Metamucil powder or tablets? - Bowel Disorders Message Board

blueskys · 10-13-2005, 11:11 PM

Hi,
I have been having trouble passing bowels. I take colace (stool softener) one in the morning and one at supper time. I also take 2 Tablets of Fiber con at supper also. Eat 1/2 cup of Raisin Bran for breakfast and have a salad and vegetable for supper. Along with some type of fruit, apple, cantelope, etc. every day and lots of water.

But I keep seeing that majority of people seem to take Metamucil. My doctor recommended Metamucil. My question is: is it better to take the powder form or the tablets. And then how much should I take?
And also I see that Wal-Mart has a generic brand for Metamucil called Equate. Will this work the same as the original Metamucil?

Does Metamucil work better than Fiber con?

Thanks for any replys.

blueskys

Harry · 10-14-2005, 07:31 AM

blueskys,

Most all the fiber you are intaking is insoluble fiber but you need to be more balanced with soluble fiber.

Fruits, veggies including salads, and bran are all mostly insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is the insides of grains, and beans & peas. The outside husk and all pealings are totally insoluble and you need both for normal BMs.

Soluble fiber bulks up your stool by absorbing fluid/water.

I like and take psyllium powder (a soluble fiber) put out by Wal Mart-- the Equate brand-- orange flavored sugar free. I like it because the powder form is mixed with fluid like water and is well dispersed.-- it also seems courser (not as fine a powder form) and contains more psyllium per dose than Metamucil. I have seen that Metamucil does produce a courser brand lately but have not tried it.

Some people don't like the powder form because it starts to absorb water immediately and is sorta bloating in the stomach and they like the capsules or tablets that dissolve down their intestines and not in their stomachs.

My wife takes the caps--am &pm-- because the powder bothers her hiatal heria -- producing too much pressure.

Fibercon (calcium polycarbophil) is not broken down or fermented by intestinal bacteria and is considered a synthetic fiber and acts like an insoluble fiber.

Take care~~~Harry

suzer1013 · 10-17-2005, 10:35 AM

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badjingle · 10-19-2005, 05:03 PM

hi,
i like the tablets best - although, my doctor advised me to take citrucel over metamucil because it causes no excess gas. I take 2 citrucel tablets and two stool softener tablets in the morning and again at night. she also said to get between 25-35 grams of fiber 1/2 water soluable and 1/2 non-water soluable per day. it is a bit hard for me to get that much fiber daily and i have to really keep track and read all the labels. good luck!!

blueskys · 10-19-2005, 08:58 PM

Thanks Harry, Suzer1013 and Badjngle for your suggestions and feedback. I tried Fibercon and didn't like it. I have been taking Citrecel tablets all week, somedays it works better than others. Not real consistent. Now tonight my mother-in-law had me try Benefiber powder. I mixed 1 tbsp. in 8 oz. of water. I was really surprised. Was very smooth and there was no taste to it. So we will see what the results will be. Lol. I was just reading that Benefiber is the only pure soluble fiber. That the rest all have fillers, sweeteners, and other ingredients added to them. I took it a few hours ago, so far no gas or bloatness. So we will see.

Sounds like it is pretty much trial and error to find what works for everyone. It sure is nice to be able to post on here and get responses to people having the same trouble or to hear what works for them.

Do any of you know, can you take a fiber supplement daily for rest of your life? Can you take a stool softener daily for rest of life? Can you take the two together daily for rest of life if needed? My family doctor told me he would rather see me on a fiber supplement than a stool softener, but he never said why.

Would love any feedback on this.

Thanks again to you all !

blueskys