Help fast! Milk of Mag not working!!!!

[RockFreak]

I've been constipated for a little while so I took MOM (milk of magnesia)last night and it made me sick. My mom,being an RN, assured me it would work all night but it didn't. Then she said it was sure to work this morning. I even drank tons of water with it last night and this morning. My stomach has been making weird sounds and im really bloated but I can't go!! It's even worse than before I took it. Can someone please help? Im just really gassy now and it hurts!

[Sarah68]

You need to try fiber therapy such as Metamucil. If you have problems with constipation, then take this twice daily and drink plenty of water with it. Also look at your diet and try to include more fiber with plenty of fruit and veg.

If your belly hurts and is gassy, take some Acidophilus caps/live yogurt ot help re-establish the good gut flora.

Try drinking some prune juice. This really seems to help. Also, a bran cereal for breakfast in the morning.

If you really have problems and can't go, then using a glycerine suppository is better than a dose of Milk of Mag. This is a laxative after all and they are not that good to use, as you can quickly become reliant on them.

After all the other stuff however, you should not be constipated.

Good luck

[sakara33]

You need to be taking an antacid with the MOM that is why you got sick....after taking even 1 or 2 doses of it without an antacid it will make you sick. It did the same to me, and that is what my nephew told me to do....(He is a DR)and if it gets to bad...one thing that will work is suppositories....and if that doesn't work....you probably need to go to the ER....asap..hope that helps...

[Sarah68]

Hold on a moment. Rather than recommending taking antacids with Milk of Magnesia, as I stated in my previous post, it is not a good idea to be taking it at all. It is a laxative after all and you can become dependant on laxatives up to a point when you may not be able to open your bowels without it. Also, you should not be taking OTC antacids at all without a proper diagnosis and knowing why you are taking them in the first place and definitely not to counteract the effects of MOM, which it is not a good idea to take in the first place either.

Whatever happened to thinking about and taking a look at your diet, your fluid intake and your exercise levels. Altering these could stop you from being constipated in the first place. Add some more fiber/Metamucil to your diet and cut out junk food and soda and you could be half way to solving the problem. Add a little more water and exercise and these help too.

Just by altering a few things in your lifestyle, you would not be constipated in the first place and so would not need to take MOM in the first place.

If after all this you are still constipated, then I would suggest glycerinne suppositories rather than MOM.

A case of simple constipation should resolve with these measures and it is always better to treat the cause rather than the symptoms.

If constipation does not resolve, then you should see a doctor, as there could be more to it and it is always possible that you have something such as an intestinal obstruction, which of course needs urgent treatment.

However, most cases of constipation will resolve with simple measures without having to resort to laxatives. Try practicing a little preventative medicine and you could save yourself a lot of money rather than trying to cure what you have created yourself and with laxatives at that!!