Immodium overdose?

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi. I'm sorry to hear that your chihuahua may not be well. I'm going to do some research for you which will take me a few minutes. Can you tell me roughly how much your dog weighs?



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Dr. Marie replied:

OK. A tablet of Immodium contains 2 mg of Loperamide. At doses of 1.25-5 mg /kg we can see signs of toxicity. So, let's say that your dog weighed 5 lbs. That is the same as 2.3 kg. This means that we can see signs of overdose at as little as 2.8 mg. Given that she had 2 mg she probably hasn't had a lethal dose.

With that said, *if* we give Immodium to a dog ( and I don't usually recommend this), the dose is normally 0.1 mg/kg which would be 0.5 mg for a 5 lb dog. As such, it is understandable that she may be feeling unwell after receiving a full tablet.

Unfortunately there really isn't anything that I can recommend you doing at home for your dog. There are some medications that can help but they are all medications that would have to be administered at the vet's office.

My other concern is that there could be something else going on. If you gave Immodium then it was likely because your dog has diarrhea. It's possible that the symptoms that you are seeing now are because of some type of serious underlying condition.

I wish I could give you more advice, but I would highly recommend that you take an emergency trip to the vet's right away.

I really hope everything is ok.

Dr. Marie.

Dr. Marie replied:

OK. I had done my calculations assuming she was 5 lbs. (See my response above). 7 lbs makes a lethal overdose even more unlikely. But, unfortunately I still stand by my advice that you need to have an emergency vet see her. She sounds very uncomfortable and there is really nothing that you can do at home that would make a significant difference.

I wish I could offer more!

Dr. Marie

Dr. Marie replied:

The twitching has me concerned. This can indeed be a sign of overdose. My gut instinct, again, is to say that this dose is not likely to be lethal, but if there is any way at all for you to find a vet tonight I would highly recommend it. I know this is difficult. No one can say with certainty whether it is necessary, but I am definitely concerned.

Respirations are hard to pin down. For a small dog, somewhere around 30-40 per minute (or less) would be normal, but I don't think that this is our biggest concern.

Dr. Marie

Dr. Marie replied:

You're very welcome! I do hope that everything works out ok!

Dr. Marie