# immodium and pregnancy



## 14252 (Nov 30, 2005)

i would like to try for another baby but the way things are with my ibs d and being immodium dependant i dont know if i possibly can.immodium says on the box not suitable for pregnant women so does anybody know if there is any other alternatives out there suitable for pregnant womenthanks


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## 14013 (Nov 12, 2005)

ive never been pregnant but if you ask at a health food store, like if you live in the UK holland and barrett they say about stuff like slippery elm and a couple of other things that are natural, although i still dont know if they are suitable for pregnant women so you would still have to ask


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

A lot of herbal stuff is not recommended for pregnant woman as some of it stimulates uterine contractions so research all the stuff very carefully (and do not believe the it can't have side effects it is natural line)Most commonly people find that diarrhea subsides during pregnancy so you could be lucky.Imodium has not been proven safe for pregnant woman, but it is in the class where there isn't any evidence in animals it would harm the fetus. It pretty much doesn't leave the gut so the chances of causing a problem is low. If you don't absorb it, it can't get to the fetus through your blood.Things like Pepto-bismol are dangerous for fetuses and I think of the anti-diarrheals Imodium may be one of the safest things to take when pregnant if you can't make it without it. Usually doctors want you to be off of it (because they can't prove it is safe for you) but several people here have taken Imodium during pregnancy because to not take it is more of a risk to the baby to not take it because of how bad and consistant the diarrhea is.I do not know of any anti-diarrheal that is proven safe for pregnant woman, but what I know of various drugs I wouldn't feel bad about taking it if I needed it while pregnant.Some people find Calcium Carbonate 300-600 mgs with meals (up to 3 a day) can reduce diarrhea and it might be worth looking into. Pregnant woman need to get enough calcium and doing it through the diet can be difficult so that might be something you could try.K.


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## 14013 (Nov 12, 2005)

on the back of my calcium bottle it says "pregnant or lactating women should consult a doctor before use" or something along those lines. not that im saying its not okay to use, just it says to ask a doctor so i dont know what thats meant to suggest or anything


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## 14252 (Nov 30, 2005)

thanks for all of your replies my doctor isnt very helpful when i was diagnosed with ibs he just said carry on taking immodium as you have been if it helps you and didnt prescribe anything else,so i will ask at holland and barret if they can recommend anything,its just embarassing to ask isnt it,i only asked on here because nothings embarassing to mention on here.thanks again allbut if i cant find an alternative to immodium then my family plans are going to stay on hold for the moment.and the d during pregnancy dosent ease off ,ive got 2 children and if anything the d was worse while pregnant,it may be for other people but it definetly wasnt for me!thanks again anyway.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

You can take too much calcium, and you should run all dietary supplements past the doctor to be sure you are taking the right amount.K.


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## 14013 (Nov 12, 2005)

yeah i know its embarressing but the amount of embarressing things ive talked to my doctor about i figured its just another person i dont know. plus they are trained to handle personal stuff, i went for a job there once and they explained it all and IBS is one of the commonest things people go in and ask about, along with headaches and back pains etc, she showed me these klists and stuff and explained how they have to treat people and stuff like a doctor would so rest assured its just like talking to your doctor they wont make you feel embarressed its just like normal convo for them


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## ClareM (May 12, 2003)

Geme, I'm sorry to disagree with Kathleen M. (and I certainly don't mean it as a personal slight) but I am lucky enough to have as my gastroenterologist one of the UK's leading experts on IBS and he assures me that loperamide (the generic version of immodium) has been proved to be safe in pregnant women. On the leaflet it says that pregnant women shouldn't take it without first asking their doctor or pharmacist.I don't know whether the brand name version, 'Immodium' contains anything extra that isn't safe. It shouldn't but I wouldn't be surprised if 'Immodium Extra' does contain something else. However, my consultant is adamant that straight forward loperamide hydrochloride is safe even in fairly substantial doses. (For example, I take up to 14mg per day).I certainly wouldn't recommend taking ANYTHING in pregnancy without checking first with your doctor. After all, I don't have any idea what other health problems you have. However, if your doctor says that loperamide is safe for you in pregnancy then you should be fine.I am 10 weeks pregnant. None of my other IBS medications were safe for pregnancy so I had to stop taking them before my husband and I started trying for a baby. However, I am allowed to continue taking the loperamide, which is just as well because I have very poor bowel control without it.If Holland & Barrett do suggest something, please make sure like Kathleen M. said that you check with your doctor that it definitely is safe to take during pregnancy.Do you live in the UK? If you happen to live within reasonable travelling distance of London, I'll happily give you my consultant's details if you email me, although I suspect that your PCT wouldn't be willing to pay for you to see him on the NHS unless you live in London. I would just hate to think of you giving up on your plan to have another baby because of your IBS.Love,ClareM


