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Lactulose

14931 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  Kathleen M.
Has anyone tried lactulose for constipation? I started on it yesterday, and so far nothing, but a lot of gas! Anyone had any luck with it? ALso, if so how long before it started to work? THanks
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Lactulose ALSO causes gas when there is NOT ONE BIT of overgrowth in the small intestine (SIBO) so it IS NOT a sign of that.With lactulose there are TWO PEAKS when there is SIBO the LARGEST of the two is the SECOND one that is from the lactulose hitting the COLONIC BACTERIA. If you do not have SIBO you still get PEAKS, just that you get ONE peak that starts somewhere around 3 hours.Like most osmotic agents it can take a few days to get some relief as it ONLY really works on the stool it is co-located with and the stuff in you from before is not going to be effected.If Lactulose causes too much gas (and you may adapt and have less gas in a week or so) then you may want to switch to Miralax.K.
quote:If it gives you gas,
It's normal to have a lot of gas from taking lactulose.
yea i think it may actually take a few days to start working, but what did you mean kmottus when you said it will only work on the stool it is located with? Does that mean it isn't going to work with the stool I already had in me when i started to take it? Because I was pretty backed up when i started on it. I was just wondering what you meant by that. Also, the gas doesn't really bother me it is something I can live with as long as I can become regular! LEts just hope!
They work by pulling water into them.They can only really do that where they are. They can't make water go into your colon several feet from where they are. Now there is some mixing in the colon....but whether that will mix todays lactulose with stool from a few days ago....The softer stool may help to push the harder stool out, but osmotics do not always give you the "over night relief" that stimulatory laxatives are supposed to do.Sometimes you have to wait. If you are really backed up and do not take them very often some people will use a stimulatory laxative to get things cleaned out a bit, but the osmotic should eventually work its way through. But it will most likely be more effective as a long-term thing rather than a quick fix kinda thing.K.
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