# Relationship between taking Linzess and developing Diverticulitis with Perforated Colon



## Suffering Bad (Aug 2, 2004)

I know there are several members and users of this forum that have been prescribed Linzess for treatment of Constipation / IBS-C.

I was using Linzess for 6 months when I became violently ill within a few short hours,

I was admitted to the hospital with acute diverticulitis and a perforated colon. I ended up having surgery removing over 14 inches of my colon.

I have had three (3) colonoscopies and was never diagnosed with diverticulitis prior to this event.

Since there are several Linzess users here, I am curious if anyone else has developed diverticulitis and/or experienced a perforated colon since taking Linzess.

Friends and family are convinced there is a relationship between the Linzess and the diverticulitis with perforated colon I experienced. Doctors won't say because they don't want to comment against a pharmaceutical company. My regular doctor did say in theory it could be possible. He said I should call the pharmaceutical company and report it. He also said I could have uncovered a side effect or complication that would not come up until after extended use of Linzess and would not have presented itself in trials which are shorter in duration.

Is there anyone here like me?


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## JaneLovesTarzan (Mar 5, 2016)

Dear Suffering Bad,

What a traumatic experience







you poor thing!

I took Linzess on and off for about a year. I took it for 4 months straight..quit because of lack of results and tried it a year later for about 3 months..quit again because it did nothing for me. I've heard a lot of people experiencing horrible side effects from it (yet not as bad as this) but it didn't seem to do anything odd to my body besides make me swell up with water.

It wouldn't surprise me if Linzess could cause something like this but your condition is a very serious one so I almost wonder if it was the underlying cause of your constipation. I have a lot of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in my family and always wonder if that is the reason of my constipation, even though my one colonoscopy came up clear. I do know you can experience numerous symptoms of IBD before it becomes detectable. Just something I'm always thinking about myself.

Are you doing any better with the removal of part of your colon?


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## Suffering Bad (Aug 2, 2004)

Hello JaneLT-

Thank you for your post. It took me 4 months to recover from surgery. The surgeon removed the last 14 inches of my colon (sigmoid colon). Surgery went well. My surgeon is confident he removed all of the colon with indications of diverticulitis. However, I developed adhesions and scar tissue.

I went through 9 weeks of physical therapy and ultrasound treatment to break up the adhesions and scar tissue. While the surgery removed and fixed the perforation, the IBS C persists.

My only regret is that I didnt start physical therapy sooner. If anyone else has to have this surgery, I recommend that you begin physical therapy with ultrasound 4 weeks after surgery. It would have cut my recovery time in half.


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## Suffering Bad (Aug 2, 2004)

I wish I had read this before taking Linzess...

https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/nda/2012/202811Orig1s000SumR.pdf

The interesting part to me was from page 42 on.... The study does reveal that subjects with no diverticulitis can develop diverticulitis from Linzess. 2 subjects also experienced a perforated colon.


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## Suffering Bad (Aug 2, 2004)

I just found this on http://patientsville.com


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## Suffering Bad (Aug 2, 2004)

After my homework, I am really facing some tough decisions.

I finally find a medication that relieves my IBS-C and has an additional benefit of weight loss. However, after taking Linzess (290mg) for 6 months (5 times a week) I developed Diverticulitis and a perforated colon. I had no history of diverticulitis and I have had 3 colonoscopies prior to the event none of which found any sign of diverticulitis.

My surgeon and regular physician have said continuing the drug was ok. However, I do not ever want to find myself in the hospital again.

Is there anyone on this forum that has had this happen to them? Is what happened to me a long term side effect from Linzess?

Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.


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## constantfae (Jul 10, 2014)

This has me even more worried about LInzess. I'm not sure that going from having IBS-C to something similar to IBS-D is really worth it. I still get the pain and bloating which was always the worst part of having IBS to me. If there's a chance I could develop Diverticulitis or a perforated colon from it then I really don't think it's worth continuing. The only reason I'm even on Linzess right now is because my insurance company refused to pay for Amitiza without prior authorization and I can't get that until my doctor can prove that Linzess' side effects are too extreme or the medication doesn't work.

Thankfully, today is my telecommute day because I'm having to run to the bathroom every 5 or 10 minutes. Is this really a cure if you go from having constipation to raging diarrhea or worse? Maybe I had just gotten used to having C. It's awful, but most days I could still leave the house and I could plan a massive laxative clean out once or twice a week around my schedule. It's not ideal and I'd rather not have IBS at all, but at least I could work around it a little as long as I was super careful what I ate. Now, I can't eat anything without raging diarrhea. It's not even a case of trigger foods with this medication. It's anything you eat. It's not worth it.


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## EGarcia (Jul 19, 2016)

My wife had a similar situation as hurting bad with taking Linzess and then causing a rupture through a diverticulitis pocket after taking it for three weeks 7/11/16.


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## m4rkeyviusc4they (1 mo ago)

Honestly, I've never heard of Linzess causing you to have diverticulitis. Here are some real reasons why you might develop diverticulitis:

-Disordered intestinal motility;
-Poor diet;
-Avitaminosis;
-Frequent constipation;
-Excessive weight;
-Low physical activity.

But this is just the bare minimum of information; if you want to know more about what diverticulitis is, its causes, and how you can try to help yourself, you should read this article on diverticulitis.

I hope my answer will help you at least a little


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