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Posted 7/28/2011 6:44 PM (GMT 0)
Janie, or anybody else!  I know I keep on asking.  Well, things have gotten a little bit better.  I can go on my own if I want in the morning, but I am getting the best relief and complete evacuations with MOM.  I can take a tablespoon (maybe just even a half) and get great results!  The only problem, Nanci (fitgal), has been taking something to help with daytime; worry about all the taking all that magnesium.  I was just wondering; I tried the miralax before, but do I really need to be more patient.  I just don't like it b/c I have a hard time drinking a lot at one time.  How long does it take to work, since we don't have a colon anymore.  Just a quick question, and I wondered if it would help with my bottom pressure, so I won't get too distended during the day when I eat, and keep bowel movements flowing.  Currently, I am going to try biofeedback on August 18th; that is when I meet with my surgeon again to discuss things.  Then, the biofeedback is with the PA.  My anal manometry test did reveal I have weak anal muscles; paradoxical contractions and I guess anismus.  Hoping maybe some biofeedback will help! 

Also, has anybody gotten great results with just taking magnesium oxide supplements.  I tried that with my colon, but of course, it didn't work!  Thought maybe without my colon; it would be a bit better!

Or, has anybody had luck with just colace?

Post Edited (hurtboy) : 7/28/2011 1:08:23 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 7/29/2011 2:05 AM (GMT 0)
As long as your blood level magnesium stays in the normal range taking the amount of MOM you take will be OK.

PS If I had just stayed on that regime and not had my sigmoid colon out (which did not need to be removed anyway, but misread of scan and all that followed) I would be all intact and well today. Prior to any surgery, 3 Phillips Magnesia tablets per night worked fine for me. Took me multiple incomplete moves to feel finished in the a.m. but who cared? Wish I'd kept on with that.

Docs all push this Miralax like it is the end all be all for everyone and it is not. For some (like me) it made me so gassy I could not sleep at night. The MOM on the other hand just pushed gas along and I slept like a baby and it worked in the a.m. We all gotta find what is good for us. So just keep having your magnesium levels checked off and on in blood work and if what you are taking keeps the magnesium within normal range, then take what works.

Rosemary
Posted 7/31/2011 4:25 AM (GMT 0)
Hurtboy,
Sorry I just saw this post. For me, miralax has worked very well. It sounds like you and I have alot of the same issues and I can totally relate to the bottom pressure. That has to be the most uncomfortable thing I've experienced. 6 months after my colectomy I was ready to give up and have an ileostomy, but I started miralax and it's been good for me. Before surgery it only bloated me and made me gassy, but now it truly moves things along. I haven't tried MOM, so I can't compare it.

I had to take the miralax twice a day for about 2 or 3 days for it to start working. Now I take it as soon as I get up in the morning, and again after dinner. It's far from perfect.....in the morning I drink the miralax with about 1/3 teaspoon of metamucil, which gives it a little bit of an orange flavor. I don't mind the taste at all. about 30 minutes after drinking it, I drink an iced coffee (dunkin donuts coolatta) and that really moves things through me quickly....I go 2 or 3 times and I'm done for the morning. If I don't drink the coffee, it takes me many more trips to the bathroom, but I do still go. The problem is that if I eat very much during the day, I will either have to run to the bathroom, or else I'll get the bottom pressure because I can't go. I can never figure out which will happen. The way I get around this is to either not eat until evening, or to take a lomotil (it's a prescription medicine like immodium) before I eat at lunchtime and then I know I'll be ok and won't have to go and won't be uncomfortable until later. By the time I eat dinner, the lomotil has worn off, and then I will go after dinner, and take miralax again to keep things moving.

I actually lost my job a couple weeks ago, so now that I'm home it's much easier to deal with. It's not a big deal if I have to go during the day, and if the bottom pressure gets bad, I can use a enema. I'm hoping that by not having to get up and go to work I can spend some time figuring out a better way to deal with this. I feel my colectomy was successful, but I have pelvic floor issues and that's why I still have trouble going. I did biofeedback a couple years ago, but really didn't care for the person who was helping me. I have to see my surgeon soon for a yearly check up and I may ask about trying it again. It didn't work before, but I may try again if there is a different therapist.

My situation is far from perfect, but it is manageable. I work with it day by day. I found a way to deal with it, but it is much more difficult to travel, or even go out for a late evening. I would love to be able to eat 3 meals a day and be normal, but that doesn't work for me now. I think if I could even eat and go after each meal it would be easier, but I'm always afraid that if I eat I won't be able to go and that is horrible when I'm not home. The bottom pressure is the worst!!

Good luck and let me know how you're doing.

Janie

Post Edited (Janiepain) : 7/30/2011 10:29:51 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 7/31/2011 8:02 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Janie!  I am so sorry to hear about the job loss!  I am in the same boat since my surgery this summer.  I was just asking again because I am trying to get myself a routinue down, so I don't feel bad, get that bottom pressure, start to feel distended, and go during the day like I know I can, too.  I was trying to switch to something a little easier during the daytime because MOM can be a little harsh on me, but it does feel great to take such a low dose of it, and it works!  Like Rosemary said, stick with something that works good!  Something I could never say before.  Right now, I am going to try and drink a small cup of water with some miralax first thing in the morning to help during the daytime, and take a couple mag tablets at night; found some chewable kids tablets at the store; lol!  I am a kid; just took 2 last night and worked. 

I have another appt. with my surgeon on August 18th for a follow-up.  I mean I am doing better; but like you, things are not perfect, not like I thought they would be.  I am just hoping by the end of the year I really do feel like a new person.  On the 18th I am going to start biofeedback with the PA in the clinic, and we will see if it helps.  I hope because I know how the eating can go to sometimes b/c you are afraid of the pressure during the day.  Like you said, on the bright side with no job, is that it is giving me time to figure out things that work, some type of routinue; whether it be too much on my body or not enough. 

However, I do have a job interivew this Wednesday for a part-time service access rep at the hospital here in town.  I decided I might be ready for at least a part-time job now.  Still not sure about full-time.  I need full-time because I need money, but with 3 surgeries I have had this year, and the surgeries this summer; my body is still a little weak.  I just don't want to over-exert myself yet!  Again, thanks for the input, and we will see how things go for me!  Are you going to try and look for a new job, or relax for awhile?

~Kyle~

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