Dulcolax Laxative and Cramps: What Users Say (Page 2)

• Run...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 30, 2016

For Constipation "My husband asked for something to help with pooping (he never needs help as he is very regular). I gave him what I take: Dulcolax little 5 mg gold pills, 2 pills at 11:30 pm. His first after the first poop this AM and after breakfast, he got nauseous, it has continued all day with finally taking Pepto-Bismol to help cramps (which will turn your stool watery or not very dark to black). We thought he had food poisoning, as I have taken Dulcolax for years with no problem. Then I searched, and to my surprise, this doctor-recommended laxative has made his Memorial Day weekend suck. 2 colonoscopy, no problem. He had the shivers, shakes, projectile vomiting after drinking water, and terrible stomach cramps, first time I have seen this. Big man spent most of the day in bed."

• Tom...
• July 28, 2015

For Bowel Preparation "2 days, 2 pills a night. It will clean you out good, but at a cost. Burning pain and an hour of cramping later, you'd wish you never took it. It's not worth it. If you have another option, do it. So far, the worst pain I've ever felt."

• val...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 4, 2016

For Constipation "I had bowel surgery in 2006 to remove an early tumor. I have had constipation for over 50 years. I walk, have a good diet, and try to drink the recommended fluids daily, but sometimes my work schedule makes this difficult. My bowel motions are usually hard and difficult to pass, and I usually go to the toilet once or twice a week. I have tried Movicol, which is effective but takes too long to work. Dulcolax does for me what it says: overnight relief. However, I usually need two. There is some cramping, but I can cope with that, as I know my bowels are working effectively."

• Sor...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 4, 2017

For Constipation "Extreme cramping and vomiting! Took 2 pills at 5:15 pm. Woke up at 3 am to the worst cramps of my life. Still haven’t been able to get off the toilet, and it’s now 4 am. Still cramping and vomiting, but now with added diarrhea. Will never take these again!"

• Aim...
• October 6, 2016

For Constipation "I've been severely constipated this morning. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't go. It was just too big to get out, lol. So I took 5 ml of Dulcolax at 10:30 a.m. It's 1 p.m., and I've just been to the loo, thank God. I didn't get much cramping, just the urge to go. I expect it will happen soon, though, so plan of action: stay by the loo."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 24, 2023

For Constipation "I couldn't pass a bowel movement, so I took 3 Dulcolax Laxative. Now my stomach is burning like I have ulcers. It hurts so bad and not just cramping and pain, like everyone is saying. It's BURNING, and my poop smells so awful. I don't know what's happening, but I'm on the verge of going to the ER. It hurts so bad, I'm dying."

• Tia...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 10, 2019

For Constipation "I was backed up for a week, feeling tired, bloated, and sluggish. Desperately in need of help, I took 1 Dulcolax 5 mg pill at 2 pm. Belly gurgles started within the hour. Went to bed and woke up at 7 am and had one bowel movement. Waiting for the scary storm everyone is talking about. It did give me small period-like cramps."

• 0ra...
• August 19, 2015

For Bowel Preparation "I'm with John. Not sure what most people do wrong, but I only got cramps the second time I took it and for less than a minute. Only because I was sitting and holding in gas. I took it because for 5 years I've been irregular. Three months ago, I went to the hospital where I was told it was just CONSTIPATED HEARTBURN, which meds didn't help, and I didn't understand because I was RELEASING everything. But for three days, I've been constipated and struggled until the bottom came bloody. This had me FEELING SO MUCH BETTER."

• Car...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 17, 2018

For Bowel Preparation "I purchased this as part of a colonoscopy prep. I had issues with diarrhea prior to this and then was constipated for 4 days, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I read the negative reviews and my thought was, 'Why are they complaining? Follow the instructions, drink a quart of water, and wait 12 hours for results?' I have gastroparesis, so my wait was more like 18 hours than 12, but it wasn't explosive, no cramps, and did the job. To add to my potty story, while I was waiting to complete the initial prep, my GI doc called and canceled the procedure. Well, at least I'm cleaned out!"

• Don...
• August 29, 2021

For Constipation "Took 1 tablet around 10:30-11 pm, and it woke me up at 1:30 am with intense cramping, so I went to sit on the toilet, and I was there for over an hour with intense cramping that would come and go. When it came, I felt nauseous, and to the point I had to take all my clothes off and get my shirt wet with cold water because I went lightheaded and dizzy. Still at this point, nothing has come out, so I tried to lay back down, but within 10-15 minutes, I had this overwhelming sense of wanting to diarrhea my whole insides out, with no exaggeration. So I go to the bathroom, and everything just came out, and finally, a sense of relief. But then for the next two days, I’ve had cramps and a tensed-up stomach. It works, but the pain is too intense to ever take again."

