# Laxido (Miralax/Movicol) long term use



## captainscapegoat (Dec 31, 2016)

Does anyone have any experience taking *Laxido *long term?

I think this is the UK name for *Miralax *or *Movicol*, which is essentially macrogol.

https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/21244

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrogol#cite_note-AC-7

Everything I read about it suggests its not for long term use due to the possibility of electrolyte imbalance

https://www.gutsense.org/gutsense/the-role-of-miralax-laxative-in-autism-dementia-alzheimer.html

But then a counter argument

https://skeptoid.com/blog/2013/02/16/konstantin-monastyrsky-pseudoscience-of-nutrition-part-2/

Any thoughts?


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## PD85 (Aug 19, 2010)

The active ingredient in all of them is Polyethylene Glycol 3350 (PEG).

It believe it is not a good idea to use it long term. The reason is that it can drastically alter your ability to have a natural bowel movement after only a few days on it, because it partly removes the mucus layer in the intestines. The mucus layer is of course one of the most important anatomical structures of the bowel. I actually believe that a large portion of the IBS population have issues specifically with the mucus layer. The mucus layer can kill pathogenic bacteria (which are likely the cause of most IBS issues), it keeps the colon tissue healthy through regulation of immune function, and it allows for stool to naturally move along the path of the colon.

There are tons of stories, especially on this website, of people who are basically addicted to it :/

There are much better alternatives than PEG for long-term use. I do think that PEG is great once in a while because it's very effective.


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