# ANYONE TAKING MIRALAX FEEL SICK SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN ON IT.



## mztopper

I am always constipated and was only pooping small amounts and very hard pellets..so the dr. suggested miralax. I have been on it at least two months and while the stool is softer I notice more gas, bloating and nausea and I just do not feel good. I do not go to the bathroom much even when I do go. Always feels like more is in there and I am sure it is . I read on webmd today that the problems I am having are common to many people.So what did any of you have or do . I am stopping it to see what happens and see if I feel better or worse. Might just take stool softner and go back to the milk of magnesia and or some amounts of fiber.


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## Sean

I took Miralax back when it was still available only by prescription. I had similar symptoms - constant bloating, cramping, tummy rumbles and disgusting gas. After a few weeks, it did not even work well as a laxative so I stopped taking it.


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## tableandchairs

Polyethylene Glycol (it has a couple different brand names here) does NOTHING for me, except make bloat ridiculously and feel awful. I've tried it about 3 times (each time taking it daily for a few days). The last time was on a road trip. I went 6 days and with insane bloat, sickness and NO bm's that I had to resort to Fleet Phospho-soda to enjoy my trip again, or at least survive it. I was very disappointed. In fact, reading these forums I was beginning to feel like I'm the only one it never worked for! It's supposed to be some of the best stuff around. I've had better success with Lactulose (although the gas it causes sometimes makes it an, uh, inconvenient option) and my ongoing laxative (since I had to stop harsh stimulants)is good old Milk Of Magnesia. PEG is said to be better in most studies but I guess some of us are different!


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## annie7

no, miralax never worked for me either. i've tried it several times over the years and all it ever does is make me feel horribly bloated, gassy and nauseaous--with no resultant bm. i could feel and hear it gurgling and roiling around in my belly like a washing machine stuck on rinse--lol--utterly miserable.and i really wanted it to work, too. all my docs have told me it's safe to use and it's covered by insurance too (the generic). and studies do show it is effective for many people. my current gastro told me i could take up to six miralax doses a day --three in the am and three in the pm. ugh-unimaginable.the most i could ever manage was one dose in the am and one in the pm--with all the side effects i mentioned above...and no bm.


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## Maple12

I had good results for a few months. This was before i had the signs of IBS, but had pain that seemed to be related to diverticulosis. The pain disappeared, and I kept taking the Miralax for 5-6 months when I began having the bloating and pain in the upper center abdomen. My stools were incomplete and were very small remnants--the size and shape of shrimp. Stopped the Miralax, drank a lot of water, and my bowels returned to normal, my stomach returned to flat and non bloated. Now, a year later, I have full blown IBS. I seem to be able to control the constipation and pain with simethicone before each meal, and a Citrucel caplet at breakfast and after supper. Hope this helps.


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## mztopper

Well guys this is proof that I am not crazy and that the miralax is doing this .The GI dr. thinks I am nuts and no matter what I say he thinks if I poop one rabbit pellet I should do the dance of joy. Of course he is not living with the stuff I do and I told him he has very low expectations of this stuff if he thinks this would make me happy to not strain to poop out rabbit pellets. That is about all it has done is made the pellets softer but then I often have to run to the bathroom or else.And gassy ass is it. And the gurgling and such. I did not take the other night and no bloating and such. Last night I took a little dose not the regular one and today the bloating as I sit here looks like I am five or more months pregnant and I did not really even go today and I have the low back pain to . Of course I have back issues but still... So I did use to use Milk of magnesia but then found it did not work as well. Anyone else after taking miralax have any luck with anything else. And were you all taking it daily . Thanks for the answers I love to see that I am right and the dr.s are wrong. Really pisses me off when I know something is not right and they all act like I am nuts or this does not happen to anyone else etc.


