# Magnesium Citrate and Linzess



## aganagapao (Aug 3, 2014)

So yesterday was my third day on Linzess. It had been giving me diarrhea for multiple hours throughout the day. Today, I was planning on going to a concert with a friend, so I decided instead of using Linzess and having a ton of diarrhea, I would take Magnesium Citrate before going to bed. Normally that works PERFECTLY.
Today, I went to the restroom maybe...3-5 times, but then it stopped. I know, can hear, and feel that there is still A TON of water in my..intestines? Not sure where it is. But it's sloshing around and won't come out.
I feel nauseous, dizzy, sick, dehydrated, and have a dry mouth. I'm super bloated, and my heartbeat changes little bit. I frankly don't feel like eating, but I'm hungry. I'm super thirsty but feel like I can't partake of anymore liquids. I don't know what to do!
This has never happened before, and it's kind of scaring me. Do you think I have an overdose of Magnesium? What should I do? I've thought about taking some stimulant laxatives to hopefully push the liquid out, but I don't want to do any damage.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

oh dear--so sorry --that's a totally miserable feeling when that happens with mag citrate.

mag cit used to work fine for me but then--several years ago--i took some and had almost the same thing happen to me except i couldn't go at all with it--it just stopped working for me then and there. i was miserably sick all day---like you said --all that horrid magnesium citrate was just sloshing around inside me, making me horribly nauseaous and bloated to the extreme. it just would not come out. . i finally took 3 dulcoax that night and early the next morning the dulcolax finally kicked in and i was able to go. what a blessed relief.

hopefully in your case the rest of the mag cit will decide to come out soon....if not, you could try taking a stimulant, just to get the mag cit out. my gastro docs have told me--and i've read--that all the stimulant laxatives that were considered dangerous were removed from the market quite a while ago. i even remember when they did that with exlax--removed it and replaced it with a safer version. or maybe you can figure out something else to take to help get the mag cit out?

i would also try to eat something. nothing with a lot of fiber in it but do try a warm meal --soft foods, a bit of healthy fat, etc. eating stimulates peristalsis and that might help kick the rest of the mag cit out.

also--please do try to keep hydrated today. i know it's so hard to drink water (or gatorade or whatever) with all that misery going on inside of you but it's very important to stay hydrated in this situation. and drinking water might also help the mag cit finally kick in and finish it's job. you definitely don't want to let yourself become dehydrated.

good luck . hope you can get rid of it soon.


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## aganagapao (Aug 3, 2014)

Thank you, so, so much for your reply - much appreciated! I've been trying hard to stay hydrated..been drinking a bottle of Gatorade all day, and mostly just napping. I tried some Enteric coated Peppermint Oil...it worked once, with only a very little brown liquid coming out. The rest of it was the peppermint oil. I could tell because the release smelled very much like mint and it burnt a little bit, because of the peppermint. I don't feel very lightheaded until I eventually urinate and let a small amount of liquid out from my bum. And then I have to go lay back down and hope for another release.

Maybe I'll try a little bit of pudding!

Thanks again.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

good luck--hope it all works out and gets better so you can go to the concert and hope you have a much better day tomorrow! take care.


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## Nojokeibs (Apr 14, 2014)

This is an interesting thread. When I take mag citrate, I always take 5 (yes 5) senna with it. Otherwise it doesn't come out, like you said. I never thought about it, I just did it. For dehydration types of things, I rely on an electrolyte mix like Emergen-C or Vega. Usually fixes me right up, but I haven't needed it much now that I take Taurine every day. Apparently Taurine helps balance electrolytes. I hope your situation improves soon.


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## MsK (Aug 10, 2014)

I just started on linzess about 2 weeks ago. My GI doctor said I might have to take every other day to build it up because it gave me such severe diarrhea I couldn't leave my house.my doctor also put me on Bentyl and lansoprazole. I'm still nauseated all the time. I'm barely eating our getting any thing to drink in me. I was taking Zofran for the nausea but it stopped helping. I now am taking phenerghan it seems to help. Everything I eat makes me sick. What do you do? I feel like I'm starving. I also have horrible sharp pains under my right top rip cage? Is this part of this IBS too? I've had the abdominal pain for weeks but the ribs is new. In struggling to get out of bed at times. How do you make a life with this disease?


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## aganagapao (Aug 3, 2014)

Thanks for the suggestion of electrolyte drink mixes! Emergen-C fixed things right up. Last night I took a few pieces of chocolate exlax...it only made me release gas once or twice. I took twice the amount I took last night today in hopes of it working..and still nothing. I'm really not sure what to do from here. The nausea is a bit better, as well as the pain. But my abodomin is definitely tender and hurts, especially when touched. I can't hear the water sloshing around as much, but I know it's still there. I'm not sure what to do from here. Any suggestions? I've thought about, if nothing works today, taking the Linzess tomorrow to see if it works?

I've also thought about eating some foods without fiber and a lot of sugar alcohol - those have cause diarrhea for me in the past.


