bad diarrhoea, stop taking until it Contact details

clears, then start again at a lower dose.

Colorectal clinical nurse specialists:
Store your medicine at room
temperature (do not store above 25°C). 0121 371 4980 (with answerphone)
Do not use Movicol after the expiry 0121 371 4501 (with answerphone)
date on the label.
Always read the leaflet.
Useful contacts
Bladder and Bowel Community
How to mix Helpline: 0845 345 0165
www.bladderandbowel.org
Open the sachet and pour the contents
into a glass. Add about 125ml or ¼ pint Guts UK
of water to the glass. Stir well until Telephone: 0207 486 0341
all the powder has dissolved and the
Movicol solution is clear or slightly hazy, www.gutscharity.org.uk
then drink it. If you are taking Movicol MASIC Foundation
for faecal impaction it may be easier to
masic.org.uk
dissolve 8 sachets in 1 litre of water.
Once you have made up Movicol in
water, if you cannot drink it straight The Trust provides free
away keep it covered and in the fridge
(2-8°C). Throw away any solution not
monthly health talks on a
variety of medical conditions
How to take
used within a 6 hour period. and treatments. For more information visit
www.uhb.nhs.uk/health-talks.htm or Movicol
call 0121 371 4323.
If you have any further questions
please do not hesitate to ask.
Functional Bowel Disease Service
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham
Mindelsohn Way, Edgbaston
UHB is a no smoking Trust
Birmingham, B15 2GW
Telephone: 0121 371 4980 To see all of our current
patient information leaflets please visit
www.uhb.nhs.uk/patient-information-leaflets.htm
PI18/1395/03 Author: Yvette Perston
Date: March 2019 Review date: March 2021
What is Movicol What are the risks? stop taking Movicol and tell your doctor
immediately.
Movicol is one of a group of drugs You should not take Movicol if your
called osmotic laxatives. These drugs doctor has told you that you have:
attract and retain water in your stools, • An obstruction in your intestine (gut)
making them softer and easier to pass, • A perforated gut wall
What are the benefits?
thus reducing constipation. The benefits of taking Movicol are
• Severe inflammatory bowel disease,
Movicol is indicated for the treatment like ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease that the passage of stools through the
of chronic constipation and also works or toxic megacolon bowel is quicker and the stools are
in very bad constipation (called faecal softer and so easier to pass. Taking
• An allergy to any of the ingredients
impaction). Movicol helps you have a Movicol regularly prevents constipation.
comfortable bowel movement even if It is important to read the leaflet
you have been constipated for a long provided with the medication before
time. taking it.
What are the alternatives?
If you are pregnant or breast feeding,
talk to your doctor before you take There are other medicines that have
Movicol. a similar effect on the bowel; these
How does it work? include Fybogel and other Macrogols
Movicol works by speeding up the Movicol can inter-react with anti- such as Laxido.
passage of food through the gut and epileptic drugs. If you take these you
encouraging more water to remain should discuss any other medications
in the waste in the lower bowel. The that may be more suitable with your
doctor. What dose do I take?
longer food takes to pass through the
gut the more time there is for water The most commonly reported A suggested starting dose of Movicol
to be absorbed from it through the undesirable effects with Movicol are will have been discussed with you. It
gut wall. By encouraging movement mild. Sometimes people have stomach is usual to start with one sachet a day
through the bowel the stools that are ache or rumbles, or feel bloated or sick. but some people will require a larger
produced are softer and easier to pass. You may have mild diarrhoea especially dose. People vary a lot in their response
This can reduce straining when you when starting to take Movicol. to Movicol. It sometimes needs some
have the urge to pass stool. experimentation to find the dose that
If any of the above are troublesome will soften your bowels without giving
or last more than a few days, or if you you diarrhoea. It is usual to start on a
experience any other undesirable effect low dose and build it up slowly over
that is not listed, tell your pharmacist or a few days so that you can judge how
doctor. your body is responding. It can be taken
If you feel weak, breathless, very thirsty, in divided doses 3 times daily.
with a headache, or get puffy ankles If you take too much Movicol and get