Actions and Use
Diphenoxylate works by decreasing the speed and amplitude of wave-like movements of the intestines (peristalsis) therefore allowing the body time to remove moisture from the intestinal contents and consolidate waste product into a dense solid form rather than loose and watery as is diarrhea.
Similar to loperamide and difenoxin preparations, the usual protocol is to take a loading dose (usually two tablets or the quantity of liquid containing 5 mg of diphenoxylate) and then the standard dose of one tablet every 3 to 4 hours prn over a time period not to exceed 48 hours unless so ordered by the physician. Long-term intermittent prn users should contact their physician if the need for it arises more than was usual at the outset of therapy as tolerance to diphenoxylate can occur. Those taking it in large quantities or continuously over an extended period should taper down the dose on a schedule devised by the physician and/or pharmacist.
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“In history an additional result is commonly produced by human actions beyond that which they aim at and obtain—that which they immediately recognize and desire. They gratify their own interest; but something further is thereby accomplished, latent in the actions in question, though not present to their consciousness, and not included in their design.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)