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Dulcolax User Reviews & Ratings (Page 2)

Dulcolax has an average rating of 5.4 out of 10 from a total of 1,134 reviews on Drugs.com. 39% of reviewers reported a positive experience, while 40% reported a negative experience.

Reviews for Dulcolax

  • Peter...
  • July 21, 2021

For Constipation "I really do not recommend this medicine. I had a pretty major surgery, so I had to take pain medicine. Because of this, I became constipated. I went for a few days without any bowel movements. I think I took Dulcolax once a day for two-three days before anything happened. I woke up, and suddenly felt like I had to go to the bathroom. Then the cramps started. The cramps were horrendous. I was shaking from chills, and sweating, and I was doubled over clutching my stomach. I felt nauseous, and I felt like I couldn’t sit still. Not much was coming out, so I ended up taking a suppository which finally did the trick. The cramps, and constant running back and forth to the bathroom lasted for HOURS. I would rather have my surgery 10 times over than take this medicine again."

1 / 10
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60 Report
  • Amajon
  • Taken for 1 to 6 months
  • March 1, 2020

For Constipation "After many trips to the doctor, urgent care, and more, I finally discovered the wonders of Dulcolax. Every other laxative would give me excruciating cramping. Well, Dulcolax will give you great results. Prepare yourself for a poopy situation, literally. It’s like having your own private fireworks show in the privacy of your bathroom. Niagara Falls is small compared to this explosion of internal compost. Definitely a 5 out of 5 stars ⭐️ show."

10 / 10
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71 Report
  • Anonymous
  • July 7, 2021

For Constipation "Had been having severe constipation so I decided to go to the store and pick up some Dulcolax. Let me tell you, if you haven’t already, DON'T take it. The box said 1-3 pills so I, of course, went ahead and took 3. I took them at 4pm and it is now 10:30pm and the pain is truly unbearable. It feels like your insides are beings squeezed to death from the inside. I’m too scared to even go lay in bed because it is just too unpredictable. Throwing up, diarrhea, overheating one minute to chills down your whole body the next, sweating so much it looks like I just got out of the shower, so light headed, seeing stars, caught myself passing out on the way to get water- luckily I was able to sit down before I lost consciousness. This stuff should not be allowed, seriously debating going to the ER. If you can avoid it, avoid it."

1 / 10
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Frequently asked questions

  • Noranor
  • August 16, 2016

For Constipation "I took just one tablet of this monstrous drug, and I have not shat my brains out like that since I had food poisoning. There I sat, arms clenching my stomach, head between my knees, defecating all of my pride in endless burning blows. My face was grimaced as war flashbacks from that one bad hotdog I ate at that sketchy waterpark coursed through my mind. All I could think of in that moment was 'this is how I die. My parents are gonna find me doubled over, covered in my own poop, their toilet obliterated, and their favorite child dead.' If you have any desire to force yourself through hours of grueling spats of gas and poop, this is for you. Hope you've got some Desitin."

1 / 10
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103 Report
  • ADt
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • September 3, 2020

For Bowel Preparation "I wanted to weigh in on the bowel prep experience. I read a lot of these comments and was terrified about what might happen. I stayed well-hydrated all day, took 4 Dulcolax at 3 pm. Then at 5 pm, I started the process of drinking a whole bottle of Miralax. By 3:45 I had a standard BM. From then on I had slight bubble guts, and an occasional gas pain. By 7:20, I had completed my Miralax prep for the evening. I had two small watery BMs around 6 and 6:45pm. The serious action started around 7:45. Large, urgent, watery BMs about every 5-10 minutes until about 8:30. One more at 9:30, and a smaller one at 11:30. During that first active window I felt pretty rough. I felt nauseated but never threw up. I was exhausted and couldn’t really focus. I stayed hydrated as I could. So, bottom line is that it’s no picnic, as I was certainly emptying my bowels fast... but neither was I writhing on the floor in pain. Whew!"

8 / 10
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Are you taking this medicine?

