Problems with Immodium

Hoggett · Post by **Hoggett** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 3:02 am

Hi,
I am taking two Immodium a day to control D. However at times I get bunged up and have to either reduce the does or stop it altogether. This however causes my D to come back some how it bypasses my Constipation. Do any of you have this problem? How do you solve it?

suzieq · Post by **suzieq** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 4:53 am

Hi,

I took generic immodium last week, I had such severe diaherria, I took 5 of them to get out of the house. I did not go for the next 2 days, had severe abdominal pain for those two days and when it wore off, I was right where I left off, more severe diaherria so I took more generic immodium so I could leave the house to get to work. I didn't go again but this time only for 1 day and the BM's I have had since are not diaherria but not normal either. I don't know how to solve it though.

Susanne

tlras · Post by **tlras** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 2:13 pm

Immodium worked pretty well for me but it did constipate me to a point where I was uncomfortable sometimes. Then I'd go a day or two without taking it and that's when the D would come back. (had not made diet changes yet.) I was only taking one pill a day and was having a harder time going to the bathroom. That stuff can be pretty powerful. When I started on Pepto, it seemed a lot more gentle and I didn't have the type of constipation that I had with Immodium. If you are intolerant to dairy, you may want to switch to regular Immodium as the generic has lactose in it. Maybe try some Pepto and see how that goes?

Terri

Leah · Post by **Leah** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 5:25 pm

Controling D with Imodium is only a temporary fix and shouldn't be thought of as a "treatment". Some people here have done really well with the Pepto bismul treatment of 8 chewables a day... weaning down and then off after 3 months. Of course, nothing will get better for good until diet issues are addressed.

You might want to talk to your doctor about the drug Entocort ( budesonide). It's what I took. The multiple bathroom trips a day went down to one within a couple days! I slowly weaned down within a six month period while on a very restricted diet. Worked great. Have added many things back in and am basically normal :)

Leah

DebE13 · Post by **DebE13** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 6:40 pm

Imodium never helped me with D- just caused lots of cramping.

Hoggett · Post by **Hoggett** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 11:15 am

I thought that Imodium would be a short term answer but I have been on it for about a year now, the doc's did give me codeine but I wasn't too happy with that so put me back onto imodium. The next time I'm back there I will try again to get onto something else. It just feels that the doctors in the UK are either not well trained or their hands are tied by the government, you have to fight tooth and nail to get the proper treatment.

I will keep you informed of what happens.

Post by **tex** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 1:50 pm

The problem is that as Leah pointed out, Imodium is not a treatment for MC, by any stretch of the imagination. All it does is to slow down motility. It does nothing to address the inflammation that is the cause of MC.

Imodium can only postpone the D, so most members here (who understand how to use it) use it to allow them to go out, or travel, or whatever they might need to do, on a short-term basis, where they may not have prompt access to a bathroom (for several hours). But it is by no means a regular, or long-term treatment for MC. It simply helps to make life a bit more convenient while waiting for a real treatment program to provide results.

Tex

Hoggett · Post by **Hoggett** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 4:01 pm

Thanks Tex for your answer. I thought it should only be temporary treatment. I don't know why the doctors seem to only treat symptoms and not try and control the under lying cause. I will get onto them.

I often wonder if because of my other problems I am on some sort of redundant list, not worth bothering about sort of thing.

Sometimes I feel as though I'm hitting a brick wall with them.

Sorry if I sound like a twisty person but I can cope with a lot, ( I had both amputations without morphine, just took codeine for the pain) just need a bit of help now and again from the doc's.

wonderwoman · Post by **wonderwoman** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 4:15 pm

Tex wrote

Imodium is not a treatment for MC, by any stretch of the imagination. All it does is to slow down motility

I assume Pepto Bismol is the same. Or is there any therapeutic value to Pepto Bismal?

Post by **tex** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 8:16 pm

Hoggett wrote:Sometimes I feel as though I'm hitting a brick wall with them.

I suspect that most of us feel that way at times. I know that I sure felt that way when my MC symptoms were at their worst, and after going through all the tests that my GI specialist arranged, he told me that there was nothing wrong with me.

Tex

Post by **tex** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 8:19 pm

Charlotte wrote:I assume Pepto Bismol is the same. Or is there any therapeutic value to Pepto Bismal?

Pepto Bismol actually has therapeutic value. Bismuth subsalicylate (the active ingredient in Pepto Bismol) has both antibiotic and anti-inflammatory qualities, so it's real medicine.

Tex

wonderwoman · Post by **wonderwoman** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 8:39 pm

Thanks Tex.

Hoggett · Post by **Hoggett** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 12:06 pm

tex wrote:
Hoggett wrote:Sometimes I feel as though I'm hitting a brick wall with them.
I suspect that most of us feel that way at times. I know that I sure felt that way when my MC symptoms were at their worst, and after going through all the tests that my GI specialist arranged, he told me that there was nothing wrong with me.

Tex

That's exactly what I'm going through. I feel like doing a sit in protest at the doc's until they get me sorted. (by the way I am a patient man lol)

tlras · Post by **tlras** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 1:09 pm

My doctor told me that Pepto was a healing drug and I definitely know it helped heal me along with the diet changes. It's my miracle pink pill and worked on Day 1 for 3 months. Now been off daily dosages since Dec 10th and still in remission. Doing well without any. I would go back to that before Imodium.

Terri

wonderwoman · Post by **wonderwoman** » Sun Mar 24, 2013 1:51 pm

I didn't try Pepto Bismal with this flair because I had absolutely no luck with it back in 2010 while we were traveling and on our cruise. I got home and went on Budesonide. This time when things started to deteriorate I was taking small doses of Imodium which helped initially. I recently switched to Pepto Bismol and have not seen any difference. I am now going to eat only turkey/carrot soup for a week to see what happens.