Loperamide Loperamide Loperamide, sold under the brand name Imodium, among others, is a medication used to decrease the frequency of diarrhea. It is often used for this purpose in gastroenteritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and short bowel syndrome. It is not recommended for those with blood in the stool. The medication is taken by mouth. Common side effects include abdominal pain, constipation, sleepiness, vomiting, and a dry mouth. It may increase the risk of toxic megacolon. Loperamide's safety in pregnancy is unclear, but no evidence of harm has been found. It appears to be safe in breastfeeding. It is an opioid with
Loperamide physical dependence during preclinical studies, specifically in mice, rats, and rhesus monkeys. Symptoms of mild opiate withdrawal were observed following abrupt discontinuation of long-term treatment of animals with loperamide. When originally approved for medical use in the United States, loperamide was considered a narcotic and was put into Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act 1970. It was transferred to Schedule V on 17 July 1977 and then decontrolled as of 3 November 1982. Loperamide hydrochloride was first synthesized by Paul Janssen from Janssen Pharmaceutica in Beerse (Belgium), following previous discoveries of diphenoxylate hydrochloride (1956) and fentanyl citrate (1960). The