Naloxegol for Constipation, Drug Induced User Reviews (Page 4)

• Rea...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 15, 2016

"This med delivered exactly what it was made to do. I found it very effective and extremely easy on my body, with no side effects whatsoever. I highly recommend it for anyone who has been on opioids for as long as I have, which is a very long time."

• Don...
• September 2, 2018

"Danger. Do not use Movantik. It is the worst, and within 1 hour, you will have a bowel motion, but you will have such bad pains and withdrawals. It is sad, they should take it off the market. Do not use, I warn again, do NOT use. The worst pains lasted for about 4 hours."

• Mol...
• June 19, 2016

"I had been backed up literally for a year. Little dribs and drabs finally resorting to medical marijuana for pain, which did not work for my back pain, but somewhat stimulated my bowels-not nearly as needed though, just enough to break the agony. Was prescribed Movantik 25 mg the first day I called 911, I thought something was severely wrong. It was the medicine doing its job. After what seemed to be hours, I was done until the next day and still pretty much the entire month. The 25 mg was too strong, so I take 12.5 mg. It took a good month to finally adjust. Yes, it hurt at first, my BM was hard as a rock. But after all is said and done, I have a normal life, I can eat now too! Oh, I am on 60 mg methadone and 30 mg hydrocodone. Good luck, it works."

• jtj...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 13, 2016

"I have been on various opioid pills for five years and fentanyl patches for two years. I was generally able to cope with the OIC symptoms from just the pills with 1500 mg of magnesium and an occasional Linzess, but when I started the fentanyl patches, I was fairly sure I was dying. The Linzess didn't even touch this constipation. Movantik returned me to my pre-fentanyl condition of only mild constipation. For anyone with severe OIC, mild constipation is heavenly. I have had none of the reported stomach pain, withdrawal symptoms, etc. I take it at least an hour before or two hours after eating. I do still need to take an occasional Linzess. When I ran out for two days, the OIC came back immediately."

• Lau...
• June 14, 2019

"So I am on 70 mg of methadone and have been on it for about 4 years. It is what causes my super horrible constipation. I tried 1 25 mg Movantik for the first time yesterday. I took the pill at 1 pm on an empty stomach when I got home from the pharmacy. Within 20 minutes, I experienced the WORST stomach pain of my entire life. I immediately ran to the bathroom to try to go and couldn't. I had to go lay down immediately, the pain was so intense. This was on and off for about an hour with no luck using the bathroom. Then, about 1 hour and a half after taking the pill, I was in full-blown withdrawal. It was terrible, I was crying and in so much pain. I was contemplating going to the hospital, but I couldn't even walk and muster up the energy to go. I will NEVER take this medication again, and I am very, very upset my doctor did not warn me about these side effects. Had I known the risk, I would have never even tried it."

• dav...
• October 18, 2015

"What a joke of a med. I had a terrible experience. I have been on OxyContin for 20 years, and Miralax every day is wonderful. Looks like a drug company is trying to recoup its development costs at patients' expense. Miralax is a miracle."

• Mur...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 31, 2016

"I've been a chronic pain patient for 13 years. I currently take 128 mg of Exalgo ER daily and 1-2, 8 mg Dilaudid IR PRN, no more than 6 tabs per day. I'm very familiar with constipation. When offered Movantik 25 mg every morning, I happily took it, and within a day I was going easily but with a cramp pain. After a few more days, my guts started killing me, so I stopped taking Movantik. 11 days later, severe constipation returns. Doc and I think since I've such a high tolerance, my gut experienced physical withdrawal. So today, starting on ~8 mg (~1/3 of 25 mg tab) every 2-3 days. Anyone else taking Movantik similarly?"

• Mar...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 31, 2017

"I have been taking opiates for ten years with the common side effect of constipation, so my Dr. prescribed Movantik. It worked, but I really thought I was going to die. The cramps, sweating, head spinning, and yes, it cleans you out with the worst smell ever experienced. If you use this, be ready to suffer."

