What is peg for constipation?
POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL (pol ee ETH i leen; GLYE col) prevents and treats occasional constipation. It works by increasing the amount of water your intestine absorbs. This softens the stool, making it easier to have a bowel movement. It also increases pressure, which prompts the muscles in your intestines to move stool. It belongs to a group of medications called laxatives.
This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.
COMMON BRAND NAME(S): GaviLax, GIALAX, GlycoLax, Healthylax, MiraLax, Smooth LAX, Vita Health
They need to know if you have any of these conditions:
Take this medication by mouth. Take it as directed on the label. Add the right dose to 4 to 8 ounces or 120 to 240 mL of water, juice, soda, coffee or tea. Do not mix this medication with foods or other liquids. Do not combine with starch-based thickeners (e.g., flour, cornstarch, arrowroot, tapioca, xanthan gum). Mix well. Drink the solution. Do not use it more often than directed.
Talk to your care team about the use of this medication in children. While it may be given to children as young as 16 years for selected conditions, precautions do apply.
Overdosage: If you think you have taken too much of this medicine contact a poison control center or emergency room at once.
NOTE: This medicine is only for you. Do not share this medicine with others.
If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you can. If it is almost time for your next dose, take only that dose. Do not take double or extra doses.
Interactions are not expected.
This list may not describe all possible interactions. Give your health care provider a list of all the medicines, herbs, non-prescription drugs, or dietary supplements you use. Also tell them if you smoke, drink alcohol, or use illegal drugs. Some items may interact with your medicine.
Do not use for more than one week without advice from your care team. If your constipation returns, check with your care team.
Drink plenty of water while taking this medication. Drinking water helps decrease constipation.
Stop using this medication and contact your care team if you experience any rectal bleeding or do not have a bowel movement after use. These could be signs of a more serious condition.
Side effects that you should report to your care team as soon as possible:
Side effects that usually do not require medical attention (report to your care team if they continue or are bothersome):
This list may not describe all possible side effects. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Keep out of the reach of children and pets.
Patients seeking medical advice for chronic constipation were investigated over a 24 month period in the outpatient clinics of the participating centres.
Inclusion criteria were patients aged 18–75 years and presenting with chronic constipation, defined in accordance with the Rome diagnostic criteria (less than two bowel movements (bm) a week for at least 12 months or the presence of two or more of the following complaints when laxatives and/or enemas were not used: less than three bowel movements a week; straining at defecation; sense of incomplete evacuation; and hard stools on at least 25% of occasions). Other criteria were: negative tests for organic disorders of the digestive tract; no anorectal lesions; no abnormality at barium enema or colonoscopy; and normal laboratory tests (routine laboratory examinations and serum calcium, phosphorus, T3, T4, and TSH).
Exclusion criteria were: patients not meeting the inclusion criteria; inflammatory bowel disease; pregnant women or women not using effective contraceptive measures; previous surgery on the gastrointestinal tract, except appendicectomy and cholecystectomy; chronic use of drugs affecting gastrointestinal motility; and chronic systemic, metabolic, neurological, and psychiatric illnesses. The study was approved by the local ethics committee. All subjects gave written informed consent.
This was a multicentre (five centres) trial. The study was subdivided into two consecutive periods. In the first initial period of four weeks' duration, all patients received active treatment (PMF-100). In the second period of 20 weeks duration', responders to the initial treatment entered into a trial run according to a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, parallel group design.
After a medical history and physical examination were performed at visit 1, patients entered the initial four week period during which they were treated with PMF-100 and were instructed to standardise their diet so as to have a mean daily intake of 15 g of fibre and 1500 ml of water and to refrain from laxatives, rectal evacuants, and enemas. Patients who responded at the end of the initial four week period (visit 2) were allocated to receive, in a double blind manner for the following 20 weeks, active treatment with PMF-100 (group I) or placebo (group II), according to a randomisation code independent for each centre. Patients were defined as responders at visit 2 if they referred and reported on the diary card that during the previous two weeks of treatment they had at least 2 bm/week and no other defecatory disturbances or at least 3 bm/week with or without defecatory disturbances.
During the study no other medication was allowed. Laxatives were allowed only when patients had no bowel movements for at least five consecutive days. After each four week period of treatment and at the end of the study, patients were required to attend for a visit (visits 3–7).
At each visit, patients were given 56 sachets for the subsequent four week period and four weekly diary cards on which they reported daily the number of sachets taken, number of evacuations, stool consistency (soft, firm, hard, pellety), straining (absent or present) at defecation, use of laxatives (oral, suppository) or enemas, and the following symptoms: abdominal pain, abdominal bloating, flatulence, borborygmi. The presence of the abdominal symptoms were specifically asked for by the physician who rated them as: absent; mild, not interfering with daily activities; moderate, interfering with daily activities; moderately severe, requiring medication; severe, requiring urgent medical assistance. At visits 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, patients returned the completed diary cards and the remaining sachets.
At visits 1, 4 and 7, patients underwent a physical examination, and heart frequency and blood pressure were recorded, together with the following laboratory analyses: full blood count, serum concentrations of sodium, potassium, creatinine, glucose, transaminases, and alkaline phosphatases, and BUN. Serum levels of calcium and phosphorus, and ESR were assessed at visit 1.
At visits 2 and 7, patients were asked about tolerability of the PEG solution in terms of taste (pleasant, indifferent, unpleasant); daily volume ingested (low, adequate, excessive); and modality of preparation (easy, difficult).
