# Restoralax



## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

Can anyone that uses Restoralax confirm whether it can be used everyday or just when constipated. I read somewhere that they use it in their coffee every morning. Thanks


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

i used to use miralax, which is the same as restoralax (PEG3350) . my gastro docs and my primary care doc all told me that it is safe to use everyday.


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

Okay, thanks. I guess I'll start taking some everyday. Did you stop because you didn't need it anymore.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

no, i stopped using it because i found that milk of magnesia worked better for me.


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

i guess I'm hesitant to use it everyday because the bottle says that you can risk returning to normal bowel function without it but my doctor did say that it works differently than other laxatives because it was an osmotic.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

your doctor is right--it's an osomotic laxative and not a stimulant laxative. did you ask your doc about what the bottle says? you really should discuss all this with him. perhaps he can suggest something else that you would feel better about taking.

have you tried taking magnesium supplements? some people find that taking magnesium supplements helps with C. the amount and which type of mag supplement varies from individual to individual. you have to experiment to see what works for you. there are many different kinds: magnesium citrate, magnesium oxide etc. a lot of people like powdered magnesium supplements like natural calm- you mix in water and drink it . Magnesium relaxes the muscles in the intestines which helps to establish a smoother rhythm and magnesium also helps soften the stool by attracting water to the colon which helps to make stools easier to pass. we've got a ton of magnesium threads on here if you want to read more about it.


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

My doctor recommended trying Restoralax. I also started taking B12 supplements after my bloodwork came back that I was low.

I've wondered about magnesium. Would I take that at the same time as the Restoralax or just continue with the Restoralax. I'm running out of it so deciding if I should try some Milk of Magnesium next and see how I go with that. Seems to be less expensive.

Since I've started the Restoralax my cramps have stopped and I've been able to have a movement every morning. They seem to alternate in size every morning but at least I'm consistent now. Hard to know what is a normal though.

I've also started eating some Kefir yogurt but found it seemed to be an irritant for me. (maybe I ate too much on my first try) I might just stay with some of the other fruit yogurts that didn't seem to bother me.

I'm scheduled to attend an introductory clinic on the FODMAP but thinking that maybe I don't need it if those osmotics work for me.

Life is looking better for me these days now that my anxiety seems to be quieting down with getting control of my IBS. That was another thing my doctor suggested....taking an anti anxiety drug to help with my IBS.

Thanks for your suggestions.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

that's good that restoralax is working for you.

when i mentioned magnesium supplements, i was talking about the mineral magnesium. you can buy it at drug stores or health food stores. you can either take it with restoralax or try it instead of restoralax. you have to experiment to see what works for you.

or yes, you could try milk of magnesia, too. it's another osmotic laxative.

if restoralax is working for you, you might just want to stay with that.

the low fodmap diet helps with gas and bloating but it doesn't help with constipation per se. a lot of fodmaps have compounds in them that in addition to being gassy also tend to draw water into the stools and so tend to loosen stools and help with C. you might want to go to the fodmap clinic anyway, though, just to see what they have to say in case you decide you want to try the diet.

that's great that your anxiety is quieting down now that you're getting control of your ibs. that's great! anxiety can make ibs worse.

good luck with everything.


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

I'm not sure if the Restoralax is working the way it should because my movements each morning are quite small but at least it's every morning. Maybe like you say, I'll try the magnesium supplements as well.

Thanks again.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

was restoralax working better for you earlier--with bigger movements--or have they always been smaller with restoralax?

you could try taking more restoralax. ( probably a good idea to call your doctor's office and ask the nurse if that's ok.) sometimes people need a larger dose for it to work properly. also--make sure and drink lots of water when you take restoralax and throughout the day. water helps osmotic laxatives work better.

or yes, try the magnesium supplements and see if that helps. good luck!


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

They've been consistently small except for after my first time trying the Restoralax. I'll try taking a bit more. I've been making sure I drink lots of water throughout the day.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

yes, try taking a little more each day. play around with the dosage to see what works best for you.

that's good you're drinking lots of water


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

I took your advise and I'm better today. Just a bit more Restoralax worked for me.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

oh that's wonderful news! Hooray!!!!!


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

I hope this continues. I can't believe I've put up with this for so long.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

oh yes, i hope this continues for you, too. it must be such a relief after suffering with C problems for so long. fingers crossed for you!


