My Dr. just suggested that I withdraw from Lomotil due to long term potential side effects. (?) Except, every time i even reduce my lomotil, i return to complete watery liquid about once/hr.
Is anyone finding success with other slow down the ship type medications?
Thank u
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I take a spoon of Metamucil and a spoon of raw wheat germ mixed in a glass of water twice a day (first thing in the a.m. and again around 3:00 pm). I started the wheat germ just as a way to stay healthy back when I first started hearing about it on t.v., but it seems to help bulk things up. If I forget a dose, boy I can tell, start getting grumbly, crampy pains and more liquid stool. Other than that, I haven't taken but maybe 2 or 3 doses of lomotil since I had my takedown almost 7 years ago. If I'm eating a salad or something for dinner that I know will probably bother me, sometimes I'll drink another glass in the evening before bedtime. It might be something that would be worth trying for you. The only trouble I have with the wheat germ is that it has to be kept refrigerated, so it's a pain to travel with. Last trip we took I took a couple of envelopes of plain instant oatmeal with me to use instead, and it seemed to do the trick.
Wendy, I'm not sure what side effects your doc is concerned about. Imodium works similarly, is OTC, and works just as well for many. I prefer Lomotil, but I only take 1-2 daily. Metamucil doesn't exactly slow the ship, and actually bulks up the stool, but it feels like a slower for some people. I use it twice a day.
I also use flax seed to bulk up and slow down my stool and as Scott mentioned, many docs really prefer Imodium over lomotil as it does not cross the brain and my GI used to say.
