Is it bad to eat exlax twice in one week?

Question

I know it causes problems in the future with my stomach but how much is too much? I was consipated for like a week now and needed to take it so I took it monday morning and again wednesday morning. is it bad I took it twice in one week>? the chocolate extra strenght btw. and I'm a 21/female is suffers from frequent consipation and already discussed it with my doctor.

Answer 1

It is not "bad" to take Ex-lax 2x in one week, but we need to think about WHY you need it.   You have already discussed this with your doc -- what did s/he say?  

Some things you might want to consider:

You CAN eventually develop a dependence on laxatives if you take them regularly (like most days of the week.)   The reason is the bowel gets used to the chemical stimulation and becomes "lazy" over time.

Increasing your liquid intake can help move things along inside you!  Water, other drinks, etc.

You would want to consider how to increase the fiber in your everyday diet.  Foods that are high in fiber include whole grains, like whole wheat bread, oatmeal, or brown rice;  high fiber cereals; ground flax seed; whole fruits (not the juice) and veggies (with the skin, if possible); and cooked dried beans are another GREAT source of fiber.  These are pintos, kidney beans, lentils, garbanzos, things like that.   You could make bean dip, eat hummous,  add beans to your taco salad, eat chili with beans, bean soup, etc.  

On the other hand, decreasing sugar intake can help, too -- think about all the foods (and soda/pop)  you might eat or drink, and try to eat less of them.  Sugar can tend to constipate some people.  So can foods made of mainly the white stuff:  white flour, white sugar, white rice, white pasta, white potatoes without the skin.

Miralax is a GREAT fiber laxative now available over the counter (OTC).  It works in cases of severe constipation, and does not tend to cause dependence.  It's available in any drugstore or "health and beauty aids" section at Walmart, Target, grocery stores, etc;   It has a purple label.  It used to be only available by prescription, but now it's off prescription.  However, it's pretty expensive per dose.

i hope this helps!   post again if you have further questions!

Kathy, MSN, RN