# can I take Immodiom everyday ?



## hasenfuss (Dec 28, 2006)

since weeks I have frequent stools which are always yellowish brown ( this suppose to be a singn that the stool moves to quickly through the system). The stool is either mushy or comes out in little soft pieces. I am so tired of it because it makes my tummy so uncomfortable. I am just wondering if I can take an Immodiom everyday (maybe 2 a day) just to get a normal looking stool. Does taking Immodiom everyday harm the body ?


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

I take it everyday and have done so for years. I would try 1 a day first and go up or down as needed from there. I take it with meals. Have you tried using the Calcium Carbonate at all??


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## hasenfuss (Dec 28, 2006)

Are you taking the immodiom as a preventative measure everyday or do you take it after the first loose stool ? Is there a certain time of the day you take it ?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

If you tend to have symptoms most if not every day then usually the thing that works best in the clinical trials is a dose 2X a day, every day, 12 hours apart. Lowest dose that gives you good control.If you tend to have sporatic episodes you cannot predict then you may need to wait until it starts up as it can be too constipating to take all the time when you are normal.If you can predict the episode (like after restaurant meals) then you can take it 20-30 minutes before whatever the trigger will be.Generally, as long as you tolerate the Imodium it seems to be safe for regular use as long as you have had the chronic diarrhea diagnosed. What you don't want to do is take it instead of ever telling the doctor what is going on.


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## hasenfuss (Dec 28, 2006)

My doctor knows I have IBS. So should I just try it 12 hours apart just like you say ?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I'd start with that as that seems to be what works best when they do clinical trials with IBS. I'd start with 1 pill 12 hours apart for 3-4 days to see how that works. If it constipates you, you might need to get the kids liquid and drop the dose down. If not enough then bump up to 2 pills at a time 12 hours apart.Some people have bad post eating diarrhea so tend to do a dose 30 minutes before meals so they get the most drug available right when they need it the most.


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## hasenfuss (Dec 28, 2006)

For me it's unpredictable. The only predictable bm I have is after breakfast. I actually just took one Immodiom after breakfast. I hope that's still o.k. All the other bm's are spread around over the day. It's not full blown diarrhia, more like mushy stool and little soft pieces of stool. I hope it still helps for that. I always have this achy feeling when I have this kind of bm. When I have a normal sausage like bm the pain is usaully better. This is pretty much my goal with the immodiom. I will just take it every 12 hours ( 1 immodiom) like you said.


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## Chadster1979 (Apr 25, 2010)

Has anyone here tried the chewable kind? I'm just curious if it may be faster acting for those emergency situations?


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## petra (Feb 2, 2009)

I take imodium daily-I take 2 on wakening, 3 at lunchtime before I go to work, 2 at 6pm and 2 and bedtime. Have been told by my GI specialist in the UK to take up to 16 per day or more if I need it. She is convinced there is no evidence to say it is harmful at this level and says she has many patients taking high doses although most of these have short gut syndrome. Personally, I'm wary about increasing my dose anymore than I have done as one or two extra don't seem to make much difference to me-but that is just me! I don't like to take too many on wakening as I don't want to delay the inevitable longer than necessary -hence I take them 4x daily rather than twice.


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## jmc09 (Oct 5, 2009)

I have to take 4 as a dose as any less doesn't settle my bowel down.I take 2 doses each morning after my second or third BM as it's the only way I can get on with my day and have a settled digestive system.Some people like myself can become tolerant to tablets and need to keep increasing the dose but most people are fine with one or two at a time.


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## petra (Feb 2, 2009)

JMC-am interested that you wait until you have been 2-3x before taking your imodium. Do you think if you took it first thing it would help or do you agree with me that it just delays the inevitable and would rather get things over with first and then settle for the day. It is for this reason that I don't take 4 on wakening. The whole process takes about 3 hrs before I'm good to go!


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## jmc09 (Oct 5, 2009)

Petra,yes I like to get things out of the way as you suggest.My bowel is quite sluggish first thing in the morning and before my bowel problems and while managing it my normal BM was once a day within an hour of getting up.But once I go once I need to go again soon afterwards and again and again.Not always a large amount but just small amount after small amount and the feeling that I need to go even when ive taken 8 tablets.2 or 3 tablets don't make a difference,it has to be 4 before it takes effect,strange but true.I used to get terrible diarrhoea if I only took 2 doses of 2 tablets so that's why I take 4.It's basically a trade off between being sluggish in the morning or getting regular diarrhoea and stomach cramps so I choose the first option.I'd love to be empty after my first BM but that very rarely happens, if it did then I'd be able to manage my IBS a lot more effectively.


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## TimeToGo (Jul 3, 2009)

I take imodium daily. Three 2mg capsules a day. My doctor prescribes imodium for me but he has written up a limit of six capsules a day


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## Friday (Dec 9, 2008)

yes, I've got a limit of 6 a day on my prescription too. I get 120 capsules(of loperamide) with each prescription which works out fairly cheaply. Taking it twice daily is a great idea, thank goodness for this forum! I read Kathleen's comment on this a while back on the forum and asked my gp whether she thought taking it 2x a day would be better - she agreed! Why oh why didn't she recommend that years ago?!


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## petra (Feb 2, 2009)

thanks for your reply,jmc. I think the reason that GPs in the UK will cap your imodium limit is because they are not specialists-they are generalists. As most of us know many of them know less about IBS than many users on this site. I have seen 3 GI specialists over the years and they have all said increase the dose up to what you need. I take 8-10 usually but am allowed/encouraged to go to 16/day. I get 224 per script from my GP without any hassle.


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## Friday (Dec 9, 2008)

[quote name='Kathleen M.' timestamp='1272377287' post='790607']If you tend to have symptoms most if not every day then usually the thing that works best in the clinical trials is a dose 2X a day, every day, 12 hours apart. Lowest dose that gives you good control.Kathleen - I've been trying to find clinical trials on the internet that show this 2x dose a day as being good. Could you point me in the right direction please?you really are so helpful to us all on this forum, just wanted to say thanks so much!


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I think this is the one that looked at the 2X a day dosing (divided daily doses)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8734343


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## On Edge (Aug 25, 2009)

It is possible to become habituated to it and suffer opiate withdrawal if you stop it, right?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

There is only one known case of opiate withdrawl from Imodium that I know of in the medical literature.Very little Imodium gets in the body and some person who already had an opiate problem was taking like 160 Imodium tablets at a time (320 mgs). They needed to be put on methadone to get off the Imodium.If it were something that people easily got to the point they needed medically supervised detox from (opiate withdrawl usually always should have medical supervision) for you couldn't buy it over the counter. One of the reasons that Lomotil (very similar to Imodium) is still prescription is that it has a very slight addiction risk (but higher than Imodium). Imodium pretty much can't get you addicted to (your disease might get used to the drug and so you may not get perfect control all the time or need to adjust dose) unless you really go insane with it.How someone, even an opiate addict, didn't impact themselves to death taking them by the box-load I have no idea.


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## sunspot19 (Aug 31, 2007)

Kathleen M. said:


> Very little Imodium gets in the body and some person who already had an opiate problem was taking like 160 Imodium tablets at a time (320 mgs). They needed to be put on methadone to get off the Imodium.


I was taking immodium day and night for the last two years and recently stopped it as of a few days ago, and I have had no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. I do not think, as Kathleen notes, at the levels we use it, that you have much of a risk of addiction.


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