Zoloft a problem?

tired of it all · Post by **tired of it all** » Sat May 07, 2011 11:58 am

Hi everyone- It's been awhile since I've been on here but here I am again. Does anyone here take Zoloft? I have been on it for over 10 years & just read an article that it can possibly be linked to MC. Interesting & will be calling my MD. on Mon. Thanks- Karen

natythingycolbery · Post by **natythingycolbery** » Sat May 07, 2011 12:17 pm

Hey, there is definatley a link between SSRI's like Zoloft and MC.

I was on Zoloft last year, six weeks after i started taking it, my MC symptoms started, one week after I stopped taking it, my MC symptoms went away.

Post by **tex** » Sat May 07, 2011 12:32 pm

Hi Karen,

Yes, unfortunately that topic comes up fairly often here, (as a search of the archives will show). As Katy says, the SSRIs have triggered many a case of MC, over the years, and many GI docs either are, or pretend to be, unaware of the connection.

For some people, just discontinuing the use of the drug will bring remission. For others, though, especially if they have been symptomatic for many years, food sensitivities may develop, requiring diet changes in order to bring and maintain remission.

I hope that you're one of the lucky ones, and stopping the use of the drug will be all that's necessary to bring an end to your symptoms.

Tex

tired of it all · Post by **tired of it all** » Sat May 07, 2011 4:17 pm

Ah- ha!!! Thank you both Penquin & Tex. I'm trying to remember exactly when I started to have these GI problems. I started the Zoloft in 2000 & I do remember having some difficulties around 2001. It's definately worth a try to get off of the med, since it probably isn't doing anything now anyway. Will have to go off slowly for sure. Thanks again & HOPEFULLY it will help! I have already started the dairy-gluten free diet, so now if this med can be done away with, that would be wonderful!

Karen I will also read the archives.

natythingycolbery · Post by **natythingycolbery** » Sat May 07, 2011 5:45 pm

Karen, I was also told if i needed to go onto any form of Anti-depressents to go onto the ones that are in the Tricyclic family. Might be worth you mentioning this.

I was taken off the anti-depressent within the week i was diagnosed with MC as it was deemed a worse health risk to keep me on them and remove me slowly, maybe they will do this for you as well. I dunno though.

ps who is penquin?

tired of it all · Post by **tired of it all** » Sat May 07, 2011 7:31 pm

Actually, I was thinking that your name for some reason was penguin!!!

Sorry about that!

I can't take anything in the Tricyclic family. Years ago I was on Imipramine & was a nervous wreck. Made my heart skip , etc. Way too many things to deal with, so went to the SSRI's. I may have to be switched to something else though. I'll have to talk to my MD about it all. Thanks though for your info. Karen

hoosier1 · Post by **hoosier1** » Sun May 08, 2011 4:36 pm

I was also on Zoloft for a few years about ten years ago... I recall when I started it how violent the D was. Then I was taken off of it, then put back on it, and the violent D recurred.

maestraz · Post by **maestraz** » Sun May 08, 2011 8:22 pm

My doc and I decided to have me wean off of Celexa to see if it would help. I started it last winter. My GI system started getting cranky soon after, and I had the big flare in Jan. Am hopeful about this. BUT, I think the big trigger was in 2008 when I took Chantix to stop smoking. I had my first ever attack of terrible D then. Stopped the drug, the D stopped. But I now believe that the reaction to that drug, not necessarily the drug itself, set me on the road to the LC diagnosis.

Post by **tex** » Sun May 08, 2011 8:57 pm

Suze,

You are probably correct. I don't know if you are aware of this, but nicotine is rather strongly protective of ulcerative colitis and somewhat protective of microscopic colitis. Smoking does not appear to be protective of Crohn's disease, but it seems to play a role in determining the area of the intestine that is affected by the disease. Smokers are much more likely to have Crohn's disease in the small intestine, whereas non-smokers are more likely to have Crohn's involvement in their colon.

Unfortunately, stopping a long-term smoking habit is a somewhat common trigger for MC, and several members can trace the likely origin of their MC back to that effect. The Chantix certainly might have added to the risk. Together with the Celexa, these circumstances may have added up to a possible triple whammy. Still, it's certainly possible that discontinuing the Celexa might bring remission. Let's hope so, anyway.

Tex

TooManyHats · Post by **TooManyHats** » Mon May 09, 2011 7:57 am

I took Paxil several years ago and terrible diarrhea from it. The doctor simply would not believe that it had caused the diarreha. I took myself off the drug rather abruptly, and the diarrhea resolved. I've never attempted another antidepressant.

Mags · Post by **Mags** » Mon May 09, 2011 11:01 am

Just a word of caution from someone with MH issues: all antidepressants are not SSRI's. Only SSRI's, as Tex correctly said, are linked to MC. Wellbutrin, trycyclic antidepressants, and other, newer drugs should be considered.

I just felt a little "nervous" that this thread seemed to have become a little "anti" antidepressant. For many of us, there is no other option, and we have to weigh the benefits against the risks. At least one person on this forum stopped their antidepressant med out of fear of the effect on MC and ended up in a very fragile emotional state.

