# Bulking Agents -Nothing works long term



## KBMELB (Apr 4, 2011)

High fibre foods seem to make my IBS worse so I Have been advised to go on a low fibre diet but use a bulking agent. I am currently taking 2 tsp of Normafibe (Sterculia) at night and 2tsp in the morning. Should I up this dose maybe? It worked at the start but now my stools are dry again and I am not going regularly.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Are you drinking enough water, You need both water and fiber to get a normal stool. You might also think about adding an osmotic agent to keep the water in the stool if the fiber supplement alone is not enough.Osmotics are things like magnesium supplements (magnesium oxide) or magnesium salt based laxatives (like milk of magnesia) or something synthetic like miralax.


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## KBMELB (Apr 4, 2011)

Kathleen M. said:


> Are you drinking enough water, You need both water and fiber to get a normal stool. You might also think about adding an osmotic agent to keep the water in the stool if the fiber supplement alone is not enough.Osmotics are things like magnesium supplements (magnesium oxide) or magnesium salt based laxatives (like milk of magnesia) or something synthetic like miralax.


Thanks for your reply







I think I am drinking enough water I certainly got to the toilet alot. I drink a glass and a half of warm water in the morning and about 3 cups of tea during the day ( black,green & pepermint ) also drink a glass of water to take the fibre supplement each morning and night as well as a glass to 2 glasses of water roughly througout the day. Should I drink more? I have tried the magnesium supplements but not with the normafibe I shall try that tonight, thanks. Also do you find supplements better to take at night or morning?


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## em_t (Jun 8, 2010)

Maybe cut back on the black tea, it contains tannins which can be very constipating. My friend's brother has IBS C and his is now completely cured by drinking herbal tea instead of regular tea. I don't know if you have it where you live but red bush (rooibos) tea is a great alternative. Are there any foods which ever give you diarrhoea? For me chocolate and tomatoes can cause loose stool. Sometimes encorporating some of these foods into your diet can make a big difference.


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## amberlink09 (Apr 5, 2011)

I used to be on bulking agents too, but I found that after a few weeks they quit working, so I upped my dose, but eventually that didn't work either and I wound up taking miralax, which has been the best thing so far. I have noticed that with both the bulking agents and miralax I have to force myself to drink all day or nothing happens. Coffee is one of the things that helps move things along for me, but I've heard that caffeine can really add to constipation. The black tea may actually be dehydrating so I would try to stick to herbal teas!


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## KBMELB (Apr 4, 2011)

amberlink09 said:


> I used to be on bulking agents too, but I found that after a few weeks they quit working, so I upped my dose, but eventually that didn't work either and I wound up taking miralax, which has been the best thing so far. I have noticed that with both the bulking agents and miralax I have to force myself to drink all day or nothing happens. Coffee is one of the things that helps move things along for me, but I've heard that caffeine can really add to constipation. The black tea may actually be dehydrating so I would try to stick to herbal teas!


Does Miralax make your tummy gurgle and bloat? Do you take it at night or morning? If you are going regularly to the toilet has your other symptoms gone?


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## amberlink09 (Apr 5, 2011)

KBMELB said:


> Does Miralax make your tummy gurgle and bloat? Do you take it at night or morning? If you are going regularly to the toilet has your other symptoms gone?


My tummy always gurgles and bloats, miralax unfortunately hasn't helped that. I've found no solution for the bloating but digestive enzymes really help my gurgling. I usually take it in the morning with my coffee or hot tea- it dissolves better in hot liquids. And it works right after I eat and keeps me regular for most of the day. Oddly enough I still suffer from the bloating and abdominal pain even when I'm not constipated.


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## KBMELB (Apr 4, 2011)

amberlink09 said:


> My tummy always gurgles and bloats, miralax unfortunately hasn't helped that. I've found no solution for the bloating but digestive enzymes really help my gurgling. I usually take it in the morning with my coffee or hot tea- it dissolves better in hot liquids. And it works right after I eat and keeps me regular for most of the day. Oddly enough I still suffer from the bloating and abdominal pain even when I'm not constipated.


