# Is anyone still on Linzess?



## ibsgirl40 (Feb 15, 2015)

Hi. I went to the GI yesterday and told her that although I had been managing my IBS great on just triphala and life rising Chinese herbs until about 6 months ago, now I am taking three dulcolax a night and still having problems. I have tried Amitza and every dose gave me trouble breathing and chest pain but no BM so that is out. She gave me a RX for LInzess as well as Lactulose.

My own experience with LInzess was just a one time thing. I took the 145 dose and had very little BM but lots of bloating and pain for the entire day. She gave me 290s but honestly I am scared to try them. All I have read about this drug is side effects - ranging from pain and bloating to rapid weight gain and dizziness. I already struggle with MS symptoms (although have not been diagnosed with MS) like brain fog, confusion, and vertigo, and don't need more side effects.

She also gave me an RX for lactulose which I have never tried. Miralax didn't work for me - just blew me up like a balloon.

Any suggestions?

Is anyone still on Linzess and actually having a good experience with it?

Thanks!!


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## flossy (Dec 8, 2012)

Sorry, but this board can get slow at times. And to top it off I've never taken Linzess. But there is a long thread about it already running here.

Click on link below:

http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/159852-linzess-review/


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## Rosie Marie (Nov 27, 2014)

Dear ibsgirl40,

I swear I could have written your post myself because I just saw my GI yesterday and she prescribed me the exact same thing (Linzess 290 in the morning and Lactulose 15 ml at night) and I also am currently taking 3 Dulcolax to get any relief! I feel like we're IBS sisters ha ha.

I also experienced the exact same symptoms on Amitiza of trouble breathing and chest pain (I felt like I was dying, I will never take it again although I did happen to get a few movements while on it-still not with taking though!)

As far as Linzess goes it gives me zero bad side effects; unlike Amitiza. Unfortunately it gives me zero bowel movements as well. My G I believes if I take Linzess and Lactulose together for a long time I will be able to retrain my bowel.

Now on to Lactulose, I believe it's very safe to take and my GI told me I could take it if I was to become pregnant. The only side effect it gives me (which it will probably give you too) is that I am crazy bloated. She suggested taking it at night for less discomfort but it doesn't seem to matter to my body because I am constantly bloated 

I have heard of a lot of success for people taking Linzess and it works great for a family member of mine so maybe it will work well for you. I am curious what dosage your doctor prescribed you of Lactulose (15ml, 30 ml?). I read a lot of people on here take a higher dose than I was prescribed.

Let us know how things are working for you! I hope you don't get any negative side effects from Linzess.


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## ibsgirl40 (Feb 15, 2015)

Oh gosh that is funny - IBS sisters. What a goofy illness! I have used Miralax in the past and stopped because of the bloating...I can be bloated enough on my own! I haven't tried Linzess yet because I am scared of the side effects. The thing I don't get is if I can take laxatives and they work (and we have used them for generations and we know they won't kill us) why do I keep trying all of these new medicines that have very little safety history? Anyway I think the strength is 290. I don't know what the unit is. The other I took was 145 that resulted in a whole lot of pain and not a whole lot of poop lol! I have read all sorts of horror stories of people having awful diarrhea but still going up like 5 pounds in a week that won't come off or their bellies swelling up so much their pants don't fill. I know I sound vane but I've been a very athletic person my whole life and this would really bum me out (and IBS already bums me out!)....plus again if I'm taking dulcolax and not completely miserable why make myself? Anyway I am sure I am being stubborn, vane, and unreasonable but I am just so tired of trying new things and getting hellish results. Those days on Amitza were so scary I wanted to go to the ER! I'm really just scared I will have some horrible side effect again.


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## Rosie Marie (Nov 27, 2014)

I don't blame you at all for being cautious about Linzess after your Amitiza experience. I would have felt the same way if I would've tried Amitiza first instead of Linzess. I understand about being bummed out about bloating too! I used to have a lot more weight on me so I started eating healthy and worked really hard to get in shape.. Only to get severe constipation and non-stop bloating. I could handle constipation a lot better if I didn't look five months pregnant half the time.

So have you decided to try Linzess?


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## ibsgirl40 (Feb 15, 2015)

I suppose I should take one just to see what happens. The problem is I never have a day I don't have to be anywhere - our weekends have been so busy lately. I have read all the reviews on this site and as many others as I can find and I have to say there seem to be very very few people who are happy with this medicine. One think I just cannot tolerate is the bloating where you feel like you are pregnant - which seems to be common. I'll do it eventually - I'll let you know my results.


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## 1kimmi4 (May 24, 2015)

Hi guys- I have tried Amitiza like five yeas ago with no results - I have tried fiber which does the exact opposite on me-lots of gas and bloating but no bm- continued to struggle taking probiotics, miralax and biscodyl- have recently seen gi doc again and was started on Linzess at 290mcg so just wanted to share my side effects with this to see if anyone else has experienced this- of course I had no bm's with this (stayed on it for almost 4 weeks) experienced rapid heart beats and now my liver function tests are EXTREMELY elevated. have the bloating and back pain that everyone else talks about- having an abdominal ultrasound this week- thanks for any info-


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## Stevect06 (Jun 20, 2014)

I've been on Miralax for a while - per recommendation of my general practitioner and G.I. specialist - and from what I heard about it I tried LInzess about a year ago. I stopped Miralax - I didn't go for a week! Ended up in the hospital due to being impacted. A procedure that injects a contrast in the colon for an X-ray is what got things going again, although that wasn't the purpose of the contrast. Fortunately the end result was that was the remedy. I know Linzess works for some, everyone is different - it did not for me.


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## Denred (May 30, 2015)

Works ok, sometimes too good. I now take 290 every other day or every three days. I still take 3 table spoons of chia seeds ground in coffee grinder, mixed with 3 heaping tablespoons of Citrocell and one heaping teaspoon of Konsyl psyllium fiber in very cold water as it congeels quickly, sounds horrible but works.


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