• ais...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 11, 2017

"Been taking Movantik for 2 1/2 months. At first, it seemed to be working great, no side effects with normal daily bowel movements and was thrilled. Then last month, I noticed being nauseous about an hour after taking my morning dose (the literature recommends taking your dose in the morning, 1 hour before your first meal). Usually after eating, it resolved, but then I started having random sudden severe cramping and nausea, cold soaking sweats, feeling extremely dizzy, and bad diarrhea ultimately. I didn't realize it was the Movantik until I stopped it for a few days. Felt fine, and then after restarting, it happened all over. I guess that's withdrawal then? Had no idea but figured out it was the Movantik causing all the symptoms!"

• Mad...
• March 26, 2016

"The medication worked very quickly, but I had severe stomach cramps and nausea for several hours. This was a miserable experience, one that I can't imagine subjecting myself to on a daily basis. I also experienced some mild withdrawal type symptoms: muscle cramps in my legs and some mild anxiousness."

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 21, 2017

"The terrible withdrawal symptoms listed in most of these reviews are enough for me to skip the trip to the doc and try Movantik. The way to go, at least for me (have fentanyl patch and breakthrough opioids for over 10 years). Get MIRALAX but buy the generic brand, you get 3 huge bottles for about $22. I didn't personally take Movantik, after reading these reviews, I wanted to provide an option for all of you who go through the opioid-induced constipation. It is so bad and hurts so much. I take the generic MIRALAX every day without fail. I also take the 100 mg docusate (over the counter now) one at night and morning. It has worked very well and my constipation was so bad. Of course, check with your doc before using."

• Bro...
• September 15, 2016

"This did nothing to relieve my opioid-induced constipation, but I kept taking it for 2 weeks. It made me sick. I had all the awful symptoms of opiate withdrawal and had to take extra medication for pain. It's been 2 weeks since I stopped taking Movantik, and I still feel terrible."

• Che...
• January 21, 2018

"Well, it took a few days, but my stool went from hard rocks that I'd had for many years to soft, easy-to-release stool! I'm impressed, a bit of stomach flip-flops, going to ask for the lower dose. But I can finally poop!"

• Smo...
• June 12, 2016

"I take three hydrocodone a day and normally take a fiber supplement, but find myself in trouble sometimes. Taking this in 25 mg starts working in a few hours for me and lasts two days, ending in nausea. I'm just not happy ruining two days, so I found over-the-counter magnesium citrate that you drink and fast solution with no lasting nausea."

• Vic...
• July 15, 2019

"I have Raynaud's, I have rheumatoid arthritis, and I also have fibromyalgia, therefore, I'm prescribed opioids, which everyone knows cause constipation. Movantik is a lifesaver. Although it says take one a day, it's my belief it should only be taken when you can't go. Yes, you will have cramps and sweating, but ultimately this medicine works, and I would recommend it to anyone."

• Ter...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 31, 2018

"I started taking 25 mg yesterday after chronic backups, sometimes up to 2 weeks. Have had the script for 6 months, but had the fear of withdrawal, so I suffered and didn’t take it. That was dumb. I have stage 4 esophagus cancer, which is the most painful cancer, they say. So I take whatever I have to, to stop it. It took 3 hours before I went, and it was a good bit, but only once. Going to do it again today and hopefully I will have the same results so I can get it all out of me. I cramped for about 4 hours after the bowel motion and had chills. Just fell asleep about two hours, woke up, and they were wearing off. No withdrawal symptoms yet, so all in all, a good drug. Don’t worry about withdrawal symptoms, the good outweighed the bad. Will update in about a week. Hope it helps you!"

• 2sa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 23, 2016

"Extreme withdrawal symptoms. Chills, runny nose, cramps, pain, nausea, shakes, felt terrible. It worked well for the first two days for a bowel movement, but then stopped working as well. The bad side effects continued all the time I was on the drug (2 months). My pain doctor was surprised at my reaction to the drug, as most of her patients handle it well. Insurance (UH) refused to pay for it after 2 months. My cost was going to be around $400 a month, not worth it for me."

