IBS-C Experience

[Cramps_Man]

Hi all, new to the forum and just looking for any similar experiences out there. Over the past 2-3 years i've been dealing with occasional to now more frequent constipation. When this happens i get very bad stomach cramps that come in waves over 1-2 days. Usually the pain passes with a bowel movement. But it has changed my quality of life for the negative.  I've tried alot of OTC remedies but none that was a "go to" and worked. So a few days ago my GI doc gave me a sample of Linzess which i started taking. it seems to work somewhat but noticed im getting headaches/sinusitis pain now. Reading this could be a common side effect of Linzess. Also worth mentioning is I take Cymbalta and have been tapering off it since August of 2020. I'm wondering if the taper off Cymbalta has made my constipation issues more frequent/severe. So my questions are: Anyone else experience headaches from Linzess and if so did they stop after getting used to the medication? And can tapering off Cymbalta in some way cause constipation/IBS-C to worsen?

[Jeffrey Roberts]

Hi Cramps_Man,

I have used Cymbalta before and I know it takes a long time to taper off of it. I don't recall constipation while tapering from it. If anything, I was mostly nauseated and dizzy more than anything else.

I'm not really sure about the headaches and sinus pain with Linzess. Have you asked your pharmacist or doctor about that? Linzess is something that you can easily stop using. Why not try that and see if the headaches improve?

[Cramps_Man]

12 minutes ago, Jeffrey Roberts said:

I'm not really sure about the headaches and sinus pain with Linzess. Have you asked your pharmacist or doctor about that? Linzess is something that you can easily stop using. Why not try that and see if the headaches improve?

Hi Jeffrey, thanks for the quick reply. Yes thats the plan for now... It is a known side effect based on what i've read. i just filled the Rx and hoping the headaches subside after awhile.