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beyond zelnorm
      #209344 - 08/29/05 06:58 AM
ronchito

Reged: 08/29/05
Posts: 3
Loc: philly

hi everyone, i'm new to these boards -- thanks for all the great info so ar. i've been an IBS-C sufferer for many years. back in january, my doctor started me on zelnorm -- let me tell you, it was like a dream come true. i had daily bowel movements (almost like clockwork), my bloating decreased by about 95%, and no side-effects whatsoever. i thought i'd found my cure! then, as some of you have already indicated, it started losing its effectiveness after a few months. my doc never told me that it was a temporary fix. now i'm off the drug and trying to adjust to zelnorm-less treatment. i've been taking acacia fiber for the past 1.5 months with very little results. i haven't gone more than 2 days without a bowel movement which is good, but it's the BLOATING that is killing me. i'm up to 2.6 tablespoons of acacia per day -- i know it takes a while to work, but will acacia really have an impact on all this bloating eventually? fennel tea and fennel caps have little impact on my bloating. does anyone know if it's safe/unsafe to go off zelnorm for 1-2 months, then start it back up again?? i honestly wouldn't mind taking zelnorm for a while, then stopping, then starting it up again -- just as long as i knew it would work. it just sucks to have been given a window of what it's like to be regular again, then have it go away. any suggestions or words of wisdom so that i don't get discouraged? i'm pretty disciplined and will do whatever it takes, but i also don't want to spend 3 or more months waiting for something to work (acacia) if there's not a high probability that it will help with my bloating issues. thanks for listening/reading...

chris

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Re: beyond zelnorm new
      #209378 - 08/29/05 09:03 AM
kristaIBS

Reged: 08/09/05
Posts: 38


I was on Zelnorm as well, and I was on it for about 7 months striaght. my doctor said it was ok, despite the zelnorm makers saying that it isn't safe beyond 3 months. Because of this, and because it became less effective, I have been trying to wean myself off of it, with pretty good success. I have been taking only 1 per day, and will soon stop them completely hopefully. My bloating and C are getting better as well-I have been taking benefiber and following the diet, and am having BM if not every day, then every other day. So my suggestion for you is to nix the zelnorm if you can, and maybe try benefiber? i can't speak from personal experience, but i have been reading on this site that C's don't have as much success taking acacia. since everyone is different, why not try benefiber and see how that goes.

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I weaned myself off of zelnorm as well new
      #209386 - 08/29/05 09:16 AM
Augie

Reged: 10/27/04
Posts: 5807
Loc: Illinois

I took it for 9 months straight...basically because I was afraid not to take it. I think I was psychologically dependent on it more than anything. It did not help my BMs, but I was afraid if I didn't take it, the bloat, and C would even get worse than what it was.

I decreased the amount a little every few days, and after 2 weeks, I am off of it completely.

I must say, I am feeling better off of it. My BMs are a bit better. I am slowly trying to take SFS again. I haven't had any luck with them in the past which is why I resorted to zelnorm in the first place. Hopefully, the SFS will work better for me this time.

Having said that, I think there are some people on the board who have taken breaks from zelnorm and then gone back to it. so, that is also an option. My GI also told me it was safe to take "forever" but I have no faith in him. After contacting the manufacturer, they refused to give me any confidence that this drug was safe to use longer than 3 months. That was enough to scare me off of it. I mean, there are already reports of problems during the supposedly safe 12 week trial period...so I didn't want to imagine what damage could possibly be happening over months or years of usage. There have been no long term studies...and if it isn't helping much anyhow...why risk it? At least that is my thinking as of today! If my BMs go away totally, I may be changing my tune...but hopefully not! I don't want to take that drug again.

Here is a good post about zelnorm from the past. Zelnorm If you use the search button and type in zelnorm with no time limits...you can read a bunch of opinions and experiences with drugs.

The search button is invaluable for gathering tons of information on any topic.

--------------------
~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!

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Re: beyond zelnorm new
      #209410 - 08/29/05 09:56 AM
Sand

Reged: 12/13/04
Posts: 4490
Loc: West Orange, NJ (IBS-D)

Quote:

i've been taking acacia fiber for the past 1.5 months with very little results. i haven't gone more than 2 days without a bowel movement which is good, but it's the BLOATING that is killing me. i'm up to 2.6 tablespoons of acacia per day -- i know it takes a while to work, but will acacia really have an impact on all this bloating eventually? fennel tea and fennel caps have little impact on my bloating.




