Hello everyone, I seem to have this problem (GI doctor does not think much of it) with an unsettled gut in the morning. I usually wake up at around 6:30 and it takes my body until around noon to feel normal. What I mean by this is that my I have slight abdominal cramps and urge to go to the bathroom in the mornings until around 12. I'm guessing it could have something to do with not having ate since the night before. Does anyone take any OTC or certain medication/supplement that helps with this?
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You're describing how I tend to get towards evenings. (Mornings are best for me.) I suspect it has to do with when we eat, what we eat and transit time. By experimenting with time and type of food, you may figure it out. What are you eating first thing in the morning? I do best with a bowl of whole grain oatmeal with a banana, little or no sugar. Avoiding sugar and unrefined carbs improves things for me generally.
Are you using a fiber supplement? Metamucil or psyllium husk? That may help. But if you're new to it, start slowly with a single dose and see how you feel. Takes a little getting used to. Search either term on this site and you'll see a lot of discussion about how it works, dosing, etc. we J-pouchers use 1tsp dissolved in a small amount of water (not 8 oz as instructed on the container.)
OTC solutions are Imodium or Pepto Bismol. I try not to take them during the day, saving them (one or the other at a time) for before bed.
Hello AMB, thank you for your insightful reply.
My routine is usually wake up around 6:30 and on days I have in-person class (Mon/Wed/Fri) I won’t eat until 11:30 which is usually a small snack like crackers or a pop tart. I get home around 3pm and have my dinner which is more than likely either eggs, chicken, or fish. And I take Metamucil 30 minutes before that meal. I hydrate a lot throughout the day, around a gallon. My guess is that I have problems completely emptying my pouch. I just completed two years with a pouch back in January of this year.
Do you eat breakfast on other days and does the timing of that meal make any difference to how you feel during the morning hours? My 1 year stage 1 anniversary is today with takedown 9 months ago. I am still learning and adjusting and adding new foods a bit at a time. I am finding that balancing nutrients: pushing to 40% protein if I can get there with lean poultry, meat and fish, and really cutting back on sugar and animal fat are important. (I would love a Pop Tart, frosted, but won't go there. Doing my own baking to keep the sugar under control.) I eat more rice products than wheat now. Banana and peanut butter are go-to snacks. Soluble fiber is good to me: oats, apples, avocado, pear (no skins), asparagus tips and barley are all fine. And yogurt with live cultures. Regularly spaced small meals combined with the psyllium seem to help me maintain what is becoming an almost normal(ish) bowel. The pouch certainly works much better than my colon did for as far back as I can remember!