# So I can't take Miralax anymore



## ColonCombat (Mar 28, 2007)

Well, I know I COULD, but let me explain. First off, it's the only thing that has given me any amount of relief from my severe constipation, for a little over a year (pretty sure it's been about that long). Tried other stuff but nothing just seemed to work as well as Miralax and the occasional dose of MoM when I need an additional kick.Last week, I got up to go pee before bed, and the next thing I knew I woke up outside on a medical stretcher, then I passed out and woke up again in the hospital.Apparently I had a grand mal seizure, fell down onto the toilet, fractured my shoulder, and smashed up the side of my face while flopping around.I'm in my 30's, no history of any serious medical conditions (except the chronic constipation), and the ONLY thing I was taking at the time was Miralax. Not even so much as an aspirin.Brain scanned me, no tumors or abnormalities, blood test came back fine (they only test for very specific problems though, so...).Somebody else told me in another group that Miralax reactions, though rare, can be serious and include things like seizures and other neurological disorders. I was shocked, to say the least. I did some digging around on the internet, and indeed there is some information that leads me to believe maybe it's not as safe as I always assumed it was. consumer reports about seizure warning with overdoseMiralax toxicityNow, of course just because you take it, doesn't mean you will have any problems, but it is possible. The guy that told me about it originally had been taking it for years previously with no adverse effects. Back to square one now, I just can't take the risk of having that happen again (the 3000 dollar ER bill is deterrent enough, lol). Gonna try some stuff that I never got around to, like the digestive advantage supplements. Wish me luck.


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## SpAsMaN* (May 11, 2002)

Sorry about that man.I can't take it either,it give me too much gas.I also read that Miralax is the ingredient to clean your windshield.Damn lolYou may want to check this website:www.dulcolax.comMuch safer^^


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## sparrow (May 27, 2006)

SpAsMaN* said:


> I also read that Miralax is the ingredient to clean your windshield.Damn lolYou may want to check this website:www.dulcolax.comMuch safer^^


Can you post where you read this spasman?thanks


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## SpAsMaN* (May 11, 2002)

I'm not a chimist but it says on the bottle propylene glycol:http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/ant.aspx


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## ColonCombat (Mar 28, 2007)

So dulcolax is common for people to take long term? Anything stimulant laxative makes me leery... even though I was already dependent on laxatives before I ever took one, I always worry about making things worse. At this point I don't know if it even IS possible to make things worse. I mean, I pretty much can't have an unassisted BM as it is, lol.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Miralax is Polyethylene Glycol 3350, which isn't the same chemical you are claiming it is.Some of the recent data shows that stimulatory laxatives may not be quite as dangerous as the conventional wisdom says they are, so I am less leery of near daily use as I once was. However I do think people who abuse them (take very high doses like people do with eating disorders) can get into trouble. So if the normal dose you are on stops working it probably is that the constipation has gotten worse on its own, but don't compensate by starting to megadose the laxatives. At that point you probably need a sitz marker test to see what your transit time is and make decisions based on that.If you want a bit of an osmotic to add to the mix you could try magnesium oxide supplements around the USRDA for magnesium, so like 400 mgs. That may make things pass easier than just a stimulatory laxative alone. But given your problems I would run that past the doctor, even if you want to take the supplements for other health reasons besides they can loose the stool a bit. You might be able to use a stool softener, but I don't know.What I can tell from the medical literature is it seems some people are quite sensitive to the usually mild electrolyte imbalance that can happen with the osmotics used in doses that are typical for a colonoscopy prep. I don't know if long term low dose use would cause the same imbalance. In any case, for anyone esle, I would use the lowest dose of miralax that allows stool to pass rather than a dose that causes you to have watery diarrhea. Miralax pretty much stays in the GI tract so I would think this is the likely mechanism for the seizure.K.


