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I feel much better without vegetables except potatoes and carrots, but my brother died of colon cancer, so I know I need to have fiber. However, I am very confused about the whole fiber supplement issue. Which are OK, which are not? I would welcome any advice from others.
This group is great! I was diagnosed only two weeks ago and already I have learned way more from this group than from my doctor!
Thanks for any advice you can give.
MiraLax Cancer Celiac disease Diverticulitis Crohn's disease Acid reflux Nexium Diabetes Gastroparesis Metamucil Probiotics Pain Aciphex Depression Reglan
Hi Gaa-
Welcome to our warm group :-)). I am sorry that you have a motility disorder, but we are glad you found us. I too have learned more from this group of people than I have from any of my doctors. People here have "been there, done that" and it really helps when you are trying to make decisions for yourself.
As you probably know, everyone who has GP or motility disorders is different, as far as what they can and cannot eat and our symptoms vary greatly. I too have worried about the lack of fiber in our diet. I was cautioned against taking Citracel or Metamucil fiber supplements as I was told that it makes GP worse-definitely stopped my bowels from working.
I now take one dose of Benefiber after I saw that others here took it. It works differently than the Citracel in that it doesn't sit in your stomach. Check with your GI doctor. It's a constant battle of trying to get our bowels to move...and not having them move too much. Besides not getting enough fiber.
Take care and good luck to you-Mphotographer
I am a dietitian and I am actually more concerned about the lack of vitamins and phytochemicals (fight free radicals in our body) than the lack of fiber. You need to take vitamin supplements, most people on this site rec chewable vitamins. Keep up with some cooked carrots (vitamin a) and potatoes(vit c). You should also be able to eat canned peaches and pears, they are low fiber. DF
Welcome gaa. Definitely try benefiber. I take it 1-2 times a day, generally once a day. And like DF said, a multi-vit is crucial. I use centrum chewables. not the best tasting, but it's better that trying to choke down the horse pill. good luck
I am so, so sorry about your brother. You are right to be thinking about fiber - we do need it.
Stay away from bulk fiber, like Metamucil! My GI recommended Benefiber. It dissolves completely in liquids so it doesn't hurt the stomach & empties like a liquid, but it re-forms in the colon / lower intestines and does a great job there! If you look in Target, they have their own brand right next to the Benefiber, and has the exact same ingredients - it's cheaper. I have found that it dissolves better in some liquids than others. It always dissolves in hot water (tea, coffee, cocoa). Doesn't work well in some thicker liquids. I also mix it in with my cream of wheat - that works. You can also add it to smoothies when you are blending them up. They sell flavored Benefiber packets that you add to water. They cost more but I use them when I travel.
I take Fiber Choice and Benefiber. Haven't had any problems with either one. I think as long as the fiber is soluble, you'll be okay. Stay away from anything that has insoluble fiber in it.
I just switched to a new multivitamin which seems to have helped with my energy level and depression. It's also very easily assimilated since it's a liquigel. It's made by Irwin Naturals and is called Living Green Liquigel Multi for Women. You can find it online at Lucky Vitamin.
Thanks, folks, for your support and all your suggestions. I feel much better now about the direction to go. I bought some Benefiber in packs as I will be traveling soon. I'll also look into Centrum chewables, Fiber Choice and Living Green Liquigel. I am SO glad I found this site. People here are a mine of information!
I'm the dark horse on this one. There are different kinds of fiber - the kind in vegetables (ie cellulose) and protein fiber (from nut flour). Fiber from veggies KILLS me, but protein fiber keeps things rockin exactly right. In fact, I've thought about writing a post called, "Let me tell you about my bowel movements," but I'm not sure that would go over really well. :0)
But I WISH when I was diagnosed that someone told me that with gp, we have unique consequences when we're not digesting something. When something stays in our guts for a long time, it's going to ferment or rot. Fermenting and rotting food breaks down our intestines, which is the home of our immune system, which makes us even sicker.
I take Betaine, a beet-based hydrochloric acid, every time I eat protein to help break it down. Additionally, I juice veggies twice a day to get the vitamins and enzymes I need to digest everything else.
