# Alternatives to Colace (for constipation)?



## hyz (Nov 21, 2007)

My doctor recommended Colace for me, but I can't take it because I'm vegetarian and the capsules are made of gelatin. My local drugstore only had the gelcap type. Does anyone know if it is made in a normal pill? Or does anyone have some other good remedies for constipation (other than just drinking lots of water, which I already do)?

Thanks!


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## lizzylou (Jul 11, 2006)

Milk of magnesia


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## danielle44 (Oct 14, 2006)

Activia prune yogurt works like a charm for me. Also, stay away from cream of wheat, cream of rice, and grits.


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## sophiesgrandma (Jun 22, 2006)

Drink 4 ounces of prune juice the minute you wake up.
10 minutes later drink a large glass of water.
Have a cup of hot liquid-tea, coffee or whatever.
Have breakfast.
Have another large glass or water.
You will soon go to the bathroom.

Try to get lots of grain fiber, veggies, and fruit in your diet.
Spinach, salad, broccoli rabe, escarole work wonders.
Try to drink lots of water throughout the day.


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## ryansma (Sep 6, 2006)

:

I was soooo regular last pregnancy and that is just not the case this time around. I have tried Colace too but it just makes me feel a lot of pressure without a lot of results. I am trying so hard to increase my fiber but it seems to be at the expense of my protein intake!!!














drink TONS of water and it's not helping me either.


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## MKury (May 14, 2007)

I don't know if it goes by the vegan diet, but chlorophyll tablets worked wonders on me in the days postpartum when I thought going would be scary. I guess it is more like a stool softener. I'm sure someone has a vegan/vegetarian formula. I hope you feel better soon!


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## hyz (Nov 21, 2007)

Thanks for the good suggestions.









Hmm, prune juice sounds like a good idea--I'll pick some up asap. I'll try Milk of Magnesia, too. Silly me, I always assumed it had milk products in it (I don't eat any commercial animal products), but I found the ingredients online, and see there's no diary involved.







I've never seen prune yogurt, but I do usually have a cup of Stoneyfield brand soy yogurt every day. I eat _tons_ of veggies and fruit and legumes and a decent amount of whole grains, and drink lots of water, but no luck there. I've never had grits, or cream of anything.







I wasn't all that regular even before I got pregnant--usually I had to rely on my morning cup(s) of coffee to get things going (TMI?). But now that I'm pg, AND I cut back my caffeine to one cup of coffee a day, things are _really_ sporadic.

Ok, new plan--hopefully between Milk of Magnesia, prune juice, and everything else combined, we'll be back on track!

ETA: Hm, never heard of chlorophyll tabs--wonder if I can get those at Whole Foods--they _sound_ vegan...


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## heidirk (Oct 19, 2007)

I eat the whole prune! And I drink a big glass of water as soon as I get up. Three prunes a day does it for me.
Also, big salads of dark greens.
Also if you're a Veggie have you tried Tempeh? It's high in Fiber AND protein, and very good in stir fries. ALso increasing your fat intake can help you go.

Now I'm hungry!


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## hyz (Nov 21, 2007)

Hm, I eat a big dark green salad almost every day, but I almost never eat tempeh, and I don't eat much in the way of fatty foods. Maybe I'll grab some tempeh while I'm at Whole Foods, too!


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## heidirk (Oct 19, 2007)

Baby needs the fat too!


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## hae703 (Jul 6, 2006)

I just had that same problem today. I was also told to use children's vitamins because mine were constipating me and almost every single childrens vitamin was made with gelatin.

I don't know of any alternatives and I hate to make an exception, but I've tried just about every dietary change, juice, etc. and nothing is helping. It's so incredibly painful and disruptive I may have to use it anyhow.

Does anyone know if Colace can be a problem for women with IBS though? In the past I tried "gentle" laxatives and they killed me.

Heather


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## hyz (Nov 21, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hae703* 
I just had that same problem today. I was also told to use children's vitamins because mine were constipating me and almost every single childrens vitamin was made with gelatin.

I don't know of any alternatives and I hate to make an exception, but I've tried just about every dietary change, juice, etc. and nothing is helping. It's so incredibly painful and disruptive I may have to use it anyhow.

Does anyone know if Colace can be a problem for women with IBS though? In the past I tried "gentle" laxatives and they killed me.

Heather

What about the chewables, like Flintstones? I haven't looked into this (I'm taking prenatal 1-a-days), but I wouldn't expect those to have gelatin. I don't know about Colace and IBS, but after starting this thread, I did find this pretty helpful NIH site that talks about the different kinds of medications for constipation, and how they work. It doesn't appear to mention anything about any of them being bad for IBS: http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddise.../constipation/ . I'm not ready to make an exception for gelatin yet--it's bad, but not THAT bad, and there seem to be other medicines (and for me, additional dietary changes) to try first. Good luck!