• sad...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 16, 2016

"Been taking Movantik 25 mg for a year due to opioids. After taking it, within 10 minutes, the gas starts. I have an abdominal hernia and get a painful fist-size knot that I have to push on to get it moving. This drug is definitely not a sure thing. I still have to take flax oil capsules or stool softeners, and sometimes even that doesn't help. I do not go without having a movement for more than two days, and then I start with the suppositories and magnesium citrate. Before I got a prescription for this drug, I had constipation so bad I went to the ER twice, and that was the WORST enema experience. I thought I was going to die from my pain and the sweating and chills and trying to push. Eating apples daily helps when I can afford them!"

• Sac...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 14, 2021

"I messed up. It didn’t say on the label not to take it with food, so I took it with dinner. Then I read the reviews and was terrified. I take 85 mg methadone daily, by the way, down from 180 mg slowly over the last four years. Anyway, 15 min later, I was cleaned out! No cramping. No diarrhea. I kept waiting for the precipitated withdrawals to set in. I was certain they would because I took it with food and figured I’d absorb more of the drugs and be screwed. I was only prescribed the 12.5 mg. But guess what? The precipitated withdrawals never came! I didn’t have any negative side effects! The poop wasn’t even hard to get out! It was like a dream! A poop dream. I will update if I get any bad side effects with continued use! And Medi-Cal covered the entire cost!"

• Lee...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 2, 2017

"Been on opiates for 10 years, broke my back, had a fusion, and have basically suffered since. Talked to doc about the med the 1st two times. I was amazed and so happy to have relief. 3rd time I took it, I was in withdrawal and couldn't go to work, it was so bad. :( And I took it at night all 3 times. I'm so disappointed that it did this. I'm scared to take it again, but now again back to being stopped up."

• Lyn...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 4, 2018

"Ok, I'm NEVER taking that Movantik EVER again!!!!! I feel like I'm going to die! Insane stomach pain, cramping, sweat pouring off me, chills, lightheadedness, diarrhea, crazy lower back pain. I threw up while on the toilet... uhh... no! That pill is awful! I'll deal with the constipation.... I can't handle this. I'm lying on the couch downstairs in excruciating pain, shaking, sweating, and wanting to puke. So yeah... you could say it “worked,” but I’m not willing to deal with the consequences."

• Jen...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 21, 2016

"It's a complete contradiction, on one hand, it'll make you go for sure, till it's running down your legs in the middle of the night. On the other hand, it only works as a fast-acting medication. So you get to go through the cramping, sweating, irritation, withdrawals, and panic every time you want to go. I took my second pill a few weeks ago and posted the effects here. I haven't taken any more but am still having all of these side effects every time I have to go. I thought I would be over all this by now. I'm miserable, along with sleeping legs."

• Nel...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 23, 2016

"I started taking Movantik four months ago. At first, it was like a miracle. I had a bowel movement soon after taking it in the AM. As time went on, my bowel movements became days apart, and I needed to supplement with Senna and Dulcolax. I try to eat as much fiber as possible. I'm going to try milk of magnesia. I must say that my stools are very seldom hard, and I'm very happy because hard stools caused so much pain that lasted several days. I did have gas and stomach cramps but rarely anything really unpleasant."

• Vin...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 21, 2017

"I have sensory neuropathy and have been taking opioids for chronic pain for 7 years. For six years, I had continuous constipation and had to use two bucket enemas per week. I tried Movantik for 4 weeks, and there was no effect. I tried Amitiza also for 4 weeks, and there was no effect. My GI said both must be taken. Now I have not had to have a bucket enema for six weeks, it's fantastic to be almost normal as far as bowel movements go."

• Anonymous
• October 21, 2016

"Started taking Movantik 25 mg. Was very skeptical about it after reading reviews. I have been on opiates for 10 yrs. for chronic back pain. I spoke with the doctor, and he said I could use Zofran and Bentyl if needed. Took the first dose, waiting for the worst. I had a bowel movement within 2 hrs. of taking the medicine. Normal side effects the first day. The 3rd day was rough: nausea, cramps, and fatigue. Continued side effects lasted about 2 weeks. Not unbearable. Started having 2 bowel movements a week. So much better than every 14+ days. And then only with major colonoscopy cleansing. I experienced irritability and mood swings. The doctor had me stop and switch to Amitiza. That was awful, didn't help, made symptoms of OIC return with a vengeance. Went back to Movantik."