Librax

[bklyn]

My GI Dr. prescribed this to me today, but I haven't been able to find it on any gluten-free lists. Does anyone know if this is gluten-free and has anyone taken it?

Thanks!

[DOCKLEARFAN]

This was posted earlier by Stephanie, I believe you couldn't find it because she misspelled the word.

The original text appeared a couple of pages before this one

Here is her comment

I went to see my doctor today and told him about how I'm doing with my diet and he told me that out of all the people he's suggested go gluten free over the past 5 years, I have the best success story of them all. I didn't ask how many had been tested by him first (I wasn't) but was surprised that he'd been recommending the diet to others. For background, I emailed him last fall after my second week on the gluten free diet to tell him about it and how I was doing and he said great - don't worry about testing, just see if the diet works for you and that is diagnosis enough.

So it had been 7 months and I wanted to check in with him and also ask about some other stuff (thyroid, autoimmune stuff). He said he thinks the diet works well for me because I am very fastidious which leads me to believe that most the other people around my area on it just don't know to what level they should be careful. That makes me sad, actually. They should all come here!

He prescribed Librex for me for my IBS symptoms. I looked around to price it on the net as my "unsurance" is pretty bad - I have a high deductable for name brand but $10 for generic plan. Librex has recently been reformulated and therefore appears to have no generic. I called a couple places and they affirmed that. But if you have the doctor write the script for the generic names (in this case, 5mg chlordiazepoxide hydrochloride and 2.5mg clidinium bromide) then they will give you the old formula generic. The difference in price at Costco's pharmacy, for example, is $123 for 50 name brand, and $17.39 generic. Just thought I'd post that info for anyone who is thinking of getting this med or if they get it prescribed already under Librex and can't get the generic.

I'll have to see if it works for me. It sounds pretty hefty of a drug but if it helps with the bad IBS episodes I get, then I'll be ok with using it occasionally.

He also gave me lab papers to get my thyroid tested (T3 uptake, T4, FTI as well as TSH) and an arthritis panel to check for autoimmune stuff there (I don't have many symptoms for that but I do get achy joints and knuckles when I ingest gluten).

It was overall a good visit. He told me he's sorry I have to go through all this in order to feel ok and I said I was actually ok with it, it makes me eat healthy food and I really don't mind it all that much. He said, "don't you ever wish you could just go eat some Ben and Jerry's???" and I laughed and said sure, but it's not the end of the world that I can't. (My homemade ice cream is better than B&J!!!)

Anyway, if anyone has any experience with Librex, please share as I'd like to hear the good and the bad.

Thanks!

Stephanie

[skbird]

Hi all -

Wanted to let you know that the generic Librax I got (as discussed in the post above) is indeed gluten free. But your doc has to specify the generic. The generic is a green capsule. I have had no gluten problems with it, nor any nightshade (despite one of the two drugs in it is derrived from nightshade, something I found out after getting it). Anyway, I haven't had a really bad gluten reaction but have been battling some IBS and other stomach problems and it does seem to help some. And getting it for $9 instead of $100+ is definitely more appealing.

The first dose made me feel a little sleepy/goofy but for the most part it doesn't make me knock out. If I take it in the evening I will want to go to bed earlier.

Anyway, a decent drug for the arsenal.

Take care

Stephanie