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## hae703 (Jul 6, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hyz* 
What about the chewables, like Flintstones? I haven't looked into this (I'm taking prenatal 1-a-days), but I wouldn't expect those to have gelatin. I don't know about Colace and IBS, but after starting this thread, I did find this pretty helpful NIH site that talks about the different kinds of medications for constipation, and how they work. It doesn't appear to mention anything about any of them being bad for IBS: http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddise.../constipation/ . I'm not ready to make an exception for gelatin yet--it's bad, but not THAT bad, and there seem to be other medicines (and for me, additional dietary changes) to try first. Good luck!

Thanks I'll check out the site. Flintstones were the first ones I looked at and they all had both gelatin and stearic acid in them. The only one I found that didn't was a store brand generic, but it also had slightly lower levels of the vitamins too so I'll probably take more than one a day.

You may also want to try those new yogurts on the market for digestion. That is one of the changes I made and it did make mild improvements for me, but I've been so bad I think I'm beyond just food changes.


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## Changed (Mar 14, 2004)

I'm taking aloe juice and liquid chlorophyll and even drinking no coffee the past few days, it's working!

Magnesium works too I've heard.


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## Yaniris (Oct 29, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sophiesgrandma* 
Drink 4 ounces of prune juice the minute you wake up.
10 minutes later drink a large glass of water.
Have a cup of hot liquid-tea, coffee or whatever.
Have breakfast.
Have another large glass or water.
You will soon go to the bathroom.

Try to get lots of grain fiber, veggies, and fruit in your diet.
Spinach, salad, broccoli rabe, escarole work wonders.
Try to drink lots of water throughout the day.

I have to say this really works. I woke up and drank 4 oz of prune juice folllow by a glass of water 10 min later. WWooww in 30min, I went to the bathroom 3 times. Is the best! I felt so good after the 2nd. I just hope I don't have to go for the 4th time. lol

Thanks so much.


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## Cheshire (Dec 14, 2004)

Try eating a ton of freshly cut pineapple!


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## fizzymom (Nov 20, 2001)

fresh coconut milk


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## hyz (Nov 21, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Yaniris* 
I have to say this really works. I woke up and drank 4 oz of prune juice folllow by a glass of water 10 min later. WWooww in 30min, I went to the bathroom 3 times. Is the best! I felt so good after the 2nd. I just hope I don't have to go for the 4th time. lol

Thanks so much.

Hmm--well, I went shopping this morning--I had about 8 oz of prune juice (yuck!), 1tbs of Milk of Magnesia, a big glass of water, Kashi fiber rich cereal for breakfast, and I'm nursing my one cup of coffee now. No big results yet (I managed to go a little in the morning, before any of that, which relieved most of the pain in my intestines), but I'm staying close to a bathroom just in case.


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## nichole (Feb 9, 2004)

metamucil/psyllium with lots of water


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## hyz (Nov 21, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *nichole* 
metamucil/psyllium with lots of water

I read that metamucil can cause further cramping and bloating without achieving any good results, which led me to stay away from it (the last thing I need is MORE cramping and bloating







)--but have you had good luck with this? Anyone else? If so, I might try it.

Another TMI update--the fiber/MoM/caffeine inundation of the morning seems to have had some effect--I managed to go again, and this time it was, um, bigger and softer. I still don't feel quite back to normal, but the pressure is easing up in there. I offer this personal info only as hope for those dealing with the same problem.


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## ryansma (Sep 6, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jörð* 
I'm taking aloe juice and liquid chlorophyll and even drinking no coffee the past few days, it's working!

Magnesium works too I've heard.


I was drinking liquid chlorophyll until someone linked Dr Jay Gordon in this thread. So that had me confused because chlorophyll is made FROM alfalfa. I plan to ask my midwife about it at my appt today. I know it is used as an intestinal "freshener" but does it actually move things along?

I used to drink aloe vera juice and should start doing that again.

ETA my midwife said chlorophyll and alfalfa are fine


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## ryansma (Sep 6, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Cheshire* 
Try eating a ton of freshly cut pineapple!









Isn't that what you are supposed to do to induce labor? I guess if it works on helping you push things out maybe it works no matter WHERE they come out.







??


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## nichole (Feb 9, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hyz* 
I read that metamucil can cause further cramping and bloating without achieving any good results, which led me to stay away from it (the last thing I need is MORE cramping and bloating







)--but have you had good luck with this? Anyone else? If so, I might try it.


I had huge problems with constipation after my second was born. I had heard about psyllium from the health food store, but ended up not needing it. I had to do tons of flax, fresh veggies, prunes, liquids, etc. It was very annoying.

Later when I saw that metamucil was just psyllium, I bought it here to use for emergencies. I had to give it my four year old like 3 times just to get back on track during a time of stress. It seemed to work without any issues. The trick is to drink a lot of water with it. I do not know about the cramping...yeah that would be bad. I'd like to hear what others say.


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## Changed (Mar 14, 2004)

My MW is who told me to use it so I'm comfortable with it. It's working!


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## eksmom (Jun 29, 2004)

I have a touch of IBS and I have taken Colace successfully. I have, however, really screwed myself up with Smooth Move tea before. It seemed to work way "better" on me than it should have.


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