# Milk of Magnesia: safe for daily use???



## Chantal

Hi all,I have been taking 2 tablespoons of Milk of magnesia every night for about a week. it has been helping a lot, and I really don't want to stop taking it...the problem is that I am scared to stop, AND scared to stay on it because it is a laxative. I know that some people take one tablespoon daily, but 2 tablespoons is what I need to get things moving and that's quite a lot to take daily.Any thoughts? My gastroentorologist recommended the Milk of magnesia but did not tell me how long or how much to take...so it's been trial and error, and he's impossible to get a hold of!Thanks for reading.I look forward to your feedback.Chantal


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## 16636

My gastro is a big fan of MoM and recommends it for daily long term use if needed. He recommended using the caplets rather than the liquid & I suspect that this is b/c it's easy to take too much in a liquid dose if you're not careful. It's suggested to take it in 2 equal doses (1 tbsp in the AM and 1 in the PM) but if you're not feeling nauseas or dehydrated from taking 2 doses at one time, I guess it's fine. This is essentially the same as a magnesium supplement and is one of the safest long-term meds for constipation.However, if MoM is working for you, a little Zelnorm may help you too. Or, it can help reduce how much MoM you need to take every day. Just a thought.Dana


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## Kathleen M.

As long as you keep your total dose of magnesium in the guidelines and don't have any kidney problems that would make you need to limit magnesium it is pretty safe for regular use.I would try to find the lowest dose that works most of the time.Osmotic laxatives are generally the safest bet for every day use, if you have any reason you can't take that much magnesium daily there are prescriptions like miralax which acts the same way but doesn't have magnesium in it.K.


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## lorilou

I take 4 tbs a day and dr said you dont absorb the maganesium that it passes right out of you- her only cncern is my sodium levels which she checks . I take miralx too- I only go complete if its water- feeling better than I have my whole life. thank God for MOM


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