Thread: Psyllium Husks - Help Please ?

Hi There
For those of you who actually understood my rather strange title, I guess you know what my problem is!
I'm having 6-8 pints of water and 2 teaspoons of the Cambridge fibre and have only managed 3 'movements' in the last 4 weeks and that was with the help of Dulcolax.
There seems to be a lot of love for Psyllium Husk Capsules out there but when I've looked online they seem to come in different capsule sizes ... mainly 500g and 1000g.
Please can anyone advise on dosage? I'm desperate!!!
Many thanks
xxx

Hi Sykesy

Im starting CD again tomorrow morning, after a 4 year break (lost 4 stone, but have slowly regained 2 of them )

Psyllium husks were a god send to me. I didnt use capsules, but I used the 'flakes/powder' and put a teaspoon or two in two of my shakes per day. It was a bit strange at first, but it actually made the shakes / soups seem more substantial and filling.

I've just ordered 500g off ebay as the health food shop I used to go to has closed down

Hope this helps

I bought the 500mg rapid release capsules - 200 in a tub & it says to take 2 capsules 3 times a day - holland & Barrett - offer buy one next one for 1p so £10 for 400 :-)

Very interesting post... I have just bought these myself and taking two as the dosage states has done nothing for me but being able to take 3 times a day may well be the answer.

hiya.. I've been doing some research.. I think you have to be careful with them if you're already constipated and should go for the actual husks rather than the tablets.. the husks can absorb 20 times their own weight in water, so it's best to have mixed it with water before swallowing.. they're a bit..erm.. slimy like tapioca.. but they work a treat!

Repost from Russiandoll 2006

http://www.minimins.com/very-low-cal...sk-post-2.html (FAO - Lesley: psyllium husk post)


FAO - Lesley: psyllium husk post
Hi
Pierce said you were looking for something I posted about PH and the mechanics of 'the bowels'. I've just hunted it out for you and here it is:

Everything you wanted to know about Poo (but were too scared to ask!)
I suffered terribly from constipation in the early days. It got so bad that I had to resort to suppositries and I even considered giving up the diet I was in such discomfort.

Then I tried psyllium husks and I haven't looked back since. So here's the low down on psyllium husks and your innards. (Biology lesson coming up)

Your bowels work by being 'triggered' to contract and expel waste when the contents are bulky enough to press against the walls. All the time that waste sits in your bowels, water is being extracted. Therefore, if there's waste sitting in there for any period of time, it soon becomes dry and hard: this makes it difficult to expel.

On a VLCD, we don't have a lot of waste products as an end product of digestion so it can often be days before there's enough to press against the bowel walls. Cue constipation ....

Laxatives are a solution .... but only as a short term 'fix'. If you use laxatives regularly, then they can interfere with the natural mechanisms of the bowels and make them 'lazy' and reliant on being artificially stimulated.

The best solution is a bulking agent which will enable your bowels to work naturally like they're supposed to. This is where psyllium husks come in. They are 100% natural and contain no calories or carbs so they don't interfere with the diet. The body cannot absorb or digest them. They absorb 20 times their own weight in water which means when you take them and drink plenty of fluid, they bulk up the contents of your bowels and hey presto!!

They are also gentle and so are suitable for people with IBS. You can buy them in powdered husk form (this is how I take them). I add 2 teaspoons to my morning shake and another 3 teaspoons to my evening soup. It thickens them up - in fact the soup is like a broth - I love it!

If that's not something you fancy, then psyllium husks can be bought in capsule form. They are not a cure and should be taken every day as a preventative.

They absolutely transformed my experience on this diet and I haven't had to take a laxative since.

Remember to drink extra water when taking them though.

I buy my PH online (cheapest way to do it) - here's the link to the company 'Healthspan'.

Buy vitamins and supplements online from the UK's No1 direct supplier | Healthspan

and if you prefer the idea of capsules, Holland & Barrett sell them -here's the link

Holland and Barrett &CID=15&Page=4

Hope this helps!!

Thanks so much to everyone for your advice. Unfortunately I haven't been online for a while as things got so bad I ended up in hospital. To cut a long story short though I've been really surprised at how supportive my doctor has been considering he wasn't overly in agreement with VLCDs in the first place. I am now on a course of Movicol which is working fine. Once finished, I will definitely be following the psyllium route.

Thanks again everyone x

blimey - hospital! you were suffering!

..get yourself fully well lovely - you don't want to get yourself ill...

be careful with some of the suggestions in this thread because some of them are about PREVENTION and you should only use them if there's nothing wrong with you...
others are short term cures but can cause longer term problems if used too much... so treat your body with kindness.. it does so many wonderful things for you.. you need to do some wonderful things for it too

all the best and keep us posted

xx