Immodium - long term use & Withdrawal symptoms

Ok, most of the posts above are completely untrue.
Loperamide does NOT cross the blood brain barrier. This means it is NOT addictive. It is a biochemical impossibility.
If you have diarrhea when you stop it, it means you have an underlying cause. NOT a bacterial infection, because that will not last 24 years.
It's likely either crohns disease (ulcerative colitis) or irritable bowel. Irritable bowel, you need to basically find out what helps for you. I basically just have to take loperamide every day. Just like with any other illness, that' what I have to take.

Do NOT give out advice to people when you don't know what you're talking about

- Kate . (Biology, medical science, and biochemistry student)

Yes, what you are experiencing may very well be an opiate withdraw effect from the Loperamide..I am an opiate addict, and instead of medicating with daily maintenance of Methadone or Suboxone from a clinic, I self medicate with loperamide..I am unsure of the long term effects, but for now it keeps me legal..

Kate, you are COMPLETELY WRONG, and that's why you are a STUDENT and NOT a DOCTOR!! Loperamide doesn't cross the Blood-brain barrier in therapeutic amounts, but at higher doses does. Concurrent administration of P-glycoprotein inhibitors such as quinidine and its other isomer quinine (although much higher doses must be used), PPIs like omeprazole (Prilosec OTC), venlafaxine (Effexor), and even black pepper (piperine as the active ingredient) allows loperamide to cross the blood-brain barrier. It should however be noted that only quinidine with loperamide was found to produce respiratory depression, indicative of central opioid action.

...So, before you call a forum full of people liars, just because you think you know it all ---DO YOUR RESEARCH,

ive been taking imodium for 12 years i wish there was something stronger i have crohn's and colitis i was curious to what the side effects of long term use is considering that imodium is in the Opiate family... :'(

hi everybody the only thing i can say is that i have a stomache olcer i also have 11 herniated discs and four buldged discs and two pinched nerves im always in pain i was prescribed fentanyl 25mcgs every 48 hour instead of 72hrs and also oxymorphone wich is opana er 20mgs four times a day along with Roxycodone 30mgs four to six times a day my best advice i guess is that most of your pain and suffering is 60 percent mental and 40 percent physical pain killers or opiates will just make it harder for you in the long run all though great its a great fix in the short run just try your best everybody only you can tell yourself how you feel and which paths you'd like to take

take care everybody

"Ok, most of the posts above are completely untrue.
Loperamide does NOT cross the blood brain barrier. This means it is NOT addictive. It is a biochemical impossibility.
If you have diarrhea when you stop it, it means you have an underlying cause. NOT a bacterial infection, because that will not last 24 years.
It's likely either crohns disease (ulcerative colitis) or irritable bowel. Irritable bowel, you need to basically find out what helps for you. I basically just have to take loperamide every day. Just like with any other illness, that' what I have to take.

Do NOT give out advice to people when you don't know what you're talking about."

- Kate . (Biology, medical science, and biochemistry student)
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Kate, currently it appears that the medical profession does not acknowledge withdrawal syndrome with high-dose loperamide usage. This may or may not be due to the fact that it does not cross the blood-brain barrier in significant quantities. However it does bind to opiate receptors in the intestines, as do other opiates. Any substance with an affinity for opiate receptors, when used repeatedly and then withdrawn, will induce opiate withdrawal symptoms - whether or not the substance is actually a psychoactive opioid agonist. Simply put, Imodium will relieve withdrawal symptoms and bring the user back to the baseline. The fact that it doesn't take you any higher than that is irrelevant, when all you're really doing is relieving withdrawal symptoms in the first place. Now if that's not addiction, I don't know what is.

dlancelot wrote:

DiarrheaGurll wrote:

:D Well hello everyone I have been taking Immodium AD for like 11 years yes everyday for my Anxiety and IBS systems~They still don't know whats wrong with me but now they think I have Endometriosis which I would be so glad if that was it and they could get rid of my Diarrhea~I know I have ulcers because when I eat spicy stuff my stomach will burn~Anyways I'm still here but I noticed that the Immodium at times will make me light headed and sometimes give me cramps like I have a big piece of poo in my right intestine(sorry) THEN the next day(sometimes like 1 in a million) my diarrhea will leave but it(poo) is so big it feels like it's pulling my intestines out(I know gross I'm sorry but true) Anyways I hope everyone doesn't think I'm gross this is the honest truth so if you don't have diarrhea you are blessed I would pay a doctor 500,000 if they cured me but I'm not sure about that now~Take Care~Melany

WOW!!! I'm still amazed at how many people have stomach ulcers that don't realize that it's a bacterial infection that can be cured with a perscription from the doctor!?!?!?!? (it's H.Pylori btw).

