The following medicines may oppose the effects of distigmine:

Pyridostigmine thus increases the likelihood of a nerve signal being successfully transmitted to the muscle.

Neostigmine thus increases the likelihood of a nerve signal being successfully transmitted to the muscle.

Edrophonium thus increases the likelihood of a nerve signal being successfully transmitted to the muscle.

Distigmine thus increases the likelihood of a nerve signal being successfully transmitted to the muscle.

Distigmine stops cholinesterase from breaking down acetylcholine at the junctions between the nerves and the muscle cells.

Distigmine increases the amount of acetylcholine acting on the receptors in the muscle of the bladder wall.

Distigmine increases the amount of acetylcholine that is available to stimulate the remaining receptors and this allows the muscles to function normally.

Distigmine increases the nerve messages to the gut that make it contract and helps it move food along.

Distigmine could enhance the side effects of medicines such as beta-blockers that act on the heart, for example propranolol.

Distigmine can also be used to improve nerve transmission to the muscle in the gut in people whose intestine is not working properly following surgery.

Distigmine may rarely be used to treat a condition called myasthenia gravis, in which the body's immune system destroys many of the acetylcholine receptors on the muscle cells.

Distigmine is used mainly in conditions where there is difficulty emptying the bladder, for example following surgery, or when there is a problem with the nerve supply to the bladder.