Could an antidepressant ease IBD disability and anxiety?

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Adults over 24 years old; (younger patients are excluded because antidepressants have been shown to increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in patients ≤ 24 years old.) * At least one of the following: 1. elevated psychological distress (Distress Thermometer score \> 4),10-12 2. moderate-to-severe IBD-related disability (IBD-DI score ≥ 356, 7), or 3. elevated GI-specific anxiety (Visceral Sensitivity Index \> 10) - Exclusion Criteria: * Concomitant use of antidepressants (including serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, buspirone, and thioridazine). * Initiation of psychotherapy within 8 weeks. * Inability or unwillingness to monitor ambulatory blood pressure and receive a blood pressure monitor via postal mail. * Cirrhosis with clinically evident hepatic insufficiency (Child-Pugh Class B or C) by medical record review.1 * Severe renal impairment (on dialysis; chronic kidney disease stage 4-5; acute kidney injury with glomerular filtration rate \<30 mL/minute) by medical record review of labs performed within 18 months. * Concurrent participation in another clinical trial of an investigational medicinal product. * Pregnant or lactating either by self-report or medical record review * Glaucoma * Gastroparesis * Use of medications that could lead to serious interactions with the study medication: potent CYP1A2 inhibitors, antidepressants (including serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, buspirone, thioridazine), linezolid, intravenous methylene blue, triptans, lithium, fentanyl, tramadol, meperidine, methadone, tryptophan, amphetamines, and St. John's Wort. * Bipolar, psychotic, alcohol use disorder, non-alcohol substance-induced disorders, or imminent danger to self or others