• MsT...
• February 20, 2018

For Constipation "I have been constipated in the last few days where I was able to pass, but with difficulty as the stools were hard. I’ve taken Dulcolax one other time a while back (2 tablets) and woke up with excruciating pain. So this time around, I read the reviews and noticed that the people with mild cramping drank lots of water. Last night, I took one tablet at 8 pm with water, 8 oz of organic apple juice, and 8 oz of tea, and around 10:30 pm my tummy rumbled a little bit, but no pain, though a little gassy. Went to bed with no cramps and was not bloated. I was able to pass a normal bowel motion at 10 am with no cramping. Make sure to drink lots of liquids to stay hydrated to avoid cramping."

• Mad...
• January 13, 2016

For Constipation "So my wife decided to take this after we looked at many options in the store, and I regrettably recommended it to her. It did nothing except cause her severe abdominal pain and cramps. It didn't do anything to help the constipation whatsoever. Plus, the next night at dinner, she had to run from the table to use the bathroom. It does not do anything it says it will."

• Kac...
• May 15, 2022

For Constipation "I took this product after constipation while traveling. I had an appendectomy 3 weeks ago and have been having problems going to the bathroom since. The packaging says to take between 1-3 tablets. I took 2 at around midnight before bed. I woke up at 3 with severe cramping and have been running to the bathroom every 15 minutes since. I’m nauseous, dizzy, and sweating. I feel like I’m going to throw up in between bouts of severe diarrhea. I do not recommend."

• Sic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 12, 2022

For Constipation "I hadn't had a bowel movement in five days; very unusual for me! Before I went to bed, I took the recommended dosage (1 to 3; I took 3). Went to sleep at 9 PM to wake up at my usual hour, 3 AM; that's six hours. When I awoke, I felt no bowel movement, yet I sat on the toilet anyway. The cramping sensation was slow and agonizing with nothing being expelled! The pain was so bad, I felt incapacitated; could hardly get up from the toilet! Feeling I needed to drink water to get something moving, I made it to the kitchen and was able to drink about 12 ounces of water. Sitting back on the toilet, the cramps resumed. My head was throbbing and 'whooshing.' I was feeling my blood pressure rise with every excruciating cramp. Finally, the water kicked in. I was able to pass a large stool that felt about 5' long. I passed water with pellets of stool; a substantial amount. Dizzy from the ordeal, all I could do was go back to bed. An hour later, I was feeling better. 'What an ORDEAL!'"

• Man...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 30, 2021

For Constipation "DO NOT TAKE. I’ve taken this once before around 9 pm and had woken up around midnight with severe stomach pain and cramps. Took hours for them to go away, but they finally did when I was able to explode like a water hose out of my butthole. A few months later (last night), I decided to take one since I’ve been constipated and bloated for 3 days. WRONG. I couldn’t even sleep from the amount of gurgling I felt in my stomach all night. Finally decided to get up and try to go do the deed. Nothing but extreme abdominal pain again. To the point where I’m doing breath work and rocking back and forth like I’m in labor. My upper stomach is bubbling, and my lower stomach feels like I have the worst period cramps of my life. Seriously feels like my lower abdomen was cut open. Actively trying to Google search 'how do I get laxative cramps to stop' and can’t find anything besides other people's horrid experiences with Dulcolax. Not worth the pain."

• Dul...
• August 18, 2021

For Constipation "I've taken other laxatives and stool softeners, with those, I usually took 2 because those never really worked for me. But with this, I took it around 9 pm prior to my gym session with a lot of water due to 3 days with mild constipation (normal for me). I thought I'd take this because I had it in my medication cabinet and never used it before. It's now 2:50 am, and I'm frantically googling side effects of this medication because my stomach sounds like a lion roaring, and I'm having extreme loose diarrhea. My abdominal cramping is out of this world, this is a MEDICATION, and it does not play. This is not a joke, and you should really think twice about how bad your constipation is because, at this point for me, my constipation was better than this feeling. Take it slow with the medication, then maybe do as you please after, I wish I did!"

• EDL...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 18, 2018

For Constipation "I was constipated about 3 days, so I decided to take Dulcolax. I took one tablet at 12:00 a.m. and woke up to excruciating cramps at 5:30 a.m. I was having discomfort in my chest, sweats, and chills. I'm 34 years old and was moaning and groaning and asking for mercy. I tried drinking hot cocoa, but it made me feel worse. Finally, I thought about the plain old baking soda trick, swished it with water twice, and it calmed the discomfort of the chest and cramping. I was able to have a beautiful bowel movement down to the diarrhea form, but it was so not worth it. I would NEVER take this or anything with the same active ingredients!!!"

