colace, laxatives and IC

[nogo]

Does anyone know if colace is bad with IC. I am having my hydro on Friday and I am terribly constipated (IBS). I need to take colace but I'm afraid it will irritate things further. Anyone know if it is OK to take? The IBS and IC seem to go hand in hand and my urgency is greatly increased right now since I need a laxative. What is effective and safe?

[LeeAnn]

...

I can take colace with no problem at all. Any time I take vicodin or any narcotic I will take colace a few hours later. The reason is b/c my DR said narcotics will get you constipated very quickly, which definitely makes IC flare. SO to prevent that from happening I take colace if I take the vicodin, just the generic Target brand that's about $3 a bottle for 100 pills works just fine for me.

[kadi]

My doctor said to take the Colace with meals, says it works best that way.
I'm very diet-sensitive & do not have any trouble with Colace.

[dg2901]

No problems here.


Diana

[ICNDonna]

I don't have a problem with colace, but you need to be certain your doctor knows you are taking it.

Donna

[aprilmae]

I do not have problems with it either. However, make sure you do not take it for a long time unless directed by your doctor.

[jen74]

I took colace once and it upset my tum. I was taking miralax and this was helping me greatly and did not bother my IC, but I ended up getting hives and had to stop it. It worked very well and is one of the better and most gentle laxatives. I am so bummed I cannot take it.
Jen

[nogo]

I have some miralax but after reading all the warnings on the thing, it worries me about taking it with colace. I just need some relief to get the pressure off the bladder. The colace didn't do much last night and I took an Amitiza this morning as well. I don't know how I am going to sit through this 10 o'clock meeting I have scheduled. HOW do you all cope so well???????

[jen74]

Hi Nogo.
The miralax is very gentle in my opinion, and trust me, I am sensitive to everything, I mean I got hives from the miralax for gosh sakes and the pharmacist said that is unusual to happen and that I must be super sensitive to meds.
I just talked to my GI nurse and I think she made a mistake. She told me that I could try colace or senokot. She said that these are gentle and work well. I went to but the senokot and this is a laxative, not a stool softner. The pharmacist said it is a stimulant. The funny thing is when I asked the GI nurse about the milk of magnesia, she said this is what you take when nothing works and you can become dependant on it. Well, the pharmacist said milk of mag is gentle and can actually be taken long term without risk of dependance. Now I am confused.
I hope you find something that works soon. If you want immediate relief, I would try the glycerin suppositores or maybe even one of the stimulant laxatives.
Jen

[nogo]

jen, I am confused too. One time they tell you MOM is NOT habit forming and another time they will tell you to take it regularly. Here is what the GI nurse just told me today: I can take the Amitiza, Colace, Miralax and Prune Juice with Pulp each day. For RESCUE, I should take MOM at night followed by water and coffee or hot tea the next morning. She said she guaranteed that would work. For ANOTHER RESCUE, more immediate, take Fleets Phosphosoda, 1.5 oz. bottle (OTC) and mix with gingerale. Drink all at once since it is salty. Follow with 3 glasses of water in the next hour. Walk around (that helps she said to get the colon moving) and stay close to a bathroom. That is the prep, or part of it for a colonoscopy as I recall. She said that the MOM and Fleets phospho. are ONLY rescue help when it has been 3 or more days. Hope that helps. I'm a wreck, myself. It is AMAZING to me, how great a day I have when my bowels are working normally for whatever reason. It is SUCH an amazing weight off my mind. The stress caused by not going (if I don't go every day, my gut goes nuts and I am miserable) is overwhelming. I don't think anyone without this problem can BEGIN to fathom the stress and anxiety this condition elicits. nogo

[jen74]

