2/14 Miralax Probably Okay

A few weeks ago I read about possible problems with Miralax. Today the other side of the issue was presented in an article posted on one of my groups. Here is the link. I feel better about using it now and wanted to pass this on in case others got concerned like I did when reading about antifreeze in it.

http://skeptoid.com/blog/2013/02/16/konstantin-monastyrsky-pseudoscience-of-nutrition-part-2/

Here is the link to the first article in case you want to read both.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/06/science/scrutiny-for-a-childhood-remedy.html?_r=1

 

After reading the first article I was not concerned about using it for my cats.

 

Actually I'm not so sure now that it is okay. That new article was written before the FDA got into it.

 

I am not concerned:
http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2015/01/miralax-dilemma-parents-safe
http://www.webmd.com/children/news/20150106/laxative-ingredient-investigated

 

I don't know why those articles allay your concerns Larry. They increase mine. Clearly this is a product not intended for long term use in adults let alone children or cats. If it is the only available option left I might try it but I would try every other option available first. Where there's smoke there's usually fire so why risk it

 

The problem is that if you have a cat that needs help, miralax really works better than anything else. It was suggested to me that cast grass might help but I haven't tried it yet. I used to give it to Max but it would sometimes cause him to vomit. I can't get him to exercise which was another idea and pumpkin didn't work.

 

@tiffmaxee I've heard of people using lactulose have you tried that?

But I do agree if it's the only thing that works then you don't have an option and I would use it

 

It's not so good for diabetics because of the sugar. The vet that brought it to my attention said he wouldn't stop using a treatment that is working. Lactulose can cause high calcium too and other issues.

 

I use pumpkin and MiraLax with good success and no real side effects. 1/8 tsp of pumpkin with each meal and less than 1/16 tsp of MiraLax with the morning meal and last evening meal. I suspected he was a little constipated the last couple of weeks, pooping very little and today he left me a nice surprise in my bedroom. I was so happy he had a healthy poop I didn't mind where he did it...

 

My understanding is that the sugar In lactulose is indigestible so that it shouldn't effect BG but I wasn't aware of other issues associated with it. I will have to do some further investigations.

Yay for a good poop fromDusty Bones he was probably so proud and wanted to make sure you didn't miss it I am just getting footprints in the LB for now

 

Hi Elise, I was able to ask two different vets about miralax, fwiw. Both said while they would first suggest a pre-biotic such as pumpkin, if that did not work, they would probably go with miralax over Lactulose or psyllium. Lactulose is not a good choice for sugarcats, it also increases calcium, not good for kitties with ckd. Both felt there is potential for blockage with psyllium husk, as most cats tend not to drink enough water even without taking psyllium.

Cat grass made Tiger vomit also!

 

If you give them cat grass you have to give them just a blade or two or they'll definitely vomit. I've tried psyllium too and it didn't do anything. Dusty really didn't like it, no matter how little I used he knew it was there and wouldn't eat it.

 

Hi I used miralax on my cat during the first 5 months after he was first diagnosed with diabetes.His whole system was out of sorts and he has a large colon.It did help but I was only giving him the very tip if a tea spoon at a time. What really works for him is Vaseline jelly!! He readily licks it right off my finger once a day.Now he gets some every other day cause he had been pooping on his own every day and some days he poops twice.I only give him from the tip of my finger to the first knuckle and it been working for him

 

Hmmmmm I was just reading on another chat board to definitely not give Vaseline, which makes sense when you remember it's petrochemical. @Vegjeta i wonder if paw paw ointment (same consistency but edible) would give you the same effects more safely

 

Commercially available lactulose is not 100% lactulose. Is does contain some digestible sugar

Lactulose is a synthetic disaccharide in solution form for oral or rectal administration. Each 15 mL of Lactulose Solution USP contains 10 g lactulose (and less than 1.6 g galactose, less than 1.2 g lactose, and 0.1 g or less of fructose). It also contains D&C Yellow No. 10, FD & C Yellow No. 6 and Purified Water.

http://www.rxlist.com/lactulose-solution-drug.htm

 

When I've given Miralax to Scout in the past it didn't mess with her BG. But I only gave it for a couple of days at a time, not as a regular treatment.

One all natural remedy is to mix their food with lots and lots of water. Sometimes in diabetics it is just dehydration causing the constipation and Scout is one of those cats who barely touches her water dish unless her BG is sky-high, but stinky soupy cat food? Yum yum!

HTH,
Lori