Urgent Question about Urine Drug Test

Nurses General Nursing

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Does anyone know if Imodium (OTC) shows up in a urine drug screen? I know that lotomil is a narc, but imodium lists it's s/e as drowsiness,etc (never expirenced these though). Someone please help! :uhoh21:

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No I wouldn't think anything in Immodium would cause a false positive. However make sure you tell them all the meds you are taking when they ask :).

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Lomotil is just a combo of atropine sulfate and an antiperistaltic.

Immodium shouldn't show up. Other drugs can cause drowsiness that won't show up on a UDS either, like Benadryl and Flexeril.

The most important thing is to just give them a list of what meds you're currently taking.

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Thank you for taking the time to respond. I didn't really think so either, but I'm being so paranoid. Yes, though, I will definatly list all the meds I have taken before the test!

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Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.

I had a friend who was almost fired at my workplace because of a positive on a urine test too (X2). And we spent quite a bit of time looking over her meds because there was no known reason why this should have occured! It took forever before we both went DOH! It was ambien!!!!!!

I felt so darned stupid I didn't catch it, but then again she didn't remember really that ambien will do that! Then I took stock too because I too have ambien PRN which I haven't used in a long time, but still use once in a blue moon when I can actually get 8-10 hours of sleep and need it! She and I told our employer that we have a script for ambien and do use it on occasion, and so now they are notified that it can be an issue on drug testing.

But immodium...no, never heard of that one triggering the old urine test bell! But don't forget to include naturalpathic supplements, diet supplements, and vits you may be taking as well...had a friend that was taking a energy bar that had a high content of poppy seed oils and that certainy popped up positive (another one that was hard to find out about...took us a while)!

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Loperamide is an altered morphine like structure designed to bind to opiate recpetors in the gut. But it has not opiate like mood properties and zero potential for abuse. Furthermore, it will not and cannot show up in a typical drug screen.

Lomotil is just a combo of atropine sulfate and an antiperistaltic.

The antiperistaltic in question is diphenoxylate, a mood altering opiate that can and will cause a postitve urine drug screen.

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yes, i think it does show

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yes, i think it does show

May I ask where you found this info? I cannot stop taking this med, and although I can get a letter from my specialist if necessary (he doesn't like me taking it but understands why b/c nothing else works), I need to know the facts. NPtoBe where did you get your info? All of my nursing texts say that its not addictive, no abuse potential, etc, but that it's a demerol-like derivitive. I'm freaking out now....... :uhoh21:

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May I ask where you found this info? I cannot stop taking this med, and although I can get a letter from my specialist if necessary (he doesn't like me taking it but understands why b/c nothing else works), I need to know the facts. NPtoBe where did you get your info? All of my nursing texts say that its not addictive, no abuse potential, etc, but that it's a demerol-like derivitive. I'm freaking out now....... :uhoh21:

I am sorry, I was showing my friend how to respond to a post and inadvertently pressed "submit reply", please forgive me- I do not know the answer to the question at hand.

:imbar

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Specializes in MS Home Health.

Seen it myself.......If you need to address a positive screen your script bottle should be fine. I had dental surgery once and of course was picked for a random screen and showed the bottle/was fine.

renerian

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May I ask where you found this info? I cannot stop taking this med, and although I can get a letter from my specialist if necessary (he doesn't like me taking it but understands why b/c nothing else works), I need to know the facts. NPtoBe where did you get your info? All of my nursing texts say that its not addictive, no abuse potential, etc, but that it's a demerol-like derivitive. I'm freaking out now....... :uhoh21:

Its a verifiable fact. Don't freak out. I know a lot about chemistry, pharmacology, and furthermore I worked at a rehab. Its an interesting drug, immodium, it has a basic morphine-like, not demerol like structure, but that does not matter, because it has hydrocarbon group on the end that deactivated it in humans, except in the gut. Opiates, as you may know slow down peristalisis, when they bind in the gut, this drug binds know where else in the body at any signidicant level. Anyways, it is metabolized a bit differently then any opiates that would show up on a UDS and therefore won't show up.

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Its a verifiable fact. Don't freak out. I know a lot about chemistry, pharmacology, and furthermore I worked at a rehab. Its an interesting drug, immodium, it has a basic morphine-like, not demerol like structure, but that does not matter, because it has hydrocarbon group on the end that deactivated it in humans, except in the gut. Opiates, as you may know slow down peristalisis, when they bind in the gut, this drug binds know where else in the body at any signidicant level. Anyways, it is metabolized a bit differently then any opiates that would show up on a UDS and therefore won't show up.

Thanks. I did some more investigating, called McNeill who manufacturs it and it seems you are right (lets hope :chuckle ). Even the Olympic drug screeners state that Imodium is an acceptable drug for athletes to take. I appreciate all the responses. :)

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