I'm D, not C, so I can't really speak to the C issues. However, if you're up to 2.6 TABLEspoons of acacia after 6 weeks, you've gone up pretty fast (adding more than a teaspoon a week) and that might be contributing to the bloating. If acacia is helping with your having bowel movements, I'd say stick with it - it is true that some Cs don't benefit, but they seem to report it isn't helping with having a BM and that doesn't appear to be the case for you. You could try holding at the amount of acacia you're currently taking to let your body adjust or back off a little on the amount and see if your can decrease the bloating without losing the benefit. (I started with 1/4 tsp of acacia per day and increased at the rate of 1/4 teaspoon every 3 days. It would have taking me 3 months to get to where you are now.)

Two of Heather's newsletters in June dealt with constipation. If you haven't seen them, you can check them out here: the June 7 and June 22 editions.

I don't have any direct experience with using fennel for bloat, but I've seen at least one person post that she has to drink two cups of tea to get relief. Also some people use Gas-X or the generic equivalent. You can Search on that, also, as well as on fennel.

HTH. And welcome to the Boards.

--------------------
[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]

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Beth, How about an SSRI? new
      #209433 - 08/29/05 10:30 AM
Johnny T. Reb

Reged: 07/09/05
Posts: 987
Loc: Lake Linden, Mich in the U.P. IBS-C

Hi Beth, Have you ever thought about taking an SSRI? I made
it through my two classes this morning with almost no problems, just
a few farts. I was worried that I wouldn't have any BM's
today due to classes, but I have and without drinking that
much water, only about 20 oz. I was very pleasantly surprised,
they were less urgent and not as uncomfortable as they usually are. I doubled up on my dose of Paxil on sat.,
and I have a funny feeling it's beginning to kick in
pretty good. If you haven't tried an SSRI before, you
might want to think about that. Being as I am in the same
severe IBS boat as you are, and it seems to be working
for me(as nothing else has), it may well work for you.
In addition to helping me to go, it does have an anti-
anxiety effect also. -Bob

--------------------
<img src="http://www.math.mtu.edu/~rwkolkka/BritPicA.jpg">

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Re: Beth, How about an SSRI? new
      #209569 - 08/29/05 03:10 PM
Augie

Reged: 10/27/04
Posts: 5807
Loc: Illinois

Congrats on making it through your classes!!!! May the rest of the term go just as "smoothly".

I am not taking Miralax like you though. I am currently trying to take some psyllium and citrucel.

Did your doctor tell you to increase the Paxil? I hope you didn't just do it on your own Bob. You can't do that with prescriptions like you can with supplements out of experimentation. But, you probably already know this.

I have, in fact, just started an SSRI 4 days ago. I'm hoping for the D effect it is suppose to have. Would mean less C for me, not D! Only time will tell. I tried Paxil and had a very nasty reaction to it...felt like I was "wired"!

--------------------
~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!

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What is SSRI??? nt new
      #209576 - 08/29/05 03:43 PM
DanieB

Reged: 08/05/05
Posts: 16
Loc: Scottsdale, AZ



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Re: What is SSRI??? nt new
      #209591 - 08/29/05 04:57 PM
Yoda (formerly Hans)

Reged: 01/22/03
Posts: 3682
Loc: Canada

Secondary Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitor = a class of antidepressant.

--------------------
Formerly HanSolo. IBS, OCD, Bipolar, PTSD times 3.

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Re: Beth, How about an SSRI? new
      #209669 - 08/30/05 06:12 AM
Johnny T. Reb

Reged: 07/09/05
Posts: 987
Loc: Lake Linden, Mich in the U.P. IBS-C

Hi Beth, Thanks for the congrats. The rest of the day went
pretty good but I felt totally exhausted when I got home,
but not really bad though. Um, yes I did bump up the dose
on my own, but my GI doc said he was going to do that in any
way if it was helping. Being anxious and desparate for anything to really work, I decided to bump it up. I see my
GI doc on thursday so I figured it wasn't that bad a thing
to do. Yes, I know it's risky, but since I have been suffering so much I decided it was worth the risk. Sorry
to hear about your bad reaction to Paxil. What is your new
SSRI? I hope it works for you! -Bob

--------------------
<img src="http://www.math.mtu.edu/~rwkolkka/BritPicA.jpg">

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