I still feel flatulent after taking stool softeners. Why?

Question

Hi doctor,

I woke up Tuesday and had mild diarrhea for about an hour. The next day I had constipation, and rest of the week, I had some mild diarrhea. I still feel constipated, and I am flatulent. I feel bloated. I took stool softeners and magnesium citrate. I did have watery diarrhea afterward, I still feel constipated. I tried to do a manual disimpaction to get it out, but I could not feel anything. I do not feel constipated today, but I feel flatulent. I have been burping a lot too, and I have no clue what to do. I am not in pain, but there is pressure in my lower abdomen due to the gas.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

It looks like chronic constipation. When you have impacted stools, a little bit of the watery stool percolates over the hard stool, but it does not clear your bowel. Manual evacuation is not a good idea, and it can cause local trauma and then worsen constipation. You can pass the gases and no pain or abdominal distention, which means there is no obvious obstruction. So we can start with the disimpaction treatment. I would like to advise you of the following if there are no features of intestinal obstruction.

1. Polyethylene glycol (laxative) (137 g), one packet in two liters of water. Take over two hours. Repeat if your stools do not clear.

2. Syrup Sodium thiosulfate (colon cleanser) 10 ml stat or Glycerine suppository to insert in the anus.

Continue stool softeners and a high-fiber diet. Then we will plan for further investigations. Let me know about the progress.

I still feel flatulent after taking stool softeners. Why?

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