Key information is lurking in the websites and fine print for some over-the-counter medicines. Beware. Not only is Geritol 25% alcohol, MiraLAX has key data on the website that is not on the bottle.
My neurologist heard I was still on a weekly elimination schedule and suggested the MiraLAX. I followed the directions and the dose. Every day. For eight days. Nothing happened. Day nine, though, quite a day. A little too eventful, frankly.
“Well,” I thought, “I will dial the tablespoon dose back a notch every day.” Which I did, over the next five days … five unfortunately equally eventful days, culminating in a day during which the half-teaspoon from the morning took a nap until four that afternoon and then greatly inconvenienced me.
I was so inconvenienced that I went to the website to see if there was some chance I was allergic to it, or if it was made from powdered raw eggs or some other heinous ingredient. (Often, when I begin to near my Personal Best of 14 days, I start to think I could just eat a raw egg and resolve the issue, but then I worry I might explode or hemorrhage or something.)
On the website I read this Frequently Asked Question:
How many days can I use MiraLAX?
No more than 7 days. If you need to use a laxative longer than 1 week, stop use and consult your doctor.
So that’s a Catch-22. It doesn’t work at all for the first week, but on the day that puts me over the edge, that’s the day I’m supposed to stop it, and consult my doctor, and say, I suppose, “Are you trying to make me explode or hemorrhage or something?” So, in effect, in a weekly schedule again.
So, I find myself back where I was. Where I was is fine with me.
5 responses to “Consumer Warnings”
This is oddly reminiscent of me trying to find my (ever-moving) Ideal Prune Dosage… Ah, IBS-mixed-type, where you alternate between bricks and liquid without apparent rhyme or reason (aside from dietary “okay, fine, yes, I shouldn’t have eaten that” items – but the rest of the time: 5 days of diarrhea while eating only rice? Riiiight, sure that makes sense, cranky gut…).
(in case it’s helpful, it turns out that dried apricots are as effective but are much easier to titrate than prunes are, since ~5 apricots seems to be equivalent to one small prune for me, gastrically. I’ve also heard good things about oat bran, but have never succeeded in… smoothing things out… with it.)
KC – apricots certainly sound better than prunes.
Apricots are way better than prunes. But vs. any of the OTC laxatives that tend to burn things down on their way out, prunes win by a landslide even though they are sticky and not enthusiasm-provoking. So. If prunes work, they’re worth it. If prunes work but a little too well, then try dried apricots (or dried figs, but I was having trouble getting consistently good dried figs, and the properties on my GI system were too different between Good Figs (titrated regulation at about as good as it gets with an “undecided” GI system) vs. Slightly Fermented Dried Figs (burn it all down) so I gave up on figs for now).
That said, if dried fruit of any kind sets off the same thing as donuts do for you… then no. (or if it doesn’t work for you, also no…) I just endorse them over all OTC things I have heard about.
KC – nuts and seeds are my preferred fiber. I need to stock up again.
They’re a good option for everyone they work for! Very tasty things. (just hide them so Gary doesn’t feed them to the raccoons)