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## mightymo1216

mztopper said:


> I am always constipated and was only pooping small amounts and very hard pellets..so the dr. suggested miralax. I have been on it at least two months and while the stool is softer I notice more gas, bloating and nausea and I just do not feel good. I do not go to the bathroom much even when I do go. Always feels like more is in there and I am sure it is . I read on webmd today that the problems I am having are common to many people.So what did any of you have or do . I am stopping it to see what happens and see if I feel better or worse. Might just take stool softner and go back to the milk of magnesia and or some amounts of fiber.


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## annie7

mztopper----oh yeah-- my gastro--and his PA as well-- acted the same way when i told them how miralax did not work at all for me, made me gurgly and hugely bloated and nauseous etc etc. they both acted like i was the only patient that had ever told them this--the only patient it had never worked for--- and told me to stay on miralax for a month (!) and take 3 doses in the am and 3 in the pm daily---omg--no way...sounds like in your case further testing would be helpful to find out what's really going on. the sitz marker test would verify if you have slow transit constipation (colonic inertia) and the location of the markers can also reveal other problems as well such as outlet problems. even better at diagnosing outlet problems is the defogram--it shows if there are problems with your pelvic floor muscles coordinating properly to allow complete evacuation of stool and it also will show if you have any other outlet problems such as a rectal prolapse or--if you're a woman--a rectocele or vaginal prolaspe etc.you can request these test from you current gastro and if he won't cooperate, find one who will. you might want to try a gastro at a medical center/medical department affiliated with a university hospital--they are often more informed and proactive about tests and treatments for constipation problems.good luck to you--hope you can get some help real soon and find a doc who will devise a treatment plan which will bring you relief.


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## mztopper

Annie7 : thanks for your reply. I am a female and I know my vagina has prolapsed some along with my bladder. I also say that when I am very constipated it affects my back muscles and low back pain comes and then when the back is bad I cannot poop to save my soul. Of course my GI thinks I am nuts but then says maybe it has some merit.He has not entertained any tests at all except to do a colonoscopy at some point and another endoscopy because my GERD is acting up. god forbid they mention any of the tests I see on here. I did not know they exsisted. I know about a test where you eat like a small bit of scrambled egg with some dye mixed in and then they take pictures as it moves thru your system and depending on how long it takes that tells them transit time. of course we have not done that or anything else. I know there is a test to test the strength of the rectum muscles or anus musclce and we have not done that.Many dr.s tallk about this and then do nothing. So this is where I am at. Having to wait over 4 months to see a specialist at one of the teaching hospitals here is not what I want to do and I have done it in the past with no better results then I get up here. Who knows what I will do but this sucks.


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## annie7

sorry you've had such bad luck with the docs.i had the sitz marker last year--dx'd slow transit. had a defogram in january which dx'd a vaginal prolapse and moderately sized rectocele. for me those tests were really invaluable in getting to the bottom of things (no pun intended--lol). i really do hope you can somehow find a doc to help you. for people with pelvic floor dysfunction, biofeedback has a 70 per cent success rate. working with a trained physical therapist can be a tremendous help. wishing you all the best!


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## aaltimas1

Dudes every time I come to this site I say holy #$#@ I am not alone I too took miralax pain city woow! I really wanted it too work but all the laxitive I have taken even milk of mag cause me pain??? I got my bowels working with taking fibre woow yea pain city yea!The best most gentle laxative I have every used has been Lactulose but it only works for about a 1 week then stops #[email protected]$! Anyways keep on keeping on!