Stress is also a huge MC trigger, and stopping a med without a physician's advice can be dangerous and counterproductive. If you are on a SSRI drug, like Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, or Prozac, consider reducing the dosage with your physician's help, and replacing it with a different med that does not cause MC problems.

For full disclosure purposes, I still take Zoloft, as it is the only thing that works for me. I have tried several different meds, and ended up with terrible side effects. For some reason, it does not seem to aggravate my MC.

Love,

Mags

AnnieF · Post by **AnnieF** » Fri May 13, 2011 1:15 pm

Tired of it all,

Has your doctor weened you off the Zoloft yet or did you talk to him about the link to MC? That would be great if your MC went away after stopping Zoloft. I guess, it can be tricky depending on how much you depend on the Zoloft. Have you ever tried purest colloids silver as a supplement to treat your MC?

showstopa · Post by **showstopa** » Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:31 pm

Yes, I have MC now & spent years on Zoloft!

Skyward · Post by **Skyward** » Tue Nov 25, 2014 7:38 am

I've been searching the archives and am bumping up this very old thread from 2011.

My question is in regards to smoking, and quitting smoking. I saw elsewhere in a poll a question about what you think may have caused your MC and "quitting smoking" was one of the choices.

I smoke currently and was pretty sure that smoking may have been involved in part in causing my problem (because smoking is never good for us right?) and because the timing of when I started smoking again (as a self medicating stress reliever) coincided generally with when my health really began to downspiral.

The old chicken or egg... was it the stress alone causing both the smoking and the healthprobs? or was it more of a linear effect- stress> smoking> IBD

Or am I comparing chickens to apples and this whole process was laid out long before- decades before- and it was going to chug along to where it is inevitable regardless of the stress or the smoking? I'm not actually expecting anyone to answer that for me- I'm just musing aloud.

For people who experienced problems from quitting smoking- Maestraz said that they took Chiantix to help stop smoking. How many people who made the link between quitting and IBD problems also took chiantix? Is that tie being overlooked? maybe it has nothing to do with smoking at all and it's the chiantix that's the problem!

Right in that same time frame before I got really sick- I took Zoloft for a very short period. I was pregnant and nearly suicidal and that was the drug my Dr. said was safest during pregnancy. I have struggled with depression on and off my whole life- but that was the first time I ever was medicated for it with a prescription drug. When I went off the zoloft I tapered off gradually but experienced pretty bad withdrawn reactions with brain zaps. I did not have any outward digestive problems expressing themselves at that time- perhaps due to the fact that I was pregnant. Only after the baby was born did digestive things go downhill very fast- and my tobaccoo use also increased.

So when I look at actual symptoms overlayed with my tobacco use- they overlap pretty clearly- but there are so many confounding factors- the correlation does not = causation.

Newly diagnosed with CC and having just found this community- I'm overwhelemed with the dietary restrictions I'm learning about- trying to wrap my head around how I can do this for myself and still be a mom to a large family who also has to eat.

As of today I'm focusing on the histamine reductions- and I learned that smoking is histamine releasing.

Of course I would like to stop smoking and the more focused I allow myself to become about my health and develop a will to live- the more repugnant the habit is. But I am concerned about the added stress that quitting in the near future may cause right at this time when I am already feeling panicked and deprived about all the dietary changes and my gut is still in a very delicate troubled situation not having had time for diet changes to have had any effect and I'm concerned about the reports of quitting smoking causing an increase in problems.

Post by **tex** » Tue Nov 25, 2014 11:39 am

Sarah wrote:I smoke currently and was pretty sure that smoking may have been involved in part in causing my problem (because smoking is never good for us right?) and because the timing of when I started smoking again (as a self medicating stress reliever) coincided generally with when my health really began to downspiral.

The old chicken or egg... was it the stress alone causing both the smoking and the healthprobs? or was it more of a linear effect- stress> smoking> IBD

Sometimes it seems as though almost anything and everything can trigger MC in certain situations. But it's not very likely that smoking caused your MC or is exacerbating it. According to published medical research, not only does quitting smoking often trigger MC, but nicotine is actually a legitimate treatment for ulcerative colitis. In fact, one can get a prescription for nicotine patches in various strengths (nicotine content) if one wishes to treat UC with nicotine, and the patches are quite effective at controlling UC in some cases.

Unfortunately, while withdrawing from the use of nicotine can trigger MC, using it seems to be mostly ineffective at treating Crohn's or MC, in most cases. The reason why discontinuing smoking often triggers MC is of course due to the state of chronic stress imposed on the body by the withdrawal from nicotine. According to my theory of the etiology of MC, chronic stress is a necessary ingredient. The stress can be in the form of physical, chemical, or mental stress (either conscious of subconscious), or any combination of those forms. But IMO, stress is always a major player in the development of MC, and relieving and/or avoiding stress is almost always very helpful (and in some cases, necessary) for resolving symptoms.

While stopping smoking is certainly an honorable goal, most members here find it advantageous to get their MC into remission before tackling the challenge of quitting a long-term smoking habit.

Tex