Psyllium for IBS-D

[KathrynM10]

Hi all

Does anyone take psyllium musk for IBS-D? I’ve read a lot about how it helps with IBS-C but also a few reviews about how it’s helped people with D to reduce loose stools and urgency. Any feedback would be much appreciated!

[BikerJ23]

Yes I have used it for 30 years, can not live without it. There are different kinds, fine ground or course. Fine ground works better for me. I found an organic brand recently on amazon that is pretty good.

[KathrynM10 in reply to BikerJ23]

This is so great to read. So you take the powder form over the pills?

[Meekster]

I’ve been using it for almost a year now and it has changed my life. I had a serious problem with D and often didn’t dare to leave the house for more than an hour. Now I have a pretty regular stool and it took alot of the restlessness away in my tummy. Unfortunately with this condition it’s never completely over but it’s alot more stable than before.

[upr1210 in reply to Meekster]

Can I ask how much you take/dose, I have recently purchased but am I little worried I will take too much and it will do the opposite effected.

thank you

[KathrynM10 in reply to Meekster]

Thanks so much! Everything I read about it is for IBS-C. As upr1210 says below, how much do you take? As I’m also worried I’ll go in all guns blazing and it’ll make it worse!

[xjrs]

Everyone is different. I introduced it very slowly over a few weeks, but found I got extreme bloating (tummy blew up like a football) from it, which only when down when I stopped it. Others get on well with it though, so it is still worth a go for you. There are good tips on this website depending on what you dominant symptoms are:

theibsnetwork.org/the-self-...

[KathrynM10 in reply to xjrs]

Thank you! When you say you introduced it slowly, was that 1 or 2 tablets a day? Or did you use powder form?

[xjrs in reply to KathrynM10]

I used psyllium husk powder in 8oz water followed by another 8oz water. Dosage:

1/2 teaspoon immediately after breakfast for 3 days then

1 teaspoon immediately after breakfast for 3 days then

1 teaspoon immediately after breakfast plus 1/2 teaspoon before lunch for 3 days then

1 teaspoon immediately after breakfast plus 1 teaspoon before lunch plus 1/2 teaspoon before dinner for 3 days then

1 teaspoon immediately after breakfast plus 1 teaspoon before lunch plus 1 teaspoon before dinner for 3 days

You can keep incrementing like this until you get a response. If you are getting symptoms you can cut back to the previous amount for longer before trying to increment again.

Here is a related study:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/303...

Both 20 g and 30 g doses of ispaghula were superior to the 10 g dose but there was no significant difference between the 20 g and 30 g doses

It is concluded that the optimum dose of ispaghula husk in irritable bowel syndrome is 20 g* per day

*Note 1 teaspoon = 5 g