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## DAD

When a 3rd GI diagnosed my wife with IBS again years ago, he prescribed the usual Miralax too. Within a day or two she was so bloated and miserable from taking it, I took her off it. Then we learned how to MRT (muscle response test) test for allergies and quickly discovered that she was highly allergic to the Miralax in the first place and that allergy alone can cause all her worsening symptoms. Doctors don't seem to check for allergies to a prescription before prescribing it so we have to learn it ourselves and that in itself can save people from a lot of misery by just avoiding allergens, period.Since those IBS early years of knowledge inexperience, we have learned to test and treat her symptoms with a newer holistic procedure and it has worked very well. She is so much better and stronger now than before and can now do almost anything she wants in a normal way where before IBS used to control most everything she did.DAD


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## DorothyWolf

mztopper said:


> I am always constipated and was only pooping small amounts and very hard pellets..so the dr. suggested miralax. I have been on it at least two months and while the stool is softer I notice more gas, bloating and nausea and I just do not feel good. I do not go to the bathroom much even when I do go. Always feels like more is in there and I am sure it is . I read on webmd today that the problems I am having are common to many people.So what did any of you have or do . I am stopping it to see what happens and see if I feel better or worse. Might just take stool softner and go back to the milk of magnesia and or some amounts of fiber.


My doctor advised me to take Miralax as well. It also did absolutely nothing for me but bloat me and make me feel terrible. It did not make my stools softer so I discontinued on my own and started my own research. I started researching this site a few months ago and found that somebody indicated that they were taking (5) 1000mg fish oils per day. Somebody else also suggested the hypnosis tapes by Michael Mahoney, "IBS Audio Program 100". I felt that I really had nothing to lose, so I purchased and started listening to the tapes about 2 months ago and also included the (5) fish oil capsules per day. I've been constipated with IBS all my life. I don't ever remember having more than 1 bowel movement per week. About three weeks ago I started marking my bowel movements on the calendar. I started having 2 BMs per day for the last three weeks. I ran out of fish oil 3 days ago and haven't had a movement in 2 days. I made a special effort today to go buy more fish oil, hopefully they will get me back on track. I still listen to the tapes. Michael believes that there is a disconnect between the brain and gut and his hypnosis trains the brain to communicate with the gut. I can't help but think these tapes are helping as well. If nothing else, they relax me and put me to sleep really fast. I took the tapes and fish oil to Alaska with me while on vaction. It was the first trip that I did not get constipated. Yeah...I'm constantly struggling for a permenant fix and think that I just may have found it. I truly hope that this information helps you.


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## jobal

"we have learned to test and treat her symptoms with a newer holistic procedure and it has worked very well"PLEASE, share with us what this holistic procedure is!!


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## DorothyWolf

mztopper said:


> Annie7 : thanks for your reply. I am a female and I know my vagina has prolapsed some along with my bladder. I also say that when I am very constipated it affects my back muscles and low back pain comes and then when the back is bad I cannot poop to save my soul. Of course my GI thinks I am nuts but then says maybe it has some merit.He has not entertained any tests at all except to do a colonoscopy at some point and another endoscopy because my GERD is acting up. god forbid they mention any of the tests I see on here. I did not know they exsisted. I know about a test where you eat like a small bit of scrambled egg with some dye mixed in and then they take pictures as it moves thru your system and depending on how long it takes that tells them transit time. of course we have not done that or anything else. I know there is a test to test the strength of the rectum muscles or anus musclce and we have not done that.Many dr.s tallk about this and then do nothing. So this is where I am at. Having to wait over 4 months to see a specialist at one of the teaching hospitals here is not what I want to do and I have done it in the past with no better results then I get up here. Who knows what I will do but this sucks.


After my endoscopy, my gastrologist said I had to take pantoprazole 40 mg for the rest of my life because of acid build-up. I told my holistic doctor about it and he said to only take it on any as needed basis because it prevents your body from absorbing its proper nutrients. Since I didn't want to trade one problem for another, I joined weight watchers and the acid build-up has all but disappeared. I only have acid buildup now when I eat chocolate late at night prior to going to bed. Therefore, it is a reminder to me not to eat the chocoate late at night and if I do forget I then take the pantoprazole as I have alot left over. This site has really helped my IBS constipation and I am really grateful for all the help I have received. The doctors don't know everything except their own specialized area. It is up to us to put the pieces together and come up with a solution that works for us. Hope you get this all figured out.


