# too many imodium



## petra (Feb 2, 2009)

Hi-this is my first post. Had IBS-D for 20+yrs-it has been relentless. Recently saw a GI specialist as I was concerned imodium was no longer working. Had been taking 8-10 per day and was keen to try something else. 20yrs ago was given asacol, questran but didn't think it helped as much as the imodium so they were stopped. Not keen to have another colonoscopy as still remember the trauma involved so was told to just increase imodium further which I have done-now 12-16. Still wondering whether I would be better off trying lomotil but don't want to go back just to be told that I can't have this. Not taking anxiety meds at the moment but feel that I might benefit-get the occasional panic attack and life can be pretty miserable at times. Have tried amytriptylline in the past but it just made me a complete zombie. More recently tried very small dose of seroxat but didn't notice any difference-maybe I need a bigger dose but then the side effects are diarrhoea. Any advice would be welcome.


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## Guest (Apr 9, 2009)

So Sorry to hear about your IBS-D being so hard on you.I've had my IBS-D for a good 20 years also.I have tried Lomotil and it works Ok , but I find I get better relief with IMODIUM.On days when my "D" is BAD , I take 2 or 3 tablets. As a last resort , I take 4.But , it plugs me up quite badly and I won't be able to go for 2 to 3 days , then it's right back to watery D.Wow , you sure take a high dose of Imodium. 8 to 16 tablets daily is ALOT*If I took that much , I would get very ill because I wouldn't go for afew weeks.I hope you can find something that works. Be carefull if you take that much. It could have disasterous results.


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## degrassi (Jun 10, 2003)

I used to take 6-8 Imodium when my IBS-D was at its worst, I now take 2-3. If 12-16 isn't controlling your D then you need to look into a different anti D med, Imodium obviously isn't working for you. Go back to your doc and ask to try a different anti D med, there are a couple to try. I can't see why the doc wouldn't give you something else to try is the Imodium isn't working.


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## scottaustralia (Apr 8, 2009)

Try dothep 75mg daily. It has worked wonders for me, to the point I only have "D" once per week maybe even 1.5 weeks.


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## keycat (Apr 6, 2009)

I'm sorry that you've having such problems with IBS-D. I can relate. I must say, though, that over eight years of IBS (since I was eleven years old!) the most Imodium I've ever had to take is 4 tablets. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the packaging warns not take more than 4 tablets in 24 hours (I'm guessing because so many Imodium would give a person with a normal GI system extreme constipation; obviously this is not the case for you). It sounds as though you might have developed a tolerance to Imodium. I would recommend that you ask your doctor if that's possible. If it is, you might want to try going on a different anti-D drug until your body becomes accustomed to being without Imodium. In any case, I think it's important that you ask your doctor about all the options you have for anti-D medication. If he won't give you the medication you need, I'd try seeing another doctor for a second opinion. I would also recommend trying anti-anxiety medication and therapy, if you haven't already. Both have helped me immensely.


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## petra (Feb 2, 2009)

thanks for your replies. I am taking this many on the advice of local IBS expert. This consultant said people with ? short bowel syndrome take 4 imodium at a time. Since increasing the dose Ive had a bit more pain but it does seem to be controlling the D fairly well. Urgency has always been my main worry which then leads to anxiety. Should have mentioned that I do take calcium too. How does anti anxiety medicine reduce D?


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## scottaustralia (Apr 8, 2009)

because believe it or not most people who have IBS have massive anxiety too


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## petra (Feb 2, 2009)

Scottasustralia-believe me I know it only too well and it has had a huge impact on my life. I live in fear of "what if" on a daily basis. Has impacted on just about every aspect of my life for last 20years. I just wondered if you knew exactly how the anti anxiety meds work on the gut-that would help me decide on which one to ask for. Have lost faith in the medical profession a bit/lot. Amytriptylline made me crash the car -complete zombie and seroxat has side effects of diarrhoea so need to be sure I'm not making things worse for myself if I try this route again.


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## keycat (Apr 6, 2009)

For me, D has always been very closely linked to anxiety. When I get anxious, I have to go. When I have to go, I get more anxious, leading to a cycle of anxiety and D that becomes very difficult to stop. Since I've started taking Effexor XR, I've felt less anxious and accordingly my IBS symptoms have improved. As for exactly how this works - I know that there are neurons in your intestine, which are able to send and receive signals just like the neurons in your brain do. Your intestines can sense your stress and cause a physical reaction that causes diarrhea. Anxiety is not the cause of IBS, but it exacerbates it for many people for this reason.Effexor XR is a very popular medicine among sufferers of IBS and anxiety. While it is commonly used in the treatment of anxiety, Effexor is also an anti-depressant. I believe this is because both depression and anxiety are caused by wonky serotonin levels in the brain. The neurons in your intestines also work using serotonin, so it's possible that Effexor works to balance the serotonin levels in your "gut brain" as well. I'm not positive that I'm explaining this correctly. You can check out this article: (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/503569_4) if you want; it's about the use of drugs like Effexor, which control serotonin levels, to treat IBS and why it works.


