# new to this...help!



## 16718 (Jun 17, 2005)

Hello! I am new to all of this. I have been prescibed Bentyl 10 mg three times a day to see if it helps my situation. The medicine makes me feel "out of it" and VERY drowsy. I have never taken prescription medicine on a regular basis and I am not too good at wanting too. All I have felt like doing last couple of days is laying on couch when normally I am very active.I am not liking it. Will this effect of the medicine lessen as it gets in my system? Or is this what I have to look forward to from now on to help my Ibs?Also, is it necessary to take every day? p.s. I am happy to see this site exists...looks like I have a lot of reading and educating myself to do. Thank you for helping me with my questions!!


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## 20327 (Jun 5, 2005)

My understanding is that Bentyl is an anti-spasmodic drug. In other words, it should lesson the sense of painful contractions in your abdomen, and decrease pain. So, if you suffer from "D", it may help stop the desire to go (although I find Immodium works better for this). I take Bentyl, but I play it by ear, since my doctor said I could take it every day for the rest of my life without hardship to the body, but that I could experiment with it (his words). I tend to take it when I feel discomfort in my abdomen or I have "D" (I have IBS-C which cycles into IBS-D and then back to IBS-C). I have never had side effects from Bentyl, although I have had a great deal of nervousness and lightheadedness from an alterative drug called Levsin. My suggestion would be that if the side effects continue for more than a week, contact your doctor and see if he would want you to try one of the alternatives. Donnatal is another alternative. Note: none of these drugs are cumulative. In other words, the beneficial results happen when you take the drug, it doesn't build up over time, like some drugs like Paxil. So if your body does not adjust within a week or more, maybe you will need to try another alternative. Just my opinion.


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