# Miralax losing effectiveness?



## MetalTommy (Dec 14, 2015)

Since I have slow transit constipation I've been taking Miralax for two weeks now, but now its not working as well as it used to. Usually I take one capful daily for two days then on the third day a bowel movement happens. But now its been day 5 and I still can't go. Does anyone know what happened? Did Miralax stop working?

Did this happen to any of you? Did miralax lose effectiveness for you? How long have you been taking miralax? And what dosage?


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## whyworryac (Oct 7, 2015)

I've been taking one capful a day for the last 2.5 months or so. I would hardly call Miralax a miracle cure, but I have been having BM's nearly daily. Some days they aren't that great, other times they look super normal. But it's weird. I've been drinking more water. And now I'm also taking a Metamucil cookie every other evening. The last 3 days I've had excellent BMs but that's not typical. I am currently experiencing lower abdominal pain and I don't know what brought that on. It's either - I'm constipated or have weird diarrhea with no major abdo pain - or I'm going perfectly but having abdo pain. Go figure.


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## MetalTommy (Dec 14, 2015)

I wonder why miralax has been working for you for the last 2 months but its losing effectiveness for me after two weeks.

Is it because I have such slow transit constipation? And its getting worse? I usually go for more than a week without a bowel movement if I dont use laxatives.

Does miralax stop working for people with slow transit chronic constipation versus those with ibs c? Does anyone know?


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## marleyma (Aug 13, 2014)

Miralax really doesn't work like it used to for me either. I also have slow transit constipation and started by taking 1 cap per day.. then two.. now it just upsets my stomach. I don't know why it stopped working but I'd be very interested if it was because things were getting worse vs my body getting too used to it.


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## whyworryac (Oct 7, 2015)

whyworryac said:


> I've been taking one capful a day for the last 2.5 months or so. I would hardly call Miralax a miracle cure, but I have been having BM's nearly daily. Some days they aren't that great, other times they look super normal. But it's weird. I've been drinking more water. And now I'm also taking a Metamucil cookie every other evening. The last 3 days I've had excellent BMs but that's not typical. I am currently experiencing lower abdominal pain and I don't know what brought that on. It's either - I'm constipated or have weird diarrhea with no major abdo pain - or I'm going perfectly but having abdo pain. Go figure.


Are you me? This is esactly what I go through. Was on Miralax for about 2.5 months... I was going almost daily. But of course, sometimes coffee helped things along. Had abdominal pain for the last week or so now. I'm apparently pretty backed up still (so says X-ray from last Monday) so WTF. I stopped Miralax and am trying Natural Calm Magnesium Citrate powder after not going at all this weekend. Today I had a mocha and have gone twice so far. But still feeling not good in my abdominal area. As usual.


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## ironrach (Jan 5, 2016)

I've been taking Miralax for many months now and agree with another poster; it is far from a miracle.

It is no longer working.

Now I am looking into alternatives since I am now plugged.


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## ironrach (Jan 5, 2016)

whyworryac said:


> Are you me? This is esactly what I go through. Was on Miralax for about 2.5 months... I was going almost daily. But of course, sometimes coffee helped things along. Had abdominal pain for the last week or so now. I'm apparently pretty backed up still (so says X-ray from last Monday) so WTF. I stopped Miralax and am trying Natural Calm Magnesium Citrate powder after not going at all this weekend. Today I had a mocha and have gone twice so far. But still feeling not good in my abdominal area. As usual.


I am trying Natural Calm too! Hoping it will work.

Miralax is no longer working at all.


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## MetalTommy (Dec 14, 2015)

whyworryac said:


> Are you me? This is esactly what I go through. Was on Miralax for about 2.5 months... I was going almost daily. But of course, sometimes coffee helped things along. Had abdominal pain for the last week or so now. I'm apparently pretty backed up still (so says X-ray from last Monday) so WTF. I stopped Miralax and am trying Natural Calm Magnesium Citrate powder after not going at all this weekend. Today I had a mocha and have gone twice so far. But still feeling not good in my abdominal area. As usual.


Did you reply to yourself? lol

Were you having normal stools?


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## MetalTommy (Dec 14, 2015)

ironrach said:


> I am trying Natural Calm too! Hoping it will work.
> Miralax is no longer working at all.


How many months were you taking it? Were you going everyday?


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## ironrach (Jan 5, 2016)

MetalTommy said:


> Did you reply to yourself? lol
> 
> Were you having normal stools?


Maybe I did??
Ehhhh will I ever have normal stools? Sometimes I did but always ended up clogged. Last one was my worst and took me a week to recover. I'm using magnesium and linzess now. I've accepted that I will never have normal colon function.


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## ironrach (Jan 5, 2016)

MetalTommy said:


> How many months were you taking it? Were you going everyday?


On average I was going everyday. I was I it for at least 6 months or so. On magnesium and continued linzess.


