Misc Brief (14ish days) Loperamide Abuse - Permanent Bowel/LowerGI Damage?

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

Some of you guys may remember in March I suddenly had no access to opioids and so I started taking 18-24mg of Lope a day to keep out of withdrawal. I did this for maybe 2 weeks, taking 36mg the last few days. Afterwards (and I initally put this down to loperamide/opioid w/d) I had the most excruciating lower abdominal/bowel cramps of my life. I have a high pain tolerance and it was enough to bring tears to my eyes. I also had what I call Trap Door Diarrhoea. I'd sip water and within 2-3 minutes it would come out my butt. I stopped urinating completely. I went to hospital as I was so dehydrated I could barely walk. They gave me (FIVE LITRES BEFORE I PEED!!) IV fluids and diagnosed me with Amoebic Dysentery caused by "food poisoning" (I said I thought I'd eaten something bad rather than admit the med abuse...It's a very long story but just believe me that it was very necessary) and they just sent me home to drink a lot of fluids and after a few days try eating "soft foods".
Anyway, after a week (and 11lbs) it got better but still bad diarrhoea. Now it has been over 2 months and I am still having copious, watery bowel movements around 15-20 times a day, even if I eat very little, along with mild or moderate cramping.
Could I have done myself serious damage here? I'm considering asking my GP to book me for an colonoscopy (and not just because they'll give me fentanyl and midazolam ). Is this a good idea?

 

[jhjhsdi]

Yes.

2 months of watery shit 20 times a day... Somethings defo up pal, get checked.

The midaz and fent is a bonus and at least you will get an idea of wtfs going on.

 

[falsifiedhypothesi]

It could be that the constipation and pain relief of being on opiates has hid these problems from you and now that you're off of them the seriousness of the problem has revealed itself. This is all just wild speculation, please keep going to the doctor

 

[tarman]

Warning: unpleasant TMI forthcoming:

I'm glad you posted this, man. I quit a year and half daily nasal-only h habit (or at least good RCs hell i dunno, because it had 8 hour legs from just sniffing, about a tenth or two a day, maybe more on a binge or weak batch). Switched to kratom, got down to 8g a day pretty quick, leveled off there. Quit after a few months. It's been over 2 weeks since I quit anything that tickles opioid receptors, and I'm still peeing out my ass. I had two days where it was solid this past weekend, little turds. But then I ate cheese sticks and marinara sauce sunday, and then eggs, hashbrowns and bacon (Monday), and it's been 2 straight days back to liquid shits. I'm getting pretty fucking sick of it, and am more pissed off than anything else. But on the good side, it might make me buy a bidet, because I'm tired of taking 3 showers a day.

So now I wonder if I'm super sensitive to fats or whatever. The bitter irony here is how goddamn hard I worked to not be constipated for that year+ on h and kratom. Drank probiotics, ate Fiber One chocalate brownies and cinnamon cakes multiple times a day, frosted mini wheats, muesli, high fiber bread, spinach. Hell, I even took cyclodextrin to intercept fat in the gut (it had a side effect for most people that it made their shits loose, but when you're on opioids, it was excellently on point). Anyway, I just think the digestive system, which has tons of receptors, takes a long time to heal. That's my hope anyway. But I probably should get checked out too. But it could just be that there are more of those receptors and they're empty. Sorta like what's going on in the brain. I'm calling it digestive PAWS. I'm just so scared of eating rice because of the opposite problem while on mu receptor ticklers. I don't really want to take loperamide because my gut needs to correct itself on its own. We'll see. It's just so weird to have the opposite problem after all this time. It's out of my depth lol.

 

[Jopeth]

When I came off suboxone it took 6 weeks for my bowel to return to normalish.

 

[kaosisallwesee]

Warning: unpleasant TMI forthcoming:

I'm glad you posted this, man. I quit a year and half daily nasal-only h habit (or at least good RCs hell i dunno, because it had 8 hour legs from just sniffing, about a tenth or two a day, maybe more on a binge or weak batch). Switched to kratom, got down to 8g a day pretty quick, leveled off there. Quit after a few months. It's been over 2 weeks since I quit anything that tickles opioid receptors, and I'm still peeing out my ass.

When I quit taking codeine (1.5g a day) I had digestive issues for a good 2 months. Stomach cramps, sudden shits, things didn't return to normal for a while. The odd thing is that I never had constipation while taking it, so assumed I'd get away with not having never ending shits...

 

[Pigspussypork]

I have been on high doses of lope for over a year now and REALLY WANT TO STOP. Here is the incredibly odd part. In an attempt to stop the lop, I tried getting heroin. I was scared because I had not done other ppiates in a long time and was worried about overdosing. Crazy thing is no matter how much heroin I did i could NOT GET HIGH??!!? how is this possible? I literally did .2 shot of H just a bit ago and am not phased by it. I have been trying to get high for the last 2 weeks and haven't felt the shots of H no matter what. Even after not being on the loperamide for 5 days, a gram of heroin in a day wouldn't phase me. Im so pissed. The heroin however did stop the loperamide withdrawl. Whats the deal here??!! Why won't the heroin get me high anymore?? I'm so fucking confused.

