# Sorbitol works for me!



## galatia (Aug 26, 2003)

A month ago my doc put me on sorbitol, which to my understanding is a natural laxative found in fruit...any it took about 2 weeks but I've been having bowel movements like crazy







...still NOT very normal ones...but at least its coming out!! Any of you had luck with it???


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## Cigarello (Jun 17, 2000)

Please tell me, do you need a prescription? how much do you take and is it a liquid? thanks. i remember when i was normal (long long ago) and if i chewed gum with sorbital i would get the runs (which i could sure use now)


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## galatia (Aug 26, 2003)

Yes, you need an rx...and it comes in liquid form...clear...tastes like sugary syrup, easy to take. I have to take 1 tsp. twice a day with plenty of water...no sweat!


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## Tiss (Aug 22, 2000)

I've never heard of this. I wonder why it is by Rx only?


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## galatia (Aug 26, 2003)

I hadn't heard of it either...i also found out that it is used to sweeten some cough syrups too.Strange...


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## joolz (Nov 11, 2002)

Sorbitol is in a ton of sugar-free candies, and right on the packaging it states "this product causes a laxative effect if consumed in large quantities."Might want to get yer chocolate fix in as well!


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## Rose (Mar 25, 1999)

This is very strange about Sorbitol. I have been very "C" lately. Nothing I have been taking seems to get things "moving". My husband came home from the store the other day with some mints. They are made by a company called Brown & Haley. They are called Zingos. The ones he bought say Extra Strength Caffeinated peppermints on the tin. They are sugar-free. Anyway, I had been having 1 or 2 mints a day....until yesterday. I had to go to a wake and I had a funny taste in my mouth, so I kept popping these mints. I probably had 8-10 of them. Then, this morning my bowels really started "moving". I was elated, because I was really backed up. So, of course I started thinking about what I had eaten or done that was different to cause this. I knew I had done nothing or eaten anything out of the ordinary...until I remembered the mints and I looked at the ingredients on the tin. There are 2 grams of Sorbitol in 3 mints, which means I had 6 grams in the 9 or so I ate. So, I am really beginning to think it was the Sorbitol that got things moving. I am going to eat another 9 or 10 mints today in order to test my theory. I also went on-line to see if you can purchase plain Sorbitol. I know you can get it by prescription as galatia did, but I started wondering where do all these companies who make the sugar-free candy get it? Surely they don't get prescriptions for it. So I did a search and found a company who makes pure Sorbitol. It is called Now foods. www.nowfoods.com It comes in a box and is granulated like sugar. You can order it on-line from them or their site says that most health food stores carry it. The health food store near me carrys it, and it's only $3.99 for a pound box. It's not liquid, but it can be dissolved in coffee etc. It's worth a try. Anyway, I'll report in tomorrow about the mints. I really hope they work and my "pooping" today was not just a fluke. I'll let ya all know.


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## Tiss (Aug 22, 2000)

Rose, thanks for the info! Wouldn't be nice if we found something that worked for most of us "C" types that tastes good like a mint and could throw the rest of this stuff out the window! My fiber supplements and all the other stuff I take takes up an entire drawer and cabinet!Please keep us informed on your 'progress'! I'll keep my fingers crossed. BTW, did the mints give you gas or bloating?Tiss


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## Tiss (Aug 22, 2000)

Rose, I just saw my pharmacist and asked her about sorbitol. She produced a bottle of it and said "it's for constipation. It acts like an osmotic laxative and it's OK to use everyday." It did not require a prescription. I didn't buy it but I might!


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## Rose (Mar 25, 1999)

Well I ate about 10 of those mints yesterday, and not much "happened" today if you know what I mean. Maybe the fact that I was able to "go" so well yesterday was just a fluke.







I'm going to keep eating the mints anyway and see what happens.I did read an article about Sorbitol, which said it can cause "D" in some people. I'm sure they meant "normal" people. The article said people have reported getting "D" when consuming anywhere between 10-50 grams of Sorbitol. I only had about 6 grams yesterday, but I can only eat so many mints.Tiss, if you can buy the plain Sorbitol without a precription, I think it might be worth a try. I am going to call my pharmacy to see if they carry it. Did you happen to notice how many grams you're suppose to take?I just called my pharmacy and they said they have it, but it is by prescription only. That is strange, Tiss, that you can get it without a prescription. I thought the FDA regulated all drugs????


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## Tiss (Aug 22, 2000)

Well that is just plain strange about the script business. The pharmacist showed me the bottle. I think I'll buy the bottle (9.33) and let you all know the info about it and give it a try. Also the pharm. said to take "1-3 tblespns/day".


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## jodys (Apr 8, 2002)

Hi everyone, Just wanted you to know that there is a lot of sugar free candy out there that works in the same way. It contains Malitol which is similar to sorbitol. Russell Stover makes GREAT sugar free candy. I eat 3 pieces a day and it works very well. I would give it a try...and its CHOCOLATE!! Jody


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## Cigarello (Jun 17, 2000)

I think i might try the granulated sorbital; perhaps i could cut down on the magnesium if the sorbital would work even a little. They sell Now products at Whole foods which is very close to my home; sounds like it is sure worth a try; good luck to all;


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## Karen Savage (Dec 16, 2002)

I was telling my mother about sorbitol because she has constipation due to her high blood medication and she said her sister has been using the prescription kind for 7 years now. Its the only thing that works for her, I might add her sister is 87 years old. Just thought it was odd it was never brought up on this site before.


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## rlo (Jun 3, 2001)

I have a couple of questions about sorbitol. When would be the best time to take it? Does it cause gas and bloating? About how long does it take to start working? My GI and I discussed sorbitol awhile back and I have a bottle of it. It was not a prescription drug here. He suggested that I take a teaspoon of it daily. I hesitated as I didn't want to constantly taste a sugary sweet taste. So, my last question is, is the sorbitol overwhelmingly sweet or not too bad? I'm not a lover of a real sweet taste.Thanks for the help.Take care.Renee'


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## galatia (Aug 26, 2003)

I take it in the morning and at night....it seemed to work within about 3 days or so. For ME, it does NOT cause gas and bloating at all. It does taste very sweet, but I just swallow it and then "chase" it with water and the taste is rinsed away immediately! I can't speak for others, but it has been working sooo well for me!


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## jnohrenberg (Sep 26, 2003)

I'm brand new to the website/bulletin board and it's amazing to learn how many people are suffering like me! There's some comfort it, I guess. I get depressed and have tried to not like it rule my life, but feel like it has for the past 15 years...sometimes it gets better for a few months, then I'll go thru a terrible episode and will take me weeks to get back to "normal" for me, meaning 1 BM a week. It affects my family cause they feel bad when I feel bad, and it limits what I feel like doing, and most of all, it's severely limiting what I can wear. Can't have anything the least bit snug around my waist. I stopped wearing belts 15 years ago, then pantyhose, and now pants; been wearing nothing but loose-fitting dresses with sandles to work all summer and now I'm dreading the cold weather cause I don't have any pants that fit when I'm bloated up and look 6 mos pregnant. Even my underwear annoy me! Anyway, I'm going to waddle up to the store to look for anything with Sorbitol in it and to stock up on M of M, fiber tablets, fruit, bran, etc. and pray nobody asks me when I'm due.


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