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## scottaustralia (Apr 8, 2009)

Only take Anti D meds at night before you go to sleep it works much better that way, and your not bombed out of your brain during the day.Dothep sorted my problems out.


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## Thai (Aug 22, 2007)

Scott,"Bombed out of your brain during the day"??I'm sorry............are you saying here that Immodium has a drowsy side effect for you?I've never heard of this.Thai


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Some antidiarrheals do have some ability to get into the CNS, but Imodium usually doesn't at any sort of meaningful dose.Lomotil is more likely than Imodium to cause loopiness or drowsiness. Some of the older anti-diarrheals that are made of opium can also make you pretty loopy as those have all the CNS effects. Lomotil has most of that knocked out and Imodium has close to all of the ability to get to the CNS removed from it (although there is a case report of an opiate addict that was taking 160 pills at a time and was able to get high and needed methadone to get off them)That being said, some people are unusually sensitive to certain side effects from certain drugs, or even have paradoxical reactions.So the Dothep didn't make you drowsy at all? Usually all the tricyclic antidepressants like that are prescribed to be taken at bedtime because they make a pretty large percentage of people who take them drowsy, especially the first week or so you take them. They tend to cross react with the histamine receptors in the brain and that turns off the "stay awake" signal. Most people compensate for that effect after a week or two, but some people can't take any of the tricyclics because of the drowsy issue.


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## scottaustralia (Apr 8, 2009)

anit depressant meds i meant sorry


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Oh, that makes more sense.Around here D always goes with Diarrhea, so it wasn't clear.







With antidepressants it does depend on the class. Tricyclics like you are taking usually make people drowsy, as I noted. Some of the SSRI's can make people feel more awake, so for those people they need to take the SSRI type medications in the morning.


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## Guest (Apr 13, 2009)

Imodium is wonderfull. I don't know what I would do without this medication.Lomotil works fair for me , but nothing close to what Imodium does.It does constipate me for several days.


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## newly recovered (Apr 13, 2009)

Ask your doctor about HYOSCYAMINE. I had IBS-D for a long time, which became progressively worse over time, and this is the only thing that really help. I've tried other medications, fibers, and etc. but this is the only thing that helps me. I started out using the long-acting hyoscyamine but found that two doses of the short acting pill per day works much better for me. The pills work within 10-25 min and works from the first time you take it and it does not have any annoying side-effects like altering my mind or anything. It made my IBS symptoms about 90 percent better. I still have some gas from time to time, like most normal people do, but no more explosive diarrhea and having to use the bathroom more than once a day; except to urinate of course. Because I do not have gas backed up all the time, my bladder can also hold more urine; resulting in less trips to the bathroom to urinate as well. Hyoscyamine is a medication that has been around for a very long time and because of it I can go eat at restaurants and do other things without having to worry about using to restroom mid-meal. It woks great for me and I hope it does the same for you and other people reading this post. p.s.: while the long-acting hyoscyamine pills does help, the short-acting version works much better for me so you may want to try both to find out what works better for you. I am paying about $10 for 90 pills(0.125mg) that last about 45 days for me because I only take 2 a day. I do have insurance but I think the medication should be around the same price without insurance as well.


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## cookjl124 (Mar 21, 2009)

Ive had ibs for 10 yrs, and I started to take immodium 3-4yrs ago. This past february I got a stomach bug and the immodium completely stopped working for me. I started to take welchol which is used for habba's syndrome - associated with gallbladder disfunction - and it is working well for me. Welchol is actually a cholesteral medicine which absorbs bile acids and constipates. Ive had a few normal bms since- i mean well formed large bms, the like of i havent seen in over 10 yrs, i started taking it, you have to figure out what dose works for you but i have less pain and i actually ate chinese with little consequences - gas -there are many other options out there and if you doctor is not willing to explore other options then you might need to look for another doctor....just my opinion


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## Selkie (Jan 9, 2009)

Please don't take seroxat! My Grandma and a friend of mine were both perscribed seroxat for depression and they both have had TERRIBLE withdrawal from it. And I really mean terrible, they were both so ill when they came off it, even though the dose was reduced slowly. My Grandma also became suicidal while on it which is unfortunately an all too common side-affect of this disgusting drug. She was only on it for a short while, a matter of months, but had withdrawal symptoms for two years after she stopped taking it and the doctors had to put her onto valium to help her cope.My other friend who took it for mild depression had a 'psychotic episode' when he tried to come off it and was put into a secure mental institute for two months.There are numerous cases of people trying to sue the drugs company for similar experiences but they are a massive company and seem to be keeping it all hushed up very well.Please please please don't take it! Its a powerful and adictive drug even in small doses.


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