  • Cricket
  • July 20, 2019

For Bowel Preparation "I've taken Dulcolax before but the most at one time was 2 tablets. I'm having a colonoscopy in a couple of days and I absolutely cannot believe the instructions. Two days before the procedure, I am supposed to take 5 tablets at 4pm, 5 tablets at 6pm, and 5 tablets at 8pm. The same the next day followed by two enemas on the day of the procedure. If people are having terrible pain taking 4 tablets, how on earth am I supposed to take 15 within 4 hours? I was given a prescription of Zofran for the nausea but I'm afraid I will end up in the ER if I take 30 pills in two days. I'm thinking about cutting back on the Dulcolax dosage and adding Miralax or Magnesium Concentrate. Has anyone ever been given instructions to take such a high amount like this, and did they survive?"

5 / 10
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69 Report
  • Poopy...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • March 1, 2020

For Constipation "Every time I eat Pizza I really get bunged up so this time I took a dulcolax after eating said pizza, which was delicious by the way. 12 hours later lying in bed I did some really stinky trumps and I got a twinge in my lower region which I initially thought was mild period pain... but realised it must be time to poop so I ran as fast as I could to the toilet and as soon as I sat down the whole world fell out of my butt. A mixture between runny and soft poops, the whole toilet bowl is pebble dashed so make sure you have bleach handy. Would definitely recommend, but to those taking 2 or more tablets... what were you thinking!!??"

10 / 10
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62 Report

More FAQ

  • RWW
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • October 2, 2020

For Constipation "Took two of these Dulcolax at 4.30pm as I had been suffering from constipation for a few days. Had a normal bowel movement at 6pm and I thought they'd done their job. That is until I woke up at 12.30am with the worst cramps imaginable. This was followed by numerous further explosions at 2.30am and 4.30am, to the point where I had to lie on the bathroom floor to stop myself from passing out. Pretty sure my bathroom is going to need an exorcism after this. It's now 11.30am the next day and my stomach cramps are still very much there. These work, but at a high cost!!"

2 / 10
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55 Report
  • CLY
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • February 20, 2020

For Constipation "This laxative is positively wretched. I took 2 pills around 8am this morning due to feeling icky after only a few small BMs over the last 10ish days. Three bottles of water/2.5 hours later & I already have an excruciating headache, nausea, chills, cramps & increasing lower back pain. I decided to check online when my hands & face stared to tingle. This is truly a gnarly experience. I have taken laxatives a handful of times in my adult life. I wouldn’t describe any of those times as “pleasant” but, never have I felt so awful that I sat in my bathroom floor shivering & reading poop reviews to make sure I’m not going to die. The Dulcolax will be going straight to the outside garage bin as soon as I am able to walk. I’d honestly rather be constipated."

1 / 10
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  • oneti...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • January 20, 2024

For Constipation "I'd struggled going to the toilet for 5 days, and I'm normally very regular with minimal effort once a day. I grabbed some Dulcolax from the supermarket and took 1 at 10 pm immediately before getting into bed. I then read reviews and instantly started to regret taking it - but I shouldn't have done! I woke up at 5 am with some cramps, no worse than period pain, and some tummy rumbles. I got up to the loo, passed A LOT of gas, and then spent probably 15 minutes emptying my bowels while playing a game on my phone. Solid at first then liquid. 5 days of buildup evacuated - it was glorious! I did feel a bit sick, but once I was done I was back in bed and asleep by 5:30 am and then got up at 7 to start my day as normal. No further issues. It did the job! Definitely only take ONE. I'm writing this review for anyone else who, like me, has bought/taken Dulcolax and read these reviews and is now consumed with fear/regret. Follow the instructions and it is perfectly fine."

10 / 10
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10 Report
  • JJano
  • May 17, 2020

For Bowel Preparation "I had to take 4 Dulcolax for colonoscopy prep. 2 hours after taking had severe cramps and vomiting. No bowel movements. I have had colonoscopies before never using Dulcolax and had no problems. Will NEVER use Docolax again!"

1 / 10
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48 Report
  • JohnJ...
  • August 31, 2014

For Bowel Preparation "I have used the product over 7 times now, and it has worked like a charm each and every time. I take 3, and drink about 24 oz of water. I take 3 because I'm 280 lbs. Take it on a Sunday afternoon, don't make any plans to leave the house, and by the evening it's all done. I usually end up going to the bathroom 3-4 times. First 2 are usually soft movements, any after that it's just getting rid of the excess water. I think people that are getting bad cramps is they are not taking enough water with it. Try more water, see if it helps! I have had zero side effects using this product."

