Medication question

[always scared]

I was wondering who on here is on any antidepressants? I've been put on Escitalopram

My question is do you guys take any acid reflux medication with them. Im worried about the interaction . Pharmacist says its ok but everything I've read says its not

[nomorepanic]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your issue.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

Please also read this post:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=213239

[always scared]

so where did you move it to

[nomorepanic]

The correct forum for Escitalopram

[panic_down_under]

My question is do you guys take any acid reflux medication with them. Im worried about the interaction . Pharmacist says its ok but everything I've read says its not

Which reflux med are you taking?

[always scared]

Which reflux med are you taking?

omeprazole or nexium

[panic_down_under]

omeprazole or nexium

Both may slow the rate at which escitalopram is metabolised and so may increase blood levels of the SSRI. It could be an issue if you were taking the maximum recommended 20mg, but I see you've only just started taking it so I assume you're on <=10mg in which case the combination won't make much difference beyond maybe increasing the severity of the initial escitalopram side-effects a little.

There is a chance that once it kicks-in escitalopram may reduce GI issues enough that you won't need to take the PPIs.

[AntsyVee]

There is a chance that once it kicks-in escitalopram may reduce GI issues enough that you won't need to take the PPIs.

That's exactly what happened to me. Once my anxiety got under control, I didn't have acid issues anymore. I take 20 mg escitalopram daily.

[always scared]

The side effects are horrible!!!!! I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack . I'm so not liking this drug. I'm on day 4 and this is supposed to last 2 weeks and beyond :scared15:
It just made all my main symptoms of stomach issues and acid reflux 110% worse.
So for weeks I've been terrified I have cancer from all these stomach and back pains and now I go on a drug to help with my HA and i'm even more scared than before if that's even possible :weep:

So I don't even know what to think anymore. And to make matter even worse I got my period 7 days early so I'm having pain all over. I need Advil and I need Nexium and I'm so scared to take them. I feel so hopeless and I'm really scared I'm losing this battle . The Cancer fears in my head right now have gone into overdrive. I can't tell anymore what cancer is causing all my symptoms. There's just to many different symptoms :weep::scared11::madness:

[panic_down_under]

The side effects are horrible!!!!! I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack . I'm so not liking this drug. I'm on day 4 and this is supposed to last 2 weeks and beyond :scared15:

Please contact your doctor and explain that your anxiety levels have become severe. This is quite common and there are ways of reducing the anxiety. While antidepressants can make things worse at the beginning, they make life much easier once they kick-in.


It just made all my main symptoms of stomach issues and acid reflux 110% worse.

Unfortunately, these are common initial side-effects. The enteric nervous system (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/23/health/23gut.html), the mini brain that controls the gut is by far the biggest maker and user of serotonin, about 95% of the body's output compared to less than 2% for the brain. Serotonergic antidepressants may affect its functions for a while which can cause side-effects such as heartburn, diarrhoea or constipation, nausea, etc. Again, tell your doctor about this so the symptoms can be treated.


The Cancer fears in my head right now have gone into overdrive. I can't tell anymore what cancer is causing all my symptoms. There's just to many different symptoms :weep::scared11::madness:

There are no cancers. Just anxiety. Your doctor should be able to help you with this.

[always scared]

Thank you Panic Down Under

[always scared]

I'm trying real hard not to freak out here but I'm really scared.

I am having a lot of stomach issues still and am totally terrified it's colon cancer.

Time line of medication I've been on.
January 6, I started Clindamycin for a toothache and I was under extreme stress with family issues

January 16 I started 10 mg of Lexapro

It is now February 2nd and I'm still having horrible stomach problems. Lots of gas with pains on both sides and flank pain and lower back pain. Very noisy stomach. Stools are all over the place but mostly loose and thin and small. Also my acid reflux is bad again. I've never had these kinds of pains before and they're really scaring me.

panic_down_under (https://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/member.php?78556-panic_down_under) Any helpful words of assurance

[AntsyVee]

I read your other thread. It’s anxiety/stress related IBS. We all have bowel issues when under extreme duress.

