Please Don't Use Miralax For Constipation

Getting mad or forgetful after taking a laxative? Well, according to the US Food and Drug Administration that’s exactly what certain best-selling laxatives can do to you.

 

Back in December of 2011, the FDA placed MiraLAX — a polyethylene glycol-containing blockbuster drug marketed by Merck & Co — on its Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) in connection to “neuropsychiatric events.”

 

The term “neuropsychiatric events” in the FDA's safety alert refers to neurologic disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems such as autism, dementia, depression, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and similar others [3]. These conditions result from PEG's  direct (through cellular damage) and indirect (through malnutrition of essential micronutrients) neurotoxicity. No surprise there considering the quotation above.

 

Lead, mercury, and arsenic are some of the best known neurotoxins. So are snake venom, curare, botulinum, and tetanus. PEG is more like lead or mercury — slow-acting, insidious, and difficult to pin down conclusively onto a variety of “slow-brewing” neurological disorders.

 

 

 

Full..... http://www.gutsense.org/gutsense/the-role-of-miralax-laxative-in-autism-dementia-alzheimer.html

Apparently the FDA concluded no action was necessary based on the reported events and while all such meds have potential risks of one kind or another, I 'll probably keep using it since it works well for me.  Thanks for posting, though.  It's good to be able to make an informed decision. 

This came up on here before and I took the time to write the following reply which I stand by:

 

 

http://www.gutsense.org/gutsense/the-role-of-miralax-laxative-in-autism-dementia-alzheimer.html

 

Getting mad or forgetful after taking a laxative? Well, according to the US Food and Drug Administration that’s exactly what certain best-selling laxatives can do to you.

 

Note: my reply here may come off as abraisive. I'm not angry at you, I'm angry at the capitalistic idiots running that (commercial, for-profit) website. I realize that you're just quoting the article, but the FDA did not say that PEG causes dementia, or even that it might cause dementia. They looked for adverse effects when Mirilax went OTC, and decided "no action is necessary at this time based on the available information". The article claims that PEG degrades to Ethylene Glycol in water. I can't find any studies to back that claim up.

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12860787

At the time of evaluation, the mean duration of PEG therapy was 8.7 months, and the mean PEG dose was 0.75 g/kg daily. There were no major clinical adverse effects. All blood test results were normal, except for transient minimal alanine aminotransferase elevation unrelated to therapy in 9 patients.

 

I just looked around the web, and that link is the only place making this claim. It's worth noting that's a commercial site which is trying to sell a competing product. The site also makes a bunch of other wildly controversial claims, such as that a 2-week deficiency in iron can cause permanent autism, and this gem:

This particular “side effect” is most likely related to the hydrolyzed (separated in water solution) molecules of ethylene glycol.

 

If PEG turned into ethylene glycol in vivo, there would be a lot of dead people and a lot of research to back this up.

 

Unless someone can reference any hard science to back up any of this, I'll stay convinced that this is misinformation from a site trying to sell snake oil. Mirilax is cheap, safe and effective. Using laxatives long-term can no doubt cause nutrient deficiencies, but that's got nothing to do with PEG specifically.

Using laxatives long term is a good way to end up being an old person obsessed with their bowels. Laxative will eventually cause your intestines to stop the normal motility! Personally, the idea of ending up needing enemas and even stronger laxatives is completely horrible to me. In 30 years being a nurse, I cant tell you how many patients I met who had become "addicted" to laxatives.

east

Great post Eastcoast62..

I was told by my GI that I have chronic constipation.. and I've been on (1) linzess and (2) miralax doses per day.. it has helped me be more regular..

he says I have a tiltes pelvis and that is what is causing it.

I also know that the remeron I am on is also causing constipation..

So what do you think I should do?

 

Coralashley,

do you eat oatmeal? It has soluble fiber in it and that is useful. How about kiwi fruit? It has enzymes

and fiber.

Drink lots of water, especially with fiber.

Milk products can cause constipation, by the way.

Vitamin C is helpful too.

Hope this helps.

Ig

Every morning I eat a sort of faux porriage. It's filled with fiber and about 1000 other things that are good for you.

 

1 tbsp chia seeds (you can get them at most grocery stores now)

1 tbsp oat bran (not the same as oatmeal)

1 tbsp ground flax seed.

 

I use unsweetened almond milk and pour in enough to make it all a little soupy, then zap it in the microwave for 1 minute. I then add more almond milk until it reaches the desired consistency.

 

This is full of fiber and protein as well as omega 3 and very low in carbs. If you drink one or two glasses afterward I think it might help. It's better than anything I've ever tried including Metamucil and it tastes yummy. Might be worth a try.

Hi yes I eat old fashioned oatmeal every morning with flax seen and wheat germ.

I go but I don't eliminate all the way which causes gas, bloating and stomach cramping. I've ad stomach exrays that show the stool and lots of gas bubbles, it's gross I know!

I try to eat lst of fibrous foods and drink lst of water each day..

Since I've been on the miralax and linzess I eliminate it all.

 

I will discontinue this stuff once I am off the remeron. :-) thank u for ur suggestions!