i've been dealing with constipation/irregularity for about a month now. its never been terrible and metamucil has really helped a lot.

i'm now back to having about 2-3 BMs per day which is regular for me (i guess its a lot for most people but thats normal for me---i eat a lot)
anyway my question is, when can i stop taking metamucil? if i stop will i go back to having problems? am i going to have to take metamucil for the rest of my life?

and another question. i have been TRYING (not always successfully) to eat healthier. basically all I have accomplished is replacing cookies and chips with grapes and canteloupe. anyway, is fruit just as filled with fiber as veggies are? i eat a lot, i get the munchies whenever i sit around at night. and fruits are more appealing as a snack food to me than veggies. but are they as fiber filled and healthy?



[This message has been edited by blank65 (edited 08-22-2002).]

You have to intake 20 t0 35 grams of fiber daily--. That's what makes your bowels work. You're just replacing the fiber that you don't have in your diet with water soluble fiber ---psyllium husk supplement ---if you stop you better replace it with fiber in your diet!!!

Yes!!!! You have to intake fiber for the rest of your life for your gastrointestinal system to function properly. It's just the way we were made!!! Equate from Wal Mart cost less than half that of Metamucil.

God Bleess---Harry



[This message has been edited by Harry (edited 08-26-2002).]

Hey I understand how you feel and it seems as if your whole world is topsy-turvy when you are constipated or suffering from IBS. But the last thing that you want to do is become dependent on laxatives and aides. Things that I try that have helped me in the past are:

1. Prune juice (nasty but works) for quick relief but I had to learn to do things consistently so that I wouldn't need to drink prune juice as a quick fix. I knew that I needed to be regular. Apple juice helps too!

2. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables (make sure you eat your green veggies and plenty of it. Or atleast as much as you can spinach, kale, lettuce, broccoli, etc.)

3. Staying away from rice, pastas, breads and junk foods (they only made things worse for me). I still eat them, just not as much as I used to.

4. Drinking water, water and more water. I used to get so tired of drinking water because I was a soft drink girl, but now I find myself drinking it all the time even when I go out to restaurants because now I don't feel right if I don't drink loads of it. You know that they normally recommend 8-8oz. glasses a day. I know that it sounds like alot but if it will help.... DRINK IT.

5. Learning to be consistent with eating fruits, vegetables, grains, etc. What I used to do is eat or drink just enough of the good stuff to get myself going again and then fall back into the same rut of eating a bunch of mess. I had to learn to be CONSISTENT because being constipated is no joke.

6. Adding fiber supplements if/when necessary. I usually take a fiber supplement daily because it's just that FIBER. It's not a laxative and you shouldn't form a dependency. It just helps to have that extra fiber...it certainly can't hurt.

7. When I do need that extra umph...I usually take a herbal laxative, cascara sagrada and that works as well. It's very, very mild and gets the job done.

8. You may want to try going to a health food store and get something to cleanse yourself. Start from scratch and then keep a monitor of what you put into your system.

9. I also try to keep a daily log of what I eat including snacks because I don't always know what it is that triggers me being constipated. That way I can back track figure out what I ate around the time it started to happen and try to weed whatever it is out of my diet.

10. You may want to try and stay away from those soft drinks but if you find that you can't try to double in water what you drink as far as soft drinks and that may help to balance things out a little. If you drink 8 oz. of a soft drink make yourself drink atleast 16 oz of water. This is just something that I make myself do so that I can keep myself on track.

11. Try to exercise as much as you can because that helps to keep things moving. I used to think that folks just said that, but it really works.

12. Try drinking green tea and you may want to try getting it from one of the asian health stores or somewhere like that because the others that you buy from the regular supermarket is just not the same. Their tea is more potent. But hay, if you can't find any just take that trip to the supermarket.

13. Don't sleep on your vitamins. Take your vitamins DAILY. I take a multivitamin daily and it gives me what I may be missing out on when I haven't eaten enough of the good stuff. But it's not a substitution.

13. Buy apples, prunes, raisins, granola and whatever has helped you in the past and keep them in your home and if you can keep some at work too!

14. Try to find out about everything that's high in fiber and go for it! Just try to even things out. Eat your protein and everything else you need as well.

15. STAY AWAY FROM CHEESE!!!! PLEASE...PLEASE!!!!!

Of course none of these things are a guarantee and when dealing with IBS it is scary when you think that after doing so well there is a chance that it will come back strong. I just wanted to give you some ideas that you can implement into your daily diet.

These are some things that have helped me and I hope that they can help you as well because as I said before being constipated or having IBS can mess up your whole world. If I think of anything else I'll let you know. Take care and good luck to you.