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What Causes Persistent Diarrhea?
Posted on
Tue, 20 Jun 2017
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Tue, 20 Jun 2017
Answered on
Sat, 8 Jul 2017
Last reviewed on
Question : I have been having diarrhea for the past 7 months...the colonoscopy showed that everything looked good; the biopsy came back negative. I'm wondering if one of my medications is causing this problem. e.g. Cardival...I've been off of it fore 4 weeks and continue to have diarrhea.
I take Crestor, Vitamine D, Spiraldactone, Singular Prilosec, Nucynta, Mirapes, Magnesium, Lasix, KCL, Hyqvia, Clonaxapam..and Zyrtex...How should I go about finding out if one of these is causing the diarrhea? I know that too much Magnesium can cause it; should I start with that one?
I take Crestor, Vitamine D, Spiraldactone, Singular Prilosec, Nucynta, Mirapes, Magnesium, Lasix, KCL, Hyqvia, Clonaxapam..and Zyrtex...How should I go about finding out if one of these is causing the diarrhea? I know that too much Magnesium can cause it; should I start with that one?
Brief Answer:
you should definitely start with magnesium
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I agree with your thoughts. Magnesium should be the first to try since it may indeed cause diarrhea and it's not usually necessary for most patients. You should first measure your serum magnesium to make sure you can stop it safely.
Other drugs that may cause diarrhea include lasix, spironolactone (very rarely though), prilosec, singulair, crestor, nucynta (very common, up to 10%), KCl (also common), pramipexole (very common), clonazepam and zyrtec.
As you see, almost all of the drugs you're using may potentially cause diarrhea. You should try to remember if your doctor changed your regimen before your problems started (which drug was instituted right before your first diarrhea).
If you can't remember or can't find any related drug this way then you can try stopping them one by one starting with the less important ones. Your doctor can evaluate your treatment regimen and decide which is more important. I can't do that for you. I can only suggest what is usually less important for most patients but I can't make sure that this will work for you. So my 'generic' suggestion would be to stop drugs like zyrtec, potassium, magnesium and nucynta first. I would hesitate to suggest stopping spironolactone and lasix because they're drugs for heart failure and I couldn't possibly evaluate your condition from afar.
So in conclusion, I agree with your thoughts. You have my recommendation for a diagnostic strategy but be sure to get your doctor's approval first because only your doctor knows which drug is more important for you.
I hope you find my comments helpful!
Kind regards!
you should definitely start with magnesium
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I agree with your thoughts. Magnesium should be the first to try since it may indeed cause diarrhea and it's not usually necessary for most patients. You should first measure your serum magnesium to make sure you can stop it safely.
Other drugs that may cause diarrhea include lasix, spironolactone (very rarely though), prilosec, singulair, crestor, nucynta (very common, up to 10%), KCl (also common), pramipexole (very common), clonazepam and zyrtec.
As you see, almost all of the drugs you're using may potentially cause diarrhea. You should try to remember if your doctor changed your regimen before your problems started (which drug was instituted right before your first diarrhea).
If you can't remember or can't find any related drug this way then you can try stopping them one by one starting with the less important ones. Your doctor can evaluate your treatment regimen and decide which is more important. I can't do that for you. I can only suggest what is usually less important for most patients but I can't make sure that this will work for you. So my 'generic' suggestion would be to stop drugs like zyrtec, potassium, magnesium and nucynta first. I would hesitate to suggest stopping spironolactone and lasix because they're drugs for heart failure and I couldn't possibly evaluate your condition from afar.
So in conclusion, I agree with your thoughts. You have my recommendation for a diagnostic strategy but be sure to get your doctor's approval first because only your doctor knows which drug is more important for you.
I hope you find my comments helpful!
Kind regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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