Warning: this popular OTC drug can be deadly, even ‘used as directed’
It’s the go-to diarrhea drug for millions of Americans.
But now, the FDA is warning that loperamide — more commonly known as Imodium — can trigger a deadly heart condition.
And it’s one that doctors may not be able to save you from.
That’s going to come as a big surprise for countless people who have been told Imodium is safe as mom’s apple pie.
But when you learn what’s really inside this drug — and its shocking history — you’ll see that these alarm bells should have sounded a long, long time ago.
You may be surprised to find out that loperamide is an opioid drug — just like OxyContin and Vicodin.
It’s sold OTC under lots of different brand names — the most popular, of course, being Imodium A-D.
In fact, after it was approved by the FDA back in 1976 (I know, it’s been around forever), it was put on the list of controlled substances along with morphine and codeine, but was taken off a short six years later.
Regulators have tried to make loperamide out as being a “safe” drug because it won’t give you the typical opioid high.
But now we know it’s not as benign as they want us to believe — in fact, it can be deadly.
Last week the FDA issued a “safety communication” about how loperamide has been reported to cause deadly heart problems, including life-threatening arrhythmias. The FDA also reported that even the typical antiarrhythmic drugs used to save lives aren’t working in many loperamide-induced cases.
So how does the agency manage to justify allowing this potentially deadly OTC drug to be so widely used and sold just about everywhere?
It’s putting the blame on America’s growing drug epidemic. That’s right, it’s all the fault of people who have become addicted to opioids.
The agency said that Imodium and other generic versions of the drug are being taken by addicts in giant doses to both get high and to help with withdrawal symptoms.
A story from CBS even said that these deadly side effects are due to a “bizarre manifestation of the nation’s drug abuse problem.”
But here’s what the mainstream media didn’t bother to tell us: You don’t have to be an addict or take the drug at super-high doses to put your life in danger.
You can be in the same jeopardy taking the recommended dose if you also happen to combine Imodium with a whole list of other widely used Rx and OTC meds!
For example, the FDA listed drugs like Zantac and Tagamet HB. Why, these are popped by the handful for people with stomach problems, and are likely combined with Imodium all the time!
Can you believe this is the first time we’re being told this? (I’ve listed more drugs that interact with loperamide/Imodium at the bottom).
And here’s something else you probably never heard about.
In 1990, after months of desperate pleas by pediatricians in Pakistan, Johnson & Johnson agreed to voluntarily withdraw its Imodium drops product for infants that was distributed around the world.
Nineteen babies suffered paralysis of their intestines from it — and it killed ten. Experts are saying that the true tally of babies who died as a result will never be known.
And while Imodium is no longer sold in the U.S. for infants, it’s still allowed to be used in kids as young as six!
If Imodium or any other loperamide drugs are the first thing you reach for to treat a case of diarrhea, you might want to consider some drug-free remedies such as a high quality yogurt containing natural cultures, a probiotic, or even coconut macaroons.
And remember, one of the biggest dangers of diarrhea is dehydration — especially where kids are concerned.
* The generic names of other meds that the FDA says can interact with loperamide (not a complete list): cimetidine, clarithromycin, erythromycin, gemfibrozil, itraconazole, ketoconazole, quinidine, and ritonavir.
Sources:
“FDA Drug Safety Communication: FDA warns about serious heart problems with high doses of the antidiarrheal medicine loperamide (Imodium), including from abuse and misuse” June 7, 2016, fda.gov
