# Bentyl



## bhots23 (May 13, 2016)

So, I was just started taking Bentyl and I have a few questions about it.

1.) I have been feeling very tired since I started taking it. Is this a normal symptom? I also just started taking escitalopram for anxiety at about the same time, so it could be either or both.

2.) The afternoon after I took it for the first time I had an IBS outbreak with explosive D. Out of habit, I took Imodium. Later that night and into today I had pretty bad gas pains. I ended up going to convenient care where the doctor told me she thought it was an IBS attack. She said Bentyl is a great drug, to try to avoid taking Imodium and to eat bland foods. Finally, she told me not to take Gas-X, which is something I normally take when I have an attack. She said that while it is safe, it really doesnt do anything to help and that by giving the stomach another thing to digest and process that it can in turn upset the stomach a little more.

3.) What about interactions between alcohol and Bentyl? I have read some people saying that they cant do it, I just want to be sure though. I do not drink much as it is, but I like a beer or two here or there. I also have a trip planned coming up where more drinking will probably be involved so I just want to make sure that it is safe.

I appreciate any help or thoughts here.


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## bushja1 (Apr 23, 2003)

I take Bentyl as well....it really doesn't help with my D at all but my doctor says it may still help with cramps. I don't know why the nurse told you not to take Imodium with Bentyl. I take Lomotil with it all the time. As far as tiredness goes, it seems to be a side effect of many of the medications used to treat IBS.

As long as you aren't driving, I can't see why you can't have a couple beers. I have never had any problems combining alcohol and Bentyl...although it does make the tiredness worse. For god's sake, if you have to drive, don't have any alcohol.


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## Hatemybowels! (Apr 3, 2016)

Bentyl slows gut motility which could be why the urgent care doc said to not take Imodium. I have taken Pepto Bismol several hours after Bentyl and didn't have any issues but Bentyl doesn't constipate me. I don't take it very often though so maybe that's why. I take Phazyme which is basically the same thing as Gas X quiet often and it never makes my IBS worse! I don't know about combining alcohol with Bentyl but I know beer can definitely cause an IBS flare and sends some running to the toilet. It sucks!


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## Mes3 (Apr 9, 2016)

I took Bentyl for a while. It was great for pain but did nothing for my D. I had to stop taking it because of the side effects, exhaustion being one, dizziness and increased anxiety was another. I hated to have to stop becaue it was good for the pain but now I'm taking Viberzi, which helps a lot with the D, but I'm still on the fence about its potential side effects. Hope you find something that works for you.


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## Leo41 (Dec 13, 2010)

Bentyl is ok for cramps/spasms, but I found Levbid better without a lot of the fuzzyhead side effects that Bentyl gives.

Alcohol and bentyl? Sorry but I have to say... if you need bentyl the last thing you need is to drink any alcohol of any kind. As long as you remain drinking your symptoms will persist as bad or worse as they currently are. Hate to the bearer of bad news, but that is the reality.

Last thing .. not sure if you are aware but recent studies have found both Bentyl and Levbid (and lots of others) cause dementia in long term use.


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## bushja1 (Apr 23, 2003)

I have had a few drinks with Bentyl from time to time and never noticed my symptoms getting worse. Even my doctor said a couple beers at a ball game shouldn't hurt. If I drink a lot, well of course I suffer, but I always did, even before I had IBS.


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## Shawna-one (Jan 30, 2011)

I used to take Bentyl for severe cramps that usually come on before a bad diarrhea attack. But my doctor did not want me to take it daily, only when the cramps came on. By that time it didn't help much. Now I have a prescription which reads "one tablet an hour before eating". Bentyl doesn't really hold my diarrhea back for long. I am at a really bad point as I age my IBSD is so bad I am afraid to get out of the house. 
;


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