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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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I am not a man, but I was on Zelnorm for about a month. It took a couple of weeks for it to get into my system, but when it did I was almost normal. The GI that prescribed it for me decided to not do any tests, i.e., CT-scan, blood work or checking of stool for something other than IBS. I went to another GI and he did all the tests and placed me on Lexapro and Miralax. My stool is not the same as it was with the IBS, I am going to try to get my new GI to place me back on it. It really helped me out.
Lene
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God never promised life would be easy, but he did promise to provide a way out!
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I was on Zelnorm from January until May. The first week was nothing but severe diarrhea. After that I was mainly diarrhea. In May I had a very stressful period and the violent diarrhea returned. My family doctor took me off of the Zelnorm and two weeks later I saw a GI. He put me on Rubinol Forte and Benefiber. That was almost one week ago. After a few days of constipation, I am happy to report that I am almost totally normal. I have had regular bowel movements every day since Saturday. I haven't had that in the past eight years. I've been on so many medications over the years, I think that you just have to find what works for you and stick with it. Even after one or two years of success, a medication would suddendly stop working. Who knows? 
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Quote:
I was on Zelnorm from January until May. The first week was nothing but severe diarrhea. After that I was mainly diarrhea. In May I had a very stressful period and the violent diarrhea returned. My family doctor took me off of the Zelnorm and two weeks later I saw a GI. He put me on Rubinol Forte and Benefiber. That was almost one week ago. After a few days of constipation, I am happy to report that I am almost totally normal. I have had regular bowel movements every day since Saturday. I haven't had that in the past eight years. I've been on so many medications over the years, I think that you just have to find what works for you and stick with it. Even after one or two years of success, a medication would suddendly stop working. Who knows?
What's Rubinol Forte?
I take Zelnorm, but only half the dose cause it was making me SO hungry and gain weight. It sucks cause it was working great aside from that side effect, now taking half the dose it only works a little(have to take other stuff to go too).
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IBS-C
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Re: Zelnorm?
#77625 - 06/09/04 01:22 PM
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Shanna
Reged: 11/15/03
Posts: 471
Loc: Atlanta, GA, USA
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yes. it is only approved for women.
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"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." -- e e cummings
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Heather-- I am am in agreement with your statements... right now Zelnorm is a cointoss... for some it works, for others it doesn't... and for a small minority, it is harmful. Personally, I found Zelnorm to be ineffective. It was not bothersome in anyway, but simply did not aleviate my symptoms. Furthermore, I gather that it was approved for woman and not men for a reason... if I were a male, I would be extremely cautious about taking a long-term medication not approved for my gender. Particularly one that affects seratonin levels. Welp, that's my twenty cents! 
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"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." -- e e cummings
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I'm just finishing my 3rd month of it now. Up until I'd started, I'd been through about a month of moderate to severe pain, and over month of being unable to stand from it. I'd been prescribed dicetel and had no success with that, and I went through quite a few hospital visits for the pain.
It seems to be working incredibly. I notice the difference when I forget to take it before a meal too. (much better 20min before) and actually, some of the major risks that have been submitted to repeal the fda approval don't apply to men. I don't know why seratonin would be a cause for concern (any more for me), as it's present in both men and women, brain and gut.
I certainly hope more studies are being done, because I'd hate to think that a man would be denied access to this drug. I would be on the floor moaning in pain right now without it, and would have been for 4 months straight.
They got just as favorable results from the male test group. And if you read the study, no reasons can be found for a difference.
Perhaps the reason this drug doesn't work for some is because irritable bowel is simply a far larger bracket of very similar disorders; all requiring unique treatment. Even within the type C, there could be more than one cause for the results. Need for further classification? Well... when someone figures it out a bit more at least, I'm guessing.
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Hey there,
I've been on Zelnorm for about a month now, seems to be helping me...but my doc wants me to stop taking it after the max # of months (3 or 4 i believe) so I'm not looking forward to that!!! What about your doc, what did he/she recommend? Also, when you take it do you take it with a glass of water, and do you notice a difference if you do or don't? Thanks
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My doctor said that I may have to take it forever, though I have heard that some people just use it to get over an attack. I seem to always be in one, no matter how safe I play it with diet.
I always take it with water, sometimes more sometimes less. I'm betting water just affects the absorption speed. I can't tell the difference myself, it's mostly just whether I get a head start on the meal or not. That's probably a good question for a pharmacy tech, or doctor. I'll ask next time I see him. Do you notice any differences?
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Here is a link to a page that explains the Rubinol Forte: http://health.yahoo.com/health/drug/202049/overview It is my current miracle drug. All of my prescriptions seem to work fine with few side effects (except for Zelnorm) for about one year before the effectiveness wears off. Does anyone else have this problem? 
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