# Linzess WITH food



## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

has anybody tried taking linzess with food instead of a half hour before breakfast like it's prescribed?

I did that yesterday. my usual nightly laxative cocktail didn't work too well and I was desperate for relief. earlier i'd read the following from the online prescribing information on linzess:

"Food Effect: In a cross-over study, 18 healthy subjects were given LINZESS 290 mcg for 7 days both in the non-fed and fed state... Taking LINZESS immediately after the high fat breakfast resulted in looser stools and a higher stool frequency compared with taking it in the fasted state ... In clinical trials, LINZESS was administered on an empty stomach, at least 30 minutes before breakfast."

http://www.allergan.com/assets/pdf/linzess_pi

linzess (both 290 and 145 mcg) had quit working for me when taken as prescribed-- half hour before breakfast. so I took linzess (290 mcg) with a little bit of the previous night's dinner reheated in the microwave.

two hours later I had diarrhea--and again an hour after that and again and again. this went on all day til 4 pm. it was like taking a bottle of mag citrate--a bit more of a result than i'd hoped for..lol...

can't believe taking it with warmed up food with a little bit of fat in it would make this huge a difference in how it works for me. and i'm not sure i'd recommend taking it this way, either. it was a bit too much..and it could be that this effect would diminish over time. or perhaps be quite a bit less with the 145 mcg dose.


----------



## ABNormal (May 24, 2006)

Annie, thanks for sharing. I WISH I could take it with my breakfast. I'm an early riser and I wake up, take Linzess and then go for my morning walk to wait out the 30 minutes! I'd much rather eat and then go for a walk. I might try what you did. LOL--rather have a little diarrhea than all stopped up as I've been.

I also read that I should use Miralax with Linzess, so I've been doing that for a week. What I wondered was when to take the Miralax. I've been drinking it at night, but wondered if I should take it at the same time as the Linzess--does anyone know when??

I'm just about to give up on Linzess. The first couple weeks I was doing great! Now, it's about the worst I've been.


----------



## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

HI ABNormal

yes it's so disappointing, isn't it--when things first work well and then quit on us. that's the way linzess was with me too...until yesterday..lol..

and yes that's what i thought, too about the "little" diarrhea--it sounded great to me. i was praying for it! until about noon when it all got to be a bit too much with no end in sight..lol..it had me running clear by 4 pm--just like a colonosocopy prep. and i even had a little more D around 9:30 pm.

food with some fat in it seems to be the key...

about miralax--that's a good question. i would think that drinking it night would be ok. being an osmotic, i would think once you got it in your system--keeping the amount constant and taking it daily--or nightly--that's what counts--keeping a consistent amount of it in your system at all times. (not sure i explained that too coherently--lol--brain fog as usual) . i take milk of magnesia nightly--along with dulcolax. although often even all that doesn't work too well.

unless of course taking miralax gives you an urge to go right away or soon after. then you might want to try it in the morning. or just play around with it and see what works best. seems like we always have to do a lot of trial-and-error.

good luck--hope you can get linzess to start working again for you.


----------



## ABNormal (May 24, 2006)

You take MOM every night? I think for me it wouldn't work after a while. Also, Dulcolax is part of my problem--almost 40 years ago--I was addicted to it. Then it totally stopped working. Ugh.

Yes, we have our little routines and things that we have to do.

Hope someone else chimes in with having Linzess with food. Just curious.


----------



## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

yes i've been taking MOM nightly for about six years and it hasn't quit on me yet--fingers crossed. but it does need dulcolax to help push it through. i found taking the two together works better for me than taking either one alone.

one thing about linzess-maybe you already know this --but i've read it's very unstable and must be kept in the manufacturer's original container with the little desiccant thingies in it. some pharmacies repackage it into their own containers. people who've received it this way have said they had problems with it losing it's effectiveness and it quit working for them until they insisted the pharmacy keep it in the original packaging. then it worked ok. the manufacturer's instructions in the prescribing info says much the same thing. it's very sensitive to moisture.


