Metamucil?

When you're not flaring adding Metamucil is a good thing. Metamucil helps bulk up stool and increase it's firmness, both very good things when you have uc. Loose stool = increased urgency. Loose stool = more bms a day.

When you are flaring fiber is a bad thing, fiber is roughage, it's abrasive bad against inflamed/raw tissue, and increases the size of stool bad as inflammation thickens intestine walls and narrows the space available for your stools.

Fiber is your friend, it just takes time for your system to adjust to it, which is why you need to always start with a small amount and then slowly increase if necessary. So many give up on fiber too quickly because they cannot handle the initial stage of their system adjusting to it which is too bad really cuz it can make a world of difference being on fiber daily compared to not using it at all. It can aid with D or C, though some tolerate one type of fiber better over the other type (insoluble and soluble).

You're confusing Metamucil fibre with FIBRE!

make the distinction.

continue with the Metamucil, and take it with meals.

q

quincy said...
You're confusing Metamucil fibre with FIBRE!

make the distinction.

continue with the Metamucil, and take it with meals.

q

This-- to a t has been my experience. Metamucil made it possible to get some actual form in my stool. I can't eat heavy fibre things, roughage is a big no go for my guts, soluable fibre helps me.

so it's good or not?

I used to mix a teaspoon in my morning smoothies but then was starting to think that my morning smoothies were making my flare worse so I cut those out. I also was unsure if I was getting benefits from it if mixed in a smoothie.

For a few weeks I was feeling kind of constipated and always a pressure on my rectum until I passed a substantial amount of mucous around my 5th or 6th BM of the day. When I would go to the bathroom not much productive would come out. Basically just a little bit of sediment each time. Never formed and rarely D, but D would actually feel good if I got it because I would feel like I got something out.

about a week ago I started drinking Metamucil mixed with water. After a couple of days of this I started feeling a little better. I was getting somewhat formed BMs on occasion, constipation was gone, no longer had that pressure in my rectum and mucous was no longer appearing. But after about four days this progress just kind of leveled off. In the last few days I have noticed faint traces of blood which I haven't been noticing in months.

I also started this metamucil a week after my third Remicade infusion so I'm unsure if it was the MEtamucil helping or the Remicade kicking in. I dunno, I feel like I keep trying to do too many things all at once and just don't know what is causing some changes, just looking to try anything for some sort of relief.

I'm thinking of cutting it out for a few days and see how I react. I'm still probably making the same amount of bathroom trips a day, maybe more, than I was before I started this 3 glasses of metamucil a day regimen but they are more productive and easier now.