There is no hard fast rule about fiber.It really makes a big difference for some people with diarrhea predominate IBS.It makes others worse.It makes sense to give it a couple of weeks to see if it overall reduces attacks or not.Even in it helps most of the time IBS is not constant so there may be times when it doesn't work. (and lots of things trigger diarrhea...caffiene, alcohol, fructose, sorbitol (in some fruits plus sugarless candies), manitol, lactose...)If it increases the # or severity of attacks while taking it for a couple of weeks then I would discontinue it.K
Do fiber supplents help or make things worse?
Hi,I've been recently diagnosed IBS-D and am pretty freaked out about it. I'm on Levsin and Klonapin (antianxiety). I've been reading and following the Eating for IBS book for about 2 weeks. It seems to help, but I'm not sure about her suggestions for soluble fiber supplements.I've been taking small doses of Metamucil morning and evening for about a week but today woke up with terrible diarrhea again--haven't made it to work yet. Of course it could be any number of other causes, but...How many of you fellow D sufferers think fiber supplements help? Are there any that think it makes your D worse?Thanks for any advice--got to go call to schedule my first colonoscopy now--not that fun when you're living in Mexico!!--Sara
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Maybe you could try a different kind of fiber supplement, like Citrucel. I find I tolerate their capsules a little better than Metamucil. I just started taking them again two days ago and I noted some improvement today, although not sure if it is from that or not. Good luck.
I tried FiberCon for a while and it made me "normal", but start slow. You may feel a little bloated the first few days.
WORSE!METAMUCIL IS A DISASTER FOR ME... bad gas, bloating.CITRACEL does nothing.GRAPE NUTS gave me terrible gas, bloatingand worse D.If you are IBS W/ D you have TOO MUCH motilityand the last thing you need is FIBER as it increases motility.LOTRONEX slows motility...that's why it worked so well on so many of us.
As Heather points out in her book, soluble fiber -- as in oats, Citrucel, Metamucil, high-quality (but NOT whole grain) breads -- are what help IBS-D in particular. But you must start out slowly and see what works for you. Her idea of beginning each meal with soluble fiber seems to work very well for me. I take a glass of Citrucel in the morning, followed by Heart to Heart cereal (very high in soluble fiber). Later in the day, usually before dinner, I eat one Metamucil wafer. And I never, ever start a meal with a salad. Salad should be eaten last, after some nice comforting rice, pasta, fish, or chicken.
It should work great! In fact, my GI once told me to take 4 to 6 tables for a full month to "exercise" my colon.
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