If you have IBS-D, or irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea, then you may feel hopeless that you can ever live a normal life again if all the treatments you have tried have not worked for you. If you have already tried managing it with recommended diet modifications, probiotic therapy, and even some prescription medications and nothing has improved your symptoms enough, then it is likely time to look into one of the new prescription medications that can help you manage your symptoms more effectively. If you haven't heard about them yet, then read on to find out what they are and how they work.
1. Rifamaxin
Rifamaxin is different than many traditional IBS medications because it is not meant to be taken long-term, but is instead taken only for two-week courses. That is because it is actually an antibiotic. The great news is that although it has recently been discovered to help IBS-D sufferers, it has already been on the market for many years and used to treat traveler's diarrhea with great success. That means that although it has only been recently approved to treat IBS, it has a long track record of safe use in humans.
While the initial studies conducted on how rifamaxin works for IBS sufferers showed that one course typically eliminated symptoms for 10 weeks, that is because they stopped following the patients after that time period, so they did not have information on how long it really kept symptoms away after this initial course. A later study followed patients for nine months after a two-week course, and it was found that over 43-percent of patients remained in IBS-D remission without symptoms returning for the full 9 months.
This means that, in the end, some people have to re-take courses of the medication at various intervals, but it won't have to be taken often and is a great option to try to get your symptoms under control.
2. Eluxadoline
Eluxadoline is another new IBS-D medication that was just FDA-approved in early 2015. This medication works differently than rimafaxin, and it works in a similar, yet more intense, way to the over-the-counter diarrhea medication called loperamide. The little known reason loperamide helps eliminate diarrhea is by activating opioid receptors in the intestinal tract, and eluxadoline also targets these receptors, but in a different way. This new medication activates one specific type of opioid receptor while blocking the action of another. This can help reduce diarrhea symptoms in IBS-D sufferers without causing constipation.
Unlike rifamaxin, this medication is taken daily to control IBS-D symptoms. It is also available in several strengths, so your doctor can help you find the right dose to manage your symptoms.
IBS-D can make it difficult to live a normal life. There are many treatment options, and if you have tried other treatments and medications that didn't work for you or didn't like the side effects, then ask your doctor about trying one of these newer options that recently hit the market.
Share11 November 2015
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