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## aganagapao (Aug 3, 2014)

And MsK, I'm not sure how to answer you. I'm new to other solutions than Miralax and Magnesium. I'm sort of just entering into the sphere of IBS, as well. IBS has debilated more than it usually has, making me unable to continue pursue college this semester, so I definitely emphasize with you on how it's hard to make a life with this disease. But from what I've seen in this community, you'll be in a good place if you stick around here!


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## Nojokeibs (Apr 14, 2014)

MsK said:


> I just started on linzess about 2 weeks ago. My GI doctor said I might have to take every other day to build it up because it gave me such severe diarrhea I couldn't leave my house.my doctor also put me on Bentyl and lansoprazole. I'm still nauseated all the time. I'm barely eating our getting any thing to drink in me. I was taking Zofran for the nausea but it stopped helping. I now am taking phenerghan it seems to help. Everything I eat makes me sick. What do you do? I feel like I'm starving. I also have horrible sharp pains under my right top rip cage? Is this part of this IBS too? I've had the abdominal pain for weeks but the ribs is new. In struggling to get out of bed at times. How do you make a life with this disease?


This is a good description of some of my symptoms when I was starting out. Especially the part where I was starving because everything I ate made me sick. I also had the shoulder pain (upper ribs?) from IBS. My doctor said it was referred pain from my diaphragm having pressure placed on it. I'm fairly extreme in my self care now. I started with Atkins and found it worked, and now I've progressed to Ketogenic, I also periodically fast, and in the past I have done enemas with probiotics in the enema water. My "support" routine is really serious because I too feel like I don't want to get out of bed if it gets as bad as you just described. I'm afraid it will flare up like that again.

For now, you might try a brief 24 hour water fast (you're sick if you eat anyway, right? the easiest fast is from 6pm to 6pm), followed by an Atkins diet plan and maybe adding some of the concepts of the Low-FODMAP diet. That was my first diet modification, and it helped me a lot. You seem to have the drug aspect under control, but you might check them for things like diabetes drugs which don't mix well with fasting, at least not without a doctor's help. It's not impossible though, when people fast for religious reasons, they find ways to do it even though they are diabetic. Just get a doctor's advice, maybe a gastro if diabetes isn't the issue.


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## aganagapao (Aug 3, 2014)

So after taking the ExLax chocolate I got the urge to go..but went very little. I can feel the need to release, but for some reason it won't come through. It's weird - normally liquid diarrhea goes right through me. I still feel very bloated and not empty at all. I'm not sure what to do from here. I've thought about taking Milk of Magnesia..does that work differently than the Magnesium Citrate, and if so, would it work in getting things to go through? Any other suggestions?


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

so sorry you're still having problems.

milk of magnesia is another osmostic laxative like mag cit and miralax and things like mag ox, mag07, natural calm, etc

there are other stimulants beside exlax- dulcolax (bisadodyl) is one. there are also others like constipation stop by renew life, cleansemore, dr. schultz intestinal formula #1

or you could try an enema.

some people have luck with aloe vera juice or the pills.

i really don't have any more suggestions--sorry.

i kind of hate to tell to to keep pumping laxatives into your system if they are not working. a doctor's advice is best at this point, i feel. if you're still having problems tomorrow you really should call your gastro doc's office for advice--or your primary doc if you don't have a gastro. or maybe you could call the doc today if it's the sort of office where you can call and leave a message and someone will get back to you in a few hours. or maybe there's a walk-in clinic you could go to today.

good luck--hope it gets better for you.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

one more thought--if you think you have developed an obstruction--where you're not passing anything at all--not even gas--you should really go to the ER and they can help you with that....

an obstruction means the stool cannot move, has completely filled that part of the colon, nothing can get by, not even gas and eventually you will begin to vomit up stool when it needs to get out but it can't due to the obstruction. i've had one, so believe me , i know. not fun.

an impaction is when you go for a while, like a week or so, with no bm at and then all of a sudden you get watery diarrhea which is the body doing a sort of "self enema" by using the watery D to unblock things....


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## aganagapao (Aug 3, 2014)

Over the course of the past few hours I've passed liquid 5-8 times or so, and it has been partially brown, with a bit of solid. However, I'm still feeling a bit bloated, in a painful way, which is uncommon for me. Bloating is common, but not with pain and tenderness, which still startles me and concerns me. I have passed gas a few times today, so with the passing of liquids, gas, and a bit of solids, hopefully there's not an obstruction? But it's not safe to rule out an impaction, then?


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

yes it could be an impaction. but really--you should call your doc or better yet, gastro doc, tomorrow and ask them. especially if you're startled and concerned. i don't feel at all qualified to answer your questions--that's something for a doctor to do.

i do hope you feel better soon. take care.


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## Nojokeibs (Apr 14, 2014)

My feeling is that if you're having pain and tenderness, it might be plain inflammation or an infection. And only a doctor can tell you which one. Assuming they do the usual things, they will check your temperature and maybe take blood, or run other tests. If you have a fever at all, don't hesitate to ask for an urgent appointment go to the ER. They'll understand. If you feel like you're "on the mend" and the tenderness is going away, then the only other suggestion I'd have is to consider finding a reputable colonic practitioner. Colonic machines are a bit more intense than enemas and some people find them helpful sometimes.


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