IBS Medications

What IBS medication can help you manage the most pressing symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)?

To help relieve constipation, your doctor may suggest taking fiber supplements such as psyllium (Metamucil) or methylcellulose (Citrucel) with fluids.

To manage diarrhea, there are over-the-counter medications such as loperamide (Imodium). If you need relief from bowel spasms, you may need drugs that affect the nervous system (anticholinergics). These drugs require continuing communication with your doctor. Long term unsupervised use may lead to unwanted side-effects.

To manage pain and depression, your doctor may recommend a tricyclic antidepressant or a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). These medications help relieve depression as well as inhibit the activity of neurons that control the intestines. For diarrhea and abdominal pain, your doctor may suggest tricyclic antidepressants such as imipramine (Tofranil) and amitriptyline (Elavil). However, side effects of these drugs include drowsiness and constipation.

Your doctor might call on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem) or paroxetine (Paxil) if you're depressed and have pain and constipation. If these medications don't work, it may be wise to try counseling. If your IBS is intense, it's important to keep consulting your physician.

For women with severe IBS, who haven’t responded to other treatments, doctors can recommend Alosetron (Lotronex). This drug has a number of restrictions. It’s not approved for use by men or women who don’t have the diarrhea-predominant form of IBS.

For women who have IBS with constipation, doctors can recommend tegaserod (Zelnorm). It's approved only for short-term use in women, and has not been approved for use in men.

Peppermint oil and certain other aromatic oils (carminatives) can relax muscles and relieve pain caused by cramps in some patients.

--AD

Sources

• http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/CVMHighLight?file=/mrkshared/mmanual/section3/chapter32/32a.jsp%3Fregion%3Dmerckcom&word=IBS&domain=www.merck.com#hl_anchor
• http://www.aboutibs.org/Publications/Pharma.html