Type 2 Constipation, diabetes and lactulose

SheilaN

Member
Messages
12
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Giving out personal information on the internet because it leaves me vulnerable in my personal and professional life.
Hi all,
I'm here for my partner, for whom I am the carer. He has pernicious anaemia, Hashimoto's disease and recent diagnosis of diabetes 2 (the latter which he has been dodging for years as a prediabetic). He is currently recording (for the first time) his blood glucose before and after meals. We are still trying to bring down the levels through diet and exercise before we next see the GP or endocrinologist. I have noticed that, while he tends to have a relatively high baseline - in the high 6s and 7s, sometimes 8 or 9, his blood glucose does not rise more than a couple of points after meals. He has been walking before breakfast and whenever his sugar levels are high, with moderate results. I have just realised that he is quite constipated and have found out the relationship between constipation and diabetes - where fluid is retained to dilute blood sugar levels and thus taken from the bowel, causing constipation, but also, that slow processing of food can increase the blood sugar levels. I have been giving him actulose (lactulose) daily for two days without results, and have told him to take it three times a day. I gather, however, that lactulose isn't the laxative of choice in diabetes. What do others think and do in this situation?
 

ButtterflyLady

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,291
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Acceptance of health treatment claims that are not adequately supported by evidence. I dislike it when people sell ineffective and even harmful alternative health products to exploit the desperation of people with chronic illness.
According to my GP, lactulose is not very effective as a laxative, but it can help some people. It may be better to take a fibre product such as Metamucil, which is psyllium. Also, it's not necessary to pass a bowel motion every day. The definition of constipation has more to do with what the stool looks like. There are many products than can help with mild constipation, and perhaps his pharmacist can advise. If the constipation continues for more than 2 weeks, he should see his GP about it. Lactulose is not necessarily inappropriate for diabetics, I take 20mg a day as one of three products I use, prescribed by my GP. Lots of water and a bit of exercise can also help with constipation.
 

SheilaN

Member
Messages
12
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Giving out personal information on the internet because it leaves me vulnerable in my personal and professional life.
The problem has persisted over several days and I think has been a feature for months at least. It is only recently, however, that I have learned that it could be associated with the body's attempts to reduce blood sugar levels. Since lactulose causes diversion of fluid back to the gut, I thought it would be a good counter to diabetes trend to retain fluid to dilute blood glucose.
 

lovinglife

Moderator
Staff Member
Messages
4,539
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Lactulose isn't a laxative it's a softener, it won't make you go the loo just soften it when you do go, speak to your pharmacist they are usually far more clued up than your GP and can advise on any contraindications with drugs your husband is already taking. As far as I am aware lactulose is suitable for diabetics as it's not absorbed but I'm not 100% sure on that one. Like I say speaking to your pharmacist is the best bet
 
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SheilaN

Member
Messages
12
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Giving out personal information on the internet because it leaves me vulnerable in my personal and professional life.
Thanks but Lactulose is indicated for constipation. It takes a while to work and is not addictive. A strangely little known fact is that it is also brilliant for liver failure in that it restores gut bacteria and reins in overgrowths of a gut bacteria that produce ammonia and cause encephalitis, in liver failure. I'm thinking that maybe my question has too many parts. I will repost the part about the baseline blood glucose levels.
 
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lovinglife

Moderator
Staff Member
Messages
4,539
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Thanks but Lactulose is indicated for constipation. It takes a while to work and is not addictive. A strangely little known fact is that it is also brilliant for liver failure in that it restores gut bacteria and reins in overgrowths of a gut bacteria that produce ammonia and cause encephalitis, in liver failure. I'm thinking that maybe my question has too many parts. I will repost the part about the baseline blood glucose levels.
Thats really what I meant maybe it didn't come across properly it aids constipation by softening not like senna which will give you the runs lol

Sorry you didn't get the answer about baseline bloods, when your husbands baseline is lower are you saying his rises are higher?
 

Brunneria

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,889
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I'm very rarely constipated (and when i am, it will be because i failed to eat good portions of veg), but my experience is that drinking plenty of water, and taking psyllium husks in water is a far better option than anything else i have tried.

It is totally controllable, has never caused discomfort, is natural, cheap and not on prescription.

Nothing suits everyone, but it might be worth you giving it a try.
 

SheilaN

Member
Messages
12
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Giving out personal information on the internet because it leaves me vulnerable in my personal and professional life.
My partner can go to bed hours after a meal with a blood sugar of, say 6.2, but wake up with a blood sugar of 9. Most of the time, before meals, his blood sugars are between 6 and 7. Then, after a meal they are not much different. (We eat almost no carbs). So I guess my question arises from the fact that he has highish pre-food glucose that does not seem to be much affected by his meals. Or exercise. Which is one of the reasons I started looking at the constipation as a variation. :) Thanks for reading.
 

ButtterflyLady

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,291
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Acceptance of health treatment claims that are not adequately supported by evidence. I dislike it when people sell ineffective and even harmful alternative health products to exploit the desperation of people with chronic illness.
There are several different approaches to treating constipation and often a combination works best.

Fibre is bulk-forming which helps the colon work better because a bigger stool presses against the sides of the colon stimulating the nerves to make it move more.

Stimulant laxatives like senna help make the colon move, to a greater extent than fibre does.

Osmotic laxatives like lactulose draw water into the stool, which can work well together with fibre to make the stool bigger and also softer/more moist and therefore easier to move along the colon.

Osmotic laxatives on their own don't do much, fibre is more effective. If the constipation is more than mild, then a stimulant laxative should be added in.

I take all three, and still have constipation, because the nerves in my colon don't work as well as they should. If I didn't take any of these products I would probably not be able to pass stool at all.
 

Gates

Member
Messages
12
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Have to give this one more thought.
Anything that has OSE on the end of the name is sugar of some kind which will increase blood glucose levels in most people. It depends on how much is prescribed by th Medical team, however if the med team are real professionals they would not prescribe anything with sugar without warning to maybe increasing the Bolus if they are on one such as Novarapid. Think Like A Pancreas by Gary Scheiner is a very good book. It Explains oodles about Diabetes, plus numbers are all converted for American and European Blood glucose Levels. Good Luck and Best wishes