Guaifenesin & IBS
Has anyone tried taking guaifenesin for symptom relief? I don't suffer from IBS, but my wife does. She's had very little help from her doctors - primary to GI specialists. Since she was in pain most of the time, we (she & I) brainstormed as to what we can do to relieve symptoms. One the ideas we discussed was trying to increase the mucous layer protecting the GI tract by taking guaifenesin since it is used in cold medications for mucous production & relieve nasal & chest congestion.
Within a 4-5 days of taking 1200 mg of guaifenesin, her GI pain levels went from 6/7 to 2. She stayed on it a several more days and then stopped. Her pain level went back to 6. After about week restarted guaifenesin at 2x1200 a day (max dose). The pain subsided significantly.
We tried this A/B test a couple of more times with the same result. We shared it her primary physician. We're wondering if there are others with similar experiences using guaifenesin for IBS symptom relief.
Hi
and welcome to our community! I'm sorry to hear that your wife is suffering from IBS and is getting so little help from doctors. She is very lucky to have such a supportive spouse!
I can't share any personal experience with you since I haven't tried Guaifenesin, but I really hope that other community members will chime in. However, I've looked it up and it seems as though it was used for Fibromyalgia: https://web.mit.edu/london/www/guai.html
I have also found a forum where it was discussed as an IBS medication: https://www.ibsgroup.org/threads/guaifenesin-liquibid.64276/
If it works for your wife, that's great! Did her doctor tell her if it was safe to continue taking it?
Wishing you and your wife all the best,
Karina (team member)Is there a problem with the medicine long term? Would it help with inflammation?
Thanks for reaching out. This is a question to speak with your doctor about as everyone's medical story and history is different. The article linked above is very informational. Best, Kelly, Irritablebowelsyndrome.net Team Member
