Medication for depression

[Jereme]

Anyone know of any antidepressants that go good with IC. Is it true that SSRI meds make it worse. I haven't been officially diagnosed but have taken Lexapro on two different occassions and I know that made my bladder worse. I also tried Wellbutrin one time and I spent a whole day and night going to the bathroom every 15 minutes or so. I'm not sure if the Wellbutrin issue was a one time deal or not since I'm afraid to retry it. I have read some good things about Cymbalta. Any ideas?

[SharonA]

I think it would be a good idea for you to talk with your doctor about this. They are the ones who are trained to decide what medications you should take.

I hope that you and your doctor can find something that will help you.

[leelee88]

I had good results with Cymbalta. But like Sharon said this is something only you and your Dr can decide to find out what is best for you..

[ltlmiss]

Cymbalta and Trazadone are not only helping my depression, but they have relieved my pain 100%!!!!! No pain meds for me!!!!

[lisabar36]

Hi, I had Paxil cr and I had alot of retention. I am going to start cymbalta soon but I haven't yet. I would talk to your doctor and see what one they think is best. :)

[Jereme]

Thanks for the information. It sounds like Cymbalta may be worth a try for me. At this point I think I'm going to try to manage without medications.

[jamie1]

Hi Jereme -

I am in the same boat. I need a med for PMDD. I am like an axe murderer the last 10 days of the month, and I am SICK of it! So my gyn tried: Lexapro, Prozac, and Effexor. They all put me into HORRIBLE flares. 2 nites ago I was up til 430 am trying to pee every 10 minutes. I wonder if I can't do an SSRI. Is Cymbalta an SSRI? I have a RX for Zoloft, just not sure I should try it. Maybe I need to look for something out of the SSRI category. Any suggestions? I put an email in to my urologist this morning, but sometimes you all know more than they do -

thanks for ANYTHING you all can offer me - Jamie

[Jereme]

I think that we are all so different. I have read all over these boards about antidepressants and interactions with IC. Some people say that SSRI meds help with the symptoms and others say that they flare symptoms. I really don't know. I know that Cymbalta is a SNRI and not an SSRI so it is in a different class of medications. Also some women on this board do well with Wellbutrin. I also know that Remeron is in it's own class and then we have the tricyclics which were used in the past for depression but are not used as much. A lot of people on here are on Elavil, but there are others such as Pamelor and Desipramine. I know I did pretty well on Desipramine and Ultram, but currently am not taking anything. I am so happy that I found this site as I altered my diet and I'm feeling very good. I, however, am scared about the whole antidepressant thing since I fear that those medications may make my condition worse. I think the best advise I saw on these boards is to use a bladder diary to track how your symptoms are going and then when you introduce a new medicine you can see how that affects things. Perhaps a flare wasn't from the medicine, it could be from stress or diet or something else. I'm certainly no expert on this disease but from what I do know it is very individualized and complicated. Good luck finding something that works for you. Don't give up as there are lots of options out there. You just haven't found the right one yet.

[lisabar36]

Hi, I started Cymbalta 8 days ago, I have not had any problems. Paxil CR caused me bladder pain and retention, Cymbalta is not causing any of that. I have no bladder pain and no retention. Its only been 8 days, I take it with milk and I do fine, I was a little nauseous one day and then the next I took it with some milk and was fine but my docs assured me the nausea goes away in a few weeks.
Jaime1, I don't know how Zoloft would work for you but I have heard it causes flares. We are all so different though. I am really sensitive to meds so I was very happy I did not flare or have retention with Cymbalta.
I also take a low dose Elavil at night still, but the doctors all told me to stay on that cause its a low dose.

[Wolfe]

Gosh, over 18 years I've tried Cymbalta, Lexapro, Remeron, Wellbutrin, Trazadone, you name it. I guess I'm just one of those for whom antidepressants cause flares.

I'm always good the first week or so, but eventually I flare. If I skip a dose just once, the pain goes away, so I know it's the antidepressants. I kept a diary for most of 2007. It's amazing to me now how many I tried and weaned off of in just a year.

There HAS to be someone out there who knows of an antidepressant ICers can take! I called my doc today and asked about the possibility of a medical consult with a psychiatrist, that perhaps he/she would know more about body chemistry and pharmaceuticals. I'd LOVE to hear from anyone whose doc has addressed the IC/Depression problem and has found a solution!

