I've been trying to find any reported connection between Trintellix and the development of gastropariesis or other diseases related to the effect of the nervous system on the stomach/intestines. (Symptoms of gastropariesis include many things also described as side effects of Trintellix, but that doesn't prove a cause, so reporting is difficult.*) But I'd like to know if any doctors/researchers have looked into whether the unique way Trintellix works on the nervous system might be a *possible* explanation for a more serious effect than that of some other antidepressants (which affect the gut for only a few days).

I toughed it out about 2 years on Trintellix despite daily nausea, frequent vomiting, etc. for 4 hours every morning. ( For me, taking it at night = hard to sleep.)

Previously I'd had nausea and diarrhea the first 3 days of starting zoloft, which disappeared after 3 days. So I put up with Trintellix b/c it was working well, hoping the side effects would disappear. After about 2 years they disappeared for just a very short time, 1.5 months. Then returned, and over the next 2+ years I developed even more serious symptoms-- symptoms that are both listed as possible side effects of Trintellix (at drug dot com) AND listed as symptoms of gastropariesis (at mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gastroparesis/symptoms-causes/syc-20355787) and other gut diseases. My GP had no information on Trintellix.

I decided to stop the Trintellix 9 months ago , but very concerning gut symptoms still remain, and I recently needed an endoscope and CT scan. Now I'm just hoping to find a psychiatrist knowledgeable enough to suggest a different antidepressant.

My belief is that it would be very important to let patients know about any reports of even possible connections between Trintellix's effects on the nerves in the stomach/intestine and a long-term alteration of how the gut works. Since it can be life-changing when the gut stops working well, it's not enough to only view problems as separate side effects in a list, that usually go away, which is what I did.

Mental health affects everything in one's life, so I understand that a psychiatric view ("How are you today/this week/this month?" and "Have your side effects been reported to be a probable connection to the med?") could assess patient concerns about a med. But that focus deals only with the short term. Dismissing side effects cannot be a one-size-fit-all decision, because long term damage to the gut has huge effect on mental health. ( In my experience, a psychiatrist in Portland was quick to dismiss all side effects as unconnected. But he later admitted being poorly informed and, I later learned, even had past state sanctions from 2 other states before moving here.)

I'm not at all arguing against long term use of antidepressants. I'm not alarmist. BUT again, long term effects on the gut can have huge effect on mental health. And perhaps some antidepressants are safe short term, but not long term.

Anyway, I'm hoping that reporters or med info systems like mayoclinic or johns hopkins or harvard, could look into the question of Trintellex's possible effects on nerves in the digestive system. For me it seemed to work well for "brain communication" but mess up the necessary communication in my digestive system. I hope that can be restored.

* I expect the company, and the current medical system used to fairly associate the probability of a side effect's connection to a drug, will not ID a definite link, because there are too many unknowns re gastro symptoms. However, a medical reporter could examine the question.

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