Dulcolax Laxative and Stomach Pain: What Users Say

• Len...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 16, 2020

For Constipation "Omg, the stories of the others that experienced this dreadful laxative are hilarious, but at the same time, I feel their pain. They changed something with the Dulcolax pink. It never used to cause the nausea and stomach pains that it does now. I have to look into a new laxative as I can’t deal with this when I have to take it often due to constipation. I wish they hadn’t changed the makeup of this because it never used to cause the pain and nausea, dry heaving like it does now. Seriously, I wish someone at Dulcolax would read these reviews."

• She...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 27, 2020

For Constipation "Took 2 Dulcolax Pink at 10:30 PM due to not having a bowel movement for 3 days. I have IBS, and constipation can be sickening. Woke at 5:30 AM with severe stomach cramps and feeling nauseous. Went to the restroom but no bowel movement. Finally able to go back to sleep and woke at 8:00 and started having loose bowel movements, then it changed to completely water. Have had an entire day of diarrhea and a sick stomach. This medicine is horrendous! Read the reviews before taking! Will not use again!"

• Vic...
• September 23, 2017

For Constipation "Literally, as I type, I feel like I'm dying. Long story short, yesterday I was pretty constipated and in pain because I couldn't seem to have a BM. If I did, it was your typical push and drop a pebble, and that's it. So it's 11 a.m., I take 2 Dulcolax and go to work. I left at 3:30 p.m. because I knew I'd be in the bathroom a lot. 5:30 p.m. rolls around, and I am hit with a violent, and I mean VIOLENT BM. I could have sworn I pooped out a boulder. It's now 11:47 p.m., and I'm STILL having BMs, along with nausea (I can barely get water down without wanting to vomit), EXTREME stomach pain, cramps I can feel ALL OVER my abdomen, dizziness, and I'm very weak and shaky. I've had to talk myself out of the ER all night, but at this point, I'm ready to seriously cry."

• Art...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 7, 2020

For Constipation "Took Dulcolax Thursday night for constipation. Woke up with the worst stomach pain I have ever experienced. Vomiting began the next morning and has continued off and on for four days now. The stomach pain is slightly dulled with a heating pad. Cannot eat anything without my stomach hurting or a nauseous feeling. I do not recommend this product to anyone."

• Nes...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 18, 2016

For Constipation "I give it a 2 because I was no longer constipated within a few hours after taking it, but the stomach pains, as many have posted, are excruciating when the box says relief is 'gentle,' and I specifically bought the pink one for sensitive stomachs. I have not yet had a child, but it is what I imagine giving birth feels like. I have been doubled up since yesterday because of the pain in my stomach and severe nausea that makes me feel like I am going to throw up at any minute. I am not getting relief from the pain after bowel movements and have been sobbing because of the pain to the point that my boyfriend wanted to take me to the ER. I am trying to stay hydrated with lots of water like others have suggested, but it is difficult with my stomach."

• Cat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 31, 2018

For Constipation "I was feeling like I needed to go #2 all day, and I just couldn't do it. At the end of the day, I decided to take 2 Dulcolax pills because it says adults can take 1 to 3. WORST MISTAKE EVER. I went to bed after midnight and got up after 1 a.m. because of stomach pain but couldn't get anything out. I went to bed again and got back up after 4 a.m. and spent 2 hours in the bathroom. The abdominal pain was the worst pain I had felt in my life. I vomited 3 times and eventually got the cold sweats. I could even hear my bowels loudly gurgling at points, and my bowel movements came out like someone turned a faucet on. This kept happening in intervals. The medicine certainly did its job by emptying me out (top and bottom), but I will never be using Dulcolax again. Horrible experience."