For me, this works. In my case, veggie based fiber (all the OTC stuff except Miralax) doesn't digest and makes me sick and causes extreme pain.
cath
GeorgiaCath, Thanks for your comments. I think a post about bowel movements would be well received. It would free others up to discuss theirs too! :) For now I have more questions.
1. Fiber from veggies seems to be my worst enemy but I didn't know about protein fiber. Where do you get nut flour? And is it simply called "nut flour" in the store?
2. When you say you juice veggies, do you mean that you blenderize them, then strain out the fiber, or what other way do you juice them?
I was diagnosed with GP only as a result of having extreme abdominal bloating and I was found to have H. pylori too. Apparently not digesting the food causes an overgrowth of bacteria too and the bacteria in turn make the intestinal gas even worse. I want to be careful now not to have undigested food in my system which would cause that to happen again. Thanks for the tip on Betaine. I had never heard of that. Do you get it in a drug store or health food store?
Gaa - yes, you do have to watch out for bacterial overgrowth. I have experienced this a few times and it doesn't feel very pleasant. My doc recommended taking a daily probiotic in order to prevent the overgrowth. (I wish he had told me that when I was diagnosed - but I guess he waits until I develop a problem, then tells me "oh yeah - you can prevent that!") I take Target brand Acidophilus every day, and it works like a charm. Haven't had bacterial overgrowth since I started taking it a year ago. (I used to get the overgrowth every 6 weeks!). There is also Align, but it's pretty expensive - the Acidophilus works for me.
Hi dear,
For the nut flour/protein fiber: I get blanched, slivered almonds every week, either at WalMart (baking aisle with the nuts) or at a health food store. (I get them blanched so I don't have to digest the skin on the almonds.) Then I run them through my food processor until they attain flour consistency, which ends up looking about like whole-wheat flour. If you leave it in too long, you'll have yourself a nice batch of almond butter, so be sure to stand there with it! :0)
(That was the voice of experience, mind you!)
Incidentally, I have a Bullet Express, of infomercial fame. I was skeptical when I first saw it, but the fact that it's both a food processor and a juicer finally sold me. The food processor attachment actually beat my Kitchenaid's ability to get the nut flour really refined. Then there's the juicer...
The juicer you need (no matter the brand) is one that has a chute you can feed fresh veggies in, and that will take ALL the fiber out of the veggies, thereby leaving you with the enzymes and nutrients. You just can't beat it. I usually juice one head of Romaine lettuce (or other leafy lettuce), several stems of celery (GREAT for inflammation), and a carrot (I hate carrots, but I can get them down this way). Best of all, I put in fresh mint, which I grow by a sunny window in my dining room, so it's always on the ready for a yummy drink.
I can't overstate how much juicing has changed my life. I couldn't eat any vegetables before, no matter how mushy I cooked them. The gp just wouldn't let my system break down the fiber before making me toxic with the gas from fermentation.
So, yippee from the front lines!
Stay encouraged - it's a trial and error thing for all of us...
cath
oops - forgot to mention my source for Betaine - it's from Vitacost (vitacost.com), and it's called Betaine HCI with Pepsin. Good stuff.
cath
gpgirl5 and GeorgiaCath,
Thanks for your tips and advice! I feel more enabled to cope with my intestines now! Since I had the antibiotics for H.pylori and cut out most veggies I don't have abdominal gas like I had before being diagnosed with GP, but at least a couple of times a day I get pretty bad gas pains in my upper body (feel like I need to have an enormous burp which just won't come!) I have acid reflux which was diagnosed 5 or 6 years ago and for that I take Aciphex, Rinatidine and pretty frequent Tums. Any suggestions for dealing with the upper body gas? Maybe I should make this a new discussion.
For gas, I regularly take either Phazymes (Simethicone, like GasX) or Charcotabs, both available at WalMart. I prefer the Phazymes over GasX because it has less "stuff" in it, and it contains the maximum dose available without a prescription. The Charcotabs are activated charcoal, and studies show it works as well as Simethicone. The Charcotabs are homeopathic (alternative medicine) so they're really gentle and safe.
