"Imagine your worst case of montezuma's revenge and imagine it occurring hourly", says Diana Hoyt, a 42 year old wife and mother who suffers from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a gastroentestinal disorder that causes violent, sudden urges to go to the restroom.  "For the last 14 years, in my current job, I have had to stop at the bathroom once and often twice on my 30-45 minute commute to work each day.  This was without putting anything in my mouth to eat that morning", says Diana.  She suffers from diarrhea prominent I-B-S.  Like thousands of people, Diana tried almost every medication on the market for I-B-S but nothing worked effectively until she found the drug Lotronex, a 5-HT3 antagonist. 

 Last November, the drug's maker Glaxo-Wellcome, Inc. pulled it off pharmacy shelves because of numerous reports of adverse effects like abdominal pain and rectal bleeding.  But thousands of patients across the country say Lotronex gave them a normal life.  "For the first time in my adult life, I thought of life without fear. I have a 3 year old son and I can't imagine taking him to a park, going for a bike ride or sitting at a soccer game watching him play without this drug", says Diana. 

Since Lotronex was taken off the market Diana has met thousands of other I-B-S sufferers on the Internet at the Lotronex Action Group website www.lotronexactiongroup.org.  Members have launched a letter writing campaign to the drug's maker,  Congress and President George W. Bush .

Glaxo-Wellcome says  the company has continued talks with Food and Drug Administration.  "We are trying to develop a program that will minimize the potential risk to patients while allowing those who benefit from Lotronex to have access to the drug, says Romona Dubose, public relations spokesperson.