# Stool softeners



## eligott (Mar 20, 2003)

I have IBS-C with bloating. I saw an internist the other day who advocated stool softeners. I bought a generic softener, docusate sodium. I has done nothing - in fact, I started upping the dose and I can't see any change. Anyone knowledgeable about these things? Are they habit forming? Do they work for anyone?


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## Meg04 (Mar 9, 2003)

hi spinoza,i've started taking lactulose (30ml 36 hours ago, and another 30ml 12 hours a go).lactulose is a sugar which passes into the gut and absorbs water so that (hopefully) things will flush out. stool softeners (like lactulose) generally take 24-48 hours to work. they are safe for regular use, but apparently it's not safe to take 2 types of laxatives at one. so like stimulatory and osmotic. don't mix. apparently.it's been 36 hours since said initial consumption, and i feel like an urge is building up.takes time, but drinks lots of water and they're safe for long term use.-meg


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## Snitmom (Aug 15, 2002)

I too was prescribed the Docusate sodium, plus Dicetel. i won't take them as I have tried them before and just got fatigue. is fatigue a problem for you usually? And on this stuff? its not mentioned much as a side effect, but it is. As laxitives, docuste sodium must work as a stool softener, whateverthat means. it doesn't produce musch action for me either. I read on other posts that Dicetel is for IBS -D, not constipated IBS. These are things the doc gave me before I could even say my name, so its not "for me" as much as it is for him. i have MUCH BETTER SUCCESS handling my constipation problem with diet - cut the grains [yes!] and sweets, they cause the most bloat. when we take a dr's pill while trying to find dietary answers, it screws it all up and we reject good diets in the light of poisen pills. The docs don;t know any better, they have been "educated", I don;t belive they want to harm us, they just do. These pills are to keep us coming back, or there would be some mention of "whats causing this" so we could find CURES, not this coping #### that keeps us coming back Their philosophy is sure rewarding, financially, so much that we must ask if anyone could refuse to play along.


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## Cordy (Jul 1, 2002)

I have also taken ducosate sodium, and what result did I get ? FATIGUE.I hope I will never take it again. (I still have in cupboard, but fear to take them because the fatigue was so debilitating)....I too am working on using soluble food for my medicine. I agree with the previous post about doctors. Totally. please try to find some other method of dealing with you symptoms. this board has alot fo people posting who are finding results with food.


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## eligott (Mar 20, 2003)

Can you guys explain the soluble versus insoluble thing? I eat a big bowl of high fibre cereal in the morning - I need it if I have any chance of going the next day, but it doesn't help all the time and I have bad bloating. I'm not a cook and given that I find nothing works food or medicine wise, I need a diet that is easy to try, easy to maintain. Suggestions?


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## Meg04 (Mar 9, 2003)

soluble fibre:- rice- pasta- oatmeal- barley- white bread (not wonder bread!!)- soy- corn meal, etc.- carrots, yams, potatoes- bananas, applesauce, etc.Insoluble:- whole wheat flour/bread- bran- granola- nuts- seeds- any berry- beans- tomatoes, etc.


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## Tiss (Aug 22, 2000)

I've never heard of feeling fatigue from stool softeners. I've been taking one a night for years and have felt fatigue for years but never ever suspected the stool softener! Isn't magnsium sort of stool softener too? I take 800-1000mg of that a night. I think I'll start taking a stool softener every other night to start weaning myself off of them and see if I start losing some of the fatigue. I'll let you know. Do your Drs. say that the stool softeners can cause fatigue?


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## eligott (Mar 20, 2003)

Meg-what's the wisdom say-how much insoluble versus soluble should one be eating? What's the difference, movement-wise? Gas-wise? Bloating-wise?


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## Meg04 (Mar 9, 2003)

well, according to the author of "eating for IBS", we should be consumming a soluble based diet. or at least combining soluble with insoluble. never (apparently) ingest insoluble alone. her book can be checked out at the top of this page (see "books" link)i haven't tried this technique myself, maybe it's worth a shot (?)


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## Cordy (Jul 1, 2002)

no, my doc never said it causes fatigue, cause i never go to the doctor. other soluble fibers: cooked greens, plums, cherries, pears, any fruits , any cooked vegetables. soluble doesn't cause all the pain and bloating and gas. fiber from like bran cereal (which i think is insoluble) causes pain bloating and gas for me. i dont think there is an easy diet solution for someone who doesn't cook. maybe you could make friends with vegetables, and start there, by cooking some of them for dinner each night. learn to make soups. i really don't think you are going to be able to solve this C probl . permanently without learning to cook. i could be wrong. but that's my opinon.


