Anyone get anxiety/depression meds prescribed by their GI docs?/ or is this unheard of?
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Anxiety medication, yes, depression, no.
Sue
Sue
It depends what it is being prescribed for. Antidepressants and anxiety meds are prescribed for several other conditions; for instance, amitriptyline (Elavil) is sometimes prescribed for pain control and sleep, and for conditions such as IPS. Ativan (lorazepam) is often prescribed as a sleep aid.
That being said, a GI should not be able to formally diagnose you with depression or anxiety, nor prescribe medications specifically to treat psychological conditions. If your GI suspects you may be depressed, he or she should refer you to an appropriate specialist, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist or in some cases a GP, who can formally assess you and then make an appropriate diagnosis.
That being said, a GI should not be able to formally diagnose you with depression or anxiety, nor prescribe medications specifically to treat psychological conditions. If your GI suspects you may be depressed, he or she should refer you to an appropriate specialist, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist or in some cases a GP, who can formally assess you and then make an appropriate diagnosis.
Also, diazepam (Vallium) may be prescribed for rectal spasms.
My GI makes me get them prescribed from my GP. He has said since they are not GI related, he prefer the general practitioner prescribe them. this does not make much sense to me as they readily prescribe pain pills, but not xanax. I use this on occasion when I am having very disrupted sleep due to my jpouch function.
Yes, my GI prescribed antidepressants to me when I was going through a particularly rough time and my mom discussed it with him (I was a minor at the time). However, this was about 10 years ago.