Imodium abuse: Anti-diarrhea medication containing loperamide dangerous for self-treatment of opiod addiction
"Loperamide's accessibility, low cost, over-the-counter legal status and lack of social stigma all contribute to its potential for abuse," said lead study author William Eggleston, PharmD, of the Upstate New York Poison Center, in Syracuse, New York. "People looking for either self-treatment of withdrawal symptoms or euphoria are overdosing on loperamide with sometimes deadly consequences. Loperamide is safe in therapeutic doses but extremely dangerous in high doses." The paper outlines two case studies of patients with histories of substance abuse who attempted to self-treat opioid addictions with massive doses of loperamide. Both patients overdosed and emergency medical services were called. The patients were treated with cardiopulmonary resuscitation, naloxone and standard Advanced Cardiac Life Support. Both patients died. Oral loperamide abuse postings to web-based forums increased 10-fold between 2010 and 2011. A majority of user-generated content per...