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Fiber Supplements!

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 11/8/2008 11:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Guy's,

Just a quick question. Do any of you use fiber supplements? If so, does your tummy go really mental on you after it? I have taken one of them today and boy my tummy has gone mental with pain. I needed it, I was at the SIU at the hospital today about my heart and felt really weak and unable to eat. So i needed my fiber from somewhere.

Also, does fiber supplements contain Gluten? I am trying to have a gluten free diet to see if that helps me at all.

Posted 11/9/2008 2:41 AM (GMT 0)
I currently eat Metamucil wafers (which contain wheat flour). When I start the SC diet, I'll have to stop though. It has me a little worried, because constipation is my big problem with crohn's. The Metamucil has never bothered me, but I've read that the wafers are sometimes better tolerated than the pills or powder. What kind of fiber supplements are you using?
Posted 11/9/2008 2:55 AM (GMT 0)
I use benefiber or Fibersure powders. Both dissolve in any type of liquid, hot or cold. They are not gritty or have any taste. I started out VERY slowly adding then into my diet. If a product contained 5 gm of fiber in a teaspoon, I started with 1/4 of a teaspoon for a couple of days, then to a 1/2 teaspoon a day and so on. I can now throw a heaping teaspoon into my cereal without having problems. However, my CD also appears to be in remission and that might be why I can tolerate fiber so well. My mother that has ulcerative colitis uses Benefiber twice a day to bulk up her stools. It has really helped her.
Posted 11/9/2008 5:02 AM (GMT 0)
My GI (who's one of the top lead researchers for crohn's and colitis in Canada) told me to take fibre supplements daily and indefinitely...it's been almost 5 yrs of taking one Prodiem tab (similar to metamucil) and intitally it caused increased bloating and gas (which I already had a ton of) but that only lasted 3 months, then ALL bloating gone and only very little gas is what I've had ever since...

I can now tolerate eating fibreous foods without getting all bloated and gassy, I have formed stools, less frequency and no more mucus...although I must add that I take it in conjunction with bee propolis which cut my BM's down to almost half the amount I was going daily before starting with bee propolis and I started taking the fibre supplemtns AFTER I started with the bee propolis.

Often it's more than one thing that helps, usually a combination of things will give better results...I take omegas 3-6-9 and vitamins A, C-calcium ascorbate, B12 and probiotics...and all these things combined work well for me, then altering my diet and making sure to exercise regularly play a huge role as well.

So, it's normal for fibre to cause some discomfort, this happens with healthy people as well....key is to stick with it and always start with a small amount increasing only if necessary and only after your system has adjusted to the initial amount...and drink lots of water with it (as you should be drinking lots of water having crohn's anyways.

:)
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