Miralax Urgency Calcium, Zelnorm?

[Ginny Doll]

Hi, I have just begun Miralax due to having to add calcium tablets to my diet. I have osteo as detemined by a bone scan. I take neurontin and Elmiron plus nortriptiline and Ditropan XL. Adding calcium in any form ( citrate, carbonate or Posture D with magnesium) shuts my system down and the constipation has caused a recurring painful fissure over teh course of a year. I have tried stool softeners and seenkot but they only work if I stop taking calcium completely. (This is how I healed my last fissure and I have avoided surgery by stopping teh calcium thus far). My doc has me trying Miralax. The first night gave me bloating and bad cramping. Lost quite a bit of sleep as i took it at night. It did teh trick the next morning but here is my problem. The urinary frequency and urgency has all come back now and I am miserable. I have to go much sooner and and much more urgently. It is making me crazy. I can't wear pants as anything around teh waste makes teh urgency worse. Does this pass over time? I ahve had IC 5 years and have had it under control. This feels like a step back in my progress. I am tempted to chuck the calcium for good and hope that the Fosomax is enough to stop further bone loss. i would love to hear form anyone who can tell me about miralax or success they have had with severe constipation. I am under a doctor's care and he is a gastro specialist. I think I am his first IC patient with this particular calcium dilemma. I need something i can take safely that won't give me this heavy pressure I feel all day long. I know lactulose and Miralax are both in the same family of drugs. Has anyone found the lactulose to be different in this regard?
I previously tried metamuscil and cirtrucel. Both made the stool more dense. Made the fissure worse. Now that I am fissure free I want to stay that way but not sure how to proceed if this Miralax brings urgency back into my life. If anyone has had this same problem and resolved it, I would love to hear back. There are so many Ic'ers on Miralax who are having good luck. Do you have the miserable urgency feeling back again all day and into the night and the bloating? If you take zelnorm, can you tell me if that causes you urgency? Bloating? Has it helped with constipation? Thanks a million for any help. I will be in contact with my doctor next week but i would like to know how others have managed. I have had it. Thanks, Carolyn :) :angel:

[KathyS]

Hi, Ginny Doll-

I am in kinda the same boat right now. I have tried Miralax recently, and it hasn't helped the C. I resorted to senokot last night, and finally had a bm this morning...relief. BUT, I go to my dr. today, and have to tell him it didn't work well for me. Don't know what he will say. We have tried three different anti-depressants for IBS and IC, and they have only caused the IC to be worse. This is a really hard issue when you have more than one disease to deal with and treat. I don't know, honestly, if trying the Miralax made my urgency and frequency worse, or not. I assumed it was the AD's. My bladder felt like it was on FIRE. Hopefully, your gastro dr. will work with you on finding what will work. I hope my dr. will have some wisdom for me today. I don't know if I helped you much. I do hope you will find something.

Kathy S.