NO! NO! NO! Conventional medicine (antibiotics) will only make it WAY WORSE. Find a holistic health practitioner or counselor who works with the whole body...not conventional medicine...food based healing through integrative nutrition is the only REAL answer.

Okay, well, since a lot of yall were so open and honest, I guess I'll just say it how it is.
When I was in high school, I drank too much coffee, and they wouldn't always let us take bathroom breaks (Some classes were only allowed 4 breaks a semester, which by the way, can be filed under cruel and unusual punishment if you ever wind up taking them to court, I eventually did.) But anywho, so I took Imodium. Later after that, I had my gall bladder removed, and I was only up to one pill a day, just as the directions say, unless you have to poop again, then take one more pill after that.
Well, One more pill suddenly didn't work anymore, regardless of them saying your body will not develop a tolerance. So I took two a day, three a day, four a day. I stopped when I was pregnant and they ended up giving me something else for it, but it didn't even dent my problems so I just stayed home all the time instead of going out because this is so embarrassing. Who wants to poop in public, honestly? Nothing like hitting the handle to flush over and over again just to make sure the area won't stink while blushing so hard I could nearly faint from embarrassment. (True story.)
SO, I'm up to 5 a day, just to make sure I won't have to stop and run to the bathroom so that I can keep chasing after my rugrat.
I HAVE changed my damn diet. I have changed my medication, I have limited my intake, HELL I even tried starving to get it to stop. Not eating doesn't even dent this thing, and every doctor I've gone to says it's normal after my gallbladder disease and removal so whatever.

Oh, and most of the time it's not an ulcer, most people just don't realize the severity of acid reflux or heartburn. I have acid reflux, too and it just doesn't even begin to help with the problem.

I wish I could find something more recent about this. I am currently miserable in day 10 without any imodium. I took them for over 6 yeaers for my symptoms that the doctors attributed to "ibs" because they couldn't find anything else. All these years later I have taken so much imodium for so long that I have passed over 60 kidney stones due to the highly dehydrating nature of the pills. I have also found out that I have endometriosis. So in light of my new medical findings I have quit taking the pills. It is miserable! I have had the poos for five days and counting. I have been missing work and just staying home miserable. I'm wondering how long it will take my body to adjust and be able to have normal bowel movements again? I feel ready to give up and just take the pills already so I can get out of the house and on with life. :/

to all you non believers that believe immodium will not cuase horrific opiate withdrawal sypmtoms from sudden cessation after higher doses at longer time frames. Go ahead and try it, than stop cold turkey and tell me that wasn't the worst 10 days of your entire life. Immodium used at right levels is fine but abused it will give you the most horrific opiate wd you have ever experieced!!!!!!!!

Hello, I have been taking loperamide (Immodium) 2 mg. daily for probably 30 years, and have experienced no side effects. The only problem when I stop taking it is a recurrence of my problem of loose stools. I have no other withdrawl problems. I am convinced that with a low dose there are no withdrawl symptoms. Taking loperamide also greatly reduces the gas problem with certain foods. Glenn

I have a good friend who's just beginning to use Immodium after going off opiates and couldn't figure out why it helped him out so much and now I know. If your body can't live without a type of chemical ingredient than somethings really off. I am very struck by all everyone above has gone through to get off this stuff and am impressed with the dedication...keep up the good work! That's a great example of self-love. I'm also struck that there is no warning about this for the public...not good! There needs to be a label of some sort stating the product is addictive. Thank you cmartino for sharing your knowledge. dolphingirl

You are going thru withdrawl symptoms.  I have been taking Imodium for 10 years now because of IBS and everytime I go off same thing as you.

Within 3 to 4 days the diarhea starts and as of yet I have not been able to get past the 2 week mark because of it. The flu like sympton and what

I call the hebejebees eventually go away after about a week. Miserable up till then.

What helps is taking tylenol or a product like it. It will help on the hebejebees and the muscle aches and pains.  Taking Benefill with every meal

may also help you with the diarhea. Drinking water and bread will also help.  I encourage you to keep going before you end up as addicted as

me. Iam planning on trying again next week when I have a very slow schedule.

Good luck and god bless.

