# Lactulose Side Effects? (Hydrogen Breath Test)



## Alyeska Martinez

Last Friday I did the hydrogen breath test to see if I might have SIBO. It involved drinking a solution of lactulose. I felt fine for 24 hours, then I had awful diarrhea and cramping all of Saturday afternoon. Since then my gut has been crampy and sore, and I haven't had a bowel movement.

Could this all be due to the lactulose irritating my gut?

I'm hoping it'll be over in a few days but I'm worried. It's been more than 72 hours.


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## Moises

Lactulose is a laxative.

It is also, obviously, used in the lactulose-hydrogen breath test that allegedly diagnoses SIBO.

It also, amazingly, has been shown in some reports to be effective in treating SIBO. Its consumption leads to an increase of short chain fatty acids in the gut, which is a good thing. Accordingly, some doctors recognize the irony of using a laxative to treat diarrhea.

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/58/3/369.abstract

http://www.deepdyve.com/lp/springer-journals/culture-proven-small-intestinal-bacterial-overgrowth-as-a-cause-of-ermVTJZNHb

After seeing some of the articles about lactulose's benefits, I tried it. But I couldn't get past its laxative effects.

I am planning on doing a lactulose breath test this coming Saturday. I am not looking forward to it.


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