# Cramping. Does anything not cause it?



## Minks (Jun 1, 2011)

Out of desperation I used senna last night. Worked great and I got relief but the hours of cramping afterwards is not great.Is there anything I can take that doesn't cause cramping? What about Miralax or Sennekot? Also, I remember hearing not to use laxatives a lot because you then lose the ability to go on your own. Help please. ThanksMinks


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Osmotic laxatives are less likely to cause cramping (they don't effect the muscles) and also highly unlikely to cause your colon to fail.Even the modern stimulatory laxatives (most of the warnings are based on laxatives off the market) don't seem likely to cause the colon to stop in normal dose ranges, and it is hard to tell if people with eating disorders who abuse laxatives have long term problems from the laxatives or just from having an eating disorder.Miralax is an osmotic laxative. I thought Sennakot was Senna (and many OTC stimulatory laxatives are senna)


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## em_t (Jun 8, 2010)

Sennokot and Senna are the same thing. Sennokot is just a brand name. If you can avoid using stimulant laxatives everyday I would. Unfortunately I have to use them everyday and have terrible cramping pain from the combination of constipation and the laxatives.


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## Minks (Jun 1, 2011)

Kathleen M. said:


> Osmotic laxatives are less likely to cause cramping (they don't effect the muscles) and also highly unlikely to cause your colon to fail.Even the modern stimulatory laxatives (most of the warnings are based on laxatives off the market) don't seem likely to cause the colon to stop in normal dose ranges, and it is hard to tell if people with eating disorders who abuse laxatives have long term problems from the laxatives or just from having an eating disorder.Miralax is an osmotic laxative. I thought Sennakot was Senna (and many OTC stimulatory laxatives are senna)


Hi Kathleen. Thanks for the explanation. I knew I didn't want the stimulating ones but wasn't sure what the Miralax was. I'm still cramping from the senna and whatever I eat comes out. I guess it's a trade off. I couldn't go another minute backed up like that. Hopefully I can get things to settle down. Thanks for the information. I appreciate it. Jan


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## Minks (Jun 1, 2011)

em_t said:


> Sennokot and Senna are the same thing. Sennokot is just a brand name. If you can avoid using stimulant laxatives everyday I would. Unfortunately I have to use them everyday and have terrible cramping pain from the combination of constipation and the laxatives.


Em-T, have you tried acacia fiber? Before I started it I was miserable and suffering. With it (and I wold not go to the bathroom without it) I go every morning with no cramping. Yes I had to make multiple trips but it was so much better than this stuff. Not sure what caused my flare up but I'm increasing my acacia fiber to get things back to working for me.I really recommend it. Let me know if you want info on where to get it. Jan


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