Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: I've been taking Prodiem, lately.

Prodiem contains calcium polycarbophil, the "active" ingredient of Equalactin. Equalactin is not available in Canada, where I reside. I noticed Prodiem, recently, and decided to give it a trial run, based on the successful reviews of a few veterans of this site. Calcium polycarbophil is not one of those SFS that "ferment" and give mega-gas, etc. It helps regulate intestinal moisture, I suppose. Note, however, that it is not a stool softener/emollient. There are no bowel stimulating ingredients. It's a bulk forming SFS. Immodium basically stops D. Run a google on calcium polycarbophil to get a better understanding of it.

I guess, lately, my biggest IBS-issue has been intestinal moisture--either too much water or dried out "bunny" poops.
I experience a kind of "D-attack backlash." My intestines are literally "parched." Perhaps, this is why Prodiem is so effective for me. It's not constipating. It helps my guts absorb moisture when necessary to help keep things running smoothly. Please note that I do use Immodium when/if necessary. I note, however, that I hardly use it of late and I believe that using Prodiem, daily, has made the difference.

I am also highly intolerant/sensitive to "gum" types of fibers. Benefiber ultimately made things worse for me (guar gum). Foods which contain added "gums" cause me exceptional distress and give me gas/cramps which lead to D-attacks. Also, if I get a little too C, I get a huge D attack. Since using Prodiem, though, this has decreased significantly.

When stopping to "re-stock" at the drug store, I didn't buy any Immodium this week. I didn't buy any last week. I still have the box from last month and it's not even half empty! This is a HUGE change, for me! I simply bought more Prodiem and generic gas relief pills (I have asthma and tend to swallow a lot of air!). I am also consuming a diet high in SF, as recommended by Heather's site. I've been having solid but not hard bm's, consistently!

Sidenote: being accustomed to a lot of D, this took awhile to get used to on a regular basis

I'm significantly less gassy and hardly experience bloating--when I have alot of D, I get that famine-belly kind of bloating, i.e. a tummy full of water.

It's just nice to have things flowing rather smoothly and bounce back really fast.

Also, I don't have the situation where I have one more or less solid bm followed by a few really watery, mild D quasi-bm's.

Kate, IBS-D.

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