Using Imodium

For a year? I have heard immodium is fine to use for life- basically harmless for the colon-less. For coloned people with UC it can increase the risk of toxic megacolon if UC is active, but there is no such issue without a colon, and there is no toxicity to the drug. Use as necessary up to 8 or so a day divided into doses taken 30 minutes before meals, but start slowly like anything else as the effect may be delayed. In a coloned person immodium means you are living a life with D but in a colonless person immodium is just another tool, a slower-downer of bowel transit time without any of the side effects associated with a coloned person, IMO.

If you don't have a colon you can safely take up to 8 imodium per day. More than that won't improve things. You can take imodium for life, too. That previous post on imodium is sketchy to me. Lomotil has a narcotic effect, but imodium has the narcotic taken out of it, hence it's availability OTC.

Sue

^what ddd45 said. It may help you through the night if you take the pills before your last meal too. And if you haven't seen, you can get bulk loperamide (Imodium) on amazon for rather cheap.

Thanks for all the replies!

I did talk to my surgeon yesterday and she did clarify that I can take 8 pills a day and for life.

I'm just starting with 1-2 pills before my last meal to see how it works. I may only want to increase it if I know I'll be traveling for a while w/o a bathroom. I just can't see being a slave to pills again. Sometimes it's hard to determine when my meal is so I can have 30 min prep time....plus I've taken so much pills when I was sick with UC it drove me nuts!

Does anyone have better luck with the liquid or chewables? What about using just the store brand compared to the name brand? I'm currently using Target's brand.

When your transit slows down, your small intestine absorbs more water from your waste, so the resulting output has less total volume. Regardless of when it actually comes out, the different in amount could potentially be enough to make the difference between needing to empty in the middle of the night and being able to wait until morning.

Will this cause a blockage is what my docs and i are trying to figure out. I was originally told to take 2 loperamide (immodium_ half hoour before each meal and 2 before bed due to my short gut syndrome (only 5 feet of intestine left) then the places i have gone with these blockages say you be the judge of when and it to take it. Thx liz for mentioning that it mounts up in the system. For me it is crucial that it not cause a blockage and that i donakt have too much maybe 1 loperamide prior to each meal and one before bedtime. Short gut such a horrid tging to deal with but add the obstructions and it is iver the edge