# Anyone tried Ensure and found symptoms are worse



## metooo (Feb 26, 2002)

I cannot eat solid food anmore due to not having any motility and have started taking Ensure and have found the gas, pain and bloating so much worse, including constipation. Usually when I eat less food and no fiber, the constipation isn't so bad but pain is always severe 24/7. Since starting Ensure I have so much more gas, mucous, and pain. I'm just wondering if it's because it contains so much sucrose. I think it has an overall of 51% of sucrose, and fructose. I think that could be increasing the yeast infection in my gut.Also I get so hungry after drinking it, which I am sure is also caused by all the sugar. I was also surprised it has so littel protein - only 10gms, less than yogurt!!! Is this product really considered a "healthy" food replacement meal, or is it just so popular because it's manufactured by a pharmaceutical company (Ross Labs). I'm sure that's it!







There must be more nutritious, healthy liquid meal replacement supplements out there that do not contain dairy or soy! Surely we aren't the only one's who have sensitive and painful stomachs!


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## suzatb (Nov 7, 2001)

Metoo, have you tried Modulen IBD? You can find it on http://www.healingwell.com where you can send in for a free sample of it. I think it is more used for Crohn's disease but it formulated to give someone all of the nutrients they need until their attacks are over. It might be worth a try. I think it is made by Nestle. Good luck. I wish so much we could all lick this thing. It is very depressing. I just spent money we can't really afford to spend on the IBS self hypnosis tapes. I hope it works - either with the constipation or just with the depression and hopeless feeling. My nerves are shot from feeling the way I do (haven't gone in a week - even with laxatives) and having to deal with the stress of two jobs. I also have chemical sensitivities and having to spend my days in the perfumed office environment I can honestly say that from head to knees I feel like ..well ####.Good luck, Metoo. I hope you find a good doctor and can get help. I'm afraid that eventually I will also be that bad if I have to continue to take these laxatives just to feel half way good.


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote:I'm just wondering if it's because it contains so much sucrose.


It's unlikely that the Ensure is blame for the gas. So could the gas be from the atmosphere?


> quote:I think that could be increasing the yeast infection in my gut.


*What????*


> quotenly 10gms


That's not too bad. Ensure Plus has 13 grams.


> quote:Is this product really considered a "healthy" food replacement meal,


Yes, I think you can live on just Ensure Plus and water.


> quote:Modulen IBD


Seems pretty similar to Ensure.


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## metooo (Feb 26, 2002)

Suzatb,Thanks so much for your reply. This whole thing is also causing me so much stress, depression ect. It seems like a no win situation.I am at the point laxatives do not work, infact they actually increase symptoms because they irritate the colon so much (that's how they work). They have started causing so much more pain and spasms ... they are really harmful and I am trynig to get off them. Still searching for a doc which is real frustrating.Have you tried the non irritating laxatives like the osmotic types ... unfortunately for me they too don't work because there is no more motility in my colon. Miralax which is supposed to be the best for this, is real bad for me because water builds up so much in my colon and won't come out without the use of a machine (colonic). Thanks for the web site.







Flux,Sucrose is renown for gas and bloating especially for people with compromised GI problems. I was given sucrose as a prep for my colonoscopy (also with a colonic) and it made me so sick, even small amounts and in those days I was not nearly as severe as today ... I was even able to walk and drive then. Sucrose does feed yeast, believe me, I know that from personal experience, ... do you!!!????


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

MetooThe problem is assuming that it is yeast.Lots and lots (if not pretty much every single species) of bacteria in your colon can digest sucrose and make gas (we do absorb most of the sucrose so it isn't always a big player in gas, but fructose intolerant people may have problems and there are a few with a rare condition where they can't digest sucrose but it is uncommon).EVEN if there wasn't a single yeast cell in the town you are in much less in your colon you could still have copious amounts of gas produced from sucrose that gets into your colon from all the bacteria that live in there.I'm not sure how many grams of sucrose you have to feed the average person before you start getting significant amounts getting into the colon....but I do know you can get it there because they do use it for some measurements of gas production.For the most part in most people sucrose is pretty well tolerated (there are exceptions) and they HAVE to load those drinks with carbohydrates of some sort and sucrose prety much fits the bill for that.K.


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2002)

I'm wondering whether Ensure has dairy products in it. That alone would be enough to give me so much gas I'd be jet-propelled for a week.


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## bonniei (Jan 25, 2001)

Ensure is lactose free. metooo, where did you get the info that it has fructose and that too 51% sucrose and fructose. You may be wrong about that because I looked at the ingredients and the possible sources of sugar were sugar(sucrose), corn syrup(glucose) and maltodextrin(not fructose ). Note :corn syrup is not high fructose corn syrup


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote:I was given sucrose as a prep for my colonoscopy


They gave you







for that? Are you sure?


> quote:Sucrose does feed yeast, believe me, I know that from personal experience


What experience leads you to believe that yeast are doing the feeding?


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## admflo (Dec 1, 2001)

Metoo: If you are not taking anything other than liquids you are already in trouble. You could deplete your potassium. Please visit an emergency room if you don't have a decent doc to go to. Maybe they can refer you to someone else.


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