# Loperamide Taking?



## quite_the_cool_one (Oct 30, 2009)

Hello there, i have searched around and am thankfull for this group being here =]I am 19 and have IBS-D i used to think it was natural growing up but now i know its not, 2 months ago i was diagnosed with IBS and the doctor has give me Loperamide to take and experiment with. Now i have done this and so far i only really take 1 if going out the evening and 2 if going to the girlfriends and staying the night (so i can stay longer in the morning without having to rush!) then bran flakes in the morning. Now even when i take 2 the night before, in the morning after a bit longer than i would usualy have to rush i still have to go lots after a few hours. So yes it works but only very short term.I was wondering should i take them more regulary? what kind of time scaling does anyone have for taking them, i have experimented but cant seem to find a constant way of holding back the IBSAny help welcomeThanksG


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Welcome I usually take mine either with meals or right before I eat. If one whole tab is too much I break them in half. I find locating it with the food they work much more predictably for me. It is kind of individual thing but that is what works for me. And just so you know.. I cannot tolerate (wheat) bran at all. Oat bran I can handle though.Also have you seen Linda's Calcium thread on the top of the page here? It talks about using Calcium Carbonate supplements to firm up loose BM's. Check it out. All the bestBQ


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## cherrypie09 (Jan 20, 2009)

I used to take loperamide, but then found that they didnt work as well , so now use imodium plus caplets, Imodium plus caplets are white chalky tablets and you can break them in half if you need to. Loperamide the ones i had were plastic coated capsules, so you couldnt break them.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

In a clinical trial they did with IBS-D an Loperamide a 2X a day dosing seemed to give more overall control than a 1X a day dosing (even if the same total dose was taken).They do wear off after awhile. Some people like the before or with a meal dosing especially if they mostly have after meal issues. In that case you are trying to get the drug in place before the after meal increase in colon activity hits. Usually taking it after that diarrhea happens is less effective as the diarrhea doesn't last that long and by the time the drug is completely absorbed and working the episode is past and it may not last until the next meal.


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## clareuk (Feb 7, 2006)

Bran and Oats also really made things worse with me, even though the doctor suggesting eating more of it! I found 2 loperamides worked much better than one and I had them as soon as I woke up. They did help after 2ish hours but not straight away. If I took them the night before they never seemed to make any difference. It was almost like I hadn't taken them at all. I did try splitting the dose and having one am and one pm but that also didn't seem to help. I think it's a matter of trying different ways and seeing what works best for you.


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## cherrypie09 (Jan 20, 2009)

When you take imodium how long do they last before they wear off


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Here is the half-life information (the time it takes for 1/2 the drug to be gone).


> Clinical studies have indicated that the apparent elimination half-life of Loperamide in man is 10.8 hours with a range of 9.1 to 14.4 hours


http://www.drugs.com/pro/loperamide.html


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## quite_the_cool_one (Oct 30, 2009)

Well today was a bad day IBS wise so i thought i would try the before every meal way, and i do get a bloated feeling and eventually need to go, so maybe that doesnt work for me, from the posts i am looking into maybe taking something more.Everyone does seem to say taking 2 is better, but if i remember i do still feel bloated or (feeling of a tender stomach to describe it) ??Looks like i may need something stronger to last the night and half the morning when i go out.


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