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

Should I expect a bowel movement everyday with the Restoralax.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

sorry--i really don't know for sure. that would be a good question to ask your doc--you can call the office and leave a message with the nurse. just a guess but i would think you'd get a bm every day with it. but then again, i suppose it's possible that you might miss a day here and there. just a guess. didn't it work today for you? you could try taking more if it didn't work.


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

No, nothing happening today?


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

oh that's too bad--i'm so sorry. i suppose you could try taking more miralax tonight or milk of magnesia. or try taking the magnesium supplements. or maybe take a laxative if you feel you are extremely backed up.

does drinking coffee help you go? that works for some people.

if you still can't go tomorrow, call your doc's office and get their advice. good luck.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

you could try taking a look at this thread--it might be helpful.

http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/152106-the-great-list-of-remedies/


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

I'm going to try some Senokot (Senna laxative) tonight that I have. Can't get out today because of a severe ice storm that may go into tomorrow. Otherwise I'd go get some Milk of Magnesium.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

oh that sounds like a good idea--senna should definitely help.

sorry about the ice storm. i live in michigan and we're having one here, too, although it doesn't sound quite as bad as yours. at this point, i'm just hoping the power doesn't go out. i live out in the country and and here when your power goes out , the water (we have a well) also goes out which is gross.

good luck with everything.


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## flossy (Dec 8, 2012)

Chloe123 said:


> No, nothing happening today?


I would try something else if you're not getting the results you desire. To me? Miralax aka Restoralax is so-so. Definitely better than nothing, though.

I use & recommend this (click on below link to read):

http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/239065-finally-a-product-i-can-recommend/

Good luck and keep us posted!


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

I took the Senokot last night and have been going to the bathroom all day. My bowels haven't settled down yet. I didn't take any Restoralax today and I think I'll avoid anything tomorrow and see what happens. I need to go out tomorrow so I hope I'm okay. It's still raining heavy here today so I couldn't have left the house anyway with my problem.

I have an event coming up at the end of the month and I wanted to get this sorted out before then. I think I'll see how taking the Senokot 2 days before we leave for the weekend works and hopefully it'll clean me out and I'll be okay when we're out of town.

I may try the milk of magnesium instead. Coffee doesn't do anything for me.


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

I've taken 3 doses of Kaopectate now trying to stop the diarrhea.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

omg----so sorry --and surprised--that you're getting so much D from senokot! did you take the regular or the extra strength? how much did you take ? i used to have to take four of the extra strength to get any results at all but that's me--i was a tough case.

it also sounds like you must have been really backed up to have all that coming out of you for so long.

i do hope the D stops soon. try to drink a lot of water so that you don't get dehydrated from all the D. or drink some gatorade.

good luck. hope all this stops and that you feel better soon.


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

I got up at 3 a.m. still having the diarrhea and took more Kaopectate. Fortunately for me the stomach pains have stopped and I was able to go out this morning. I had a bit of oatmeal for breakfast...afraid to eat anything.

I took 2 Senokot (with stool softener) Sunday night because I wanted to make sure it worked for me. Maybe next time I'll just take 1.

Now, I'm back to not knowing what I should take. The Metamucil didn't seem to be working. The Benefiber was giving me intense cramps. The Restoralax worked at first but quickly dwindled to nothing.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

glad the stomach pains have stopped. and hopefully the D will stop, too. what an ordeal that was!

yes, if you take senokot again, just take one.

i really don't know what to advise you either. none of those fiber supplements ever helped me. they just made me worse. too bad restoralax quit working. maybe try milk of magnesia. or maybe try the laxative Flossy recommended but only start with one tablet because that has senna in it too.

or call your doc's office and see what they advise.

good luck with everything. i hope you can find something that works.


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

I have an appointment next Thursday with the doctor. When I spoke to the secretary she had no advice for me....She reminded me that I have an apt in May for the FODMAP clinic.

As for my upcoming trip away I'm going to take 1 Senokot on Tuesday night to clear myself out so hopefully I'll be okay when we leave on Friday.

My stool was green tonight and really loose. Probably the result of using the Restoralax or Senna? I'll ask the doctor what to expect with Restoralax. Maybe small bm's were to be expected?

What is the laxative that Flossy recommended? What are you using to control your IBS?


