Report Suspected Loperamide Misuse to FDA's MedWatch Program

Please see the January 2018 FDA notice concerning new packaging for loperamide designed to limit abuse.

Abuse of OTC loperamide (Imodium A-D, etc) is skyrocketing...and is being linked to serious arrhythmias and deaths.

Loperamide used to be Schedule V. But it went OTC in the 1980s...since its abuse potential was thought to be very low.

Fast-forward to 2016 and loperamide has earned the nickname "poor man's methadone"...because high doses can lead to opioid-like effects.

In fact, abusers often take FOUR or more times the max daily Rx dose of 16 mg to ease opioid withdrawal symptoms...or to get high.

Some people even try taking loperamide with grapefruit juice, cimetidine, omeprazole, and other meds...thinking this will boost effects.

But loperamide misuse can lead to arrhythmias and cardiac arrest.

Keep an eye out for patients picking up loperamide frequently...or in large quantities. Explain why high doses of loperamide can be risky.

Report suspected loperamide misuse or toxicity to FDA's MedWatch program...to alert your colleagues nationwide about potential problems.

Get our chart, Drugs of Abuse, for other drugs that are being abused such as clonidine, dextromethorphan, gabapentin, quetiapine, etc.

• Commentary: Loperamide Misuse and Abuse
• Chart: Drugs of Misuse and Abuse