 

[GetMeOutOfThisCRAP]

When I came off suboxone it took 6 weeks for my bowel to return to normalish.

Wow. How long were you on it for?

The gut is the last to recover from former opiate abuse if what I've read is correct. It does sound like it's made worse by the lope abuse but also something more pressing potentially. I know how hard it is to take the effort to go in for an embarrassing problem but this sounds like it's taking a massive toll on your body. Sometimes the things we do to evade withdrawal end up just being more horrible than withdrawal itself could ever be. We learn to fear it when in reality the anxiety and depression are really just as temporary as the highs we once lived for.

I have been on high doses of lope for over a year now and REALLY WANT TO STOP. Here is the incredibly odd part. In an attempt to stop the lop, I tried getting heroin. I was scared because I had not done other ppiates in a long time and was worried about overdosing. Crazy thing is no matter how much heroin I did i could NOT GET HIGH??!!? how is this possible? I literally did .2 shot of H just a bit ago and am not phased by it. I have been trying to get high for the last 2 weeks and haven't felt the shots of H no matter what. Even after not being on the loperamide for 5 days, a gram of heroin in a day wouldn't phase me. Im so pissed. The heroin however did stop the loperamide withdrawl. Whats the deal here??!! Why won't the heroin get me high anymore?? I'm so fucking confused.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that lope has some sort of blocking mechanism so if you try different opiates too soon after cessation you will not feel the effects as much. Please do not push it with the H if you do not feel it. This could be potentially very dangerous.

*If I'm spreading false information correct me ASAP please!*

 

[Pigspussypork]

Wow. How long were you on it for?

The gut is the last to recover from former opiate abuse if what I've read is correct. It does sound like it's made worse by the lope abuse but also something more pressing potentially. I know how hard it is to take the effort to go in for an embarrassing problem but this sounds like it's taking a massive toll on your body. Sometimes the things we do to evade withdrawal end up just being more horrible than withdrawal itself could ever be. We learn to fear it when in reality the anxiety and depression are really just as temporary as the highs we once lived for.

I have been on it for a year or so. I will go to the doctor no problem, but i don't understand why heroin will not even get me high?! Like how could that happen? I really want a comfortable way to come off the lope and since I'm getting on subs in about a week I thought, ill just use H to start the process of getting off the lope. But the H does nothing. I mean i guess I dont go through the lope withdrawl, so it does help in that sense, but im actually trying to figure out why even after five days of not taking loperamide, heroin has NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT OF AN EFFECT

 

[GetMeOutOfThisCRAP]

I have been on it for a year or so. I will go to the doctor no problem, but i don't understand why heroin will not even get me high?! Like how could that happen? I really want a comfortable way to come off the lope and since I'm getting on subs in about a week I thought, ill just use H to start the process of getting off the lope. But the H does nothing. I mean i guess I dont go through the lope withdrawl, so it does help in that sense, but im actually trying to figure out why even after five days of not taking loperamide, heroin has NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT OF AN EFFECT

Just edited my initial post! Subs are your best bet in my opinion but I'm sure someone with an in-depth understanding of opiates down to a science could give way more info on how to handle lope withdrawal. Lope affects the heart quite negatively. It's best to get off as soon as possible.

 

[xivixive]

when i kicked a decade long opiate addiction in jail i had diarrhea every shit taken for exactly 5 weeks. i remember when the first solid turd came out - i was like wow 5 weeks exactly!

 

[Jopeth]

I was on Bupe for about 5 years actually. I never went to a clinic or doctor for it. Always from the street. At the end i was only on a mg a day at most, but after 8 years of opiate abuse it took a long time for my stomach to return to normal. That 6 weeks was just to have a solid movement. It was.....not fun.

 

[rave23]

Loperamide is an incredibly potent opioid, so I'm not at all surprised that you folks aren't feeling traditional opioids when taking it. It interacts with your receptors leading to a massive tolerance.

As far as bowel problems go, it's completely normal when quitting dope. I was pissing out of my anus for weeks at a time. Sometimes I have a day where it's alright, and then before I know it someone hits the release lever and it just dumps out. Rest assured, it does get better. Opiates slow down motility drastically, so when they're suddenly absent, everything goes into overdrive. It takes a while to level out again. Stay hydrated, eat a lot of fibre and other bulking agents to give your stool some solids to it, and mind your diet. Eating crap is not advisable during that stage of recovery. Preferably fresh foods made from whole ingredients, cooked at home. It might seem daunting at first, but it's an important skill to learn in recovery.

I still have occasional moments where I express my gratitude when looking at a smooth, well defined log floating in the toilet, and there's no blood on the toilet paper. It's the little things I took for granted, and now I appreciate them when the affair of relieving my bowels is a painless endeavour.