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

that's good that you are going to see the doctor next thursday. is the doc a regular doc or a gasteoenterologist?

is the senokot you're using the regular strength or the extra strength? if it's the extra strength, you might want to try the regular strength instead.

i'm kind of surprised that your stools are still really loose. i'm no expert but i would have thought that the resoralax and senna would be out of your system by now. the green color can be caused by stool moving too quickly out of your system.

the laxative Flossy recommended is Dr Schultz intestinal formula #1. you can read about it in the link he posted.

http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/239065-finally-a-product-i-can-recommend/

i did not have ibs--my C problems were a bit more complicated. my tests showed that i had colonic inertia, pelvic floor dysfunction, a long twisted colon, megarectum and rectal hyposensitivity. since none of the constipation meds worked for me, my gastro docs told me to take laxatives. i took stimulant laxatives and milk of magnesia. finally my condition deteriorated so badly that i had to have ostomy surgery. i was an extreme case.

good luck with everything. hope you can get back on tract.


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

I got a call from the doc today and her secretary said to continue with the Restoralax....that I hadn't given it a chance....so I'm back to taking the Restoralax and I have a doc apt next Thursday. She's a GP. Apparently going to a GI doc I'd only be told the same things as what she's telling me.

The bottle of Senokot doesn't say whether it's reg or extra strength. You're probably right about the stool moving too quickly out of my system.

Sorry to hear about your IBS problems...but good to hear that they were able to do something for you.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

hope restoralax starts working for you. if it doesn't, maybe increase the dose some more (i don't know how much you're taking right now). good luck!


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

I'm taking the recommended dose that's on the bottle.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

if that dose doesn't work, you could always try taking some more. probably best to check with your doc first, though.

with restoralax, miralax etc you have to play around with the dosage to find out what works best for you. that's what my gastro doc told me to do.


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

Good to know. Thank you.


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

At my visit with the doctor last week she told me to try taking psyllium with the restoralax and to play around with the dosage. I've switched to Milk of Magnesium though and some psyllium from the bulk food store and the Milk of Magnesium worked really well and quite quickly.

When we were out of town on the weekend I took a chance and tried a fleet enema on the morning of the event we were attending but nothing came out which I thought was strange. I even tried a suppository and nothing happened. I guess it's better to take something orally if we're blocked up?


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

oh that's good that the milk of magnesia helped.

did the water from the fleet enema come out?

i've had problems with fleet enemas not working well on me. they are so small and really only get stool out that is in the rectum --not the stool that's higher up. i used to use two or three at a time so i could get more out. the big red quart size enema bags go much higher up and get a lot more stool out. but unfortunately i developed problems later on where i couldn't get all the enema water out and it would slosh around inside me all day. very uncomfortable.

maybe the fleet and the suppository didn't work because there was nothing in your rectum?

but yes, i had much better luck taking something orally than i did using fleets or glycerin suppositories. dulcolax (bisacodyl) suppositories worked better for me than gylcerin suppositories. they have bisacodyl in them which is a laxative. they weren't as effective for me as taking dulcolax orally but they did work better for me than the glycerin supps did. (one thing to remember--if you take milk of mag and dulcolax pills both--as i did--be sure and take them at least an hour apart like the instructions on the dulcolax box say or you'll get cramping)


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

The water from the fleet came out but that's all .....same thing for the suppository....so like you said I imagine that it didn't reach up high enough...probably nothing in the rectum. Looks like I need to take something orally. The milk of magnesium works really well for me. I'm going to see if taking some twice a week might be enough...plus I'm taking psyillium with my oatmeal in the morning.

My Fodmap clinic tomorrow got cancelled. The dietician says she sees people on a one-to-one basis so cancelled the clinic for lack of interest.


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## Patrick ibs c (Mar 5, 2016)

try a mineral oil enema chloe


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

i'm glad that the milk of mag is helping and that the psyllium seems to be helping, too.


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## Chloe123 (Sep 3, 2016)

So far the Milk of Magnesia is working. I take it once a week but have some psyllium with chia seeds in my oatmeal every morning. I can eat yoghurt now too!...something I could never stomach. My BM's are predictable now and the diarrhea has stopped. Thank you for your help!


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

thanks so much for the update--that's wonderful news! so happy for you!


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