Gastroenterologist Questions Gastroenterologist

When will my bowel movements return to normal?

Hi, last week Thursday a doctor at my urgent care prescribed me Pepcid Complete to take for five days because of my stomach problems/diarrhea. (last week Tuesday I woke up with diarrhea, which settled down during the day, but started back up at night and into the morning plus every time I ate. That lasted a couple days until things started getting better. But I still wanted to know what was wrong with me, so I went to the urgent care to get checked out.) After the five days of taking Pepcid, I’ve noticed I am constipated now. It has been 48+ hours since I’ve taken the last dose of Pepcid. Was this because of the Pepcid? How long will it take for my bowel movements to return to normal?

Male | 19 years old
Complaint duration: 5 days
Medications: Pepcid Complete

1 Answer

If the main problem was diarrhea, then there is not much reason to give Pepcid, which just lowers acid in your stomach and has nothing to do with the diarrhea which probably originated in the colon or small intestine (likely from an infection). After a bout of diarrhea, sometimes the colon slows down, hence the constipation. It should recover in a few days.