Psyllium Husk Fibers

Pre-op the only time I ever had any constipation problems was about 4 weeks into my one and only Atkins experience. I guess what I'm eating now is close enough to Atkins that I'm starting to get some constipation problems. So far I've been able to drink a liter or so of water and then go walk a couple of miles and get it to go on through.  My brother, who is not obese but has constipation problems, swears by this Psyllium Husk Fiber product. He says he can **** like a jack donkey within an hour or so of taking it. I haven't seen any mention of it pro or  con on any of these message boards. Do any of you guys have any experience or knowledge regarding the advisability of an RNYer using this product?

Psyllium husk is the fiber found in Metamucil. I know that in rare cases (e.g., the very young or elderly or people with GI motility problems), especially when taken with too little water, psyllium has been a cause of esophageal or intestinal blockage.  The fiber absorbs water, and acts as a bulk laxative, but if you ingest too little water, or your gut isn't moving, then the water can be reabsorbed into the body, causing an obstruction.  (This is also why psyllium isn't recommended to address constipation due to opiate pain relievers.)  Needless to say, this side-effect is exceedingly rare in otherwise healthy adults. Like you, I haven't heard any explicit warning against psyllium or Metamucil for RNY patients, but maybe I've missed something.  However, all that soluble fiber is a feast for all the bacteria living in your large intestine, and when they chow down on it, they produce a TON of gas, something that's already a preexisting problem with RNY-ers, especially recent post-ops (like me).  I wouldn't dare try it for at least a few months!  The few times I've needed "help" over the past 6 weeks, I've used Milk of Magnesia or MiraLax, both osmotic laxatives. FYI, Citrucel contains methylcellulose, a non-fermentable bulk laxative.  I imagine that the same concerns exist with it as far as liquid intake, but it shouldn't cause as much gas.  I've never used it myself. /Steve

Before my lap-band surgery, I had used this for years. But I would take it shortly after my meals, so I still had food in my stomach that mixed with the psyllium and water. I would take 3 TBSP a day, and on that regime, my poops came out like velvet. After I got the surgery, I stopped taking it, and had major constipation problems. I tried Benefiber, even up to 3 times the recommended daily dosage, but it didn't really help. Here's where we might have some differences based on our different surgeries. My stomach is basically unchanged, except the top part is pinched off by the band, creating a little pouch where the food is supposed to sit and slowly drip through. Since it can only hold a few ounces at a time (this varies by each person's anatomy) it seemed that if I had full restriction, I would not be able to ingest enough water at one time to safely take the psyllium. The other poster is right, you need at least 8 oz of water taken with the 1 TBSP psyllium, or it's going to cause major problems. But I did some experimenting with a funnel. I filled an 8oz shaker with water, added 1 TBSP psyllium, shook it up, and poured it into the funnel. Timing is everything, because the second the dry psyllium touches the water, it starts to absorb it and bulks up tremendously. It also becomes very gooey, like cream of wheat after it's been sitting for a while. If you wait too long to drink it after you add the water, it will be very difficult to get down, as just swallowing it will be a problem. Also, I know if I wait too long when it  hits my pouch, it will be too thick to drip down into my stomach and I'll get blocked. I found that if I immediately pour the water/psyllium into a funnel (which serves to represent what my restricted pouch would be like), it all flows through quickly. Thus, it wouldn't start getting firm until it was past my pouch. So I did small experiments on my body, 1 TSP to start with, and eventually figured out I could indeed take in the 1TBSP psyllium with 8pz of water again. But the catch for me now as a lap-band patient is I have to do this right *before* I eat, since I can't drink liquids within 30 minutes of a meal. So my constipation is a lot better now than before I started taking psyllium, but not as good as it was before surgery when I was taking it basically right after my meal. I don't know how much of this you can apply to your case as an RNY patient, but hopefully you'll find some of it useful.

Thanks, men. Sounds like I probably ought to try the MoM route first. I'd dang sure like to avoid clogging up  my stoma while trying to unclog my squeakhole.

Constipation has been my major problem since the surgery. Presentlly I take 2 stool softners daily, one morning, one evening and  one rounded teaspoon of metamusal in a large water glass followed as quickly as I can with another glass of water. This has been "kinda" working. Lately, to that I've added a bowl of Quacker oats hot cerial in the morning. I had to develop a taste for the stuff, but now I kinda look forward to it. With all that I will cautiously say that I am regular now. I drop friends off at the pool every other day now.