Lotronex appears to calm some of the nerve signals that trigger those problems. N.C. Significantly more of the Lotronex patients reported adequate relief of pain and bowel-related symptoms for all three months of the study. In most cases, constipation was mild to moderate. The benefits of Lotronex stopped when treatment stopped, but also resumed when treatment resumed in long-term studies, Mangel says. IBS is a chronic, recurrent condition.
Episodes occur and can last for a few days, weeks, or months.
When the patient stops taking the drug, symptoms come back. However, the situation for each patient is different. For some individuals, after a few weeks or months of treatment, it might be possible to discontinue alosetron for a period of months until the next recurrence of IBS symptoms occurs. Lotronex is already approved for the treatment of IBS in women whose main bowel symptom is diarrhea. The drug's safety and effectiveness in men have not been established.