# How long do you have to have diarreha before you'll take Immodium? Tmi **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 7, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463 "2011-09-07T02:49:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/1 "2011-09-07T02:49:53Z")
Just curious. I’ve been peeing out of my brown eye for about 24hrs now and am about to cave in and medicate. I hate taking it though because once it stops me up it REALLY takes a while to unclog the pipes back to normalcy. How long do you normally wait? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/2 "2011-09-07T02:54:20Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > How long do you normally wait? How long does it take to open the package? ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/3 "2011-09-07T02:54:52Z")
IANAD, but the first question I have is what caused the [del]dia[/del]…[del]diahhre[/del]…the shits in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/4 "2011-09-07T02:56:24Z")
I pretty much just try to ride it out, in case it was food poisoning and that shit _needs_ to come out. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/5 "2011-09-07T03:21:17Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I pretty much just try to ride it out, in case it was food poisoning and that shit _needs_ to come out. This. I usually find that if my body really wants to get rid of something that badly, I should let it. The only reason I’d take something to stop it up is if I HAD to be somewhere, short term, without access to a bathroom. In that case, it probably wouldn’t matter how long I had been dealing with it. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/6 "2011-09-07T04:17:07Z")
The only time I’d ever consider taking it was if I absolutely had to travel. Your body is trying to rid itself of something bad. The last thing you want to do is keep that bad stuff festering in you. With proper hydration, diarrhea in an otherwise healthy adult is annoying but not too dangerous. And in most cases it resolves itself fairly quickly n Call in sick. Drink lots of fluids- oral rehydration solution is best (Wikipedia shows how to make it) and clear broth is a close second. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and milk. Eat a BRAT diet. Keep an eye out for blood or anything too weird. It should clear up within 3 days. More than 5 days is time to see a doctor. If you have no explanation, keep an eye out for a while. Stuff like giardiasis can go away and then re-emerge every few weeks, getting worse and worse each time until it finally hits you with all it has. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/7 "2011-09-07T04:19:09Z")
Once the acidic stuff starts making its way out, I knock back the Immodium. Having a ton of GI problems doesn’t help either ☹ ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/8 "2011-09-07T05:47:50Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever had diarrhea for 24 hours. I do take immodium, though, after maybe two or three episodes. I’ve only needed to take one dose, though. I’m pretty sure I’d call my doctor if I took immodium and then it came back. Perhaps she would give similar advice as above and tell my to ride it out for a day and stay hydrated. I dunno. If water was just going right through I would want it to stop! ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/9 "2011-09-07T09:01:58Z")
I’ve only ever taken it once, and regreted it, as I ended up having to counteract it with a laxative! Next time I’ll just continue drinking the sachets (I forget their name, but they have electrolytes and other important sounding things). ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/10 "2011-09-07T12:00:01Z")
I’d only take it if I had to climb onto a plane/train/bus, in the next few hours. And I say this as someone who has experienced Delhi belly, Bali belly, etc, etc. It doesn’t fix, what’s off, in your gut, it just stops you up. My go to remedy has always been charcoal tablets. I learned it from an Aussie guy. It works really well, but has one very predictable side effect. It can actually save your life if you’ve eaten bad shellfish etc. Plus it’s available for pennies in every third world country, so that’s convenient. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/11 "2011-09-07T13:07:08Z")
Requests for medical anecdotes and advice go in IMHO, so I’ll move this thither. **twickster** , MPSIMS moderator ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/12 "2011-09-07T16:41:34Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > The only time I’d ever consider taking it was if I absolutely had to travel. Your body is trying to rid itself of something bad. The last thing you want to do is keep that bad stuff festering in you. Eh, I’m not completely sold on this line of thinking. If you have a bad cold, would you avoid taking Sudafed because the mucus is just something bad your body is trying to get rid of? It’s my understanding, and maybe I’m wrong, that in the case of something like food poisoning, the bacteria that are causing the diarrhea don’t really “travel,” as it were, with the stool, but hang out in the intestine even if you’re on the pot, shitting your brains out for a full day. It’s not getting rid of the stool that removes the infection, it’s your own immune system finally responding and killing the bacteria or virus (or in more serious infections, some antibiotics/antivirals.)But again, I might be wrong. But there are also other types of diarrhea. For example, I’m lactose intolerant, but sometimes indulge in too much dairy…sometimes, the morning after, I take an Immodium or two to preemptively avoid what I know will otherwise be, if you’ll pardon the expression, a pretty shitty day. In this case it has nothing to do with any kind of infection, it’s just a combination of my body’s own natural bacteria going a little crazy with the lactose, and the osmotic difference from the extra, undigested sugar pulling more water into the colon. