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I Take One Tsp Metamucil Daily, Take A Natural Vegetable
Question: I take one tsp Metamucil daily, take a natural vegetable laxative and stool softeners when needed. Lately I have been experiencing flatulence. Not much, just a puff every hour or so. It doesn't seem to smell, I have no pain or cramping or discomfort. I do chew gum all day (for bad breath), and I have read that that can cause gas. I have no rectal bleeding or blood in my stool. I also think I eat too fast. Anything you can suggest would be appreciated.
I also drink one smoothie each morning. It contains banana, blueberries, ground ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, coriander and supralini. I'm switching from Ensure to a non-dairy milk for the liquid.
Brief Answer:
follow the advice, observe how you stay afterwards...
Detailed Answer:
Hello there,
Welcome to 'Ask A Doctor' service...
I've gone through your query in details...
I can understand your concerns...
First of all, please stop chewing gum (yes, you've read right, so stopping it now would be a good idea).
Instead of chewing gum all day, you can use Chlorhexidine mouthwash twice daily, drink plenty of water throughout the day, do ensure to brush the tongue also while brushing. Additionally, you may try chewing some cloves, it won't give such problems and will be beneficial for the bad breath also.
Even excessive laxatives and fibre supplements can cause such flatulence. So, please refrain from using Metamucil and those other vegetable laxatives for the time being and observe how you stay.
If it still persists despite following this, then you may consider switching from Ensure.
Have simple home-made foods, home-made vegetable soups, salads; avoid fast/processed foods, avoid refined sugar/sugary products. Take a probiotic daily (eg. Capsule VSL#3) for the time being.
Have some yoghurt daily. Eat in small but frequent portion, that way even if you eat too fast, it won't cause too many concerns.
All these will help ease the symptoms and fasten the recovery process.
Let me know if I can assist you further...
Wish you a good health...
Take Care
Kind Regards
follow the advice, observe how you stay afterwards...
Detailed Answer:
Hello there,
Welcome to 'Ask A Doctor' service...
I've gone through your query in details...
I can understand your concerns...
First of all, please stop chewing gum (yes, you've read right, so stopping it now would be a good idea).
Instead of chewing gum all day, you can use Chlorhexidine mouthwash twice daily, drink plenty of water throughout the day, do ensure to brush the tongue also while brushing. Additionally, you may try chewing some cloves, it won't give such problems and will be beneficial for the bad breath also.
Even excessive laxatives and fibre supplements can cause such flatulence. So, please refrain from using Metamucil and those other vegetable laxatives for the time being and observe how you stay.
If it still persists despite following this, then you may consider switching from Ensure.
Have simple home-made foods, home-made vegetable soups, salads; avoid fast/processed foods, avoid refined sugar/sugary products. Take a probiotic daily (eg. Capsule VSL#3) for the time being.
Have some yoghurt daily. Eat in small but frequent portion, that way even if you eat too fast, it won't cause too many concerns.
All these will help ease the symptoms and fasten the recovery process.
Let me know if I can assist you further...
Wish you a good health...
Take Care
Kind Regards
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
Answered by
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