Does Imodium tablet affect bowl movements?

Question

Hello doctor,

I have suffered from chronic constipation for about a year now and have been taking between half sachets of Laxido per day. However, I did stop the Laxido for about six weeks now as I thought the bowels were moving well. However, I did attend A and E and was diagnosed with fecal impaction and I was told I would need to stay on laxatives in the future. I normally take between half sachets per day. Yesterday I was having a lot of diarrhea and took about 1/2 tablet of Imodium to help ease diarrhea which it did. However, I had a bowel movement today and I went to A and E. They felt my tummy and said it was nice and soft. They also did a digital rectal exam and said there was no fecal impaction. They told me to increase Laxido to up to four sachets per day and also give me some Lactulose which has not worked as yet. I did have numerous investigations done in the past 16 months such as a CT scan of my bowel and colonoscopy and everything was fine.

Could taking Imodium may have led to constipation? Although on occasion I have taken this smaller dose. I suppose it just depends. Kindly suggest.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I am reviewing your case history in detail and will get back to you in a while kindly wait for my detailed response.

Thank you.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

So, giving answers one by one:

1. If you normally get two to three bowel movements, that's appropriate and you can adjust your laxative as per your need, half a sachet of Laxido (Macrogol and Sodium chloride) would be fine. Even if you can add Psyllium husk one to two tablespoons in a glass of water every day, this can further reduce your need for laxatives.

2. Yesterday you had loose stools, our large intestine or colon is full of fecal matter and we empty only the distal almost every day, during diarrhea, our colon gets empty altogether (you can recall your colonoscopy preparation day before the procedure, passing multiple stools, so that colon should be empty while performing procedure). You did not pass today, likely the gut is already empty, and once new stool forms it will come by night or tomorrow.

3. Yes, Imodium (Loperamide hydrochloride) reduces gut movement, but it is a short-acting medicine and your abdomen is soft on examination, so nothing to worry about.

Take your regular diet, you will be back to your regular routine within the next 24 hours. I hope you find this helpful.

Thank you.

Does Imodium tablet affect bowl movements?

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