Difenoxin - Side Effects

Side Effects

Diarrhoea resulting from cyclic or diarrhoea-predominant IBS may not be optimally treated with diphenoxylate or difenoxin, and may not respond to a meaningful degree to loperamide; thus, diarrhoea and cramping which does not respond to belladonna derivatives and non-centrally-acting soothing and/or stool-desiccating agents are often treated with conservative doses of codeine, especially where paregoric and/or laudanum are not currently in general use.

Difenoxin also has some sedative and analgesic effects as with other opioids, but diphenoxylate itself is a relatively weak analgesic, and difenoxin has similarly limited analgesic effects, although it is a potent anti-diarrheal drug. Research suggests that additional non-opioid mechanisms may also be involved in the action of difenoxin, explaining its strong anti-diarrheal effects despite only limited opioid action.