Zoloft really upset my stomach, even past 6 weeks.. but it was good medicine. When you go on SSRIs you have tons of seratonine receptors in your gut, so it is going to affect it too!

I know you get so dehydrated, from SSRIs, they can cause constipation or lose stools. You gota carry a water bottle with you everywhere, and drink. It is a pain, but what can you do.. I am on an SNRI now, 'cause the Zoloft stopped having an effect. They can stop working after a while and you got follow up with you MD.
Good Luck,
Gwen