Patient/caregiver was educated on how to take Imodium as follows:

1. Take this medication as ordered by your physician. Do not change the dose on this medication without consulting your physician. Maintain strict compliance with intake of the medication as ordered, with regards to dosage and frequency, to derive the benefit of the medication.
2. This medication is also available, as an over-the-counter product. If you are buying an OTC product, contact your physician for the maximum amount of dose that you can have in a 24-hour period.
3. Start taking the medication immediately after you start having loose stools or as prescribed by your doctor.
4. Observe compliance with oral rehydration solutions and fluid supplements, to cover for the fluid and electrolyte loss.
5. Report to your doctor regarding any new or continuing  signs and symptoms of dehydration such as, dry tenting skin, hypotension, elevated heart rate, episodes of confusion and loss of consciousness, reduced urine volume, dark yellow colored concentrated urine, increased thirst, and  muscle cramps.
6. Try avoiding spicy foods during the period of intestinal hyper motility, as spicy foods can irritate the bowels and contribute further to the discomfort of diarrhea. Compliance with bland food items can help reduce the bowel irritation to some extent.
7. This medication can induce some nausea and vomiting, when taken on empty stomach. Taking the medication with a glass of water and some food or snack can help avoid these unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms.
8. Take the imodium regular tablet or capsule, as a whole, using a glass of water. If you encounter difficulty swallowing the whole tablet, you may cut the tablet and swallow it in pieces with a glass of water. You can also crush the regular tablet or open the capsule, and sprinkle the contents on a spoon of apple sauce or jello or pudding, to facilitate an easy swallow.
9. In individuals with history of difficulty swallowing, imodium could also be prescribed as an orally disintegrating tablet. Make sure the hands are dry before getting the tablet out of the package. The tablet must be placed on the tongue and allowed to dissolve in the mouth completely for one minute, before swallowing the remnants in the mouth using saliva or some water. This orally disintegrating tablet must not be swallowed as a whole or chewed upon. Chewing or swallowing this tablet as a whole can compromise the therapeutic benefit of the medication.
10. When taking imodium as an oral solution, use a measuring spoon/cup to measure the correct dose being taken, in order to avoid risk for over/under dosing. Also, do not forget to shake the suspension well before every use.
11. Imodium use can induce some dizziness and make one drowsy. If the dizziness becomes bothersome, report it to your physician and other health care personnel, for any change in plan of care to be considered. Stay away from activities, such as, driving and operating heavy machinery, until you are used to the side effects caused by imodium intake.
12. Do not take imodium with alcohol or opioid pain medications, such as, hydrocodone and codeine, as these products can add to the dizziness and confusion caused by imodium. A number of OTC cough medications, antihistamines, antiseizure medications, muscle relaxants, and antianxiety medications, can potentiate the confusion caused by imodium, thus resulting in many cross reactions and side-effects and so, must be avoided taking along with imodium. If you are being newly started on imodium, discuss with your physician regarding all your current medications and their safety with imodium. Also, notify your physician regarding any current imodium intake, if you are being started on any new medications and discuss their safety with imodium.
13. Imodium carries the risk of causing and aggravating some underlying cardiac arrhythmias, leading to severe debility and death. Discuss with your physician regarding any of your heart complaints, if you are newly being prescribed imodium. If you are newly diagnosed with any cardiac conditions, discuss with your physician regarding your safety with regards to continuing on imodium.
14. Avoid using imodium along with any other medications, such as, some antidepressants and antibiotics, which have a potential to cause or aggravate cardiac arrhythmias. Also, low blood levels of potassium and magnesium ions and medications influencing the levels of these ions in the blood, such as, diuretics, can also result in cardiac arrhythmias, which can be seriously aggravated with simultaneous use of imodium, leading to debility and sudden cardiac death.
15. Individuals with diarrhea could have lost significant fluid and suffered serious electrolyte disturbances, which puts them at risk for cardiac arrhythmias. Administering imodium to such individuals can easily favor precipitation of cardiac arrhythmias, thus complicating the case further. Discuss with your physician and other health care personnel regarding your other medications and their safety with imodium.
16. Your physician could change the dose of imodium, based on the relief obtained or side-effects developed. So, maintain compliance with follow-up physician appointments, to update on the relief from symptoms. Be accommodative to the plan of dose change, until you show an optimum response.
17. Report to your doctor on any episodes of continuing or worsening loose stools. Also, report to your doctor regarding any finding of stomach bloating, blood in the stool, or any continuing or worsening side-effects of imodium use.
18. Imodium only helps with controlling the hyperactivity of bowel, but does not address the cause for hypermotility or diarrhea. Observe compliance with other relief measures as well, recommended for the cause of diarrhea, such as, antibiotic use for control of infection in the bowel or steroid use for control of inflammation of the bowel.
19. Continue taking imodium as ordered, for the prescribed duration, even if your diarrhea is under control. Abrupt discontinuation on imodium intake without completing the course/duration for which it is prescribed, can result in precipitating the diarrheal symptoms back again. Follow your doctor’s advice on the discontinuation of the medication.
20. If you miss a dose, try taking it at the earliest notice of noncompliance. If it is time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and take the dose scheduled. Do not take an extra dose to try making up for the missed dose. Notify your doctor and other health care personnel regarding your dose noncompliance.