Has anyone used this? I did a search in this forum but no results came up. It appears to be a real food alternative to Imodium/Lomotil. Someone gave me a packet, but I've never heard of it. I was told by my surgeon to eat bananas to slow down my bowels, so I'm assuming this is an easy way to accomplish that if you don't want to be eating bananas all day.
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I had to look it up, as I had not heard of it. But, basically it is another type of fiber product, made from banana flakes. I would not say it is a lomotil/Imodium alternative, since they are bowel slowers and fiber is a stool thickener.
I found it interesting that one of the things highlighted as being a big positive is that it is suitable for tube feedings. As it is classified as a medical food, you *might* be able to get insurance coverage for it. But it is unlikely, unless you could show that you could not eat bananas. Plus there are many inexpensive fiber supplements available without a prescription. Still, it is intriguing. I have heard of folks using apple pectin, but not banana flakes!
If you try it, let us know how it works for you.
Jan 
I'm pretty reluctant to take supplements like this. So far, everything I've tried (probiotics, soluble fibers, bile salt sequestrants, enzymes, etc.) has made things worse. I seem to do best by just eating regular food and taking Lomotil.
We use it in the ICU on patients with high liquid output. It works pretty ok. It's basically just bananas: mixed with water, smells like baby food bananas. We give it as tube supplementation. I've never given it to a patient orally.
So here I am nearly 2 years later, investigating Banatrol. I changed primary care docs last week and he suggested I consider it. I asked my GI surgeon and she thought it is definitely worth trying. She advises I start with just Banatrol, then if I need to, add psyllium back to my daily routine. Banana flakes and fiber are apparently very different from each other, but possibly complementary. I have tried so many things without much success, so if a doc said to try standing on my head to and reciting the alphabet backwards before each meal, I'd probably try it. I ordered some Banatrol via Amazon and will give it a whirl as soon as it arrives.
Any updates? I'm an RN and out nutritionist is launching this as a pilot for cdiff patients. I instantly thought it may benefit to prevent leakage. .
I tried Banatrol a few months ago but it neither helped nor hurt. I am still trying to find the right dosage and frequency of Metamucil. So far, it seems to work the best for me but still far from perfect. It may be HOW I'm using it rather than what. I take a teaspoon of it mixed with 2 heaping spoons of applesauce first thing in the morning. I do pretty well then until late afternoon, so I may start taking an equal dose in the early afternoon to see if it helps. Or maybe stir it into my martini later. I wish!
