Are you lactose intolerant? Prescription drugs are an under-recognized source of lactose. Lactose is used as a filler or coating in approximately 20% of prescription drugs and 6% of over-the-counter drugs. Ironically, this is true even for drugs meant to treat gastrointestinal diseases and disorders! Examplesinclue: certain antispasmodics; anti-diarrheal tablets such as Imodium; IBD drugs such as mesalazine, budesonide and prednisolone; pancreatin enzymes. People who take multiple medications or many capsules and tablets a day might be consuming quite a bit of lactose this way.
While many people may be able to tolerate a gram or two of lactose each day in meds, others may be unable to do so. Do not stop taking prescribed medication if you are concerned about lactose. Ask your pharmacist to help you figure out how much lactose is in your medications, then discuss alternatives with your prescribing physician.
For more information see http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2036.2008.03889.x/pdf
hi, i am going to start the low fod map plan next week as i have been suffering with IBS for the past year and this past few months it has flared up really bad. however, i have recently gave up smoking and take nicotine replacement lozenges. is it ok to take these?many thanks,mary
Posted by: mary | January 05, 2012 at 04:21 PM
Did the IBS getting back happen around the time you started using the lozenges? That might be a clue. First ask the pharmacist what they are sweetened with. If they are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup or sugar alcohols (usually ending with -ol, such as sorbitol), talk to the pharmacist and your doctor about whether there are any alternatives to the lozenges. If there aren't you will have to work with your doctor to decide which is worse, the IBS or cutting down on lozenges.
Posted by: Patsy Catsos | January 05, 2012 at 06:23 PM