I was diagnosed with IBS several years ago. I am twenty one now but I had horrible colic as a baby and I've had stomach issues since. I've been to many doctors, many specialists, my parents have paid a lot of money to determine I have 'irritable bowel syndrome'. To me, IBS seems like a general diagnosis recognizing a very wide array of symptoms. I've taken several different prescriptions, I wish I could remember names, but nothing has worked or helped. My problem is when I become anxious or nervous, I get diarrhea. As a child, I had a lot of attendance problems because my stomach was constantly sick. I could not attend sleepovers or other social functions, after school activities, or any of that fun stuff a normal kid would do. After trying a lot of different prescriptions to combat my problem, I (not a doctor) discovered loperamide hydrochloride works every time and is a hell of a lot less expensive than paying for pointless consultation. I have had to use this medication for years so I'm able to work 40 hours a week, attend class, go out with friends.. basically what I'm trying to say is I've used this medication for years so I'm able to do things most people can do normally, without medication. Some days (or weeks) my stomach doesn't bother me at all and other days it bothers me nonstop. It does not matter what I eat or whether or not I add more/less fiber to my diet. It is 100% nerves but it worries me I've been taking it for this long (and will have to continue to take it) with no knowledge of long term effects. I had absolutely no idea the medication is similiar, chemically, to an opiate or narcotic. I've never noticed any kind of withdrawal symptoms but I may not take it enough to have them. I have noticed some kind of a dependency, although I'm completely uncertain if it's due to the fact it legitimately stops the diarrhea relatively quick, or if it's simply a placebo affect, or if I feel dependant solely because of the chemical makeup. I've always wondered about the possilibity of developing a tolerance which would prevent the medication from working or which would require me to take higher dosage. It's somewhat reassuring reading others have similar problems and concerns.

This is a great thread for information (and kind of scary).

I'm in almost the exact same situation as the poster above. I'm 25 with IBS-D caused primarily by long term anxiety and depression conditions I've had since I was eight (yes, that young). My IBS started when I was 15/16 though I often had the less destructive symptoms such as extremely painful abdominal cramps since 11 years old. This is my 6th year on loperamide which took me around 10 doctors, a specialist included, to find out about. Until then I was getting ridiculous advice centering on high fiber diets repeated ad infinitum. For some reason all the other doctors assumed I was lying when I said IT MADE ME WORSE.

So, to my experiences.

1) Is loperamide addictive?
I'd say yes, and I usually don't take any more than 5 a day on a bad day. But then I count the behavioral impact as part of addiction. You have diarrhea, you take pill, diarrhea stops, you feel happy. Chemically I don't know, after a few days without it I start to have problems but I pin that down on being purely psychological. Fear of the consequences of not taking it due to a natural condition. I have had chills and a constant migraine also however I would have these symptoms before I started taking loperamide on occasions where my IBS was particularly bad.

2) Do you build up a tolerance for loperamide?
Yes. Hell yes. All the data seems to say no but all the data is wrong. You build up a tolerance, go off it for two weeks if you can manage, and then go back on it. Even then it might not work as well as it used to, but hey it means you can leave the house.

3) Should we be worried?
Probably. I find my brain doesn't work as efficiently when I'm on loperamide, I believe this may be a consequence of the dehydration that results from its use. The symptoms so many people here are describing are rather confronting but most seem to have situational aspects that may have more to do with the result rather than the loperamide itself. I don't see much wrong with the fact of addiction as such, since caffeine withdraw for me at least has mostly the same symptoms.

4) Is it worth taking knowing it's a risk?
Again, most definitely yes for me. I recently had a conversation with a relative who was concerned that I was taking it almost daily. They mentioned that we don't know what it will do to my body, and I answered that I don't care. I told them I don't care if I die 10 years later due to my taking the drug, it's better than the alternative. Without it I would be dead already as my pre-loperamide days involved my anxiety and IBS fueling each other until I couldn't leave the house, had a mental breakdown and very logically planned my suicide (with various phases, including ways to ensure I didn't change my mind later, said all I needed to to my relatives, and placed the lowest strain on the world by consuming fewer resources and cutting off all contact with another living person until my final day at the end of the month).

This is not uncommon. Most people with severe IBS end up going through a period of such anxiety that they become shut-ins. The more you stay a shut-in the greater the anxiety and depression builds, leads to a loss of purpose and therefore suicidal thoughts. This is also a natural consequence of our make-up. We learn and repeat behavior, observe the consequences of that behavior, and our brain decides where the behavior should continue or not. For IBS sufferers the humiliation of facing an attack in a public place, both the reaction of other people and your opinion of yourself (since lack of control over your own digestive system as an adult is a painful realization), is obviously negative. We want to stop the pain and humiliation, but we can't stop the behavior that causes it therefore the only other option to us is exclusion. Even that doesn't work entirely because you can't depart from your body any way other than death.

In order TO LIVE I take loperamide. It's not a magical pill to fix all your woes but it means I can leave the house, have a social life, work, study and do things that so many people take for granted. Some days I still can't but it's still worth it for those days I can. If it means I need to take it for the rest of my life, I will. If it means it kills me, that's okay. The only consequence I would care about is if it stopped working and also worsened my condition, however in this case I would take my risks with the more dangerous drugs.

**For those who would like to take fewer pills I recommend taking a look at probiotics. I found that the particular one I'm on, while didn't stop my condition on its own, seemed to improve the effectiveness of loperamide.