• Reg...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 14, 2021

For Constipation "Wow, I wish I had read these reviews before taking this laxative. I keep switching between some of the worst cramps I've ever had to the most nauseous I've ever been, with intermittent trips to the toilet. I took 2 pills at 11 pm and woke up at 5 am reading the reviews. I'm going to be in pain a while longer. I just want to sleep."

• Wow...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 16, 2021

For Constipation "Took the drops as directed on Sunday. The cramps started 12 hours later, with on-and-off trips to the loo. Then there was the vomiting and shaking. Over 48 hours later, and I still feel very, very ill. DO NOT TAKE THIS PRODUCT! If I wasn't working from home, this would have had me take at least 2 days off. Made me so, so ill."

• hon...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 29, 2022

For Constipation "I suffer from chronic constipation. Lately, it's been really bad where I have to go to the ER (not fun). I've taken these on three different occasions. Due to my stomach issues, I only took one each time. The first time, I took it at 2 pm and I was woken up at 3:30 am (over 12 hours later) with a gurgling gut and very minor cramping. Spent 30 minutes on the toilet, everything came flying out. Perfect! Back to bed I went. The second time I took it was at 9 pm. I woke up at 1 am (4 hours later). This time, the cramping was worse! Woke me up and it was still difficult to pass stool, I was in the bathroom every hour. Drank more water, then around 6 am, the diarrhea (TMI, sorry) came and I knew it was finally over. The third time I took it at 7:30 pm. By 9:30 pm (2 hours later), I had minor cramps and everything flew out of me. I find it works sooner and sooner the more you take it (well in my case). Does work well, but prepare for some level of cramping."

• str...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 10, 2021

For Constipation "Holy wow. I’ve taken this product a few times and have woken with the most severe cramps. Every time I’m out for the whole next day. Forget work. I’m not leaving my bathroom. The worst part? No BM for the majority of the suffering. I go from the bed to the toilet to the bathtub, rinse, repeat. Eventually, a rock-hard piece of poop leaves my body, making way for another semi-hard, long BM. I’ve never achieved any liquid BMs from this. Just the most agonizing pain I've ever been in, lots of dry heaving and nausea, bloat, and ER trip contemplation. I need a new product because this is awful. 2/10 because it pushed something out eventually and I got to miss work."

• Nev...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 26, 2021

For Constipation "Do not take. EVER. I took ONE at 7-8 pm because I hadn't had a bowel motion in 4 days. Around 6 am, I woke up feeling like I needed to go, and within 5 minutes my stomach was cramping with a pain so intense I literally was praying for relief. I swore to myself I'd never take another laxative again if I got through this. I was dripping sweat, nauseous, faint, and in severe pain for at least an hour. Currently resting in bed hoping it doesn't come back. Avoid this medicine."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 9, 2023

For Constipation "I am prescribed Laxido to take daily, which is next to useless, but I take it. I’ve also been prescribed senna tablets, which are unpredictable as to if they’ll work. I bought a pack of Dulcolax and have begun with those. Yes, the abdominal swelling is pretty severe but temporary. The cramps for me are worth the effects. The eventual liquid diarrhea gets more liquid as the cramps become more constant before ending once everything’s gone. I find them really helpful, and the unpleasant side effects are too since they signal to me what’s going on and what will be the next stage."

• Ell...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 19, 2021

For Constipation "Do not, for the love of all things, take this. I took 2 and have normally had an okay experience with Dulcolax. My constipation has come as a result of the pills I take for pain relief for endometriosis, and sweet God, I would rather someone manually evacuate my bowels. I took 2, as the box says, last night around 10 pm before getting into bed. This morning at 5 am I was woken from sleep by the worst stomach pains I think I have ever experienced. Nothing soothes them. Really nauseous too, and sweating like I’d just run a marathon in the Sahara. Nothing has even really come out so far - and the stuff that has, I might as well have just not taken them because it was an effort. Since I woke up at 6 am, I have been sweating, nauseous, vomiting, and have had awful, awful cramps way worse than anything I have ever experienced before. Honestly, don’t even think about these, they’re horrific."

• Ryl...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 25, 2021

For Constipation "I took this pill at 7:30 pm due to mild constipation. Woke up at 11:30 pm with the most intense cramps. I have IBS and am very used to bowel cramps and have had a child and used to contractions, my reaction was fairly close to the same. I spent all night violently vomiting and on the toilet. It is currently 4:00 pm the next day, and I am still suffering from bowel cramps as it's trying to work out poop that is no longer in me. Never again will I take this."