In my now full year of bowel problems (started with mainly diarrhoea, then changed to mixed, now seems to be more on the formed side, with the occasional explosion!), I have found that the only thing which gives me confidence to go out and do things is a Loperamide in the morning. It stops the flow and seems to reduce the gurgling and gas I often experience. This in turn means I worry less when out and about. I have wanted to try to take a smaller dose than the standard 2mg that the Loperamide comes in but most seem to come in capsule form only. I have recently found some 'instants' in Lidl though so will try only half tomorrow when I go out. One full dose does not cause huge constipation problems so I think I am safe from bunging myself up too much by doing this when I need to. If it's a quick trip somewhere I don't bother, but for longer days out I do. I keep meaning to contact the GP to see if they can prescribe something where the dose can be varied. I am also wondering if it might be worth experimenting with Buscopan as I understand this slows motility as well, and might also help with the only very occasional cramps I experience.
Apologies if I am repeating myself as may have asked this already on this forum, but has anyone experience of using these two meds to control symptoms when out and about and, if so, have you found that Buscopan slows things as well as Loperamide? Is one any better/safer than the other perhaps?
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Maz1962
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Hello, I also use loperamide if I have a planned event or appointment. What seems to work for me at the moment is to take one two days before, and if needed another one day ahead. It takes time to work, but this seems to help avoid the urgency. Sometimes, because it slows down motility, I can get a bit of cramping due to gas, and Buscopan does help with this. I suppose it is a bit of trial and error to find what works for you.
I can't answer your question directly, but there is also Colofac (Mebeverine) which is an alternative to Buscopan. I say that since I couldn't tolerate Buscopan. It is much gentler than loperamide and I used to rely on it during the early days of IBS. You could always experiment when you are at home to see how well it works for you.
I’m afraid I don’t have any experience with Buscopan. I will keep it in mind though if I feel my IBS is getting out of control.
Dealing with IBS is an ongoing process of adjustment for me and I’m sure everyone has a different experience. At the present time, I take a product from the USA called IBsolution which seems to regulate motility and works well for many people. You can read some reviews about it. Two tablets one in the am and one in the pm as they advise isn’t right for me, so I take one IBsolution every am and1/2 tablet of loperamide every few days. It isn’t much at all, but a whole tablet makes me constipated. Where I live in Canada there is a tablet available which can be split; it’s not a gel. I get it in generic form and not the brand, Imodium, but it’s the same thing and cheaper.
Taking less isn't a great idea - the dose has been formulated already, and if you halve it, you will most probably render it ineffective.
Mebeverine is good, but wasn't enough for me - my GP added Buscopan to the mix and that was very good. However even the combination wasn't enough, and as well as the panic of abandoning the shopping trolley and hoping I could sprint to the loo in time I continued to have occasional "emergencies" and intense pain.
Purely by serendipity I have discovered what to me has been a miracle drug. I was prescribed a painkiller called Nefopam, which works in a completely different way to other painkillers, for my Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, and I discovered within a week that it was preventing any diarrhoea and has put my IBS into what I guess can be called remission.
Since IBS obviously includes extreme pain, I can see no reason why if you ask him or her, your GP wouldn't prescribe nefopam for you. (I am prescribed a 3 times daily dose of 90mg or whatever the term is; usually they start you at 30.) Experiment!
Hi, i recently had a spell where i was going to the loo up to 7 times a day. It was very perplexing. I don’t normally medicate my IBS but i had some Buscopan which was prescribed by my doctor. I took it for a week or so and it does seem to have helped. I’m only going twice a day now. I also tried RestorFlora as i had taken a course of antibiotics and this seemed to make things worse. I’m not sure how effective it was. I think it did help a little but this, combined with the Buscopan certainly helped.
They are both safe to take Buscopan helps with pain and Loperamide will help with diahrea my Consultant approved this for me to live a normal life as possible. X
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