The Rhythm Restorers

Antiemetics + GI Motility Agents (Compazine, Zofran, Imodium, Lomotil)
Body System: Digestive System

Welcome to the Digestive System’s control room—where nausea hits like an alarm siren, vomiting becomes a forceful eject sequence, and diarrhea turns the gut into a runaway conveyor belt.

In this volume, Lucy and the crew enter the Brain–Gut Relay, where signals bounce between the vomiting center, the chemoreceptor trigger zone, and the intestinal tract. Your mission: silence nausea, stop vomiting, and slow dangerous GI hypermotility—using the core meds you’ll see constantly in med-surg, ED, oncology, and post-op care.

What this book covers (in story form):

Antiemetics (Shut down the nausea/vomiting signal)

• Prochlorperazine (Compazine) — blocks dopamine-driven nausea pathways: when it’s used, why it can cause sedation and movement-related side effects, and what nurses must monitor.

• Ondansetron (Zofran) — the serotonin signal interrupter: powerful for post-op and chemo-related nausea, plus key safety points (constipation risk and cardiac/QT considerations).

Antidiarrheals / Motility “Brakes” (Slow the gut down)

• Loperamide (Imodium) — reduces intestinal motility so fluids have time to be absorbed; what symptom patterns it’s best for and what to avoid.

• Diphenoxylate/Atropine (Lomotil) — stronger motility control with built-in misuse deterrent (atropine): the nursing teaching points that make it safer, and what side effects to anticipate.

You’ll learn through:

• A simple “Why are they vomiting?” map

  • gut irritation vs medication/toxin signals vs post-op triggers

• Mechanism-of-action scenes that link the brain’s nausea center to GI movement

• Nursing priorities

  • dehydration assessment (I&O, orthostatics, mucous membranes, labs if applicable)

  • when diarrhea needs escalation (fever, blood, severe abdominal pain, suspected infection)

  • constipation prevention with antiemetics

  • fall risk & sedation precautions with dopamine-blocking agents