• Los...
• April 19, 2019

For Constipation "I am currently on a medication that makes me experience constipation, so I decided today to take 2 Dulcolax to try and empty out. I took it maybe 35-40 minutes ago, and I already have a horrible pain in my stomach. I’ve been sitting on the bowl now for an hour, feeling like I’m going to throw up or poop. It’s horrible. I have cold sweats, and my abdomen has so much pain. I’m afraid to push because I feel like I might vomit if I do. I do not recommend this to anyone."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 19, 2017

For Constipation "I had been constipated for 4 days with no bowel movements at all. So I decided to try Dulcolax pink. I took two tablets at 6 PM last night and drank a ton of water. I felt completely fine, went to bed around 11, and woke up to the worst pain of my life at about 2:30 AM. Stomach pains that felt like stabbing and severe vomiting every 10 min. The pain would subside for 10 minutes after the vomiting, and then the excruciating pain would come back just as timed along with the vomiting and cold sweats. I eventually just sat in the shower with hot water running over me because that’s the only way I felt a little relief. It is now about 1 PM, and I finally had a bowel motion and haven’t vomited in 2 hours. Still going to see a doctor. PLEASE DON'T TAKE."

• Pai...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 26, 2019

For Constipation "I feel like something is blindly tearing at the bowel while sucker-punching me in the stomach to make me puke. I took the 'drop' form in water at about 6 PM last night, been awake since roughly 7 AM with the worst pains in my stomach, and it's radiating through to my lower back. I can't sit up. It's now 11:36 AM and I have fever-type symptoms, been vomiting, I have only done a couple of solid rabbit-type poos so far, and to top it off, my rectum and anal canal feel so swollen. Hallelujah!!!!! I finally saw some action in the form of a projectile poop. It was not pretty, but the stomach pains have lowered in intensity. Honestly, I would rather be constipated than take these drops again. Worst pain I have ever felt. I was about to call an ambulance but read this first!!!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 16, 2018

For Constipation "The reviews are scary, honestly, but you just need to drink a lot of water with this medication. I took 2 pills last night around 8:30 PM. I drank 16 oz of water with the pills (recommended 8 oz per dose). Had a bowel motion around 9:30/10, which was surprising because I’d been irregular for a few days now. I woke up to a little stomach pain around 5:30 AM and was on the toilet for about 30 minutes with bad pain and diarrhea (to be expected, but not horrible). And only woke up an hour later with some more, and then I’d been fine the rest of the day. I am now constipated again, though, and will not be taking another dose tonight just in case of something else wrong with my stomach."

• Get...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 10, 2019

For Constipation "I rated this one so that people who are filtering by lowest rating would see it. This medication does what it's supposed to. It makes you use the bathroom. If you're complaining about the stomach pains, etc., you've obviously never taken a laxative before. It messes with your digestive tract. It stimulates your bowels and forces your body to need to evacuate. So yes, it's not going to feel comfortable. My doctor has me taking this medication the day before my colonoscopy. No, I'm not looking forward to it. But I'll come back and update you with my true experience so that you'll know what to actually expect."

• Lou...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 2, 2016

For Constipation "I'm on a med that is extremely helpful but caused constipation (had to reduce the dose). Fiber supplements made it worse. With stool softeners and osmotics, I experienced severe bloating and significant pain for up to 3 days before the stool finally came squirting out in all-day bouts of diarrhea. The 5 mg dose of Dulcolax has worked wonders for me. The first day I had some stomach pain (well, I tend to have low stomach acid), so after that, I started taking it with my morning coffee. (The coffee stimulates stomach acid production, which helps the enteric coating to work.) After a couple of days, it's comfortable, but working a bit too well. I would back off to every second day, except that I can first try increasing my dose of the helpful med!"

• 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."

• Jad...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 29, 2024

For Constipation "The key to taking this laxative is to ensure you are fully hydrated. I have had two experiences. The first time I suffered severe stomach cramps, however, it did do the trick. Painfully is a given, but it did work. The second time I made sure I drank plenty of water. I took two tablets at 9 AM, woke up at 6 AM for work, and by 8 AM I had been to the toilet three times and continued into work as normal. This product is great. Just drink as much water as you can prior to taking."

• 101...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 2, 2015

For Constipation "It worked, but with horrible pains. I am a 17-year-old male and took 2 at 8 PM and went to bed at 10 PM. I ended up waking up at approximately 2 AM in agony, it caused me to have severe stomach pains."

• Gan...
• March 12, 2018

For Constipation "Ended up vomiting. Had stomach pains before bowel movement. Medicine made me feel very bad."