Loose Stools Plan

[textarea name="variable_1"]Loose Stools Plan
-Trial of no dairy products for 10 days. This includes milk, ice cream, yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, butter, and cheese just to name a few.

-Trial of no artificial sugars for 10 days. This includes but is not limited to aspartame (NutraSweet or Equal), sucralose (Splenda), xylitol, saccharine (Sweet 'N Low), sugar alcohols, Stevia, and D-tagatose (Sugaree) to name a few. No diet beverages, nothing that tastes sweet and has little to no calories. They are often marketed as soft drinks or foods that are "Diet" or "Sugar Free". Artificial sweeteners are widely used in processed foods, including soft drinks, powdered drink mixes and other beverages, baked goods, candy, puddings, canned foods, jams and jellies, and dairy products. Please contact me when you complete this trial.

-Start a daily soluble fiber supplement such as Metamucil (psyllium) or Citrucel (methylcellulose). Off brands work just as well as name brands. Citrucel can be less bloating than Metamucil in some patients.

-Fiber can be used in both loose stools and hard stools. Some may say psyllium may work better for loose stools Start with the daily recommended dose and slowly increase your dose every 3 days as needed. If use powder form, start with one tablespoon. This can be increased all the way to 3 tablespoons if seeing no change in symptoms. If one tablespoon is overwhelming, keep in mind you can change the dose by 1 teaspoon (there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon). Be sure to take with plenty of water. There are pill forms, which occasionally say to take four pills four times daily. This can be overwhelming so it is best to start with a couple tablets then increase every couple days. Water is very important when taking pill forms because patients often do not take enough which can turn the fiber almost into cement. You will know when you are taking too much fiber as you will start to feel significant bloating.[/textarea]