Terry Olifiers
I am a LAG member
Here at my own expense

I have suffered with IBS since I was in my early
twenties. I am now 55, and that's an awfully long time
to have to go through painful intestinal attacks that
are unbearable and urgency at inconvenient times.

I have tried a number of medications to no avail. At
the same time my IBS has become worse, often sometimes
causing incontinence. I reviewed this with my doctor
and he prescribed Lotronex. I was started on two pills
a day.  At first I experienced constipation so I
stopped taking it and called my doctor. He recommended
taking Metamucil and when I was ready to cut the dose
in half. I started taking one pill daily and Metamucil
twice a day and that did the trick. I was skeptical
that this medication would work because none had ever
before, but I was willing to try anything. Well, to my
surprise, I suddenly was living a normal life. I could
now leave my house without fear. I no longer had the
embarassment of having to change my clothes at work or
running into restrooms and trying to figure out how I
could leave. It was a miracle.

In late November, a friend of mine who was also having
great success from Lotronex told me it was being
removed from the market. I was devastated. I called
the FDA, Glaxo Wellcome and went to my congressman's
office, which on my behalf wrote a letter to the FDA.
I was hysterical. I received the information that
pharmacies could dispense the Lotronex they had.

I am a medical assistant in a pediatric office. I was
so desperate that on my day off I sat with the Yellow
Pages and started calling every pharmacy. I had to fax
the FDA report to a number of pharmacies to prove that
they could fill prescriptions. I called the doctors
that I work for to fill them. I spent over $500 and
would gladly have spent more. IBS is extremely life
altering and nobody would go to the lengths that I did
for an ineffective medication.

Everyday I see advertisements for medications with
risks that are far greater than Lotronex and yet they
are still on the market.

Obviously the dosage was an issue. Some need the two
pills a day while others need less. While I did fine
with one pill a day, to conserve, I broke pills in
half. I found that a half a pill a day still worked
for me. The withdrawal of Lotronex was premature.
There are thousands of people who have been put in a
position, since the withdrawal, to try other more
dangerous drugs that are not as effective, including
antidepressants, and that's absurd. Nothing works like
Lotronex and the FDA has admitted that.

I have hoarded enough Lotronex that I still continue
to take a half a pill a day. To stretch out my time
with Lotronex, I skip pills if I can stay home. Not a
great way to live, I'm sure you'd agree. I would like
to emphasize that after two years on Lotronex, I am
healthy and living proof that Lotronex can be used
safely and effectively. I'm hoping that it will be
back on the market before I run out and put into a
position where I have to try other drugs that might be
harmful to me. Please, let us not close our eyes to
the need for IBS-D patients to be able to have access
to Lotronex so they can live normal, productive lives,
enjoy their families and friends and to go on
vacations, as I~Rm sure all of you do. This is not too
much to ask for and Lotronex is the answer.

To anyone who believes that this medication should not
be reintroduced: Let them contend with IBS-D for one
week and they surely would change their cause.