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Sorbitol, Lactulose, Fructose

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 12/3/2012 9:26 AM (GMT 0)
Last week and this week I've been having a few hydrogen breath tests done. So far I've done: lactulose (control test), glucose (SIBO), fructose and sorbitol. I was fine on the glucose test (no symptoms at all). The fructose test I had some diarrhoea 30 mins after drinking the solution but I am not sure if it was the solution that gave me diarrhoea since I only had 1 hour sleep for 24 hours that time.

However for both the lactulose and sorbitol tests, I had heavy bloating 2 - 3 hours after drinking the solution followed by 2 BMs of pure diarrhoea. I still have mild cramping but not much urgency left.

I am just wondering, has anyone else had any problems with lactulose or sorbitol? Both are said to be mild laxatives but I was told I was only given a small dosage of each sugar (during the tests, I drank about 3/4 of a cup of each solution). I notice that sorbitol is an ingredient in a lot of things, from toothpaste and mouth wash (both of the brands I use have sorbitol, I checked today) to some fruits like apples, pears and prunes.
Posted 12/3/2012 10:24 AM (GMT 0)
I did the fructose/sorbitol breath test. I had a couple bm's during the test plus I got dizzy and light-headed. However, the next day I had major diarrhea and accidents. My score for the test fell into the "intolerance" range. To this day when I have a high fructose load (apples, pears, honey, etc) I usually get dizzy/light headed shortly after consumption, but then it causes D and an accident the next day.

So what my doctor told me is that the test means your small intestine does not properly absorb fructose which is unrelated to UC and even if UC is in remission this will not change. However, having large amounts of undigested fructose go into the large intestine does produce more blood during a flare simply bc it is more matter. This is how I understood it anyway...

Knowing this info about dietary fructose intolerance I have definitely found helpful for diet choices.
Posted 12/3/2012 11:02 AM (GMT 0)
I don't have a colon any longer and about year 8 with my j-pouch I could no longer tolerate the fake stars. They give me faucet-like diarrhea. This has nothing to do with my history of UC or my surgery. However it's not hard to avoid the fake sugars except when it comes to OTC cold and cough medications which all contain it much to my dismay. Otherwise avoiding gum and some foods and beverages it's not been a life changer. I still use toothpaste with no problem, I guess not swallowing it is why it doesn't negatively affect me:-)

Sue
Posted 12/3/2012 11:54 AM (GMT 0)
Well its good to know that the sorbitol was the reason for my tummy aches today. Before the test I was under the impression that sorbitol was a natural sugar haha so I was disappointed I was having the runs from it.

Also, if you are intolerant to one artificial sweetner, does that necessarily mean you are intolerant to all the other artificial sweetners? If not, is there anyway to determine your intolerance to the other fake sweetners? Here we can only test for sorbitol.
Posted 12/3/2012 1:14 PM (GMT 0)
I get diarrhea from any artificial sweetener and Ive always been careful about my fruit consumption.

Carlie
Posted 12/3/2012 8:54 PM (GMT 0)
     I saw a nutritionist shortly after being diagnosed with IBD and I can remember her telling me to stay away from anything ending in "tol".
Posted 12/3/2012 9:07 PM (GMT 0)
Sugar alcohols (anything ending in "tol") can cause major grief even for those without bowel issues. Sorbitol isn't the only sugar alcohol out there, there's a long enough list of them and you have to be sure to read ingedient lables incase one or more sugar alcohols is present.

Some people that don't even have bowel issues can get major D, gas and bloating from chewing just half a stick of gum that contains sugar alcohols.
Posted 12/4/2012 3:06 AM (GMT 0)
MaxMilian, sorbitol does occur naturally...occurs both naturally or can be synthetically made. It occurs in apples, pears, peaches and prunes. I always thought it was found naturally in pitted fruits, but I guess apples and pears as well...
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