# miralax and fiber?



## norah (Jan 17, 2014)

Just wondering if anyone knows about this problem. After having serious C my doc put me on meds i.e. Linzees, amitiza, cytotec along with miralax. The stool then becomes too soft and sticky and hard to evacuate. Would using some fiber like Benefiber maybe bulk it up for a more normal stool?


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

yes you could try adding benefiber to bulk it up--a little at a time, play around with the dose.

all of those meds pull or add water into the stool or the colon one way or another. i suppose you could also try (if you haven't already) reducing the dose maybe on one or some of them--like miralax--or eliminating one of them so there isn't so much water/liquid being added to the stool....maybe taking the lower dose of linzess (145 mcg instead of 290 mcg) or amitiza (8 mcg instead of 24 mcg) if possible.

i was on cytotec for a while, trying to get it to work right for me. have you seen this study done on it? i found it really informative and helpful:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2036.1997.00237.x/pdf

good luck. yes it does take a lot of experimentation doesn't it to see what works best.


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## norah (Jan 17, 2014)

Annie7,

Thank you for the reply. I am cutting back on the Miralax and adding a bit of fiber for a few days and see what happens. Not sure what role the cytotec is playing right now. When I took Linzees 145mcg I knew...it was explosive. So, I quit that. I may have to give the amitiza a try again. I just think it is the miralax causing the D. if only I could find the magic formula .


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

oh yes--if only we could all find that magic formula--that silver bullet...

i saw in your health profile you listed zelnorm. did that help you at all? maybe you've already heard of or even tried resolor (prucalopride). it works a lot like zelnorm but with a better safety profile--doesn't have the cardiac effects zelnorm supposedly had. prucalopride is a selective high affinity 5-HT4 receptor agonist and, like zelnorm, it has more of a prokinetic effect than all these other meds like linzess, amitiza and cytotec do. prucalopride alters colonic motility patterns and stimulates colonic mass movements encouraging peristalsis. unfortunately it isn't available here in the usa yet (if ever) but it is available in canada under the name of restoran and also in the uk and other countries. if your doc is willing to write you a script for it you can get it through canadadrugs.com --they need a script in order to fill your order. i've heard some gastro docs--particularly those affiliated with motility centers, the mayo clinic and university hospitals-- are pretty proactive about letting their patients try it even though it's not available here.

good luck with everything. hope you can get some relief.


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## norah (Jan 17, 2014)

Yes, I did have some success with zelnorm. But, I think it had quit working and then they took it off the market anyway. I have heard about resolor on the board here. I may ask my doc about it next time if I go back. He was kind of upset with me last time I think so I don't know if I want to see him again. But, he is the only GI in our town.Thanks for the reply. You really are on top of all these meds. You know more than my doc I think b/c when I asked him how exactly the cytotec works he said he didn't know lol!


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

norah--my gastro doc didn't know much about cytotec either. i had read up on it--about how it could be used off label to treat constipation-- and then went to him asking for a script. since nothing else was working for me he was willing to let me try it. and then i got the info on how to take it etc from that study in the link i posted. unfortunately, as it often turns out, we really do have to do our own study and research on these things sometimes, don't we...

that's a shame your doc was upset with you--he shouldn't be that way (IMHO) he should be trying to help you. i can understand you maybe not wanting to see him again. and yes that really makes it rough when he's the only GI in town. i live in a small rural area---no gastros around here--and have to drive about an hour to see either of mine. i have two gastros actually--the one has a six month wait time to get in to see him...not that it's helped much. i sure do wish things were better for us...

take care.


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