Hi Nogo.
I hear ya, and I totally agree. I dont get it with all these different opinions though. I did have one GI doc a few years back tell me it was safe to take milk of magnesia every night. But now this nurse says that it should only be used when nothing else works, but yet it is one of the more gentle laxatives. It is not even a stimulant, it only draws water in the colon. I am confused. Yes, I know exactly how you feel. I have upper and lower motility issues, so I feel severe bloat all the time even rihgt after I eat. The constipation is awful though. It is very stressing when you cannot go.
I personally know a few people who also have severe gut dysmotility also and they take miralax on a regular basis and the doc says it is safe. It also is a osmotic type laxative that just draws water in the intetsines. It was really helping me, but then naturally I had to become allergic to it and get hives so I no longer can take it Arrrrh!
Did your doc say that the Phospho stuff is to take only when things wont move?? My GI nurse also said that magnesium citrate will make you move when all else fails. But this is only to be used for when you cant go and it has been days and nothing else has worked.
I do feel for you hon, I know how you feel. I hope things get to moving for you real soon.
Jen

[ICNDonna]

Please talk with your medical professional about laxatives and don't rely totally on the advice other patients provide. My physician recommended I take colace daily, but that doesn't mean it's safe for everyone. It's not intended as a laxative, but will help keep the stool soft enough to help prevent constipation. If you have a significant problem, you are wise to be in touch with your GI physician's office.

Donna

[nogo]

Thank you guys for your input. I know it is essential to confer with the doctor on an individual basis, but is nice to know others have dealt with these same issues and sometimes those who live it, know more about how effective or ineffective a particual med may be. It does indeed vary with every condition and that must be taken into account. I get terribly distressed with the lack of 'listening' that goes on with my doc. It isn't JUST this one, other docs as well don't really see the whole patient, just the immediate problem. The WHOLE patient should be taken into account, not just the condition. I don't want to be the IC in room #2 or the IBS-constipation in room #3.... Sometimes, I feel it is that way. The doc listens, but he really doesn't hear the degree of distress and anxiety. He blithely says, "try this" without considering other medical factors. I have often asked a question as he is walking out with regard to another med I take to see if it is OK to take both at once. That stops him in his tracks with an, "Oh...no, you can't take those together." He has my chart, he has known my and my case for years......shouldn't he have noticed? I guess I am aging myself when I say, I miss a Marcus Welby type of doc. No such thing anymore, but it surely would be nice. These docs should have a bout of one of these conditions for a day or two....then, I think they would listen better. My husband is a wonderful doctor, sought out by many in his specialty, yet even he, try as he may, doesn't understand the degree of misery associated with these conditions. I'm embarrassed and ashamed that I can't accompany him to various places because I am so miserable and it sounds so feeble as an excuse. We missed celebrating our anniversary this week because of this IC/Const. flare. It gets old for him I know. Not so hot for me either.

[sphinx]

I have IBS with constipation and for years my primary doc and a GI doc have both had me take Citrucel for fiber (not Metamucil because the psyllium causes cramping and gassiness, Citrucel doesn't have psyllium) and Magnesium Oxide tablets once daily as a stool softener. Granted, between the IBS and all the meds I take that tend to dry me out, this does not always help. So sometimes I'll add some Benefiber to something, but it is pretty weak, I think. The Miralax helped, but kind of made me have several small movements every time I went to the bathroom....kind of a pain when I go in there so often anyway, lol!

Those things I take don't irritate me much, and are beneficial for me because the less constipated I am, the less IC symptoms I have. But even with all that, I may take a Colace if I take more than 1 Vicoden at a time. I was kidding around with my husband that they should market Vicoden with Colace in the formula and call it "Vicodace", hahaha!!! Colace actually tends to make me a little irritated in my bowels if I take it daily, which is why I take it rarely.

OK, a lot of words for only a little information!

[nogo]

sphynx....your reply helped me a great deal. Colace does indeed irritate my colon and as a result my IC. This is quite a connundrum and I guess I have to fish around for the right regimine. The IBS drastically irritates this IC (if indeed that it what it is for me). Whatever it is, the IBS causes worse urgency and a great deal more discomfort for me until I can get it under control. As far as pain meds, I often choose to forgo them if at all possible rather than face the nightmare of constipation. I LOVE your idea of a 'vicodace' I think you called it. If you could market that, it would be a best seller! LOL! Best of luck with your IC/IBS. It helps so much to know that I am not a hypochondriac or something. Thank you.