IBS-C and 15 year old teenager
#329623 - 05/11/08 03:06 PM
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My 15 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with IBS-C and has been for 3 months on the acacia powder(2 heaping teaspoons 3 times a day). I have also been trying to stick to the helpforibs diet, using the cookbook, etc... She has been doing great, except for one time when she had a birthday party and ate everything she shouldn't and also drank coca-cola. I had bought things she could have to avoid it and she still drank and ate what she shouldn't have had. She paid for it for 3 days and was very sick(and missed 2 days of school and church on Sunday). When she sticks to the program, she does well.
She will be going to a retreat in a week with our church youth group and I was wondering if there were any alternatives to the acacia(pills or caplets) that would contain about the same amt. of soluble fiber. She is concerned about the embarrassment of taking acacia in front of her friends. I am concerned because I don't want another setback. Does anyone have suggestions for a teenager on how to cope with IBS when around friends, etc..?
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Hi, I know exactly how it feels to be a teenager with IBS, considering I still am a teenager (I'm 18), and I know how it can be hard and embarassing with friends. Instead of the accacia I actually take Citrucel caplets, twice a day. For me they are very conveniant because if I am out with my friends I can just take one whenever I need. You just have to make sure that you still take them with a glass of water, but they are so easy and know one even notices. I'm not sure how helpful I will be on advice with coping with IBS when it comes to friends because I still sometimes have trouble, but it has become so much easier than it used to be! Mainly because I am stable and because I have got used to just telling people I'm not hungry or that I don't like a certain food if I know I shouldn't eat it. And besides that, I have learned that one of the most important things for me is to relax and not stress. Hope everything goes well for her! I know how hard it can be, but I can definetly say that it gets better as time goes on!
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IBS-D
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I'm not sure if this is possible, but have her premix the acacia into water bottles before she goes out. Sigg canteens are one example of reusable water bottles that you can't see through. Does the retreat have a nurse who holds on too medicine? If so maybe she could hold on to the fiber so at least she could take it somewhere private. I'd suggest the bathroom, but teenage girls tend to go in groups  I know teens can be mean sometimes, but if she sticks with nice kids that she is close with she should be fine. And if anyone asks its just stomache medicine that she takes because she gets stomache aches alot. She doesn't have to go into details or use the "f" word (fiber) And tell her to try not to stress about it and have fun because that will be her best chances of being symptom free 
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Kristi123, I am so happy you wrote. It is nice to hear from a teenager that suffers from the same thing as my daughter. I did want to ask you if you ever took the Acacia and also how much Citrucel do you take a day to control your IBS? My daughter is very petite and right now with the Acacia I have her taking 2 heaping tsps 3 times a day which works out to be about 12-15 grams of soluble fiber. Thanks again for your comments!
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I have another question. If my daughter has been taking the acacia and I switch her to Citrucel just for the weekend, do you think she will have any problems? I was wondering if there should be a transition period or if I have her taking 12 grams of the Acacia, should I stop the acacia for the weekend and give her the equivalent of 12 grams of fiber in the Citrucel and just make sure she drinks water with it? I don't want to cause her to have problems on her weekend with her friends. Any replies to this post would be much appreciated. Thanks so much!
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I haven't ever taken the acacia (only because my parents just buy me the Citrucel) but also I am not exactly sure how many caplets 12-15g would be. I'm sure you could find that information somewhere, and if I happen to have time later I'll look it up. And also with the caplets, if my friends ever question what i'm taking I just say there vitamins
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IBS-D
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I noticed that you said you take citrucel. I have IBS-D as well and the acacia doesn't really work for me?
When/how much do you take the citrucel and does it work well?
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I'm very stable now and I only take 1 caplet twice a day, which really isn't much. But for me it has definetly helped. I used to take double the amount that I do now, but i think it really depends on the person. Did you take enough of the acaccia though to get it to work, because I don't know that the Citrucel would be much different than the acaccia.
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IBS-D
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How many pills did you start taking before you were stable?
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before i was stable i was using the citrucel that you mix with water, and when using that I took the equivalent of 4 pills...or 2 pills twice a day
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IBS-D
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