[Jereme]

perhaps those who have problems with the modern antidepressant medication will need to rely more on cognitive behavior therapy techniques. Right now I'm doing great with therapy as well as using the cognitive behavioral therapy techniques that I learned in therapy. I also have started to practice mindfulness meditation. Research shows that CBT as well as minfulness based meditation can signficantly improve anxiety and depression. Many times as good as medication.

[lisabar36]

I had a major problem with Paxil CR but I am on Cymbalta and I have no problems at all. I am almost done my 3rd week and I have no retention at all. No flares or bladder pain from Cymbalta. I think its really trial and error with alot of these meds. :) Lisa

[Wolfe]

I suppose I should have added that I also have Fibro, and for those of us with Fibro, the depression is a lack of serotonin in the brain. So SSRIs are the perfect answer if the bladder will tolerate it.

I've done the therapy and meditation, which I think help a lot with handling chronic illness. But I sure need something for the chemical imbalance. My doc has me starting this weekend on Abilify, which has been used for bipolar disorder, and is currently being used in small doses to support antidepressants. Well, I can't take the antidepressant, but we'll see if the Abilify does anything by itself. I sure hope it's the answer, because there are a lot of ICers out there who could use this break!

[Jereme]

Good luck with the Abilify. I hope it works for you. I also read that Lamictal can help with depression. Lamictal is a antiepileptic drug used in bipolar and it apparently has a lot of antidepressant qualities. Are you now working with your regular doctor or are you working with a psychiatrist?

[Sharon]

I am also looking for something I can take for anxiety. I tried Lexapro because my doctor said she has some other patients on it with IC. My IC is considered severe, and she claimed they were worse than me, and could tolerate it. Less than one week on Lexapro and the pain was terrible.

After I got off of Lexapro, I researched Lexapro and found that some people who do not even have IC, are complaining of IC like bladder problems after being on Lexapro. They are commenting about going to the doctor to figure out why they feel like they have to go all the time, and they don't have an infection. They say the doctor tells them, they don't know.

Yes, I know there are many who can tolerate Lexapro but one of Lexapro side effects listed is irritation to the stomach and intestine lining, is it that far of a jump to think it may also bother the bladder lining?

It would be interesting to know if those people without IC who's bladder were irritated by Lexapro, have healed. Or are they now having IC symptoms.

[lisabar36]

Hi, I have heard of Lexapro causing urinary symptoms. I would not take it for that reason. My new psych doc even said Lexapro and paxil are out of the question with IC. So even he knew about it. But my uro did not know about it. I think with psych docs thats all they do, so they hear about the side effects often enough to know, in some cases that is. My daughter took Lexapro for a very short time and she had ALOT of urinary and stomach issues with it. But really its all in the individual I say cause I can take Cymbalta with no retention and no bladder issues and some can't, so its all in how our bodies respond. My psych md said he has not heard of cymbalta causing retention, but of course that doesn't mean those of us with IC it won't.

[Penny24]

Hi, I have been on Paxil CR for a week. I went off Elavil for retention. I take valium at night but only get 4-5hrs sleep. any advice on any other meds?????? thanks

[lisabar36]

Hi Penny, how are you doing on Paxil CR? I had major retention with it. It started about the 3rd week as I upped my dose to 25mg.

[Penny24]

hey, I am on my 2nd week of the Paxil CR. only 12.5 mgs so it is hard to tell. I don't have much of an appetite though. what do you take for your pelvic floor? I need a muscle relaxer or something to help me sleep. the elavil made me retain and my hair fall out! ugh!

[Wolfe]

Penny, I hope you are sleeping by now!

I don't know that a muscle relaxer would help you sleep unless your waking-up problem is muscular, but Skelaxin is good one. It doesn't make me sleepy but really helps with the muscle spasms of Fibro.

Have you tried Ambien CR for sleep? I sleep at least 6 hours a night on that.

To answer Jereme's question, the Abilify was given to me by my GP. I don't see the psychiatrist until 6/25. I may have to stop taking it though; my blood pressure is up a bit, and that's the only thing I've been doing different.

Interesting about the Lexapro. I think there is a soft tissue connection. My uro explained that the reason so many of us also have IBS and Endometriosis is because lack of sleep results in lack of soft tissue repair at night. So if Lexapro irritates one lining, it makes sense that it would irritate another.

[lisabar36]

Hi Penny, I don't take a muscle relaxer, so I am not sure whats good. I did end up going off Cymbalta to because of retention. How is the paxil cr working for you?