i'm scheduled to have a barium enema and inflation xray this monday due to horrible bowel probs caused by narcotics use for fibro for years and i am so scared. i have this painful "knot" in my left side of abdomen and i lie awake at night expecting the worse.

anyone experience bad stoma probs like this due to meds?

An alternative laxative is good old prune juice or stewed prunes. I only need about two ounces of prune juice for it to work like a laxative for me. I don't like the taste but then if it helps,... lol.
I take Baclofen occasionally, but it can cause bowel irritation to the point of internal bleeding of the intestine if taken in large doses daily. (It happened to me) It also causes muscle weakness, my right or left leg will simply give out.

I take Pepsid for GERD, which causes constipation. Most over-the-counter (OTC's) are to harsh on my intestines, so the prune juice, a natural laxative, works the best for me. MistyMisty

I had to have a colon-oscopy last February due to bowel problems, I was very scared because my mother died from colon cancer. It wasn't as bad as I had imagined (although not pleasant) so I understand your fears. Everything turned out ok for me, but until I heard the results of the test, I was very nervous. Since the medications we take for fibro cause these problems, you might want to try Fiber Choice, it is a chewable orange tablet, you take two a day and they are much more tolerable than drinking Metamucil or any of those other fiber drinks you have to stir into water. I find that the fiber choice along with plenty of water seem to keep things regular for me.