Alcohol & Drug Information
Lomotil
(diphenoxylate)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Classification of Drugs and Alcohol

Street Names:
Unknown.

Description:
Convex white tablet (2.5 mg.).  Also available as a red liquid.

Origin and Medical Uses:
To relieve intestinal cramping and diarrhea.

Short Term Effects:
Lomotil is a narcotic drug.  When a narcotic is injected, the user feels a surge of pleasure, then a state of gratification into which hunger, pain, and sexual urges do not intrude.  The body feels warm and heavy and the mouth feels dry.  The user goes into a stupor.  The dose required for this effect may cause restlessness, nausea, and vomiting.  Taken orally, the effects are felt more gradually.  Physical effects include nausea, vomiting, insensitivity to pain, contraction of the pupils, increased urination, contstipation, sweating, itchy skin, and slowed breathing.  With very large doses the pupils contract to pinpoints, the skin is cold, moist and bluish, and breathing may slow to a complete stop resulting in death.  Heroin use is particularly risky since purity and dosage can only be guessed at.  Use of narcotics in combination with alcohol can be very dangerous.  (See synergism.)  

Long Term Effects:
Severe constipation, contracted pupils, moodiness, and menstrual irregularities.  These effects disappear after the user stops taking the drug.  Chronic users may develop lung problems due to the effects of narcotics on respiration.  AIDS and other infections can be caused by unsterile needles.  Abscesses, cellulitis, liver damage, tetanus, and brain damage can also result.  Perhaps half of all narcotic dependent women have complications during pregnancy and birth such as miscarriage, breech delivery, ceasarian section, anaemia, cardiac disease, diabetes, pneumonia, hepatitis, and premature birth.  Infants born to narcotic addicted mothers are smaller than average and frequently share their mother's injection related infections such as AIDS as well as her addiction.  Narcotic withdrawal can cause stillbirth.  A newborn infant may suffer signs of withdrawal because of his mother's habit.

Tolerance and Dependence:
Tolerance
develops fairly rapidly, making higher doses necessary to maintain the desired intensity of effects.  Most narcotics are highly addictive and regular use results in severe physical dependenceWithdrawal symptoms include severe anxiety, insomnia, profuse sweating, muscle spasms, chills, shivering, tremors, and can occur four to five hours after the last dose.  The symptoms usually last 7 to 10 days.  Dependence on less potent narcotic analgesics such as Percodan or codeine can go undetected by the user for some time.  Users may respond to the pain of withdrawal by taking another dose without realizing they have become addicted.

 

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Sources:

(1).  Straight Facts About Drugs & Drug Abuse, Revised Edition, Health and Welfare Canada, copyright Minister of Supply and Services Canada, 1990

(2).  Drugs and Alcohol Behaviour: An Introduction to Behavioral Pharmacology, Second Edition, by William A. McKim, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Prentice Hall, 1991


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