Yes this is the problem I am having. Even if I go daily I still have all the symptoms. My wind is terrible. I have tried all the diet related things and I am not dramatically better when I follow the diets and due to the restrictiveness of them I have never stayed on them. Someone has suggested that it may take 6 weeks on the diet to feel better. The longest I have managed to stick to no wheat etc is 4 weeks. Should I feel some relief within days of no wheat ??


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## tourist (Feb 19, 2011)

I have tried all the diet related things and I am not dramatically better when I follow the diets [/quote]Is this the FODMAP reduction/elimination diet you are referring to? You might consider lactose to be a prime suspect too. And many fiber supplements and probiotics contain lactose, so one can end up trying to treat the problem exactly the thing that's causing it. I had immediate relief -- less than 2 days later -- when I identified FODMAPs as the cause and feeling good for the first time in years is all the motivation I need to swear off those foods forever. I think if you find the culprit and get some relief you won't mind stayinig on the diet.


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## KBMELB (Apr 4, 2011)

Yes I have tried the FODMAP diet and an elimination diet. I was a little better on the FODMAP diet but got really badly constipated so my symptoms came back full force. I am trying to sort my constipation out now then will try the FODMAP diet again as I only did 2 weeks. Thanks for the tip about the fiber supplements and probiotics that contain lactose. I will check out my bottle of probioticsand see if it does. Everything you can eat on the FODMAP diet I find binding, do you have this problem? If not how do you get your source of fibre?


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## tourist (Feb 19, 2011)

I didn't find that the FODMAP elimination diet was binding, but that may be a matter of specific choices. I always have steelcut oats with walnuts for breakfast, so plenty of fiber there and I would eat as many as two oranges or a whole grapefruit for lunch. For dinner if I had an omelette, it was a spinach omelette, and if I had chicken it was home made chicken soup with lots of celery, carrots and potatoes so again, fiber was in everything. But I can see that if the FODMAP elimination diet steered you towards bananas, cheese, steak and rice you could definitely end up in trouble.


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## KBMELB (Apr 4, 2011)

tourist said:


> I didn't find that the FODMAP elimination diet was binding, but that may be a matter of specific choices. I always have steelcut oats with walnuts for breakfast, so plenty of fiber there and I would eat as many as two oranges or a whole grapefruit for lunch. For dinner if I had an omelette, it was a spinach omelette, and if I had chicken it was home made chicken soup with lots of celery, carrots and potatoes so again, fiber was in everything. But I can see that if the FODMAP elimination diet steered you towards bananas, cheese, steak and rice you could definitely end up in trouble.


Thanks for your input. I don't seem to be able to tolerate nuts or oranges atm, but once I can get things moving I may be able to introduce them to my diet. Out of interest can you have Almonds or Peanuts or is it just Walnuts? I don't think I have ever had just walnuts on there own!


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## tourist (Feb 19, 2011)

KBMELB said:


> Thanks for your input. I don't seem to be able to tolerate nuts or oranges atm, but once I can get things moving I may be able to introduce them to my diet. Out of interest can you have Almonds or Peanuts or is it just Walnuts? I don't think I have ever had just walnuts on there own!


That sounds like what you are dealing with is very different from what I am. I have no problem whatsoever with any kind of seeds or nuts, even though I also have diverticulosis. Do you find them gas-producing? Oranges too?


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## KBMELB (Apr 4, 2011)

tourist said:


> That sounds like what you are dealing with is very different from what I am. I have no problem whatsoever with any kind of seeds or nuts, even though I also have diverticulosis. Do you find them gas-producing? Oranges too?


Yes gas is my main culprit, I had an orange yesterday and was ok. The problem with me is I am backed up and I think having fibre when things are not moving is not good. Trying everything to get things moving.


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