Gastrointestinal problems
December 10, 2012 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Dr. med. Frauke Gehring
I took 6-8 Buscopan tablets daily for 3 months, the reason being - I had problems with breastfeeding and wanted to stop. My son did not drink from the breast, and pumping only worked if I took a Buscopan every 4 hours and one two hours before pumping. Otherwise, my breast was so hard that nothing came out, and this went on for 3 months. My doctor recommended slowly stopping Buscopan once the milk was gone, which I unfortunately did not do. Now, since then (about 4 weeks ago), I have stomach problems and frequent diarrhea, could this be from the tablets? When I took the tablets over the 3 months, I actually always had bloating from the tablets. Should I be worried?
Thank you.
Dear Ms. Kogler,
Buscopan paralyzes the muscles of the stomach and intestines, which then can no longer function properly. Now (I assume you abruptly stopped taking the capsules?) both organs need to learn how to function properly again. This is regulated by the autonomic nervous system, which now needs to readjust. Uncoordinated or poorly coordinated movements of the intestines can lead to diarrhea and stomach cramps.
However, please do not start taking Buscopan again, but rather try using a hot water bottle and calming teas!
At the same time, please get an ultrasound examination to check for the presence of gallstones, and possibly have a stool sample analyzed to rule out the possibility of an infection (e.g. with Salmonella) as the cause of your symptoms. It is also important to have your blood tested to ensure that your liver and kidneys are functioning properly.
There is no need to worry; your gastrointestinal tract will eventually learn to function properly again!
Best regards,
Dr. Frauke Höllering, Specialist in Internal and General Medicine
