Anti-diarrhea Drug for Drug Abuse?

STATES CHRONICLE – Does the link of an anti-diarrhea drug to drug addiction and abuse sounds like a joke? Believe you me, it is not! It’s being compared with the use of cough syrup to cause hallucinogenic trips.

Apparently Imodium, a drug prescribed for diarrhea problems is being potentially used as a substitute for other powerful opiates. Serious cases related with the drug have fallen under the investigation.

High doses of the Lopiramide ingredient in Imodium have been linked to death cases, and doctors recommend parents of teens buying large over the counter Lopiramide doses to be advised and investigate. The drug can be lethal.

Imodium is being sold all over across the country, and the over the counter doses sold for intestinal slowdown do not present problems. However, higher doses can enter the brain and act like an opioid.

These high doses of the anti-diarrhea drug seem to cause blood pressure and heart rate decreases or arrhythmias.

The Carolina Poison Center has received a number of questions from law enforcement agents and EMS providers concerning the frequency of use and opioid effects of the drug. Because the anti-diarrhea drug can also be used to ease the withdrawal symptoms from opioids.

Specialists believe that the sales of Imodium should be restricted because the availability, low cost, and legal status make it the latest drug of choice for desperate opioid pills and heroin users.

In one of the cases investigated, a 39-year-old man self-treating his addiction problem with the anti-diarrhea drug was found collapsed in his home and did not make it to the hospital.

It is not yet clear how often this anti-diarrhea drug is being misused, but as the trend seems to expand, we expect to see more similar cases. Yet, by continuing to reduce the stigma around drug addicts seeking help and looking into the limitation of these powerful drugs, the U.S. could kill two birds with one stone.

So there you have it. As you can see an anti-diarrhea drug can be, and it is being used in other serious drug related problems. It’s no joke. But we keep wondering why don’t the side effects of these weird drugs make users stop using. Can you image being constantly constipated using an anti-diarrhea drug just for a mere rush? We can’t!

Image source: Pixabay