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Last time I checked they had it in the US in the "not tested in pregnant woman" so we don't know category.http://www.drugs.com/imodium.html still has it in Category B which is usually we tested it in pregnant animals and they were fine, but we aren't going to risk doing a test in pregnant humans to prove 100% it is safe for them.Maybe they rate these things differently in the UK, or they did tests that got submitted there but never did in the US.It is highly unlikely to cause problems, but usually the only drugs in the US they test fully to be certain that humans behave the same way rats do are things that they have to give to pregnant woman because of being pregnant. Category A drugs were tested and proven safe for fetusesAll other meds get tested in animals and given a category B if they don't cause problems in animals a category C if they cause problems in animals. There is D and X for evidence of harm in humans (D for might be worth giving in some circumstances X for no benefit of the drug makes it worth it to give to woman) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregnancy_category_(pharmaceutical) has the full description, it it a bit more complicated than what I presented, but I got the main points.They usually avoid testing anything in pregnant woman in the US unless they have to because even if it wasn't the drug that did it if any woman in the study have a baby that is not healthy they would most likely get sued out of business. So they usually only do it if te absolutely have to.K.


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## 14252 (Nov 30, 2005)

Hi Claire thanks very much for your reply i will check with my doctor about the loperamide,immodium seems to be the only thing that works for me thoughi have tried diocalm and other store brands and i end up having to take 5 or 6 for them to have the same effect as immodium,i live in cardiff so london would be too far for meyou are extremley lucky to have a good doctor,im stuck with a load of useless ones.thanks again for your reply and good luck with your pregnancylovegeme


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## ClareM (May 12, 2003)

Kathleen M. - My consultant said that he and others here in the UK have used loperamide on countless pregnant women and have found it to be safe so evidently it's allowed over here, although I don't know whether GPs routinely prescribe it for pregnant women or whether they check with the consultant first. As I mentioned, the leaflet says to ask your doctor before taking it if you're pregnant, presumably because it's never a good idea for a pregnant woman to take any medication without checking with her doctor.Geme - loperamide and Imodium are exactly the same thing. Imodium is just the brand name used by the company that makes most of the loperamide that's sold over-the-counter here in the UK. Chemists such as Boots sell their own brands, which are probably slightly cheaper than Imodium but contain exactly the same dosage of the exactly the same ingredient. I get mine on prescription, which is MUCH cheaper than buying it over-the-counter as for one prescription charge I get 60 capsules, each containing 2mg of loperamide, which is the same dosage that Imodium contains. However, I've just looked up 'Imodium Plus' and that definitely contains another ingredient in addition to loperamide so I have no idea whether that is safe for pregnancy. Since my consultant hasn't recommended it, I assume that 'Imodium Plus' hasn't been shown to be safe for pregnancy, although I admit that I haven't actually asked him.Love,ClareM


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

deleting and re-writign because I think it came off angrier than I am.I don't want to fight about this. I don't think you see how much I AGREE with you and your doctor.I agree with your doctor that in the clinic they use it all the time and it appears safe.In addition to what they do there is reasons to believe it would be safe (does not leave the gut, doesn't do anything in animal tests)The reason it doesn't say that it IS safe on the label or drug information pages (and the UK ones say the same thing the US ones do) is that no one has spent several million pounds or dollars to PROVE that it is safe, you know placebo controlled blinded clinical trial in hundreds of woman tracking birth defects sort of very expensive test.Sometimes what doctors see in their clinic does not reveal the whole truth and cannot be used as proof to my government or yours. That is why the drug is labeled as it is.Doctors here use Category B drugs in pregnant woman all the time when they need it, but none of them is PROVEN in clinical trial to be safe for fetuses. If they were the label would change. They get category B in the US when the preponderance of the evidence means that logically you can conclude it is most likely safe. But you don't have the proof. They even use category C and D drugs which have evidence they might cause damage if the health of the mother means they need it.K.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

There is a difference between scientific proof, and enough evidence that someone can make an informed decision.I know of no studies that provide proof. I do think there is evidence.Anecdotal evidence because of it's very nature cannot demonstrate scientific proof.It may give you enough evidence to make a decision you feel good about making, even if it isn't scientific proof.For labeling purposes you need scientific proof and depending on the person you might require that or not for your particular situation. K.


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## ClareM (May 12, 2003)

> quote:Originally posted by Kathleen M, Ph.D.:I don't want to fight about this. I don't think you see how much I AGREE with you and your doctor.


Kathleen, I'm not fighting.You said:'Maybe they rate things differently in the UK, or they did tests there that got submitted there but never did the US'so I just explained what the situation with my consultant and loperamide is over here because I thought you were sort of asking. I wasn't trying to disagree with you again so I'm very sorry that it came across that way.Love,ClareM


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