MikeO Posted July 24, 2021 Report Share Posted July 24, 2021 Hi All, I am new to the DINET community. I am reaching out to see if anyone has found a way to deal with the stomach cramping and bowel urgency that is one of the side effects of this drug. I have Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension and as of late my episodes have become more frequent and severe so my Dr has me doing a trial of Pyridostigmine to see if it helps. I do have to say that I have noticed less fatigue and the number of episodes have decreased but, the GI side effects are hard to deal with. Thanks in advance, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sushi Posted July 24, 2021 Report Share Posted July 24, 2021 3 hours ago, MikeO said: I am reaching out to see if anyone has found a way to deal with the stomach cramping and bowel urgency that is one of the side effects of this drug. I believe that most who get these symptoms lower their dose and some lower the frequency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted July 25, 2021 Report Share Posted July 25, 2021 Hello @MikeO - welcome to the forum! I took pyridostigmine years ago and had to stop for the side effects. I do not remember which exact effects they were but i know that the specialist took me off it. In any dysautonomia it s common to experience medication sensitivity, and that is why finding the right treatment can be so frustrating. It is possible that the cramping and bowel emptying is caused by IBS-D, which also can be a symptoms of dysautonomia, but is listed as a side effect of Pyridostigmine. I would discuss it with your doctor and consider decreasing the dose or even going off the med if your doctor recommends that. Ending up with these side effects can be worse that the symptoms the med is treating, and ongoing GI problems can interfere with your ability to retain enough fluids and salt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted July 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2021 Thank you both for the advice. I will be taking a 2 week break from pyridostigmine as part of the plan and will track symptoms guess the Dr wants to see if i really am getting a benefit from the drug and go from there. @PistolI can attest to the medication sensitivity wish i was wiser about that years ago would have saved me some heart ache. I did read somewhere some folks were taking Loperamide "imodium a-d" but that does not make sense to me having to take a drug to tolerate a drug so not going that route. Thanks, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted July 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2021 Well my 2 week break from Mestinon only lasted one day before i had 2 bad episodes with presyncope, frustrating to say the least. So the Doc is going with it is working for me. I did try on Sunday eating 1 cup of oatmeal before taking the morning dose it did seem to settle out the cramps and bowel issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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