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## moxie (Mar 22, 2003)

Fiber, like starch, is a string of simple sugars, but unlike starch it cannot be broken down by human digestive enzymes. It's texture provides bulk that thickens chyme (the substance released after the stomach has processed the food intake) and eases the work of the GI muscles.Microflora in the colon use fiber as a medium for fermentation (this is a normal process and part of the mechanism for making vitamin K and biotin.)Soluble fibers include pectin, mucilage, guar gum and some other gums. Soluble fiber thickens substances (hence its possible use in diarrhea), while insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water. Insoluble fibers are cellulose and hemicellulose.Foods are classified on the predominant source of fiber they contain. Many are a mixture. For example, oatmeal bran contains soluble fiber but the whole grain is a source of insoluble fiber too. Apples contain pectin - soluble dietary fiber in the inside part of the apple, but cellulose, an insoluble dietary fiber forms part of the structure of the apple. Popcorn is another source of insoluble dietary fiber.Sufferers from chronic C may find that larger amounts of insoluble fiber tend to make the C worse. Increasing insoluble fiber may help alleviate the C e.g. vegge soups etc.Insoluble:whole grains, brown rice, whole wheat flour and pasta, oatmeal, unrefined cereals, vegetables, wheat bran, seeds, popcorn, nuts, peanut butter, leafy green veg e.g. broccoli.Soluble:Kidney, navy, soy beans, lentils, chick peas and split peas, apples, pears, bananas, grapes, citrus fruits, oat bran, oatmeal, barley, corn, carrots, white potatoes.Many posters on our C site have additional difficulty if insoluble fiber is taken. But many also cannot tolerate citrus fruits either. It's all so individual; learn to listen to your body, keep the journal, ask questions and educate yourself. As posted before, buy a basic nutrition for nurses text book and put yourself thru the first part of the course book - learning about carbs. and fat especially. Fiber is a form of carb. (The sections on IBS are usually rather poor and need an update!)Water is always the first intervention with chronic C. And the second, and the third. After that, work on food groups. Incidentally, lactulose is an osmotic laxative I believe - high sugar content attracting water into the intestines thru osmosis.Docusate sodium is very slow to act. It is a long term daily maintenance sort of medication, but I find it invaluable for situations when I am traveling as it is so portable. I increase it to as many as 6-9 a day before changes in my schedule or difficult situations.Fatigue can be a problem for some, but many older people would rather deal with that than the constipation. It may be a helpful transition for those with chronic C and fissures or straining issues while working on other dietary issues.Be your own detective and disease manager. It can be done, but it takes energy and the use of resources like this web site. Success to us all!


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## moxie (Mar 22, 2003)

Fiber, like starch, is a string of simple sugars, but unlike starch it cannot be broken down by human digestive enzymes. It's texture provides bulk that thickens chyme (the substance released after the stomach has processed the food intake) and eases the work of the GI muscles.Microflora in the colon use fiber as a medium for fermentation (this is a normal process and part of the mechanism for making vitamin K and biotin.)Soluble fibers include pectin, mucilage, guar gum and some other gums. Soluble fiber thickens substances (hence its possible use in diarrhea), while insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water. Insoluble fibers are cellulose and hemicellulose.Foods are classified on the predominant source of fiber they contain. Many are a mixture. For example, oatmeal bran contains soluble fiber but the whole grain is a source of insoluble fiber too. Apples contain pectin - soluble dietary fiber in the inside part of the apple, but cellulose, an insoluble dietary fiber forms part of the structure of the apple. Popcorn is another source of insoluble dietary fiber.Sufferers from chronic C may find that larger amounts of insoluble fiber tend to make the C worse. Increasing soluble fiber may help alleviate the C e.g. vegge soups etc.Insoluble:whole grains, brown rice, whole wheat flour and pasta, oatmeal, unrefined cereals, vegetables, wheat bran, seeds, popcorn, nuts, peanut butter, leafy green veg e.g. broccoli.Soluble:Kidney, navy, soy beans, lentils, chick peas and split peas, apples, pears, bananas, grapes, citrus fruits, oat bran, oatmeal, barley, corn, carrots, white potatoes.Many posters on our C site have additional difficulty if insoluble fiber is taken. But many also cannot tolerate citrus fruits either. It's all so individual; learn to listen to your body, keep the journal, ask questions and educate yourself. As posted before, buy a basic nutrition for nurses text book and put yourself thru the first part of the course book - learning about carbs. and fat especially. Fiber is a form of carb. (The sections on IBS are usually rather poor and need an update!)Water is always the first intervention with chronic C. And the second, and the third. After that, work on food groups. Incidentally, lactulose is an osmotic laxative I believe - high sugar content attracting water into the intestines thru osmosis.Docusate sodium is very slow to act. It is a long term daily maintenance sort of medication, but I find it invaluable for situations when I am traveling as it is so portable. I increase it to as many as 6-9 a day before changes in my schedule or difficult situations.Fatigue can be a problem for some, but many older people would rather deal with that than the constipation. It may be a helpful transition for those with chronic C and fissures or straining issues while working on other dietary issues.Be your own detective and disease manager. It can be done, but it takes energy and the use of resources like this web site. Success to us all!


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## moxie (Mar 22, 2003)

Sorry, needed to edit a mistake, please read the blue posting, not the prior. Apologies. Moxie


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