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## Sean (Feb 8, 1999)

I used Miralax over a two-month period a while back when it was still available only by prescription. I have slow transit constipation (colonic inertia). It worked great for the first month and then gradually lost its effectiveness. I liked the fact that it did not give me the almost uncontrollable urgency that stimulant laxatives cause me. But when it stops working, what are you going to do? Even the colonoscopy preps that have PEG (the same ingredient as Miralax) do almost nothing now. I am not sure why my body has built up a tolerance to Miralax/PEG. I mostly use Dulcolax today because that is the only thing that will consistently produce a bowel movement for me.


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## ironrach (Jan 5, 2016)

I'm in the same boat. Senna tea helped somewhat. Stimulants are so controversial but when you don't have normal function I don't understand the concern. People scare us into risking damage and dependency, but we already have that!! Magnesium is keeping stool soft but linzess I'm not sure about. I never have the sensation to go.


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## Displaced (Feb 14, 2007)

This is happening to me too. My gastroenterologist's primary advice for years has been "take Miralax." I've tried to do so sparingly so that I wouldn't develop a tolerance to it, but it seems to be happening anyway. Whereas at first, maybe five years ago (could be longer) even a teaspoon would have a very quick effect. I gradually moved up to a tablespoon, then a full cap (just slightly more than a tbs)., which usually produced good results within about 24 hours. Now, it seems like that dose has minimal effects, some activity but not nearly what I was hoping for, and I find myself taking another dose, usually 36-48 hours later if I haven't gotten the results I wanted and still feel backed up. If I've reached the point of an extended period without a BM of any significance, I will take more than one dose in a day. But if I can't get results with Miralax, what else is there? I occasionally take a laxative tablet, like Senekot or Colace, although I don't like to mix them with the Miralax. But every medical site out there says don't take laxatives too often. I suspect that advice isn't directed at people who have chronic problems.

I've also noticed that I'm having problems with alcohol that may be related to the constipation. I'm not a heavy drinker, with my pattern for a number of years having been one glass of wine with dinner two or three nights a week, and I always drink at least one glass of water along with the wine, and have probably had water before I have the wine as well. For the past few months, this amount, or even just a few sips, sometimes triggers considerable upheaval, with my GI system getting all hyperactive, churning and turning all the way from my lower abdomen up my chest. Sometimes I produce a small bowel movement, sometimes not. The only thing I can do is take it easy, sip water and wait it out. Depending on how much I had to drink (a few sips, a full glass, or even more than one), things may settle down within an hour or last several hours before everything gradually returns to normal. Obviously alcohol is an irritant to the stomach, but why did this develop all of a sudden? Do I have to stop drinking? I'm not alcoholic, so I can do it, but the occasional glass of wine is certainly one of life's pleasures. I've mentioned the hyperactivity to both my GI doctor and a primary care provider but may not have yet made a solid link with alcohol consumption, so neither of them had anything to say about it. Has anyone else had this happen? I think I'll have to go back to the GI doctor later this year. I just saw him a few months ago and left with the usual "take Miralax" advice and not much else, but I could justify a return visit by bringing up both the alcohol-hyperactivity link and the diminishing benefit of Miralax. I might start taking notes so that I can be specific about what happens.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

that's interesting about the alcohol-hyperactivity thing. i've heard that alcohol can give some people diarrhea. but it's odd that it should just now start up like that. a glass of wine never had that effect on me but that's me.

i agree with what ironrach said about stimulants. all the stimulant laxatives that were considered dangerous were removed from the market years ago. i remember when that happened. some of us with chronic constipation problems have to use stimulant laxatives because we can't go otherwise. There's a school of thought among doctors today that if you become dependent on laxatives, stimulants or otherwise, it's because something was wrong to begin with. you didn't develop the dependence as a result of using the laxatives.

and i agree-- we didn't get to this stage by overusing laxatives, did we? I don't think any of us did. We use laxatives because we can't go otherwise.

an interesting article re laxative use--"myths and misconceptions about chronic constipation" :

.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15654804

miralax never worked well for me. i was diagnosed with slow colonic transit, pelvic floor dysfunction, megarectum and rectal hyposensitivity and had a long twisted colon as well so i needed dynamite lol to get anything out. before i had my all my tests, my gastro told me to "take miralax", too. and it didn't work. after i had my tests and got my diagnoses, my gastro docs changed their tune and told me to take whatever i needed to go which for me was milk of magnesia and a stimulant laxative such as senna, cascara sagrada or dulcolax every night. (just a note--take dulcolax and milk of mag at least an hour apart or you'll get cramping) i didn't like having to take all this stuff of course but it was far better than developing an impaction.


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## ironrach (Jan 5, 2016)

I have been off of miralax for a long time now.

I use magnesium and other natural supplements, none of which work consistently.

Tricky part of this is that nothing really works for a long time, constant trial and error.

Very frustrating!


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