Kristaloose/Lactulose

[maggieLaBella]

why would lactulose cause me to stay swelled in stomach, but Kristaloose does not?

[Dee1956]

Hi there, not sure but I thought that lactulose caused a lot of gas.  I don't know anything about the Kistalose.  When I was on lactulose I took it with food, it seemed to help quite a bit.
Jimmy and Lynn gave you good answers I would definitely go to the cirrhosis forum.

[flyinlynn]

You should discuss side effects with your hepatologist. You could also try asking your question in the Cirrhosis of the Liver Community

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Cirrhosis-of-the-Liver/show/1390

good luck to you
Lynn

[JimmyMose]

Welcome new member.  Sorry I don't know that much about Kristalose/Lactulose.  Are you taking lactulose correctly?

Someone will probably reply soon so be sure to check later today or tomorrow. Note this isn't live chat so it may take awhile for a reply.

All I could find was this post where a very knowledgeable member talks about it.

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-C/Im-so-frustrated/show/2210418

scroll down the post to HectorFS reply comment

these 2 paragraphs
As far as Lactulose is concerned there seems to be a few issues. First the powered form of Lactulose is Kristalose. Unfortunately it is more expense than Lactulose and your Medicaid may not pay for it when there is cheaper Lactulose. The only way to find out is to have your doctor prescibe it for you. The second and larger issue is it appears that you are taking the Lactulose properly. This is a common problem. For Lactulose to be effective it must be taken in a dose that produces 2-4 bowel movements a day. Less BMs will not manage HE and taking too much and producing diarrhea will cause dehydration and worsen HE. The same applies to Kristalose. It can people many months to find the right dosage of Lactulose to properly manage HE. It is not as simple as it sounds. The good thing is that Lactulose does work. But it is only when it is properly taken that it works.

“Lactulose is typically prescribed as 2 tablespoons by mouth once or twice a day, although there is a large variation from one patient to the next in the amount of lactulose required to improve symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy. Because of this, and the fact that lactulose is not absorbed from the gut and is generally quite safe, patients should be instructed to titrate (i.e., go up or down) on the dose so that they have 2 to 4 loose bowel movements a day.”

Wish you the best.