Psyllium seed experiment, day 2 - LFTC??

OK, so, after 23 years of Metamucil (psyllium seed HUSK) I ordered some of the seed powder online and have taken it for the 2nd day now - in other words, I'm just over 24 hours into this.

And - At this point, I have seen an improvement in formation, frequency, gassiness and comfort - already!

Instead of my usual "two heaping spoons of Metamucil" I've taken one spoon of Metamucil and one of seed powder. The first day I mixed it with applesauce (by the end of the small bowl it had turned into an interesting form of cement, so I drank a TON of water after...) and today I mixed it with chocolate milk, as per someone else's suggestion.

I've been maybe not "quite" in remission but not in bad shape, either... had "mild inflammation" at Sept. scoping and have been improving more and more. But, holiday stress, job stress, different and rich holiday foods.... I started noticing more frequency, more gas, mucus and mucus-smell a week ago. I ordered the seed powder.

So, LFTC, I've been trying to do a search on the forum for about a half hour now, unsuccessfully - there was a research article you quoted several months ago on this? Could you point me to it again?

Thanks! I'll keep ya'll posted!

Can someone provide me a link to the seed powder and where I can buy it? I can only seem to find Psyllium Seed Husk Powder.

Like this one:

http://www.shop-com.co.uk/Country_Life_Super_Fibre_Psyllium_Seed_Husk_Powder_45_servings-86008651-106348646-p+.xhtml?sourceid=309

Is there really no way to take the SEED powder (not husk) in a capsule? Mixing the powder into things is killing me, but it DOES make a difference, so I'm going to keep using it!!

LondonRed said...
I currently use this.. is Ispaghula also known as Psyllium Seed?

www.chemistdirect.co.uk/fybogel-orange-sachets_1_9664.html

Wikipedia notes that they are the same thing but the product that you noted is just the husks.

Here is a site (www.morethanalive.com/Psyllium-seed-powder) that ships internationally and has a very good price (I don't know about shipping costs).

I bought my last batch from this site (www.starwest-botanicals.com/product/2-psyllium-seed-powder.html) and they ship internationally as well. I got free shipping here in the US because I bought more than $75 worth of the stuff.

I still like it in chocolate milk made from Quik. It does not mix very well with the premixed store bought chocolate milk. I mix the chocolate and powder into the milk at the same time and then let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes and them mix it up again. It has a nice consistency at that point, note quite as thick as a malt but thick enough to make it enjoyable.

LondonRed said...
Can someone find me somewhere in UK or Europe where I can get or somewhere in USA that ships at a reasonable rate please?

I have searched and I end up at ebay in the UK. Here is one that sells he seeds which you would need to grind. I use a coffee grinder for grinding my flaxseeds.

shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_nkw=psyllium+seed&_sacat=0&_trksid=p3286.m270.l1313&_odkw=psyllium&_osacat=0

I'd go with the second one since it's the cheapest overall but given that it needs to be ground you probably don't want it.

Unfortunately, I'm unable to effectively search European sites since at some point I had set up my search tool to favor US sites. Maybe you should do a search for psyllium seed powder and see if you can track something down.

Angievirsep93 said...
How many should i take? Im currently flaring,....hoping this will give me that extra kick to curb the flair? Anyone else successful with the psyllium seed capsules?

The participants of this study (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10022641) were taking 10 grams twice a day.

I currently consume about a pound a month which works out to 7.5 grams twice a day (454 grams / 30 days / 2 times a day) which is about two teaspoons twice a day. When I was taking one teaspoon twice a day I noticed no effects.

Given that each capsule is 630mg, I'm guessing that you will need to consume a fair number of them. Are they really small capsules? At the level that I consume psyllium seed powder, a bottle of 100 capsules would last me 4 days (.63 grams * 100 capsules / 15 grams per day).

Husk is a waste of time IMO, its the seed that you need to grind or just buy in powder form that is more beneficial.  The husk seems to bulk the stool, but thats almost worse because you can't figure out if yer getting better or not when taking the husk. 

-VerM

Lookingfor cure do you have e-mail I can ask you some questions about the seed outide of the forum?

Thanks

 

Well, it would be Day 7 today...... the poops have been formed, but I've been having more poops per day with increasing bleeding. So yesterday I left off the seed powder and did 3 doses of Metamucil instead. I'll do a few days of just increased Metamucil, husk, instead of seed powder, and see what that does for me.

I think I've been slowly heading into a flare for several weeks, and had already started slipping that way when I started the seed powder, so I'm not sure my symptoms are related. But, when I did some reading about the seed powder, I did see that one of the possible side effects of it is rectal bleeding - so I may be one of the unlucky ones for whom that is the case.

KillC, I'm glad it seems to be helping your daughter. I don't know anything about the chemistry of it, butyrate levels, etc., but the visible outcome, for me, seems to be equivalent to a hefty dose of psyllium husk. And - I've always found the husk to be extremely helpful, make the poops more comfortable to pass, lets them pass without the rectum spasming and straining.

So: I'll pass on the seed powder for a week and see if that makes any difference, and maybe start it up again. I'd like it to work....!

Killcolitis--keeping my fingers crossed that your daughter's progress continues on the psyllium seed powder! How many capsules is she taking, and how often?

Hi Killcolitis, my daughter is hanging in there! She has certainly been much, much worse so we are optimistic. The worst things at this point are the urgency and lack of weight gain. Due to her losing weight we decided to give up on the gluten free diet last month(after 6 months gluten free, there was very little progress). She has gained a couple of pounds and though she still limits carbs, especially sugar, there were no ill effects and I would say it gave her a noticeable boost. She was able to give a stool sample at her GI appt. two weeks ago and for the first time in two years the test showed no trace of blood! Still not quite formed but her frequency has definitely decreased over the last month or so (and more often than not she is able to sleep through the night) so we are hoping that as slow as her progress seems, she is heading in the right direction. Sulfasalazine is the only allopathic med she is on but you can see from my sig that she takes lots of supplements and alternatives! For the next step, not sure whether to try the Psyllium Seed capsules or Boswellia and Cercumin?

Thanks for the reassurance songlady! Wishingtohelp, that's great! I'm so happy to hear about your daughter. I've got my daughter on a mixture of ayurvedic herbs with boswellia in it. She's just started psyllium seed, and as i posted, the effect was almost instant with the seed. However, I haven't seen much with the herbs. I was told not to expect a difference for a month or 6 weeks, and it's been about 2-3, so don't know. Some people have great success with Boswellia. Keep us updated.

I wish I had read this post/thread before making my statements and asking questions on "The difference between Psyllium Husk and Psyllium Seed Powder" post/thread. I must now try the plain seed as the seed+husk powder I bought made things worse as it bulked things up so much and caused tremendous pain.