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## Nikki (Jul 11, 2000)

I've just looked it up in the drug formulary and it neurological symptoms are not mentioned at all in the side effects- its all abdominal pain etc.I think its very unlikely that the miralax is your problem. What did your test results show?


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## ColonCombat (Mar 28, 2007)

Thanks. I am definitely going to try the few non stimulant methods first (already ordered them so no turning back now







). And I guess all else fails, I can try something like Dulcolax.What's some good stool softeners by the way? I haven't even looked into those yet, unless you count citrucel or benefiber as stool softeners.My stool is always like shooting out pellets btw, has been ever since I was little, regardless of diet or water intake... so I'm always open to new ideas.


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## ColonCombat (Mar 28, 2007)

Nikki said:


> I've just looked it up in the drug formulary and it neurological symptoms are not mentioned at all in the side effects- its all abdominal pain etc.I think its very unlikely that the miralax is your problem. What did your test results show?


There's no way to KNOW of course, but so many other people have reported similar adverse reactions that I think it's quite the coincidence. All my tests came back fine, no problems whatsoever. Most of the reactions seem to come from people with compromised digestive systems, like leaky gut. I myself have ulcerative colitis, so I could very well be absorbing even more than the small amount that a "normal" person would get. But even normal people absorb a small amount of the chemical, at least that's what I have read.I've seen too many drugs out for years then pulled due to "newly discovered" bad side effects to fully trust what it says on the side of the bottle anymore.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginf...er/a601113.html lists the brand names.They seem to be safe in chronic constipation for long term. As long as the doctor has checked out your situation I wouldn't be too worried about the "short term use" issues. Most of those types of warnings are because people with chronic GI symptoms really do need to run it past the doctor, not just do it on their own.Over the counter you can get them with or without stimulatory laxatives. Make sure you aren't double dosing the laxatives if you are taking other ones in addition to the stool softener. Nikki-I've seen the seizure warnings, but they are all in the overdose section rather than the usual side effects section. There are a few reports in the medical lit of people having problems with colonoscopy preps (with this and other compounds) so it isn't completely impossible. However there are lots of reasons to have a seizure, being sensitive to electrolyte imbalances that don't normally cause symptoms in most people (which is what they attribute the seizures to in colonoscopy preps) may be one, but there are dozens of them.Even if something usually doesn't cause a problem I would either avoid it or reintroduce it very carefully. There is always that 1 in a million people who can have strange reactions to things.K.


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## ABNormal (May 24, 2006)

Gosh, I just started using Miralax last week and have used it with MOM to get good results. I'm pleased so far, but I can see what SpasMan was talking--there is flatulence. The first post here is disconcerting.As far as Dulcolax--I do believe I became addicted in my younger days and was not warned by my MD--he's the one who told me to use it. ColonCombat--I have used Fruit-eze and that seems to soften the stool.


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## ColonCombat (Mar 28, 2007)

I tried some fruit-eze once, it surprisingly tasted pretty good. They didn't refrigerate it though, and I thought that since it's mostly fruit, shouldn't it be kept in the fridge? They kept it on top of the fridge.It reminded me of some Canadian jam I used to put on toast. I bet it would be pretty good on toast now that I mention it. In the meantime I still have my MoM to fall back on, and the always delicious (







) unsweetened prune juice. Until the pills and fiber supplements get here (was told that some of the fiber supp's act similar to miralax as a softener)... I am my own guinea pig.And I just realized that I said I have ulcerative colitis, when I think he said it was ulcerative proctitis (sp?). Limited to just the rectum or something... gave me some very expensive Canasa suppositories (I might as well have been shoving hundred dollar bills up there, lol... would have been just as effective).What's weird is after I read up on ulcerative colitis/proctitis, I have none of the symptoms they have, like pain, diarrhea, and bleeding. I'm just pure constipated with a capital C. Okay, some pretty bad pain and cramps if I can't go for too long, but that's to be expected when you're full of #### that won't come out.


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