This blog post is a personal product review and contains an affiliate link to get your very own Metamucil if you wish to purchase using my link I will make a small commission without raising the price you pay, you can see my full disclosure here
This blog post is going to start out with a story from my childhood
I can remember as a small child being in the kitchen by the sink my mom fixing this special orange juice every morning, I would beg her “mom can I have some?” ” mom can I have a taste?” My mom would chug it down and say “no you cant have any this is for adults you would not like it!”
Fast forward 25 years and guess what I am now standing in front of my kitchen sink fixing me some special orange juice every morning, crazy isn’t it.
I have self-diagnosed myself(I know I know you should always go to the doctor for a diagnosis) with irritable bowel syndrome. I exhibit all the classic symptoms and my mom also has it which makes it very likely that I also have it.
For years, my side ached the paid ranged from a dull constant pain to a sharp stabbing pain under my right ribs.
At one point I remember thinking what in the world did I do, I have broken my rib?, how could I have done that? I kept thinking I must have done something in the night(I sleepwalk but that is for another post).
At my routine check-up with my primary care physician, I mentioned my pain and he sent me for a chest x-ray, which came back clear. Since my x-ray was clear and my pain was still there, my Dr. ordered routine lab work as well as liver panels as he thought maybe my liver enzymes were out of whack.
All of my lab work came back fine, I was healthy, my pain though it persisted almost to laugh at me.
I thought maybe I had pulled a muscle or maybe my ribs were dislocated, I really didn’t know what it could be but I knew it hurt really bad and when I had an exacerbation it was almost intolerable, the pain would bring me to the brink of tears.
After years of pain, I began to research pain in ribs what could it be. Every single article I found said Irritable bowel syndrome, IBS. I began thinking well perhaps it is, then I had a discussion with my mom and she said it is very likely since I have it too, lets try Metamucil.
I said what in the world is that? She said it is that special orange juice I would fix when you were little, I think maybe you should try it.
So we got a small jar to try it. I began taking it everyday in the morning, the taste is not bad at all, has a nice orange juice taste and if you just turn it up and drink it fast it isn’t a problem.
I considered other options and other causes but since my pain was pretty much always there, was relieved with a bowel movement, and some foods made the pain worse, I felt so heavy on the inside and always felt like I needed to use the bathroom but never could, so at that point I was willing to try pretty much anything.
After just a few days of drinking a small glass of Metamucil(my special orange juice) I had my first soft BM I had had in a very long time most of the time I was constipated, so this was a big relief(in more ways than one)
I continued drinking everyday and having regular bowel movements everyday until I got out of the habit.
July 4th weekend I drained my hot tub and was working a lot outside in the heat.
Pain in my lower abdomen showed up and reminded me a lot of my rib pain days except this was in the lower abdomen. Maybe I pulled a muscle working so hard outside, I thought.
Everyday following that Saturday holiday my pain intensified and woke me up at night, I felt very bloated and heavy on the inside
I began feeling rumbling in my tummy and had several small BMs but nothing that significant. I felt like if I could just go to the bathroom and go I would feel better but I felt like I couldn’t.
I then decided it was my IBS flared up, this made perfect sense to me since the entier week prior to my pain, I had to go into work, I have been working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. I felt myself getting more and more stressed everyday from the commute in to work and back home, to social anxiety(being around people outside my family bubble) and mask anxiety(people not wearing masks not adhering to our company mask rules)
So yea it is pretty safe to say I am having an exacerbation of IBS
I grabbed the Metamucil immediately once I figured it out took me 4 days (if it were a muscle it should have been better by then)
Metamucil makes you comfortable it literally feels like it coats your intestines in silk and of course helps you to go to the bathroom and have a successful Bowel Movement. My pain immediately subsided and I felt lighter.
If you struggle with BM or IBS I would suggest giving Metamucil a try it is wonderful for me and my mom anyway.
Go here to get your own Metamucil to try
