Safe Loperamide Dosage with an Ileostomy?

How much loperamide is safe to take in a day with an ileostomy, please?

When I had my ileostomy, I took loperamide, two pills in the morning and two pills at night, but my script was written for two pills three times a day, and I did fine. I was unable to be put back together, so I now have a permanent colostomy.

You can take more than the recommended amount on the box, but ONLY with a doctor's advice. If you take more than you need, you will have the same problems as you would with having a blockage.

Hi M,

'Safe' is a relative term. I was taking 4 tabs (8 mg) four times a day initially.....so 32 mg per day, but have weaned myself down to 2 tabs a day now. It's a fairly safe drug to take, unless you're one of the poor unlucky bastards who have side effects. Normally, the max recommended dosage is 8 mg per day OTC and 16 mg per day under a doctor's supervision. It typically works for 8 hours or thereabouts, so don't overdo it. Loperamide and Immodium are the same thing, only Immodium is way more expensive.

;O)

Yeah, mine says 2 pills 3 times a day as needed, not to exceed 8 pills in 24 hours without checking with the doctor. I think it is because if you need 8 pills in 24 hours, then you could be getting dehydrated from heavy output. But mine is also based on a measurement of output. A certain level of output tells you how many pills to take the next day.

Lee

My Ostomy Journey: April | Hollister

Hi, I have been taking approximately 20 mg per day for over 15 years, as recommended by a stoma nurse, with no unwanted side effects.

I cannot speak to what the safe amount is. I can only relate what works and doesn't work for me. I started experimenting with loperamide a little more than a month ago. I started out on 2 mg, twice a day. That worked for a while. It slowed things down (ileostomy-wise) from 9-11 dumps a day to 4-6. However, one unanticipated issue soon arose. Things got too thick, and I started having pancake episodes. Since I was about to embark on a trip to your less-than-sunny land, I quit using loperamide altogether, and things returned to the old normal that I knew I could contain. Upon returning to sunny Colorado, I started my experiments again. I am currently taking 2 mg with breakfast. So far, so good. No more pancaking, and I have dumps back down to about 6 a day. Hopefully, it stays in that vicinity.

Given my experience with the stuff, I have a hard time visualizing how someone can use 20-30 mg a day. I can only fall back to that tried-and-true ostomy caveat. Everyone is different. :-)

Daniel

What would be the side effects?