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## coolsupernanny

Yes i have. I am going to lower it starting tomorrow. And hopefully get off it for good. My GI doc put me on a IBS pill too which helps but I don't think I need to take either of them anymore. I hope this helps!


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## DAD

jobal said:


> "we have learned to test and treat her symptoms with a newer holistic procedure and it has worked very well"PLEASE, share with us what this holistic procedure is!!


JOBAL -Since you have asked for this information, I have posted it before, but will post it again ... is a bit lengthy, but try to understand and absorb it. This is NOT an advertisement and we are not affiliated in any way. We have just discovered how well it works so we use it constantly in our lives when needed. There is a good alternative method of testing and treating for allergies today. The newer method involves 'energy medical technology' and is holistic in technique, but it works wonders and constantly amazes people how it can relieve symptoms and eliminate allergies. You need to go to the NAET website for an introduction. Then purchase one or several of Devi Nambudripad's books such as "Say Goodbye to Illness" 3rd edition, or "Say Goodbye to Your Allergies" 2nd edition and learn more about this simple, natural, non-invasive, drug-free, method of immediate testing and treating for allergies to immediately eliminate them from your life. It was discovered about 30 years ago and has proven itself to be probably the one method you can count on most for immediate testing and eliminating (thru naet treatment) allergens from your life without necessarily having to avoid the allergen anymore. The treatment re-codes the body's Central nervous system to now accept the "allergen's energy as friendly" instead of fighting so hard against it as an allergen or "unfriendly energy" as it previously did before the treatment ... Thus the allergen is no longer an allergen and the previous allergenic symptoms should be gone with it. Certain more severe allergens might take several treatments to relieve it completely. If there are people who don't agree with this or just don't believe such things are possible in this world, or who are fearful of kinesiology, oriental medicine, chiropractic, or holistic techniques ... Then that is no doubt because they haven't tried it or haven't used it properly, or just plain don't understand it and maybe don't want to be educated to understand it. You can NAET test and treat for other known allergies ... and if treated correctly, you should immediately become insensitive to each allergen without further allergy symptoms and be able to use or be around it finally. Most allergies we treat can be eliminated in a few minutes and should normally be gone for life. NAET does have a recommended protocol to follow in treating, especially when it comes to nutritional allergies like Vit A, B, C, calcium, iron, etc. but you can read about that in some of the books. We have used these methods for 10 years and they work marvelously for us. We don't rely on any of the older methods such as shots or injections as there is no guarantee on those, even after five years ... and you can even become allergic to the precipitate in the injection as I did and then had to immediately quit while your health could then become compromised ... that doesn't happen normally, but it did to me. Some IBS'ers have found thru trial and error or from other posters, certain methods of easing their IBS symptoms and it is important that we all try to work on "what helps" together on this forum. It seems we have to do our own research and detective work, but we believe IBS could be a combination of problems for most all sufferers.NOW FYI ... here's a little history why we have ended up where we did and where we presently are:After two rounds of agonizing abdominal food poisonings from eating at restaurants years apart, my wife (now 57) tested positive for the SIBO breath test, then took 2 rounds of Xifaxen months apart and she said then her abdominal pain finally mostly left for good, but she still remained sensitive to bloating, swelling, and nausea after eating . . . in other words her symptoms changed somewhat as she lost her years of agonizing abdominal pain, but still suffered from the rest. So we looked into food allergies, but searched websites, talked to doctors, allergists, did a stool test along with a blood panel and a couple prescribed more natural milder antibiotics at the IBS Center in Seattle. She kept and used her own restricted diet from the results of the blood panel. That still didn't get rid of her remaining symptoms as it was impossible to know the true contents of most things you eat. Then we researched NAET, she was initially treated by NAET practitioners and that worked well most of the time as it allowed her to again eat almost whatever she wanted until she went thru a few traumatic emotional events consisting of hitting a deer on the highway, the death of a close relative and several friends, and receiving her 2nd bout of food poisoning after eating in a restaurant. Traumatic events can bring on new or bring back old allergies and that did happen to her again.We then went back to NAET only this time we wanted control and also needed to save $$ by learning the basics of it ourselves ... so we have been testing and treating ourselves back and forth for lots of food and environmental allergies. She is now much better with all symptoms and can eat any food that tested positive as an allergen thru MRO (muscle response testing done by ourselves) and then successfully treated via NAET methods (by ourselves or thru naet practitioners). For instance 2 days ago we treated her for wheat gluten by grinding up .25 cents worth of wheat berries from a health food store ... that way we could really get at the gluten in the endosperm of the wheat kernel. Yesterday and especially just today she tested very strong by MRT to the gluten so she carefully started eating it in wheat breads and other food items with no allergy symptoms so far. She could never eat these items before. Now we will watch close each day to see if this previous gluten allergy stays away or comes back, just to be more seriously treated again. Hopefully, we will keep it at bay for the rest of her life along with many other previous allergens.Long enough?Need more info, just ask. Hope this helps ...DAD


