Best med for cramping? DONNATAL -- hands down! Works every single time. But BEWARE!
(Quote)
"Donnatal is actually a combination of Atropine, Hyoscyamine, Scopolamine, and -- are you ready -- Phenobarbital."
"Warning: special mental and physical adverse effects. Older adults are especially sensitive to the harmful anticholinergic effects of a family of drugs called belladonna alkaloids. Atropine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine are all in this family. Drugs in this family should not be used unless absolutely necessary. Mental effects: confusion, delirium, short-term memory problems, disorientation, and impaired attention. Physical effects: dry mouth, constipation, difficulty urinating (especially for a man with an enlarged prostate), blurred vision, decreased sweating with increased body temperature, sexual dysfunction, and worsening of glaucoma."
(Unquote)
Hey, this might explain why I'm so crazy!
I'm a D. If I have diarrhea only, I take Lomotil. If I have light cramps but no diarrhea, I take Hyoscyamine which I dissolve under my tongue. Also, Nu-Lev is supposed to do the same for cramps (you dissolve it under your tongue) but it does nothing for me.
If I have diarrhea and my cramps are SEVERE, then I pull out the big guns -- Donnatal -- and it works every single time -- without FAIL! However, it takes awhile to kick in (about an hour to an hour and a half), so I also take Equalactin, which works immediately.
Now, having said that, Heather used to take Donnatal as well, but she said she found that her peppermint caps work BETTER than Donnatal as an anti-spasmodic! WOW! So, you might contact Heather and order some of her peppermint caps. (It caused me terrible indigestion, so I can't take it.)
One last comment about Donnatal: my GI wouldn't give it to me, claiming it is addictive. It's not addictive to me; my prescription that my California doctors gave me expired before I had even finished half the bottle! The bottle I have now which my regular doc prescribed for me is almost a year old and is still half full. Obviously it's not addictive to me. Nevertheless, that might be an issue. Obviously, the side effects are the real problem with this drug, so if you ask your doc for it, and he will actually prescribe it for you (as I said, my GI wouldn't), USE IT ONLY FOR EMERGENCIES!
Good luck,
Bev
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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