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However, there often can be other causes. Medication is commonly found to create constipation. Narcotic pain medications such as hydromorphone (Dilaudid), oxycodone (Percocet), and codeine will create the problem. Also, various antidepressants such as amitriptyline (Elavil) and imipramine (Tofranil) have also been known to be constipation causes.

Other constipation causes can come from anticonvulsants such as phenytoin (Dilantin) as well as carbamazepine (Tegretol). Iron supplements, such as given to most pregnant women can also be included in that list.

Any of the calcium channel blocking drugs may also create a constipation problem. These are ditiazem (Cardizem) as well as nifedipine (Procardia). Antacids that contain aluminum may also be constipation causes such as Basaljel or Amphojel.

If you find that those drugs cause you constipation, your doctor may decide to either try another drug that delivers the same benefits, or may cut the dosage to something that does not cause this predicament. There is also the possibility that simply increasing your fiber intake will solve your quandary with the offending drugs.

Our bowel movements are under what is known as voluntary control. This means that if need be, we can suppress the need to defecate. However, this too can be a constipation cause if done too often.

Severe constipation resulting in the overuse of stimulant laxatives leads the list of constipation causes too. For instance chronic use of these laxatives may damage the muscles and nerves found in your colon.

Various disorders that cause your hormones to change can also be one of the constipation causes. For instance too many parathyroid hormones raise the calcium levels in your blood. Simple blood tests will unearth this as the constipation causes sometimes.

Many women suffer constipation when they have their periods. This is due to the variations in their progesterone and estrogen levels.

Constipation causes are sometimes related to various diseases. These include Chagas disease, Hirschsprung’s disease, intestinal pseudo-obstruction, scleroderma, and diabetes. Of course narrowing of the colon due to cancer blocks the colon and causes constipation. Also spinal cord problems such as spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease also are constipation causes. 

Various diseases of the colon may cause problems as well. These include but are not limited to diseases of the nerves in one’s colon. Occasionally there develops a disease resulting in pelvic floor dysfunction and thus is one of the constipation causes.

At times, there is an actual problem with the anus itself. The patient may have an anal fissure or a narrowed anal sphincter. Abdominal x-rays will help your doctor decide too where your obstruction is located if such is the case. When looking for tumors or narrowing of the colon or and rectum, you may be given a barium enema.

There are many tests that can now be given if constant constipation is happening, including swallowing capsules that contain tracking plastic, defecography, ano-rectal motility studies, andcolonic motility studies. These also include a colonscopy.