10 / 10
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87 Report
  • Katie
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • July 10, 2021

For Constipation "I took 2 tablets with my meal (6:30pm) and then before bed read all the scary reviews. I saw that some said they didn’t have a horrible experience when drinking a ton of water, so I quick downed 50 ounces of water before bed. I woke up at 2:00 am with a slight crampy sensation and loose stools. It happened again at 2:15 am and again at 3:00 am. It is now 8:30 am and the diarrhea is the same but I have no cramping, no nausea, no shaking, and no lightheaded feelings. My stomach is still rumbling to clear itself out, but it wasn’t horrible as I thought. I think the key is to drink a glass of water when taking it, take it with food, and drink a ton of water after. I didn’t have a scary experience. I will probably never do another laxative again though unless absolutely necessary."

6 / 10
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35 Report
  • ReneeK
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • November 8, 2020

For Constipation "I took two Dulcolax pills at approx. 10am with a glass of water. Then I read the reviews and was terrified at what I was in for. But for the entire day, I felt absolutely NO SYMPTOMS and no bowel movements. I wondered whether this was going to work or not. Finally, at about 2am, I had tummy rumbling, and gas, but really that’s it. BUT at 8am the next day (22 hours after dosing!), I woke with my tummy rumbling and feeling the urge of diarrhea. I rushed to the bathroom. A few minutes later, I still had the urge to diarrhea again. I’d say between 8 AM-1 PM, I had diarrhea about ten times. It was a LOT. But the good thing is, any discomfort was minor (My stomach rumbled all day, and I kept feeling the urge to diarrhea) so I stayed home until the feeling finally passed. I did not experience nausea, vomiting, cramps, or anything like many reviewers. Other than the 5 hours or so of diarrhea and tummy rumbling, this was really painless and effective!!!!"

9 / 10
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  • Drunk
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • March 2, 2020

For Constipation "I'm an alcoholic so I am prone to constipation from dehydration. On the Bristol Stool chart (that is a chart the doctors use to classify your poo), I’ll often have type 1 stools which are like passing rocks out of your butt and take an eternity while tearing your rectum apart. So I took 4 duclolax pills and over the course of the day, things improved, but I did feel some nausea and I had 4 BMs. So it will definitely make you poop. I normally drink coffee in the morning and then just go every morning once. On Dulcolax, as I wrote, I went 4 times in 1 day, but it did change the stool shape positively. On the Bristol chart I probably ended up at type 3 (normal) by the evening so I generally think it’s a good product if you suffer from pooping rocks like I do. That is the worse feeling in the world and this will fix it, but you will go multiple times in the day. Regarding the other reviews, I think you need to be type 1 constipated for this product to be useful. Otherwise it'll likely cause massive diarrhea."

9 / 10
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43 Report
  • Hurting...
  • December 21, 2014

For Constipation "I tried it and took 2 pills with lots of water and ended up staying up all night, crying from severe abdominal pains. Then throwing up with the pain becoming worse. Finally, 12 hours later, while still in pain, I had the most painful bowel movement. I'm still on bed rest from the cramps, and it hurts to stand upright. If you choose to take this, please be careful. It's effective but at a painful cost."

8 / 10
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75 Report
  • Day
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • February 2, 2020

For Constipation "DO NOT! JUST DON’T! Took at 9:00 pm. Woke up at midnight feeling like I was in labor, the stomach cramps were so severe. Then the spasms and convulsions started. I thought I was dying. I was too sick and embarrassed to wake my husband up. So I just sat on the toilet, nauseous, crying, convulsing, hurting, throwing up and dizzy. I was fine by 9:00 am the next morning but very weak and tired from all the labor..... I mean suffering."

1 / 10
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41 Report
  • manic...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • June 22, 2024

For Constipation "I took one pill at around 10 pm. A few hours later, I started getting severe stomach cramps and a lot of gurgling and rumbling. I went to the toilet, but nothing would come out yet I still had bad cramps. Two hours of severe cramps passed, and I finally had to go. The most significant poop I've ever taken."

10 / 10
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2 Report
  • Apple...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • December 17, 2020

For Bowel Preparation "I took Dulcolax as directed for the colonoscopy preparation. It was a horrendous experience. I vomited and had blasts of diarrhea. In addition, I suffered from excruciating stomach pain. I will not take Dulcolax again!!"

