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I was taking Benefiber, but I started on acacia fiber 3 days ago. I'm up to 2 tablespoons a day. Acacia has lots more Soluble Fiber per dose than other Soluble Fiber Supplements, so you might be getting lots more Soluble Fiber from the acacia than you were from the Benefiber. Increasing the amount of Soluble Fiber you get from Soluble Fiber Supplements too quickly can cause gas, cramps, and bloating.

I have been following the diet from the book for about a week. Started with nothing but SF and started adding some IF a few days ago. I also quit coffee (something I thought impossible!) Funny thing is, this morning my symptoms seemed to slightly let up AFTER I ate the greasy sausage sandwich and had that cup of Joe! Oh, if that were only the cure From what I've read, IBS-C types really need quite a bit of IF. If you're still just getting a little IF, your symptoms may ease once you work your way up to more. I also think not getting enough fat can be a problem (my own opinion), so the grease in your sandwich may have helped, too. And coffee has always worked as a laxative for me. In the long run, though, I truly believe red meat, too much fat, and caffeine cause more problems than they're worth.

My somewhat competant gastro told me they have recently seen benefits from Zelnorm for men with IBS-C. It doesn't really matter, I just found out my insurance won't cover it. And at $150 it'll just worsen my symptoms because the added financial stress. The Zelnorm Website recommends Zelnorm for women with IBS and for men and women with chronic idiopathic constipation. That doesn't mean your doctor isn't right - physicians may be prescribing it "off-label" for men with IBS-C, but I'd be really, really cautious. I don't think there's any way to know if Zelnorm has never been tested on men with IBS-C or was tested and either didn't work or had unfortunate side-effects. If you have your heart set on trying it, there are programs that help people get medicine they can't afford. Personally, I'd give Heather's approach a solid try first.

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