Hey everyone. I'm curious to hear how some of you are managing nighttime frequency with either immodium or fiber, or other ways to "improve" it.

I am taking immodium and it helps (although not as much as I would like!), but would like to hear what kind of dosage and schedule some of you are taking it on. Like many others, my only concern is night-time so that I can get some more sleep and less interruptions.

I'm also interested in any other remedies or ideas on getting a good nights sleep!!!!! We have a 7 week old baby girl too, so between waking up with her and bathroom stuff I'm getting a little tired. You would think I could "go" when I get up with her but it doesn't seem to work out that way often enough!

Thanks,

Rick

Rick,

I try not to eat anything after 6PM and I take 3 immodium at bedtime (around 10PM). This usually has be getting up once (maybe twice) each night. Hope this helps, but you'll have to consult your new daughter to talk about her nighttime schedule!

Rick:

I normally take 1 Lomotil before bed, and I usually will get up once maybe twice to go to the bathroom. The Lomotil is a little stronger than immodium and is perscribed by my doctor.

I was like you, getting up all the time to go the restroom and wasn't getting any sleep.

I am almost 6 months TD.

Good Luck,

Craig

I take three Imodium before breakfast, and that's it. This way it is working all day long, slowing my gut while I am eating. I eat anytime I want, including right before bed. I used to get up 2-4 times a night for the first 4 years or so after my surgery. Then I had my cuffitis treated and started sleeping through the night.

Imodium has a peak blood level after about 4-5 hours from oral dosing. It has an average half life of about 11 hours, meaning that 9-14 hours after you take it, half the dose is still circulating in your system and a quarter will still be around the next day. So there is a day-to-day overlap. This means that for the most effective dosing, you need to take it every day so you get a constant effect. Spacing it out throughout the day is good too.

Jan

I did not realize that immodium stayed active and worked in our system for that long or that it takes several hours to reach its peak. I think I'm going to try a different schedule and perhaps try taking it with my evening meal rather than closer to bed-time. This is helpful. Thanks Jan!

Rick

Yes, my thinking is that it is better to slow your peristalsis when you are putting food/fluid into your system, so it is well digested/absorbed. By the time bedtime rolls around, it's sort of too late. And, don't underestimate the effect of minor inflammation. Until my cuffitis was treated, Imodium only had a minor effect on my output. I had a long learning curve of 4 years, mostly because I didn't know what to expect as normal and I knew my past concepts were no longer valid. I was functioning OK, but did not think things could improve. I was wrong. That's what makes sites like this so valuble.

Jan

Not wanting to hijack the thread but since it is a somewhat related question: Does immodium in the higher doses used by you folks, make one tired or groggy or have any other sort of known toxicity or side effects? Just wondering, since it seems to be a staple for most of you.

I am also curious (have asked this before but no-one ahs ever responded) if anyone has ever tried glutamine/l-glutamine to slow things up. I use it from time to time for my UC "D" but only in low doses, as it seems a very powerful constipator.

Christopher

I used immodium and hysocamine (spell?) the entire time I had my j-pouch. Now with the perm ileo I take 3 immodiums at bedtime (although now that I learned another NEW TIP from Jan, I think I switch to dinner time). I don't wake up until around 5:00 or 5:30 because that's when my bag gets full (sometimes its mostly air) and I can't roll over on my belly.

I have NEVER experienced any groggy or droziness from immodium. Then again it takes a lot to knock me out.

I buy large quantities of immodium from CostCo because its a necessary item in my medicine chest. Maybe you need a little help with a prescription med added like the hysocamine (lomotil maybe - Jan?). That worked well for me when I had the j-pouch.

Cat

is it ok to take more than one 2mg immodium at a time then?

It does not make me drowsy, never did, but some people have that problem. However, supposedly, this effect resolves on it own as your body acclimates to the drug when you use it chronically, sort like tolerance to narcotics.

I have never heard of glutamine as being a powerful constipator. My understanding was that it can reduce diarrhea or shorten the period of acute diarrhea, not because it is constipating, but because it provides nourishment to the gut mucosa, aiding in healing. It is expensive, so unless you have mucosal inflammation, it may not do anything. I suppose it is worth a try.

There have been some experiments in its use in Crohn's and ulcerative colitis (as germinated barley foodstuff) that seemed promising, but I haven't seen anything recently. Of interest, people with UC have reduced glutamine in the skeletal muscle after colectomy. I don't what the significance of that is, but I found it interesting. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=...anel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

Jan

You can take up to 8 Imodium a day, either as a daily dose or in divided doses. More is not dangerous, but has not been found to be useful. If 8 a day is not cutting it, 16 a day won't improve things.

Jan

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jan Dollar,

sorry Jan, to be so dim, but can you please explain what you mean about the germinated barley bit and immodium. What is immodium constituted of. I am thinking of my coeliac disease here and wondering if I may be makeing things worse by taking them?

I was responding to Christopher's question about glutamine and the studies regarding it used germinated barley foodstuffs and there were other posts in between. Imodium does not contain barley. Imodium is a brand name for loperamide, which is an opiate derivative that has the GI effects of the opiate as the primary function, and the central nervous system effects as a very minor function. There usually are the standard binders with it. It doesn't even contain lactose.

Jan

Thanks, Jan. Regarding glutamine, from my own experience (UC and still have colon though probably not for very much longer!) glutamine seems a powerful diuretic (sp.) - 'dries up' my colon and diverts water to the bladder - hence acting as a powerful constipator- but *without* having the much lauded healing effects on the gut mucosa that is in the glutimine literature. (It is used for burn recovery as well as commonly used by body builders and athletes.) In fact, that literature advocates fairly heavy doses for flares, e.g. 10-20+ grams a day, and I find that just a couple grams constipate me, and I only use it very occasionally.

If I were to use 5+ grams a day as suggested, it wouldn't be the sort of constipation that makes me "normal"- it would block me up completely for a day or two (still suffering UC pain inside- probably moreso even due to blockage / gas pressure inside) until a gassy, dry sort of D / "powder" finally forces its way out, very uncomfortably.

So in summary, it just might work well for reducing pouch frequency too (if anyone tries it, start with a very small dose like a gram or two). As for cost, well, a big jar of 500 grams or so is only $15 or thereabouts, so it might be competitive or cheaper than Immodium- just a thought.

Christopher

Thanks Chris.

The information you give indicates it is quite cheap. I wonder if what you got was different than the glutamine noted in the literature I read. But, obviously, you have found a good source and it works for you. I would presume it would work similarly for you after colectomy. Plus, it may be worth trying for others here. Certainly couldn't hurt (I think).

Jan