These comments are made for the purpose of discussion and should NOT
be used as recommendations for or against therapies or other treatments. An indi
vidual patient is always advised to consult their own physician.
[posted 07/1/2000]
Question: I am currently taking Lotronex after 15 years of suffering
from IBS.I have taken numerous other medications including
levsin, imodium, lomotil, librax, to name a few. My physician
recently had prescribed injectibles because of my severe bouts.
with no relief. So far Lotronex has been wonderful
and I was wanting to find more information on the medication
and the disease itself. I have received limited information from Glaxo
and understand it deals with reducing seratonin levels in the brain.
I checked your site and found info on depression and people suffering
from low levels of seratonin. ALso found some info on carcinoid tumors. I’m
unclear on what those are. Should I be concerned about getting my levels too
low? Do you know if there are concerns about long term use? My pharmacist
knew nothing about the medication. Also are there any routine labs that I
should have done? Thanks for your time.
on this drug. I have
Answer: Alosetron(Lotrinex) is a inhibitor of the initial 5-HT3 mediated phase of the depolarizing response to 5-HT and it appears that alosetron prevents serotonin from binding to the 5-HT3 receptors. Alosetron increases colonic transit time(slows your bowel). It also, works better in women and although used in men, works much better in women. There are no current obvious drug interactions or effects on heart conduction times. Constipation is currently the only major side effect, but it has not been around long enough to know about long term effects.
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