Sorbitol enema

Hi everyone, sorry for my very bad english, I am a new member. I want to ask, has anyone tried a sorbitol and sodium docusate disposable enema? Do you know this kind of enema? Is it sold in your countries? Thanks for the eventual answers.

I called on a surgeon who told his gut surgery patients to drink large amounts of mannitol (another artificial sweetener), instead of drinking a PEG solution for a clean out. I sold oral docusate sodium in a capsule form, under the trade name, Colace. It was strictly a stool softener. We also made Colace syrup to add to children's drinks and a very bitter docusate liquid concentrate to be added to baby formulas.

If you have sorbitol and docusate liquids available for enemas, one acts as a laxative and the other as a softener. I don't know if these combinations are available in the U.S. Perhaps one of our Dr.'s may know?

I made up a sorbitol enema about a year ago from a formula I found on line.----not again after major cramping for several hours afterwards

Thanks for answers. In Italy is sold a disposable enema of 120 ml that contains 30 gr of sorbitol and 0.2 gr of sodium docusate in 100 ml of solution. However it is not common like sodium phosphate enemas and is hard to find some informations about, so I asked myself if is it effective, how long does it take to work...etc. Do you think that is more safe than Fleet? (because of the absence of phosphates)

It is probably safer than Fleet enema's because it is far less likely to cause electrolyte disturbances. The big problem with the Fleet products is that Phosphates are relatively easy to absorb, and the solubility product for Calcium Phosphate is pretty small. The result can be the formation of a calcium phosphate precipitate in the Kidney's, usually with very serious consequences. Both the Fleet Enema and in particular, the Phospho-Soda (now off the market) could result in significant electrolyte disturbances.

Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol that the body lacks digestive enzymes to break down into simple sugars, so like a Fleet Enema, it can exert considerable osmotic pressure causing water to be drawn into the colon. The Sorbitol molecule is too large to be easily absorbed, so just as Phospho-Soda is a potent saline laxative, sorbitol is a potent hyperosmotic laxative Sorbitol is often sold as a laxative outside the US. Inside the US, most product containing sorbitol contain a warning about the possibility of laxative effects from excess consumption (Although many would dispute what constitutes excess consumption, for some people just a few grams is enough). Since there is essentially nothing in a sorbitol enema that can be absorbed except water, it is unlikely to cause electrolyte shifts.

The bad news is that while your body lacks digestive enzymes to break down sorbitol, the colonic bacteria do have that ability, and they will ferment the sorbitol producing large amounts of gas (Hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide) doing so.. You can think of it almost as a variation on an Milk and Molasses enema because the mechanism is the same.

The Docusate acts as a detergent to help the water penetrate the feces and soften them up for easier expulsion.

Mattheww50, thank you for your usual detailed explanation of how laxatives work.

My hat's off for mattheww50, I am very thankful for your detailed answers. I want to aks an other thing. I know that enemas like Fleet draws water from rectum, so, is only this that causes a bowel movement? Or there is something else that stimulates peristalsis? I find strange that only 133 ml of fluid added to water drawn from rectum has the same effects of an enema of a liter or more.

I tried Ducusol Mini Enemas. Is that the same?

I was not impressed. It took more than the advertised "a few minutes" to cause a bowel movement and then left my rectum more sore and irritated than what I get from a Fleet or the like. I try most enema products I see on the drugstore shelf just to see how they work. I would not buy them again. There is still nothing better than the old trusty bulb or bag for an enema.

Not quite the same, because Docusol contains only sodium docusate and not sorbitol, furthermore, the enema that I am talking about has more or less the same amount of liquid of Fleet. As for the disposable enemas, somebody says that work well, others say the contrary...probably is a subjective thing...I haven't been able to form an opinion about this.