# Doctor prescribed Lomotil anyone had any luck?



## 14397 (Mar 28, 2005)

Hey Guys,Happy New Year! I went to the GI doc today and he told me that my stomach tests revealed that I have IBS and not Chron's or Colitis. The doctor prescribed Lomotil for my D and said it works well. Anyone had any success with it.thanks


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## peardrops (Jan 3, 2004)

Lomotil is about the only thing that works for me. I only take it when I need to guarantee no D attacks. Dr did tell me I could take it daily if I wished. I think it's listed on http://www.remedyfind.com - just click onto IBS on the left of the screen.


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## 14397 (Mar 28, 2005)

PEARDROPS, thanks for the advice, how exactly does Lomotil work and how long have you been taking it for? I'm really excited to try something new! Thanks for your feedback


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## tltrull (Nov 12, 2005)

Lomotil (atropine and diphenoxylate) is a mixture of two drugs that together form an antidiarrheal medication. It prevents spasms in the muscles of the gut and bladder by relaxing them, and can slow the function of the bowel to treat diarrhea.


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## 14397 (Mar 28, 2005)

That is great info,thankyou all for giving me feedback on my new meds! I'm really excited to be taking this drug and look forward to starting it this weekend


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## kitkat17 Lady of the Loo (Jul 21, 2005)

HI, I also take Lomotil when I have to go out. I do get more stomach cramps when taking it BUT so far (knock on wood) no D when I am on it. I try to stay away from pills unless really needed.Good luck with itKat


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## 14397 (Mar 28, 2005)

The reason my GI Doc thought Lomotil would be needed is that I was starting to have to take more and more immodium everyday to prevent the D. He said Lomotil is a stronger version of immodium and works well. Does Lomotil have a good reputation as for its' effectiveness and for long term use?


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## peardrops (Jan 3, 2004)

Hi sage! I've been taking it for over 15 yrs. I did try immodium but that didn't work for me at all. Everyone is different, what works for one person may not work for another. It really is trial and error. Hope it works for you


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## 14397 (Mar 28, 2005)

Thanks for all the feedback, I'm very excited to try this new drug! Hopefully it will give me my life back alittle


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## 14397 (Mar 28, 2005)

Is Lomotil similar to immodium only stronger?


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## kitkat17 Lady of the Loo (Jul 21, 2005)

Yes I think it is. That was the way it was explained to me.


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## phillipm2 (Sep 24, 2004)

Lomotil works really well. I had to take it and it normalized my system. The draw back was it seemed to make me very hot but not to the point of sick. It is a narcotic and seems to make people moody or very mean at times. My brother once called them the "hate" pills.


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## 15979 (Jan 11, 2006)

After using a generic for Ammodium AD my MD told me to try Lomotil as it worked better for folks in my age group which is over 60. Discovered that Lomotil was not reliable or the dosage prescribed was inadequate. I went back to taking my 6 to 7 tabs a day of Ammodium also called Loperamide until I purchased a CAL/MAG/ZINC supplement at the healthfood store put out by Nature's Plus. After comparing labels and ingredients and experiencing relief w/o taking the Loperamide I discovered that most probably my IBS and diarhea was caused by inadequate magnesium in my diet. If I take the CAL/MAG/ZINC supplement, I have no need to take the antidiarrheal meds. If I miss taking the CAL/MAG/ZINC supplement at least one tablet perday after 3 days the IBS returns with a vengeance. The CAL/MAG/ZINC bottle recommends taking 4 tablets a day, but one per day seems to be sufficient for me. Another plus, it is an all natural treatment with no chemical compounds to further irritate my colon. Good Luck .


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## 14397 (Mar 28, 2005)

Slvr, I ALREADY TRIED THAT SUPPLEMENT YOUR TALKING ABOUT AND IT DID NOTHING FOR ME. I'VE HEARD ALOT OF GOOD THINGS ABOUT LOMOTIL AND ALOT OF PEOPLE ON THIS BOARD LOVE IT.