Active treatment (PMF-100; Normopeg (Selg 250 in Italy), Promefarm Srl Milan, Italy) was supplied as a granular preparation contained in sachets. Each 17.5 g sachet contained the following active ingredients: polyethylene glycol 4000 14.6 g; anhydrous sodium sulphate 1.42 g; sodium bicarbonate 0.42 g; sodium chloride 0.36 g; potassium chloride 0.18 g; simethicone (activated dimethicone) 0.01 g; and orange flavour. Placebo, containing 16.92 g of orange flavoured maltodextrine, was supplied in an identical form, and the smell, colour, and taste of both preparations were similar. Patients were instructed to dissolve the contents of each sachet in 250 ml of water before ingestion. The dose was one sachet twice daily; patients were allowed to reduce the dose to once daily according to bowel movement frequency. In no case were they allowed to increase the dose.
Bowel frequency, straining at defecation, stool consistency, use of oral and rectal laxatives or enemas, and relevant symptoms were collected from data reported on the diary card and assessed at each visit. Bowel frequency was expressed as the number of evacuations per week, and normal frequency was considered to be at least three evacuations per week.
The severity of each symptom was scored by the physician on a five-point scale: absence of symptoms (0), mild (1), moderate (2), moderately severe (3), and very severe (4). The score for each symptom was evaluated separately.
Treatment compliance was assessed by direct interview of the patient, checking the diary cards on which the daily number of sachets taken was recorded, and counting the sachets brought back by the patient at each visit.
To assess the therapeutic effectiveness of PMF-100, the primary criteria were complete remission of constipation consisting of ⩾3 bm/week, no use of laxatives, no straining at defecation, feeling of complete evacuation, and no hard/pellety stools. Secondary criteria were: bowel frequency and normalisation of bowel frequency, use of laxatives, straining at defecation, stool consistency, and presence of other symptoms.
It was hypothesized that patients assigned to the placebo group could more likely interrupt the study than those treated with PMF-100. Thus the number of drop outs caused by no response to treatment was assessed and used as an additional criterium to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of PMF-100.
Generic name: polyethylene glycol 3350 Brand names: ClearLax, GaviLAX, Gialax, GlycoLax, MiraLax, ... show all 9 brands PEG3350, SunMark ClearLax, HealthyLax, Natura-Lax Dosage forms: oral kit (-), oral powder for reconstitution (-) Drug class: Laxatives
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com on Mar 27, 2023. Written by Cerner Multum.
Polyethylene glycol 3350 is a laxative solution that increases the amount of water in the intestinal tract to stimulate bowel movements.
Polyethylene glycol 3350 is used as a laxative to treat occasional constipation or irregular bowel movements.
Polyethylene glycol 3350 may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.
You should not use polyethylene glycol 3350 if you have a bowel obstruction or intestinal blockage. If you have any of these conditions, you could have dangerous or life-threatening side effects from polyethylene glycol 3350.
Do not use polyethylene glycol 3350 more than once per day. Call your doctor if you are still constipated or irregular after using this medication for 7 days in a row.
You should not use this medicine if you are allergic to polyethylene glycol, or if you have a bowel obstruction or intestinal blockage. If you have any of these conditions, you could have dangerous or life-threatening side effects from polyethylene glycol 3350.
People with eating disorders (such as anorexia or bulimia) should not use this medication without the advice of a doctor.
To make sure this medicine is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have:
FDA pregnancy category C. It is not known whether polyethylene glycol 3350 will harm an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant while using this medication.
It is not known whether polyethylene glycol 3350 passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. Tell your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.
Follow all directions on your prescription label. Do not use polyethylene glycol 3350 in larger or smaller amounts or for longer than recommended.
To use the powder form of this medicine, measure your dose with the medicine cap on the bottle. This cap should contain dose marks on the inside of it. Pour the powder into 4 to 8 ounces of a cold or hot beverage such as water, juice, soda, coffee, or tea. Stir this mixture and drink it right away. Do not save for later use.
Polyethylene glycol 3350 should produce a bowel movement within 1 to 3 days of using the medication. Polyethylene glycol 3350 normally causes loose or even watery stools.
Do not use polyethylene glycol 3350 more than once per day. Call your doctor if you are still constipated or irregular after using this medication for 7 days in a row.
Store at room temperature away from moisture and heat.
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. Skip the missed dose if it is almost time for your next scheduled dose. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.
Seek emergency medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222.
Follow your doctor's instructions about any restrictions on food, beverages, or activity.
Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Stop taking polyethylene glycol 3350 and call your doctor at once if you have:
Common side effects of polyethylene glycol 3350 may include:
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Usual Adult Dose for Bowel Preparation:
17 grams dissolved in 4 to 8 ounces of beverage, orally, once a day Duration of therapy: No more than 7 daysComments:-The beverage may be hot, cold, or room temperature.-Generally produces a bowel movement in 1 to 3 days.Use: Relief of occasional constipation
Usual Adult Dose for Constipation:
17 grams dissolved in 4 to 8 ounces of beverage, orally, once a day Duration of therapy: No more than 7 daysComments:-The beverage may be hot, cold, or room temperature.-Generally produces a bowel movement in 1 to 3 days.Use: Relief of occasional constipation
Other drugs may interact with polyethylene glycol 3350, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products. Tell each of your health care providers about all medicines you use now and any medicine you start or stop using.
Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medication only for the indication prescribed.
Polyethylene glycol is a medication that is used in the management and treatment of constipation. It is in the laxative class of drugs. This activity describes the indications, action, and contraindications for polyethylene glycol as a valuable agent in the treatment of constipation.
