Laxatives with stricture/obstruction???

My GI thinks I am basically obstructed and he has given me a trial of Pentasa for 7-10 days (this is day 3) then wants me to schedule surgery if no better (I have been on Prednisone 9 days also, Entocort before that).  I am having a really hard time with bloating, gas, pain etc with no BM (3rd day).  Is it ok to take something like milk of magnesia?  I know I should call the office with questions but I would like to hear from someone who might have experienced similar problems first.  I just keep imagining all those capsules just sitting there not being able to get through and costing $100 for 5 days' worth and it is driving me crazy!!

Oh dear god, I certainly feel your pain.

I'm certain I've had a stricture for a few months, although I should let you know that I haven't been formally diagnosed with one yet. During that time I have taken the occasional Ducolax laxative with no harm done. However, laxatives don't always work, especially in the late stages of constipation. Consider a suppository instead. They are not pleasant to take; horrible to insert and burn like anything at first, but they do work. I've taken them twice in my life. First time was when I hadn't been for 10 days and was in extreme distress from symptoms I shall not describe; that was the only time anything Crohn's related made me go to ER. That was about five years ago, maybe four. Second time was only about four weeks ago, when I hadn't been for three days and had the symptoms you described. I got panicky and took one of my mum's leftover suppositories. Had a grim 40 minutes, then I went. It was a relief.

If you had a full-on blockage, then I'm pretty sure you shouldn't take anything. But it doesn't sound like you do, to be honest - for one thing you wouldn't be passing gas. For another thing you would probably be bringing back up everything you ate. It sounds like you are partially obstructed, but not fully.

Good luck. Hope this current misery soon passes for you.

My Dr. specifically said NO to any laxatives. I was also hospitalized and finally resectioned when I hadn't had a BM for 3 days. Call your Dr. NOW.

I have had multiple partial obstructions, and my doctor has ok'd me taking miralax when I'm constipated. She always has me start with half a dose to see if it'll help. If you're truly obstructed....1-you'll know it, because your symptoms will get much worse so fast, and 2-laxatives can be REALLY bad if you're completely obstructed, causing you to even perforate....that being said, miralax works in your body by telling it to not absorb water in your colon, so that things move through easier, so it's the safest route to start with.

If you do decide to take a laxative, start with a half dose, and see how that goes before you move to a whole dose. The last thing you want is your body trying to get rid of everything inside, when there's something in the middle of your intestines blocking things from moving forward.

As for the Pentasa, I don't understand how your dr would think it would help a stricture in 7 days. Even starting a stronger medicine like Humira, you can have obstructions when starting them. It didn't help my obstructions until about 3 months of being on the med. (I had an obstruction about 2 weeks after starting Humira, but haven't had one since it kicked in and started working!!!!!)

I hope you get some relief soon!

I just need to vent a little today.  Not feeling well at all.     I tried a half dose of Miralax but no results so far.  I feel like I am beginning to look like a bird (or pregnant!) with my belly swollen and rounded out all the way from under my chest down.  I am having lots of squeezing pain in my lower back and right side of abdomen.  I guess it's time to try a suppository.   

Please be very, very careful about self-medicating. Any time I have a partial obstruction I go on a water diet for 24 hours, then liquid diet and then keep on a low residue diet for a while. All this sanctioned by my doctor. He has never recommended taking laxatives. He says that if within 24 to 36 hours I don't feel relief I should go to the ER.

Thanks everybody.  Bar77, how did you survive the obstructions for 3 months at a time?  If I eat anything other than soup I have terrible pain, and I still have the pain with just soup.  I just don't think I am that brave!  I still haven't had any results from Miralax, but afraid to try anything else.  I am pretty miserable now because Friday night I ate real food for dinner.  It was good but I woke up all through the night with pain!  Also the stricture/partial obstruction is at the terminal ileum I believe, and I was wondering if anyone else had this in the same area if it caused pain in your lower back also? It feels like a squeezing sensation from the front (right side of abdomen) and back.

Oh, ok.  Now I understand.  Thanks bar 77!

I agree, even the surgeon I went to said that 7-10 days was not a very long time to see if there was improvement, but the GI said from my scope that the opening (I'm guessing at the ileocecal valve) was only pinpoint, he could not even find it at first, and he could not pass the scope through, so I guess he believes it is pretty serious and that is why he thinks I may need surgery.  I actually  had success this morning after a couple sips of prune juice last night but still am in a lot of pain.   I guess I was thinking that would relieve a lot of symptoms but now am cramping something awful!!!  Thanks to everyone for being so supportive!!!

Thanks so much Nanners!!!  I am going to try that tonight.

ALgirl, I didn't eat one bite of anything, not anything for a month before my surgery because I'd get horrible spasms. I said it felt like a bag of snakes in me and like full blown labor. I knew I couldn't put a bite of food, or even Ensure in my body or I'd rupture. I had small BMs up until 3 days before my surgery from taking stool softeners. I asked the surgeon about that, since I hadn't eaten, how could I have a BM. He told me that your body will produce stool even when you don't eat. My belly was also huge, like I was a pregnant 50 year old!! My advice would be to call the GI AGAIN and tell him you have an obstuction. By the time they did my surgery, the small bowel behind the stricture was blown up to the size of a glass. about 3 inches in diameter and they told me I was so lucky I hadn't ruptured. And yes, mine was also in the terminal ileum.