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## 14416 (Jun 21, 2005)

Hey Sage, good luck with that.I think that the calcium is what has helped a lot of people here with their diarrhea.I was always led to believe that magnesium didn't help diarrhea at all, and in large enough quantities, can actually cause diarrhea; therefore, the people on here (ibs-d'ers) tend to stay away from calcium supplements that have added magnesium in them.Make any sense?Glad it helped you Slvr.Sage, I think you will find that Lomotil is a really nice medicine to have in your arsenal. It's not as constipating as Imodium can be. (well thats my experiences with the drug)Either way, good luck.


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## 21973 (Jun 28, 2005)

ive been taking lomotil for about 2 years, and let me tell you, its such a relief to take this. now, i dont get as nervous about going anywhere. and i can actually go to school and work. but the only problem is that when i wake up, i still have a stomache ache. its just normal.


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## 14397 (Mar 28, 2005)

Thanks Joy and silentandstillsuffering! It is my hope that Lomotil will help my stomach alittle and enable me to be more comfortable. I wish they could find a cure


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## 14416 (Jun 21, 2005)

You know, I've been really interested in Asimadoline, a medicine being studied now to treat IBS pain.I'm really looking forward to it progressing further along.I can deal with the diarrhea.. I can't deal with the pain.I don't know if you're that way?I really hope this new medicine gets approved within the next 5 years.It'd be great.


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## 14112 (Dec 27, 2005)

I tried lomotil but it gave me crashing headaches and a mild fever. I had to stop taking it.


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## 14397 (Mar 28, 2005)

I would do anything to stop the D, HOPEFULLY SOMETHING WILL DEVELOP


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## bushja1 (Apr 23, 2003)

I've been using Lomotil for over 5 years now. It is wonderful as far as I'm concerned. I've found that if you are going to take it on a daily basis, try not to take it until you've had BMs in the morning. It seems to cause less abdomial distress if you let your body cleanse itself before stopping your self up so to speak. The only side effect I still experience is slightly dry mouth. Also, if you are going to be in a stressfull situation take the pills a couple hours ahead. It seems the more nervous I am the longer it takes to take effect.


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## 22924 (Jan 12, 2006)

The Atropine in Lomotil, I have read, is actually attached to discourage addiction. Without it Lomotil would work more like a true narcotic. My GI doc said people get addicted to Lomotil, but that has never been my experience. For me Lomotil works much better than Immodium, but that's probably a personal thing. BestTom


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Atropine is an antispasmodic, but the main thing it does is prevent you from taking more than the recommended dose of the Lomotil. One of the things that often happens with narcotic addiction is you start taking more and more.Like any anticholenergic antispasmodic it has side effects, like dry mouth and heart rate, that can be pretty annoying. I think the reason it may not be used alone like Levsin is maybe it is more annoying at doses that actually do something than the other antispasmodics.Basically it would convince you not to take more than the regular dose because the annoying factor is not worth the high.K.


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## Glenda (Aug 15, 2000)

I take Lomotil and it works good for me.But I still get "D" frequently.


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## Glenda (Aug 15, 2000)

I spoke to soon. I just had an explosive attack of "D" and my 3 Lomotil this morning did nothing.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Well, I'm not sure what the biological half-life of the Lomotil is (that is how long you actually have enough active stuff in your body to do you any good).With Imodium and IBS-D (works by a similar mechanism) they find that a couple of doses a day is more effective than one single dose in the morning. (often same total amount).I would guess Lomotil might be the same way. (I looked up the info on www.rxlist.com and the half-lifes are about the same range, so it might be you need to take some again later in the day to get good control).K.


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## Catalina (May 17, 2004)

Kathleen, I take medication for blood pressure/irregular heartbeat, and also for thyroid. Would lomotil have any effect on these?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Lomotil has atropine as one of the two drugs in it which is an anticholinergic. That class of drugs does seem to effect my blood pressure and increase heart rate. http://www.drugs.com/cons/Lomotil.html indicates this medication couldIt may be a side effect that doesn't bother you, but I would discuss that with the doctor. I don't think it interacts with thyroid meds/effects the thyroid.The anti-diarrheal part of Lomotil is the same type of drug that is in Imodiukm. Imodium doesn't have atropine added to it, so you might start with that to see if it helps.K.


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