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/13 "2011-09-07T18:53:41Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I pretty much just try to ride it out, in case it was food poisoning and that shit _needs_ to come out. Ditto. If it lasts more than a couple of days, I might try the immodium in the hopes that it solved the problem. But usually I just ride it out. The last time I took the stuff, honestly, was probably 1993 - when it “hit” on a Wednesday and was still bugging me Sunday despite the blandest diet possible. And it didn’t WORK, dammit… as soon as the couple of doses wore off, it was back with a vengeance. At that point I sought medical attention. Never did figure out WHAT the culprit was (salmonolla, e coli or whatever) but within 24 hours of starting the antibiotics, the problem stopped. For those of you who find immodium stops things up… try adding Fibercon (or similar fiber supplement tablets, they have generic) and a lot of water. On the occasion above, that’s what I had to do after 48 hours and I’m sorry I didn’t start them pretty much the minute the antibiotics kicked in. Here’s a question: What would happen if you washed down a few immodium pills along with a colonoscopy prep. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/14 "2011-09-07T19:08:07Z")
Oh - and for more garden variety trots, I’ve heard that adding Fibercon (or the like) is actually a good thing, as counter-intuitive as that is. By bulking things up, it’ll absorb some of the extra fluid and help normalize the stool somewhat. > **[FiberCon Uses, Side Effects & Warnings](https://www.drugs.com/mtm/fibercon.html)** > > Physician reviewed FiberCon patient information - includes FiberCon description, dosage and directions. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/15 "2011-09-07T19:11:02Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > How long do you have to have diarreha before you’ll take Immodium? Anything over about 6". ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/16 "2011-09-07T19:23:00Z")
If you get the roaring bellyache that feels like someone is knifing you in the gutz, and then comes the odiferous gas, you’ve got something brewing inside of you that needs to be vacated. When the drizzling shitz start, resign yourself to some intense agony and horrible, horrible smells until the majority of the explosions have stopped. Taking Immodium before the stuff leaves your body is asking to be sick for quite a while longer. Once you’ve completely emptied your body of everything you’ve eaten for the past month, THEN you can take Immodium. Drink a LOT of water. Wash your hands constantly. Oh, and please, for the love of God and all that is holy, open some windows, clean out the toilet and any other bathroom surfaces that show signs of your digestive upset, and put some new rolls of TP nearby. Then wash your hands AGAIN. Avoid dairy for a day or two, so you don’t re-awaken the angry beast inside. Then wash your hands again. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/17 "2011-09-07T19:24:57Z")
It’s not the length of time, but the severity of the diarrhea. I have IBS, and sometimes, for no apparent reason, my bowels decide to go into overdrive. They aren’t trying to rid my body of toxins, they’re just trying to get my attention. I’ve found out a couple of things…fresh fruits and veggies are NOT my friends. Raw plant material, no matter how carefully washed, can trigger a horrid episode. If it’s canned or frozen, I can generally eat it. Bananas are OK, and usually citrus, and pears and apples. Carrots…well, that’s a gamble. And just about any other raw fruit or veggie is also a gamble. So now I cook the plants. Also, a lot of the generic medicines that I used to take would sometimes have an inert ingredient that was a trigger. I don’t know what this ingredient is, but I’ve quit taking most of my prescriptions. I told my doctor why, and he agreed that unless drug companies labeled the inert ingredients, that it was safer for me to not take a lot of the medications. We’ve cut back my prescriptions to just a few oral meds, plus of course the injected insulin. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/18 "2011-09-07T20:41:13Z")
Count me in the “let it run it’s course” camp. The only time I take imodium or something like that is when it’s violent enough to not be able to travel, or have to go to work, or something like that. The only time I can think of that I just took imodium out of hand is on my study abroad in England when I was staying in a 19th century dorm, with exactly one bathroom, with one toilet for about 25 people in a particular stoop. I didn’t want to be the guy hogging the crapper, nor did I want to risk having a blowout either. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/19 "2011-09-07T23:22:46Z")
I’ll take apple cider vinegar tablets first. It worked like a charm. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463/20 "2011-09-08T00:46:17Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > . Also, a lot of the generic medicines that I used to take would sometimes have an inert ingredient that was a trigger. I don’t know what this ingredient is, but I’ve quit taking most of my prescriptions. I told my doctor why, and he agreed that unless drug companies labeled the inert ingredients, that it was safer for me to not take a lot of the medications. We’ve cut back my prescriptions to just a few oral meds, plus of course the injected insulin. Ever think of seeing if insurance will spring for a compounding pharmacy that will make the meds without the fillers? I have been so tempted to see how much my handsfulls of pills would cost to be concentrated in 4 daily pills [5 am, 1pm, 5 pm and 9 pm …] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-you-have-to-have-diarreha-before-youll-take-immodium-tmi/595463.md?page=2)