SSRI question

[Peanut75]

I appreciate your experiences and perspectives. So, here is another question you guys might be able to answer . My daughter began taking Prozac for her anxiety about a month ago.
We have a good psychiatrist who consults with our GI. They are pretty convinced these abdominal pains aren’t related to the Prozac. I beg to differ. Do you have any experiences with Prozac and is my feeling about the abdominal pains correlated with the Prozac out of left field?

 

[my little penguin]

While there is inflammation in the body the blood brain barrier is more open which is why more folks with inflammatory diseases have anxiety and depression
Sari take 8 weeks typically to be effective so until then you don’t know what is causing what
Add in the gut /brain axis where if you have anxiety you can get abdominal pain
And if you have crohns you get abdominal pain which can increase your anxiety

how bad is her inflammation right now ?
Is that under control ???
Tens units can stop the abdominal nerves from sending pain signals to the brain if the pain is not from inflammation
This disrupts the pattern
Same with physical therapy
Moving such as swimming /walking /biking etc especially when it hurts (provided no inflammation) stops the pain cycle

kids with crohns can get amplified pain syndrome
Which is hard to break but can be done

 

[Peanut75]

What are your thoughts if she begins to feel better between 3-7pm?
She takes the Prozac @ 5:45 pm, with food.

 

[Peanut75]

She does not like using tens unit . Inflammation continues to go down. It’s 219 now.

 

[my little penguin]

I would be hesitant to think med when her inflammation is still high
Definitely hesitant to use anything like tens for pain again since her inflammation is high
You just have to wait

if she is taking the med with food
Assuming dinner and eats a normal size dinner
Food causes abdominal cramping after eating
Especially if there is inflammation

 

[Maya142]

My daughter has been on an SSRI for many years - for anxiety and depression. She's never had stomach pain as a side effect. SSRIs are also used for IBS pain, so while it could potentially cause stomach pain, I'd guess it's more likely the inflammation. It is also common to have more pain at night simply because you're less distracted, so you focus more on the pain. My daughter has struggled with amplified pain for many years and that was one of the things we learned - she listens to audiobooks while falling asleep so that she does not focus on the pain. Some kids prefer music and others like meditation or imagery apps (isleepeasy was one recommended to us by pain management doctors at Boston Children's, though that was quite a while ago).

What meds is she on to control the IBD? You mentioned in the other thread that she is having constipation issues - those can be due to inflammation. Typically, GIs prescribe a clean-out in the kiddo is really impacted - just being constipated can be surprisingly painful.

 

[Peanut75]

Thanks for you insight.

daughter is on Remicade every 6 weeks. Good thought about the pain more significant at night.
Her next appt @ pain management @ CHLA is in a few months .
She had a clean out last week, pain is back to the high level as a week ago….