Another fan of psyllium seed powder

sara14- I see u do cortenemas nightly when flaring , how do u taper from nightly steriod enemas ? And how long do u do themm nightly for ?

This is my first time ever on them. My doctor told me to do them for a month with no taper. I may go to every other night for a few weeks though because people here told me to. I really don't know, sorry. I'm going back on Rowasa after I'm off the cortenemas.

i just got the pill form, and it says to take 5 pills 1-3 times a day....Should I just start with 5 a day and see what happens, or go somewhere in the middle?

I also reacted badly to Culturelle years ago!! I was fine with inulin in other things though so it wasn't that for me. Where do you buy your Bio-kult? Maybe I will try that out too. Thanks!

Post Edited (Sara14) : 9/11/2012 10:51:30 PM (GMT-6)

Got my psyllium seed power in the mail this weekend. Going to start taking it today.

Can you buy at any stores?

Here is an open label study that compared three groups for remission maintenance- psyllium seed group, meslamine group, and seeds + mesalamine group.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10022641

Years back, I recall Dr. eugene may, on the CCFA "ask a doctor" q&a forum- which for liability reasons they sadly shut down (he really rocked), used to be a strong believer in these seeds for UC.

The fact that psyllium seeds are described by the bulk herb store as an "intestinal broom" scares me that it would irritate my sore gut and flare me up as so many supposed anti-inflammatory herbs (eg slippery elm and boswellia, to name just two) or anti-parasite herbs (wormwood) did in the past... But it sounds interesting enough to use albeit with extreme caution, eg in tiny amounts first, then wait and see.

I've been using just 1/2 tsp daily for a week and no problems. I'm doing better than I ever have been, just 1-3 BMS daily, well formed. Not sure if it's the psyllium or just the hydrocortisone enemas though. This stuff sure tastes like absolute crap though. I've been putting it in a spoonful of oatmeal but I'm going to try it in applesauce.

I bought mine at bulkherbstore.com. It was pretty cheap and they shipped really fast.

Post Edited (Sara14) : 9/21/2012 9:41:06 AM (GMT-6)

As noted by wikipedia:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyllium said...
India dominates the world market in the production and export of psyllium.

There is no way I can swallow that. Are the pills as effective? I've taken Metamucil in the past which helps, but anyone know the difference between Metamucil & psyllium seed capsules?

I have been combining about a teaspoonful with a packet of VSL#3DS into 4 ounces of applesauce. Working very well for me. Stools are well-formed.

Previously, I was taking Metamucil. That also worked, but my stools were "fluffy". Now they are completely normal.

Psyllium seeds are mostly soluble fiber which is generally considered helpful for UC, it's insoluble fiber you need to be careful of.