LAXATIVES?

Mary Jo, I learned the hard way that too many laxatives (correctol is my lax of choice) can damage the intestines. They become lazy from being over stimulated all the time, thus they no longer function correctly and have to rely on more and more stimulation. My PCP told me to stop taking stimulant laxatives after he did an abdominal x-ray. My intestines were swollen from frequent use (about every 3 days). Stool softners work slowly.. and that's hard to get use to.. Milk of mag usually works over night and fibercon will work in two or three days. If you need immediate results, you can buy a fleets enema OTC. There are also things that can be prescribed that are not harmful to your intestines. **Important side note: I actually knew that laxatives were harmful to the intestines but I thought it would take YEARS of ABUSE to have any effects. In my case, it was less than one year. Gina

hi gina. thanks for sharing your experience. i will be talking to my doc tomorrow and am hoping he can prescribe something for me. i have been taking the correctol (anywhere from 2-4 pills a night) for over 2 weeks now every night. i still have only managed to GO twice, maybe 3 times a week. i never go "enough" and always feel "backed up". maybe he will suggest MOM. last appt i had in august, they said i should GO at least every other day. before i took the laxatives, once a week was it. but after all i have heard from this post, i don't want to go this route any longer. thanks again for the info! hugsssssss