Fiber is not relieving my constipation
#361538 - 10/19/10 05:59 PM
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SARAH1
Reged: 10/19/10
Posts: 2
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I've been struggling with IBS-C for almost a year now. The hardest part for me is managing the constipation. I've learned the gas and bloating is much easier to handle if I've had a BM. The problem is I'm taking 8 TBS of Acacia fiber (4 TBS twice a day) and Miralax and I still can't manage. I have to visit the bathroom multiple time a day even in the middle of night only to have an incomplete BM. I end up having to use suppositories every few days and afterwards the scale shows I've lost 2-3 lbs. I'm miserable... I excercise regularly, not sure what else I can do....
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have you tried colace? that, along with fiber and a probiotic, have really helped me... it just softens things so that the fiber and exercise can move things along quicker...
hang in there, IBS C can be a long long road....
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IBS-A
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Here were my GI's recommendations for constipation - they may or may not be EFI-friendly but I think for the most part they are - assuming you are not fructose-sensitive
1. 1 citrus fruit per day (1 orange or 1/2 grapefruit)
2. 5-6 pieces dried fruit per day (dried pears, nectaries, figs, prunes, apricots)
3. 1 tbsp Benefiber twice a day (sounds like you have this covered with the acacia)
4. 8 glasses water per day
5. 1 glass PlumSmart juice at bedtime (very yummy, and contains probiotics)
These seemed to help me. I also find that sitting on the toilet with my feet propped on a stool and my thighs pressing into my abdomen helps stimulate my colon.
I also took Amitiza for a month, you might find that helpful as well.
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IBS-C, lots of spasm and trapped gas.
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I was going to ask how much you are drinking. Water makes a HUGE difference in my constipation. The difference between drinking 7 glasses of water versus drinking 10 glasses of water is like night and day!
I also find that citrus fruit helps me, though I never understood why. And I've never heard anyone else say that citrus helps them "go." That's interesting that Renee21's GI doc recommended that.
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IBS-C
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are you following the EFI diet?
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Susie, born in 1985,
(pseudo-)D and bloating April 2007-December 2010, now stable
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Are all these fruits, (very high in IF), not exacerbating your constipation and causing a lot of gas?
(what do you eat them with by the way? you don't eat them on their own, do you?)
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Susie, born in 1985,
(pseudo-)D and bloating April 2007-December 2010, now stable
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No, the fruits did not exacerbate my constipation. Yes, the dried fruit did give me more gas. I eventually stopped eating the dried fruit because I shifted from C to practically D. But now I am back to C again so I am thinking of going back on the dried fruit.
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IBS-C, lots of spasm and trapped gas.
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But what about all the added sugar in dried fruit? I can tolerate it but don't like all the added sugar and calories it has. I haven't found any that doesn't have alot of added sugar and I haven't tried doing my own. Any ideas?
IBS-C
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IBS-C 20+yrs with gas, bloating, knife sharpening pains during an attack
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I just don't understand how it works then, or maybe it's the definition of IBS I'm not clear on, but anything with such a high amount of IF would seize my bowels up and that is why I think of myself as IBS-C.
BMs are easier/better/more likely in the morning, right? If I ate a little fruit on its own in the morning, I'd probably get C. If I ate a lot of fruit, esp dried fruit, I'd get D.
Later on in the day if I ate fruit, I'd get very painful cramps, spasms and C. Never dared eating a lot of fruit in the afternoon though and not going to start to experiment.
You still have not told me though, are you eating the fruit on its own?
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Susie, born in 1985,
(pseudo-)D and bloating April 2007-December 2010, now stable
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Maybe your IBS is different than my IBS. For me, fruit sugars act as a laxative. However I do have spasm after I go, so maybe that's because of the IF. I am hesitant to recommend anything because I am not stable. But I will say that once I adopted that regime from my doctor, I was able to have a very large BM every day.
I ate the orange at breakfast (with SF) and I ate the dried fruit as an afternoon snack with some almonds. So no, that was not the EFI way.
When you say "if i ate the fruit in the morning, I'd get C", you do realize that the colon is responding to food you ate yesterday, since it takes that amount of time to reach your large intestine. So if I eat dried fruit in the afternoon, it'll only determine the kind of BM I have the following day.
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IBS-C, lots of spasm and trapped gas.
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