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## isweetpea

I had the same problem with taking Miralax. I tried it a number of times over the years. I have had various doctors act puzzled that it didn't work for me. I had the same problems with using stool softeners. I had no luck with Milk of Magnesia. I have been using Fleet glycerin suppositories for about the past month, which helps me to have a bowel movement almost instantly. I try to hold it in for about 15 minutes for a more productive bowel movement, but hard to do sometimes. I wonder why a doctor never told me about these suppositories. I heard they have been around for a long time, and I thought I had tried everything that you can get at a drug store.



mztopper said:


> I am always constipated and was only pooping small amounts and very hard pellets..so the dr. suggested miralax. I have been on it at least two months and while the stool is softer I notice more gas, bloating and nausea and I just do not feel good. I do not go to the bathroom much even when I do go. Always feels like more is in there and I am sure it is . I read on webmd today that the problems I am having are common to many people.So what did any of you have or do . I am stopping it to see what happens and see if I feel better or worse. Might just take stool softner and go back to the milk of magnesia and or some amounts of fiber.


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## bellaroma

I know this is an old post, but I just wanted to add that I've been taking Miralax daily for almost 2 years now and it's the only thing that has worked for me. I dissolve it in my coffee in the morning and never have any nausea. Sometimes, after a few weeks of using it and having daily BMs it will stop working for about a week but then it starts working again. When that happens I take two doses daily.

Stool softeners never worked for me either. I do love the Fleet suppositories. Before Miralax I used to take two Dulcolax at night once every two weeks or so because I would go 2-3 weeks without a BM, but I always ended up with severe abnominal cramping and I was worried about the long-term affects.


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## Gooby

I had some problems with Miralax (or the store brand equivalent of it), too.

For me, it took at least 3 days for it to work, and by then I had taken a number of doses of it, and it turned into diarrhea.

What works a lot better for me is magnesium citrate or magnesium oxide daily supplements. About 400 mg per day seems to really help me.

Another thing to consider is prune juice. Prune juice has sorbitol which is not easily digested by humans, and ends up passing into the colon, where it draws water into the colon. Or you can eat stewed prunes and get the same effect.

Or, if you can't stand the sugar in prunes, you can get a bottle of sorbitol at some drug stores or online. But be careful. A tiny amount of it can cause diarrhea.


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## carlparis

See the miralax got sideeffects but the thing u can do to make ur IBS problem to get better is eat lots of veges and fruits and less of meat so u don't need miralax in more quantity.Drink 2 glass of juice 3 litres water a day. Plus what u can do is along with miralax take 20ml of lactulose at night time once.Lactulose will help u to poop instantly in morning and miralax will make poop softer .Eat 2 times a day and exercise 1 hour just brisk walking. I know this is extreme but better than feeling sick.


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