Studies also report that most doctors (not all) don't test for too little acid, they assume the acid reflux symptoms are from too much acid. But, it's tricky. The symptoms of too much hydrochloric acid are the same as too little, so you may be working against yourself with the Tums, as they minimize acid. You may need it to digest your food.
If and when you order the Betaine HCI, you could try going without Tums for a day or two and see if your acid problems go away. If that's the case, you didn't have enough acid in your tummy, and the Betaine will solve that problem.
cath
Tums become toxic and cause all kinds of problems. They were not made for daily use.
Thanks for all the advice. You are really all so kind and supportive! Sorry I haven't replied sooner but I was at a relative's wedding and didn't have access to the internet for over a week. However, the good news about my trip is that I managed well in spite of GP. I was able to find food that didn't upset me too much and in fact relied only a little on Tums, although I still took Aciphex and Zantec. I had tried Benefiber for a few days before my trip but it didn't seem to agree with me, although I'm not sure if that was becasue I was just finished with antibiotics for H.Pylori. I know for most others it is better than Metamucil, but for my trip I went back to Metamucil, which I had tried a few times before and that seemed OK on my trip, but now that I'm home I plan to try Benefiber again.
While I was gone I bought a lot of commercially prepared smoothies, which are very expensive but great for travel. I had seen a mention of a prior discussion of smoothies, does anyone know what the title of that was? I would like to review that discussion to get ideas for making my own smoothies. I know I will continue to miss fresh whole fruit, which I love, but smoothies are the next best thing.
For smoothies, I use coconut milk (So Delicious brand, available unsweetened at health food stores) and it doesn't taste coconutty at all. :0) I mix egg-white protein powder with it instead of other commercial protein powders because they have whey in them. Whey will ferment in your gut because it's a dairy product, and dairy products have lactose (milk sugar) in them. No mas gas.
cath
Hi Gaa, welcome to the forum, I agree with Georgia, she turned me on to the Betaine HCL to be taken with the protein. My gas and reflux have disappeared period. I think I needed acid, not sure, but I don't take tums, nexium or any antacid anymore. Everyone is different, you will have to try different things until you find what works. As for fiber, I am going with food still, I eat canned no sugar peaches,pears,mandarin oranges, bananas, cantaloupe, watermelon- no seeds please, for veggies,I so miss veggies esp. salads, I have been using baby food veggies, and they are okay so far. V8, tomato juice and fusion juice low sugar are also good for me. I have noticed a surge of energy with them and I also take liquid B vitamins and a multi vitamins. If I forget I get so tired, I got distracted lately and got back to the liquids vitamins and wow I noticed the difference. I also eat potatoes, reg. and sweet potato,rice, and gluten free bread . I am so grateful I can still eat. I also eat lots of fish very easy to digest esp. salmon, cod, tilapia, and also ground lean meats. I die when I eat any fatty fried food or pizza or baked sweets like cake, donuts etc. If I do need a laxative and it happens. I use magnesium citrate tea, if it doesn't work then miralax or benefiber both are gentle. You are so right to be concerned about colon cancer, I worry too, as three of my former co workers have died from this cancer. Get your colon healthy and your health will improve too. Because I am diabetic, I have to watch the carbos esp the sugars, if not I get distended. I had to quit most all diary except Fage yogurt. Need the probiotics too. Warm wishes. and good luck finding your niche diet. Gina
I just found a new kind of Metamucil - Clear and Natural. It dissolves competely and doesn't get thick. I plan to try it to see how that agrees with me. After my trip I had ear and sinus infections so had to be on antibiotics again so of course my stomach didn't like that. My immunity must be low as I have been getting so many infections. I have started taking Centrum chewables so I hope that helps. Today I go to the store to look for some of the things that you folks have suggested. Thanks again!
I have been on this site for awhile, just found out yesterday I have gp so I am going back and reading again! I definitely want to try the Betaine, my reflux is very bad, hoping this will help. I have been taking miralax with hot tea, this works well. THere is also CVS brand of miralax now! Sarah
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