[panic_down_under]

January 16 I started 10 mg of Lexapro

It is now February 2nd and I'm still having horrible stomach problems. Lots of gas with pains on both sides and flank pain and lower back pain. Very noisy stomach. Stools are all over the place but mostly loose and thin and small. Also my acid reflux is bad again. I've never had these kinds of pains before and they're really scaring me.

At 2.5 weeks in your symptoms are most likely escitalopram side-effects, perhaps raised a little by the proton pump inhibitors and your anxious state. Stomach cancer is the least likely cause of all the possibilities. The symptoms can be reduced, or eliminated by readily available remedies. Talk to your GP, or pharmacist about loperamide for diarrhoea and hyoscine butylbromide for stomach pains. Paracetamol, aka acetaminophen, should help with other pains.

[always scared]

My doctor put me up to 20mg. I so scared to take it today. I don't want to get anymore side effects. She also wants me to take clonazepam starting today as well.

I'm still getting a lot of GI issues and muscle pains mostly in my back. I'm starting to think it's not from the medication and its something else.

She also mentioned I should go get a ECG. This kinda put me in a panic. Why do I need one???

[panic_down_under]

My doctor put me up to 20mg. I so scared to take it today. I don't want to get anymore side effects. She also wants me to take clonazepam starting today as well.

At least take the clonazepam and see whether that alleviates not only anxiety, but some of the side-effects.


I'm still getting a lot of GI issues and muscle pains mostly in my back. I'm starting to think it's not from the medication and its something else.

They are almost certainly from escitalopram because of the serotonergic nature of the gut as I posted earlier in this thread.


She also mentioned I should go get a ECG. This kinda put me in a panic. Why do I need one???

Probably just a precaution to get a baseline reading. At high doses, higher than what you're taking, escitalopram may affect the heart's electrical system, though there is *some controversy about whether escitalopram and citalopram really have a significant affect. That isn't unique to escitalopram. A large number of medications including, ironically, many heart meds may have this affect. It is really only significant if you have an existing heart condition, or are on several other meds which may do the same.


* firstly, some recent studies have raised doubts about how accurately modern ECG/EKG machines calculate QTc suggesting some algorithms such as Bazett's formula don't adequately correct for variations in factors such as bpm rates (see: Sano M (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25229724), 2014; Barbey JT (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25944685), 2015; Vandenberk B (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27317349), 2016; Patel PJ (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26552754), 2016).


A second issue is that relatively small increases in QTc interval are raising concerns when the danger is in fact very low. For example, the FDA imposed dose restrictions on citalopram (Celexa®) and escitalopram (Lexapro®) even though the data suggest the increase doesn't appear to be clinically significant. To quote from van Haelst IMM (http://www.psychiatrist.com/_layouts/PPP.Psych.Controls/ArticleViewer.ashx?ArticleURL=/JCP/article/Pages/2014/v75n01/v75n0103.aspx), 2013:


In a thorough QT/QTc study of citalopram, a mean change in QTc interval of 8.5 milliseconds was found for 20 mg per day and 18.5 milliseconds for 60 mg per day. On the basis of these findings, the FDA stated that citalopram should no longer be prescribed at doses of greater than 40 mg per day and that the maximum citalopram dose is 20 mg per day in elderly patients.12 (http://www.fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/ucm297391.htm) However, there is still no consensus whether an increase in QTc of this magnitude (< 20 milliseconds) for a dosage of 60 mg is clinically relevant.4 (http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/bcp.12040), 28 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2011.12.002) The guidelines of the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products (CMPC) suggest that individual changes of QTc interval length need to be at least between 30 and 60 milliseconds from baseline to raise concern for potential risk of drug-induced arrhythmias.23-PDF (http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/03/briefing/pubs/cpmp.pdf) Another commonly accepted threshold for a clinically significant drug-induced change in QTc length is even higher, with an increase = 60 milliseconds.28 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2011.12.002), 30 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1744-859X-4-1).