----------



## Maegwin (Nov 11, 2012)

Hi Annie,

It looks like Canada may be getting Linzess (called constella up here) in the new year. I've got some concerns and questions.

The prescription says it should be taken before breakfast. I usually don't eat early in the day due to the pain food causes me. If I do eat solids it's my last meal of the day. However, if Linzess works then eating earlier will no longer be a problem.

Is linzess something that has a cumulative effect? I have to take it for awhile before I see results?

Taking linzess in a fasting state causes it to have less effect? Have you tried this?

If I take linzess 30 minutes before my meal (at night) will I be up all night with the effects?

Does linzess lose it's effectiveness over time?

How does linzess work? Some laxatives are described as stool softeners, bowel lubricants, colon muscle stimulants, or they pull moisture into the bowel. My gastro said something about linzess getting rid of the pain in my bowel, kind of like taking a tylenol that targets the bowel.

You say you take Miralax, MOM, and ducolax as well? Correct me if I'm wrong about what each of these do or if they could be helpful for other reasons I missed:


*Miralax:* holds water in the stool. So kind of a cross between a stool softener and moisture drawing laxative. Large, dry hard stools are not really my problem though. My stools are often quite soft if not piece meal. They just get stuck, like my bowel is pinched off.

*Milk of Magnesia:* draws moisture into the bowel and acts as an antacid. Again, dry stools are not really my problem and I drink lots of water. I don't really get a lot of acid in my gut either, no burning. I only get indigestion if I eat when I'm really constipated. The food won't go down and sits too long in my stomach.

*Dulcolax:* acts as a stimulant. Can't find out what bisacodyl is derived from. I'm wondering if it's a derivative of senna or just a pharmaceutical concoction. Stimulants are definitely the most effective laxatives for me. I take both senna and cascara formulas. Does dulcolax lose effectiveness over time?

*Linzess:* From what I could find on Google it increases the production of moisture in the bowel and dulls the pain sensing nerves in the bowel. Still, lack of moisture in my bowel is not my problem. Whenever I take drugs that increase or draw moisture into my bowel I get severe diarrhoea that merely pulls all the moisture past the blocked waste leaving my bowel very dehydrated. Then, yes, I do get dry compacted stools.

I'd love to read your opinion on Linzess Annie. Please feel free to write up a full report of your experience with it if you have the time. I love lengthy, informative posts. 

Hope you're doing well.


----------



## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Maegwin--i just posted about linzess on your other post--the fingers crossed one:

http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/168719-fingers-crossed-the-gastro-doesnt-say-something-useless/#entry908340


----------



## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

i take milk of magnesia and dulcolax (not together. I take them a few hours apart) . miralax doesn't work too well for me.

linzess adds fluid to the bowel and also lessens pain by working on some of the nerves that cause pain like your gastro said. and Dr Chey also mentioned that in the article i had a link to in your fingers crossed post.

the prescribing info explains how it works.

http://www.frx.com/pi/linzess_pi.pdf

most people see results from it within 24-48 hours but some take longer. it works best if you're not all backed up when you first start taking it. do a clean out first if you are backed up.

and yes like i said over on the other post--for me at least (and remember we're all different in how we react to meds) the longer i waited to eat before taking it, the less effect it has. but that is just me--i also have mitochondrial disease and that adversely affects how i react to meds (autonomic dysfunction etc)

and really--we're all so different on how we react to meds--the only way a person is going to know if it works on them is to try it for themselves.







after years of trying stuff, i just don't think we can second guess how something is going to work on us without trying it.


----------



## Crampyy (Jan 26, 2015)

This morning was my first time taking Linzess. I haven't had a BM at all in 2 days and did not clear my bowels before taking it. It didn't work for an hour and a half- then I tried eating a bit. I then had a small BM- I will try eating very soon after taking the meds tomorrow to see if that helps any and let you all know. I've seen in other forums many people taking it with a meal with the same reaction as Annie described above.


----------

