(I know you guys aren’t my doctors, but I’m not gonna go see my doctor about an OTC product recommendation. And yes, I work in a pharmacy and could ask the pharmacists, and yes this would be protected under HIPPA and whatnot, but shooting the shit in this case isn’t something that I tend to do at work)
Some months ago, I was dealing with an ulcer, and bowel distress to match. My APN suggested that I take an OTC fiber supplement once a day in order to help with what she thought was mild IBS, due to my sometimes constipation and sometimes loose stools. I never did take it very regularly. I got the generic Fiber-con tablets, because I don’t like mixing things in water to take them.
Now I’m trying to take better care of the GI tract and have been taking it regularly (at bedtime) for about two weeks, and lemme tell you, I’ve got some wonderful gas that’s brewing in my intestines. This is kind of fun, when I can stroll through the aisles at Wal-Mart, leaving clouds of noxious green gas hanging in the air for other unwitting shoppers to walk through, or when I’m at home in my room and get to giggle about choking myself (Hey, I’m a guy!), but is inconvenient to have to hold in all day at work, or run to the bathroom and rattle the walls.
Now my question about Miralax. I know that it bills itself as a laxative, but I’m curious to see if it has any effect on regularity. That is, I need something to average out the squirty poops and the brick poops. I know it’s not a water issue, because I drink anywhere from a half-gallon to a gallon of water each day, tending towards the upper range (I refill a 20 oz bottle several times from the filtered water spout we use to mix antibiotics).
WAGging here - I would not think it’s going to help much with averaging out the different types of poops; Fibercon should, in theory, do a better job with that. In fact I’d specifically read somewhere (here’s one cite: WEBSITE.WS - Your Internet Address For Life™) that it was good for that.
My son was on Miralax for many, many years (6 or 7) as part of the treatment for his encopresis. My understanding for how it works is that it causes the stools to be softer, by attracting water to the stools (or preventing the water from being absorbed by the intestines).
For what it’s worth, he never did tend to offer up the “green clouds” you describe! The only times he was noted for air quality violations were when his routine was messed up and he was eating unusual foods (e.g. when travelling), then the constipation would flare, he’d spend a lot of time in the bathroom, and one did NOT want to be the next person in line after him!
Oh - and of course (unless they’ve modified the form since it went OTC), Miralax is something you have to mix with liquid. Dweezil always got it mixed in with juice.
I am on Methadone and Methadone makes you have VERY irregular, hard, balled up stool. When I started taking Miralax, I no longer had any irregularity, hard or balled up stool. It completely gave me back my bowels and stool to a normal consistency.
Yeah. Miralax actually can be ingested, unlike milk of magnesia, making it a lot more effective This is per our experience with dosing Dweezil, who managed to down maybe 2 doses of MofM before wising up.
Other than that - I think they do work similarly. The gastroenterologist who managed his care actually would choose milk of magnesia as his first choice but he realizes a lot of people find it unpleasant to choke down (even mixed in a drink, it made the drink taste vile).
I googled “how laxatives work” and got this hit, which is as informative as any. It seems both Milk of Magnesia and Miralax would be in the “hyperosmotic” category.
I must be a parent. I’m posting to a thread about poop. :smack:
Oh, man, ain’t that the truth. The only flavor of milk of magnesia I was ever able to choke down was the Phillips’ Concentrated Fresh Strawberry, and even then I always had to hold my breath and wash the taste out of my mouth as fast as possible, or … blech, that stuff’s hideous.
Next time I get constipated, I’m trying this Miralax stuff.
Maybe I’ll give it a try come payday. AFAIK, it’s exactly the same formulation as it was when it was prescription, except there’s a generic for the prescription version.
This is per our experience with dosing Dweezil, who managed to down maybe 2 doses of MofM before wising up.