I just returned from a visit with my Gastroenteroligst and asked a few
more questions about why I was told not to take the Zelnorm since my
surgery when they cleaned up the Stage 4 adhesive disease. he explained
that since I have occasional small bowel blockages due to the adhesive
disease that the Zelnorm tries to "force" the food through the system
and if it encounters an area that is partially blocked it will cause
excessive dilation of the intestines and can even cause it to
burst/perforate. He said the action of the medicine is WAY too
agressive for anyone with adhesive disease. He said that you need to
keep the stools somewhat loose (versus trying to just force it through)
and he suggested staying on the Miralax and eating a low residue diet.
He had a few choice words to say about doctors that keep their patients
on Zelnorm when they have confirmed adhesive disease and basically said
they don't take the adhesive disease seriously enough and obviously
haven't had to fix the horror cases that happen when people are
prescribed medications that they shouldn't be. I hope that helps anyone
with any other questions about it. I figure two specialists telling me
that it is a big taboo is enough for me!
Ronni