Brands > Lotronex

I recently started taking Lotronex after having J-Pouch surgery and ending up with chronic diarrhea and increased urgency. I also had embarrassing accidents seemingly out of nowhere. After running out of drugs that could effectively help me out, my doctor turned to Lotronex, a drug with a very checkered past.

Lotronex was once used to treat severe IBS in both men & women. It was later pulled from the market by the FDA due to some serious side effects, questionable efficacy, & several deaths. After the drug was pulled, there was an outcry from former users of the drug that depended on it to carry on some semblance of a normal life. It was life-changing for many people, but also destroyed some people's colons. A few years later, the FDA put it back on the market with some restrictions--namely that only physicians that are certified with the drug can prescribe it & it's supposed predominately be prescribed for women (because it's been shown to be more effective for women than men)

I haven't been on the drug very long, but I have had some mixed results with it thus far. It has eliminated my accidents, improved my stool consistency, but hasn't really decreased the number of bowel movements I have each day. Additionally, it occasionally causes painful constipation & even some intestinal bleeding.

I'd only consider using this drug as a last resort. It can be a necessary evil and you need to be closely monitored while taking it.