Antidepressants

Some antidepressants are neuropathic painkillers so it makes sense... as long as the pain is caused from nerve dysfunction/damage

Antidepressants are there to help the mind,but sometimes at the expense of the body.
Make sure you consult your G.P  if you want to consider lowering the dose.
I speak from experience, i missed mine for a few Days and started fitting ( mildly ).
Gradual reduction needs to be done under supervision by professionals.
( Note to Mods..Am not giving Medical Advice, am Advising Caution ).

There is a good book available on managing IBS. 

Irritable bowel syndrome

Navigating your way to recovery

Arrol and Dancey

I also keep a diary (suggested in the book)

Pleased they are helping you, so tough to live with these conditions. I'm using CBD oil through the Saffire clinic and it has brought my Crohn's into remission so I would recommend it to you for sure.

I just want to stop the panic spikes that seem to trigger flares

Some types of antidepressants are also used at a lower dose as medication for chronic pain. I imagine that's probably how they would be used for Crohn's- I'm taking them myself for endometriosis and they seem fairly effective.

I use a daylight lamp as SAD is a likely contribution to things.

I'm finally drug free for my Crohn's. I do use CBD oil from a Dr at night though. Helped me sleep a lot

Just think the times when stress hits I can't control the level of bodily reaction I have so thought perhaps Prozac may help me like it did Temple

Do anti inflammatory medications not help your crohns? I doubt antidepressants would work better for your crohns than anti inflammatory meds which are designed to treat conditions like crohns. I take antidepressants at a medium dose they do help moderately with mood and cognition however they are far from having any major impact on me. They may help you though but the thing with antidepressants is that they can be quite subtle it may not seem like they are doing anything at all.

I don't have colitis, but I do have IBS and endometriosis so experience a lot of pain in the same region of the body. I'm on low-dose amitriptyline (20mg a day) for that and it seems to be pretty effective. The main side effect I've noticed is that it makes me sleepy, but that's easily managed by taking it in the evening.

I suppose you would need to weigh up your current symptoms and compare to the side effects of antidepressants. Are there any more natural remedies that you could consider? 

Do you have seasonal affective dissorder?

JT said:

When I'm depressed, which occurs in the winter months every year, my symptoms are much worse.