Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Zelnorm--WAnt to but scared to take it--any bad scarey experiences?

Hi Clynn, you sound a lot like me. I've had IBS-C for about the same period of time but never tried Miralax. Tge first drug I tired was Zelnorm, and I tried it not long after it came out on the market because as I was watching the commercial with these women holding their t-shirts up with words like "bloating, constipation, gas, pain, twisting, etc." on their bellies, my jaw dropped. For the first time in what felt to me like forever, I had a name that might fit my symptoms, which were worsenin all the time and even when things were mildly painful, I sitll had nasty attacks once or twice a month where I literally couldn't sleep from the pain and thought if I could just relax, maybe I could get this BM moving. I would be falling asleep, and falling off the toilet... but I digress. Anyhow, I made an appt with my PCP who was a family physician but a Dr. whom I trusted with my life. Even though I only knew him a short while, he never failed to listen to me, pay attention to details, and was always thorough. He explained things to me, he sympathizd and understood my symptoms, my pain, and my questions about this drug called Zelnorm. He gave me some samples and said if I find they helped at all he would give me a full RX for them. I don't really remember when Zelnorm first came out, but I just remember the first time I saw the commercial and the first doctor who understood me... and that happened in April of 2005. MY memory could be totally whacky though, b/c well, my memory is really bad.

I suggest writing down your concerns/questions regarding your research and make an appointment w/your doc and bring your questions w/you. Ask about your doc's pov, their advice, the pros/cons, and also with you specific situation and medical history, past and present, is this drug a good possible fit for you? If I remember correctly Zelnorm was recently approved for use by men for constipation, but not for long-term use. Originally, Zelnorm was developed and studied on women with IBS b/c studies had shown that more women suffered from these chronic symptoms more often than men did. When my doc prescribed me Zelnorm for my IBS-C, there was never an indication that it was for short-term use only. In fact, he said, as long as the Zelnorm continues to work for you, he didn't see any reason to not take it. Since I started it, I've had less C, though it's still there, the Zelnorm is affecting my IBS-C in a good way, even if it's just a little, it has made a difference. My BMs are a bit more often, easier to pass, softer, and I have a marked decrease in pain. I'd say a good %40-%50 percent of the time, I'm in very little or no major pain at all. The pain I'm talking about is equivalent to a combination of a tummy ache, the worst PMS cramps ever, cold sweats, spasms and shivers, and hand made of fire tearing, ripping into your gut with long, jagged hot fingernails and twisting your intestines into knots, while at the same time it feels like gigantic bubbles of gas are trying to pass through a space too small, and the bubbles keep expanding and all you can do is curl up into a fetal position, squeeze your eyes tight, clench your teeth, while tears of anguish and misery roll down your face, and you're shaking all over trying to control the urge to scream and you can't stand, walk, lie down in any position, or move, or stand upright without the pain intensifying. And finally, you feel icky and uncomfortable b/c with tears and pain and panic comes a runny nose, but you can't move to blow your nose, wipe your face, get up to pee, or take a shower. So now your face is lying in a puddle of tears and boogers and you wish you could just fall asleep, at least for a little while, so that you didn't have to feel the pain. And then to make it even worse, you realize underneath all that pain, you're starving like you haven't eaten in a week. But water is about the only thing you can barely handle. And then, when you do think you can relieve yourself, you have to run for it just in case. And it may or may not be a false alarm. Either way, you're exhausted.

That's the kind of pain I knew before Zelnorm. Now if I have that kind of pain it happens infrequently and with less severity. The gas I get now is not even close to the gas I had then. Some ppl don't like admitting it, but I can admit before Zelnorm, the gas was trapped. Now, with Zelnorm, yeah sure I'm gassy, but it's not as painful, and it's no longer trapped. So yeah, sometimes I spend 10 mins in the bathroom farting, when I thought I had to poop, but getting the gas out is a relief, too. And unfortunately, sometimes I end up being super gassy in public and can't control it/hold it in and it stinks. I guess I'll trade embarassing stink for the pain of trapped gas any time.... Also the bloating that I suffered before Zelnorm is cut is nearly cut in half, again by not only intensity, but pain and frequency as well. So if I have to take some Gas-X to control any extra gas, I will (and I am, it's working for me). Zelnorm feels right. The relief it brings me far outweighs the side-effects which are, as I described a bit easier on me. If you don't feel comfortable with taking an RX, there's a more natural OTC drug for IBS and you should be able to get a free sample from their website. It's called Digestive Advantage for IBS and if you find that one of them works for you, then you must continue to take it. If you stop taking Zelnorm or stop taking the Digestive Advantage for IBS, your symptoms will most likely return or get worse again. Digestive Advantage is made by a company called Ganedan. I'm sure you can just Google Digestive Advantage. I'm telling you all this not b/c I'm trying to be an expert. I'm far from it. But from my own experience, from my doc's assistance, and imho, this is what I believe. Btw, my dosage on Zelnorm is 6mg twice a day before meals. Digestive Advantage for IBS is 1 tablet a day in the morning and they're chewable; don't be surprised if you notice some bloating from the Digestive Advantage for IBS; it is indicated that this may occur while your body gets used to the probiotics contained in them. Yikes this got long. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get all preachy. Just file what I said in the back of your mind for future thought or reference, or ignore it, it's up to you. But it's your body and you're the only one who knows your body and you seem like a perfectly competent individual so if after everything you read in your research, everything I've said, and anything others say, and everything your doc says has sunken in - you still feel freaked out and worried, then you probably shouldn't start on it. Plenty of ppl on the boards have been able to manage thir IBS in various ways. I wish you luck, whether you decide to try medicine or not. Really, to sum it all up, it's like the lesser and greater of two evils. With Zelnorm, I deal with the lesser, without it I'm striken with the greater. Hehe, I'll shut up now. Take care.

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XOXO from lil' ol' me.

(IBS-C, mood disorders, etc., etc.)

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