Psyllium plugged butt

September 27, 2005 10:17 PM

Psyllium made me constipated!

So I bought some psyllium husks from a health story after reading about them (on AskMefi, actually). I'm not generally constipated, but I'm not quite regular, either. So, I took a teaspoon a day stirred into a big glass of water for three days. Now I'm all gummed up. Did I do something wrong, or is Psyllium just not for me?

[I'm young, with a pretty decent diet including veggies/grains/fluids and all that stuff]

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (9 comments total)

I find psyllium works fine for me (as intended) when I take it in the form of Allbran cereal. I usually mix it with yogurt or fruit, and neither combination works any less than the other. I've been out of the habit in a while, but every day or every other day for breakfast does increase regularity for me.

I've never tried the husks - that might be it, perhaps trying psyllium in a different form might help?
posted by Cyrie at 10:24 PM on September 27, 2005

This would happen if you don't drink enough water while taking the psyllium. Other bran can do this as well, a problem I've had especially with popcorn (ouch).

Some people use psyllium for this purpose (eg, crohn's sufferers), and I've seen warning labels on some products about this.

Lately, I've gotten the impression that occasional problems are best dealt with by eating more fruit. Better nutritionally and less likely to cause your problem.
posted by Goofyy at 10:57 PM on September 27, 2005

What Goofyy said about water. I had a similar problem w/ Psyllium. Now I drink about 32oz of water an hour, and have no problems (other than peeing all the time :) But all that water makes me feel great - YMMV.
posted by zerokey at 11:28 PM on September 27, 2005

You need lots of water especially when you've just started. When you start, there's a lot of, er.. "stuff" for that psyllium to cling to on its way through. After a few weeks, you'll be right as rain.
posted by wackybrit at 2:03 AM on September 28, 2005

For clarification, "enough water with" means, drink water all day, not just the amount you take when you down the grit. For the best safety, drink 8 oz every hour.
posted by Goofyy at 3:06 AM on September 28, 2005

There's a book called Eating for IBS that really helped me out. There's a difference between soluble and unsoluble (or is it insoluble?) fiber, and knowing when to eat one and when to eat the other is important for getting past "bad times." I do think the suggestion to generally drink more water is a good one, especially if you're having psyllium.
posted by abbyladybug at 4:20 AM on September 28, 2005

I found this: "The laxative properties of psyllium are due to the swelling of the husk when it comes in contact with water. This forms a gelatinous mass and keeps the feces hydrated and soft. The resulting bulk stimulates a reflex contraction of the walls of the bowel, followed by emptying."

and also: "Always drink plenty of water with psyllium to promote its therapeutic effects and to prevent it from causing choking or intestinal blockage
."

Maybe you aren't hydrated enough.

If it's getting uncomfortable, you could probably hydrate it from the other end to speed things along....
posted by whoda at 7:44 AM on September 28, 2005

What whoda said - backend hydration (aka enema) will most likely give you instant relief, especially when starting a psyllium regimen, but don't do it too often. It's icky, and you don't want to flush away all of your happy butt creatures.
posted by zerokey at 1:50 PM on September 28, 2005

Lots of fiber will slow your intestinal transit time. Give it a couple more days, and, as everyone else has said, drink lots of water.
posted by ikkyu2 at 5:50 PM on September 28, 2005