1 / 10
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33 Report
  • Tammy
  • December 12, 2019

For Bowel Preparation "I've had constipation for years. I started two nights before the colonoscopy. Monday night I took 2 Dulcolax and about 7:30 Tuesday morning I could feel it was time. It started easy and went to more liquid. 4 or 5 trips. Then about 3:00 on Tuesday, I started the Miralax drink. It started to work in about an hour. By night time, I was just about finished. Directions had me drink more but I had one more glass and had to get back to the bathroom about 4:00 am. I was still passing just a little water when I got to the hospital. This was the easiest prep I have ever had. Usually drinking all that stuff makes me nauseous and vomit. I think you have to find what works for you and stick with it. Don't let the doctor have you try all this other stuff. This works for me and usually, I'm pretty sensitive. I would never take more than 2. I had no cramps at any time."

10 / 10
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39 Report
  • Dulca...
  • January 7, 2021

For Constipation "Do not use this product in its liquid form. 1 hr after taking the minimum dose, it happened. Good. Fours hours later, it feels like I have been in hard labour, on the side of the interstate, with dust and sharp glass being blown against me. The pain is causing me to hallucinate. I am dry heaving into shower. Please make this stop. DULCA-DON'T!!"

10 / 10
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32 Report
  • Porce...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • March 2, 2024

For Constipation "To be fair, I was a bit concerned after reading the reviews... which I did after taking two tablets. However, I took them at 9 pm. Whilst I woke a couple of times in the night (which is normal for me), nothing happened until 6 am when I had a bit of cramping and a very urgent need to get to the loo. It was at this point I remembered I had put some large bags of cat food and litter in the downstairs toilet. I've not moved 10 kg bags as quickly in my life - I could have given the Scottish caber tossing champions a run for their money. The urgency became a possible emergency situation, and I had visions of writing one of those 'well today was the day I crapped in my kitchen' reviews. Luckily, I made it in time and to not be too graphic, the constipation was very definitely resolved. Felt much better afterwards. Not sure if it's a one-time occurrence or I'm in for more Highland Games later, but so far so good. No sweating or praying for death, so counting as a win!"

9 / 10
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  • Lady...
  • June 9, 2020

For Constipation "So the dosage says take 1-3 pills for a single daily dose so I took 3 and prayed for the best because I’m going on a beach trip. I’ve literally been either on the floor in my own vomit or curled up in bed with cramps so bad I want to go to the emergency room. This is TERRIBLE. Don’t buy!"

1 / 10
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35 Report
  • Uncomfy
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • September 13, 2014

For Constipation "I hadn't gone for 4 days and decided to try Dulcolax. I am 5'1 and 120lbs. The bottle says anywhere from 1-3 pills, and my constipation was pretty bad so I decided to take 2. Worst mistake of my life. I took the pills at 2:00pm and by 6pm I had the most terrible cramps I have ever felt in my entire life. I was shaking, cold sweating, and felt like I was going to throw up several times. Hours later and I'm still having terrible diarrhea. It works, but the side effects are too much for me."

7 / 10
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67 Report
  • Yasser
  • January 7, 2020

For Bowel Preparation "I was advised by doctor to take Dulcolax before colonoscopy. Day 1 @ 8:30PM: 2 tablets 5mg each. Woke up at 6:30AM with cramp and passed out motion. Then it all started an hour later with severe diarrhea and cramps. The pain was so intense I thought I’d have to call Ambulance. Alhamdulillah (praise be to God) it was okay after few minutes. Had mild broth for breakfast and few hours later passed motion twice with severe pain again. Had to take Drotin DS 1 tablet. Had motion again in the night. Day 2 3:30AM. Woke up midnight with cramp and motion. Did my Tahajjud prayers and went back to bed. Feeling of discomfort and sense of passing motion remains for next 2 hours. People with IBS D & A should “never” touch this tablet ever in their life. It’s a poison not a life saving drug."

1 / 10
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37 Report

Reviews may be edited to correct grammar/spelling or to remove inappropriate language and content. Reviews that appear to be created by parties with a vested interest are not published. This information is not intended to endorse any particular medication. While these reviews may be helpful, they are not a substitute for the expertise, knowledge, and judgement of healthcare professionals.