#librax

Chlord/Clid15.....aka librax. 

I was prescribed Librax about two weeks ago, on Friday November 22nd. I've been taking it twice a day, twelve hours apart. It's seemed to help, because I didn't get sick for the past 10 days or so. My stomach also wasn't cramping and wasn't "rumbling" as much. Over the past few days, it was "rumbling" again though. I ended up getting extremely stressed Tuesday and Wednesday, and was very sick all of Wednesday and today (Thurs 12/5).

I called my gastroenterologist on Wednesday (12/4) and told him that the medication was helping, but I still had symptoms (this was before I had gotten sick the few times). He said that I could increase the frequency to 3 times a day - 9am, 3pm, and 9pm. He also said to call him next Wednesday (12/11) to see how I'm feeling with the medication.

______________

More Info In This Post

And In This Post

Summary:

In the meantime, he prescribed me a new medication to try. Since I told him that the dicyclomine didn’t work at all, he said he saw no point in prescribing me more of that. Instead, he prescribed me a different type of antispasmodic. I can’t remember what it’s called, but when I pick it up in a few hours, and I’ll edit this and write it here with the dosing and other information. Hopefully it helps!

So the medication I’m starting is called Librax. It’s Chlorodiazepoxide Clidinium, a combination pill. It’s 5mg of chlordiazepoxide hydrochloride and 2.5 mg of clidinium bromide. I need to take one pill a day, twice a day, every day. The Clidinium is a type of antispasmodic to relax the intestinal muscles and prevent muscle spasms (similar to the dicyclomine/Bentyl that I used to take, but a different chemical makeup). The Chlorodiazepoxide is a benzodiazepine. It’s an anti-anxiety medication (called Librium) that works on the brain. I’ll be starting it tonight (Fri, 11/22). :)

I got into an argument with my doctor yesterday.

A little background:

After dealing with all sorts of stomach issues for most of my life, I finally went to see a gastroenterologist.  I told the doctor about all of my symptoms and he said, "Well, it sounds to me like you have IBS."  (I guess there's no way to formally diagnose IBS.)  He took a blood sample and gave me a prescription for Librax (anti-spasmodic & anti-anxiety).  Dr. Hayes told me not to get the prescription filled until the test results came back (2-3 days), but his office would call with my results.

Two days went by and I received a phone call saying that the test results came back negative for anything serious, so I got my prescription filled.  The prescription bottle read "Take one capsule by mouth three times a day before meals."  Anyone who knows me will tell you that I don't eat three meals a day...I'm lucky if I get two, to be honest.  But, I followed the directions on the bottle and took one capsule every time I ate.  Since Dr. Hayes didn't really tell me anything about the prescription, I started doing research on it online.  I read stuff about how it can become addictive and I shouldn't stop taking it "cold turkey" and about all of the side effects.  Things aren't looking great...

At first, I thought I stumbled onto a "wonder drug."  I could eat just about anything and not feel immediately sick.  After about three weeks, its effectiveness was about 50%.  A couple weeks later, I went back for my follow-up exam.  Hayes asked how my meds were working and I told him, "Well, at first, they were great.  After a couple weeks, it's hit or miss."  "How many pills are you taking?" he asked.  I told him "one every time I eat, but I don't eat three meals a day..."

Hayes: "Well, no wonder its not working.  Why would you only take one pill, especially if you're not eating three meals a day?"

Me: "You never told me how many to take.  The bottle says take one."

Hayes: "Well, I would have assumed that you would have increased the dosage yourself, especially if it wasn't working...  I've seen patients with severe IBS that take up to eight pills a day."

First things first, if I were in his position, I would have said, "I'm sorry about the confusion.  Here's what I think you should do.  Take _______ pills with each meal, etc."  Second, and I think this is equally important - don't act like a condescending dick to me.  Third, he's the doctor and I am the patient.  Why would I take it upon myself to increase my dosage??

So, he said, "Obviously, someone your size would need more than one pill per meal.  I would recommend three to four pills per meal."  No problem.  However, I did have a problem when I got my bill for $85 for the extremely short time that I spent with him, talking to me like I'm a child.

I increased my dosage and it was still hit-or-miss.  Sometimes, I'd feel great.  Other times, I would still feel horrible.  Obviously, I try and stay away from certain foods, but other random food would still make me sick. 

Yesterday was my most recent check-up visit.  I told the assistant that I was still feeling bad and that the medicine was about 50/50 effective.  She took notes (I assume) and, when Dr. Hayes finally came in, he started asking me about the medicine. 

Hayes: "Well, are things?  Is the medicine helping?"

Me: "Things are the same.  The medicine works about half the time, even after I increased the dosage like you told me to."

Hayes: "How many pills are you taking?"

Me: "Three to four, every time I eat, depending on what it is."

Hayes: "Are you kidding me?  Why would you take that many pills?  You're talking, like, seven or eight pills a day, right?  That's crazy!"

Me: "The only reason I'm taking that many is because, last time I was here, you pretty much laughed at me for only taking one per meal.  So... now I'm taking the dosage you told me to take last time."

Hayes: "I never told you to take that many.  I would never tell any of my patients to take that many pills."

Me:  "I distinctly remember you telling me that.  I took them like you told me to."

Hayes acted like I was making shit up, which really pissed me off.  I'm thinking to myself, "Shouldn't a doctor have their shit together and know what they tell their patients via notes or something?"  It just really pissed me off that 1) he's denying what he actually said to me and 2) he pretty much called me a liar.

Long story short, he told me that he would prescribe something else.  He gave me actual instructions this time: One pill 30 minutes before every meal and one before bed.  While I'm happy that he was specific this time, he failed to mention the side effects associated with stopping the Librax cold turkey and how I should wean myself off of it to avoid a multitude of symptoms.

I guess I'm just pissed off that, after all these years of suffering, I finally go see a doctor and I'm getting nowhere, as far as I can tell.  Hopefully, this stuff will work.  (I'm feeling pessimistic about it though...)  I just hate the thought of having to drag these pills with me everywhere I go and remember to take it 30 minutes before I eat...for the rest of my life.  It would be different if I was a girl and could just keep them in my purse.  Maybe I'll just get a fanny pack...