An increasing number of people are coping with their opioid withdrawal by using large doses of Imodium, an over-the-counter anti-diarrhea medicine, to get high. 

This can have fatal consequences, according to a new study.

Loperamide, known as Immodium, is an opioid drug, meaning that it’s part of the same family of substances as prescription painkillers and heroin. In normal doses, it won’t have any psychoactive effects. 

However, thanks to the drug being accessible and low-cost, those seeking to get high or to manage their withdrawal symptoms can easily get effects similar to painkillers by taking dangerously high doses.

A study on loperamide abuse was published in the journal The Annals of Emergency Medicine.

The report points to two separate cases where men, a 24-year-old and a 39-year-old, took very large doses of the drug to try and stave off the pains of opioid withdrawal. Both men overdosed and received emergency medical services at their homes, but died before reaching the hospital. Unfortunately, these were not isolated incidents.

The Upstate New York Poison Center had a sevenfold increase in calls related to loperamide abuse between 2011 and 2015, while national data showed a 71 percent increase in calls related to the drug between 2011 and 2014.

William Eggleston, a clinical toxicologist who co-authored the study, said low cost and easy access make loperamide ripe for abuse.

He added that taking large doses of the drug is dangerous and can be fatal.

“This is another reminder that all drugs, including those sold without a prescription, can be dangerous when not used as directed,” he said.