Hi Harry!

I've been coping with IBS-D for more than 10 years now and have read with great interest all your posts on fiber but were afraid to try them 'in case' they made my symptoms worse than they were.

Recently my daughter got her drivers license and can do her own chauffering leaving me free to try to conquer my IBS. I bought a big container of Metamucil and have taken some at night for the past 2 nights. My question is for IBS-D, what is a good dose to work up to? Twice a day? Because anything I put in my mouth usually speeds thru me, I take most meds at night.

Thanks for any insights,
SB

SB,

I am sorry it took so long to answer your post but I think you should try to get to at least 2 doses daily. Also--- Make sure you drink an adequate amount of water with each dose as the directions say!!

I certainly wish you well ---Harry

I've been taking Metamucil for the past 3 weeks and my stomach is behaving horribly. My stools are full of mucus, I can't seem to get off the toilet, times of the day that I thought were 'safe' for me (afternoons) I'm having attacks.

This always seems to happen to me when I try something new to help my IBS-D. When I added flax seed to my diet, I ended up in the hospital with such severe pain, they thought it was my gallbladder. This past summer I started on probiotics, I felt sick all summer and ended up in the hospital with diverticulitis. Coincidence?

Has anyone felt sicker on fiber? Is this something I should try to stick out?

Thx,
SB

I was also advised to add fibre to my diet. My gastroentrologist recommended All-Bran. A week later after taking only a tablespoon in the morning I was in ER with a blockage (I also have a colostomy). The ER doctor said bran causes problems with many people and doctors should be really careful about recommending it. As for IBS-D any type of insoluble fibre can be irritating. I've recently been experimenting with some diet changes I found in a book called Eating for IBS. I've started eating foods with soluble fibre and adding a supplement called Benefibre which is made from 100% guar gum. This change is having remarkable results for me. Believe me, nothing is worse than having persistant, noisy diarrhea with a colostomy! I try to have some form of soluble fibre in my gut at all times. There are many great foods that contain soluble fibre. Any book on nutrition will have a list. It's not a harmful change and I wish I would have discovered this alot sooner.

SB,

I would think that soluble fiber would help since it absorbs fliuds -- bulking up you stool and slows down your digestion.

Citrucel contains a semisythetic fiber that is soluble but does not digest like a natural fiber like psyllium or guar gum. So, it does not ferment and get broken down like the natural fibers -- it causes alot less gas and cramping.

But, all insoluble fibers do not absorb fliud and causes the muscle contractions in the intestines to produce BMs-- ground up flax seed is insoluble.
All fruits and veggies including greens and the ones used in toss salads and green beens are insoluble. Nut and seeds are also insoluble.

Soluble fiber foods are the inner part of grains like rice, corn, oats, barley and wheat. The outside part is bran and does not absorb water. The root veggies like potatos, carrots, beets and turnips are all soluble fiber.

Some psyllium seed husk contains a small amount of insoluble fiber -- like Metamucil -- maybe that is what is giving you problems??

Too much cramping may indicate that your system lacks magnesium-- lacking it can cause cramping as well as spasms.
Every cell in your body contains magnesium and it's needed for calcium absorption along with vitamin D. 67% of magnesium is in your bones.

An excellent homeopathic remedy that I use for muscle cramps and spasms is --Magnesia Phos-- taken as needed. It is readily available at health food stores.
If this helps then It indicates that you lack magnesium at the celluar level.

You can be tested for magnesium serum blood levels but I have found you can have good blood levels and still have cramping and spasm. There is no way to test for magnesium at the cellular level.

I wish you well ----Harry

Great info Harry. I was told to avoid anything with psyllium as it can cause more gas in people who are prone to it. Have you heard this? I have had problems with Metamucil - gas and cramping. So far Benefibre works great for me.

West Coast Girl,

I have been using psyllium for 23 years. Psyllium does produce gas because it is a natrual fiber but with continued use the gas usually goes away as your system gets use to it.
Some people do have problems using psyllium but there are many that it works OK for -- it is a big seller--.

Benefiber is sort of new -- I never have tried it.

Harry

Hi! Thanks for the responses, I'm so confused as to what to do. Metamucil did give me gas for the first week but it went away. I just can't stand feeling sicker than I normally do, when I'm trying to make myself feel better. I cannot eat veggies or fruits without having problems, so maybe I should switch type of fiber and see if that helps.

I have lots of IBS books and what to eat for it, perhaps its time to review them again also.

Again, thanks for your insight and info!

SB