Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

1

Okay, I haven't seen anything like this on the site or... in my life.

My poop. It's always sucked, so I started taking probiotics because fiber wasn't doing shit. I pooped like, 4-5 times within the first day on probiotics. Great! But that immediately stopped after 3-4 days.

Keeping in mind I've always had terrible digestion, NOW I have the worst.

I am taking:

http://www.allvitaminsplus.com/658010115674.html

and

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=VS-2173&activateTab=reviews

(Just read the review, and now I'm pissed about the grams of fiber.)

ANYWAY, my poop is completely black, hard, flakey... Just think about it. Flakey poop. Yeah, it's weird. It also floats and breaks apart into smaller flakes.

I don't think it's blood (that'd just be a lot of blood). Could be dehydration, but I drink just as much as usual... I DID just start my Whole30 about when this started and switched to lemon water from tea w/ sweet n low.

So my variables:

Probiotics
Fiber
Lemon Water
Dehydration

Any ideas or experiences like this?

flag	asked Jun 1 2012 at 18:34 Sleepyhouse22 2,014●1●13

3

"fiber wasn't doing shit" pun intended? – Korion Jun 1 2012 at 18:49

9

If PaleoHacks is anything, its a safe place to talk about poo. – lostgoonie Jun 1 2012 at 19:48

Very much intended ;) – Sleepyhouse22 Jun 1 2012 at 19:49

3

We are a very poo-oriented community :) – Nemesis Jun 1 2012 at 22:48

If you see "no poo," - it's not because PHers are anti-poop - it's someone who stops using sham-poo! LOL! – Lady_Arwen Jun 2 2012 at 20:04

show 2 more comments

Nemesis · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-01 22:59:59Z UTC

Sleepyhouse, I was also shitting bricks even when I ate strict Paleo (and I was eating a LOT of fiber). I was constipated and whenever I would finally "go" the hard stools would tear open my half-healed fissures. I started to dread going poo, because I knew it was going to hurt and there would blood at the end of it. Kind of like losing my virginity.

Desperate for relief, I would take a full dosage of Miralax with a glass of water every night. Sure as rain, a nice fluffy poo would be ready for me in the morning. Did that for six months straight with no ill effects.

But I got food poisoning last year and having to recover from that was arduous. I needed carbs, and white rice and broth seemed to be the only things I could tolerate. I also started taking probiotics to replenish what had been flushed out with the diarrhea, and the combination of starch and happy bacteria brought my stools to normal. Since I've added starches back to my diet in the form of potatoes and white rice, my poos have been much better. Every once in a while I'll get one that's harder than normal, and it will hurt my fissure, but never to the point that it bleeds for hours afterward. And TMI: I also stick a gloved finger smeared with zinc oxide cream up my bum to help heal them (after I poo, not before, lol).

I've also found that eating nuts of any kind will give me painful poos the next day. Unless they're crushed up into a fine meal or in the form of a butter, I try to avoid snacking on them now.

Anthony · Answer 2 · 2012-06-01 23:35:46Z UTC

4

If it were me I'd go to the doctor. Black and flakey does not sound anywhere near the realm of normal, and blood from higher up in the colon would be black.

answered Jun 1 2012 at 23:35

Anthony
704●3●10

2

Seriously, this. – Kasra Jun 2 2012 at 0:39

Lady_Arwen · Answer 3 · 2012-06-03 03:39:18Z UTC

I don't understand why you're taking a fiber supplement when if you eat enough nonstarchy veggies and berries you will get fiber - even low carb? If you're doing a ketogenic diet then that's a different story.

Your fiber supplement has known gut irritants that are NON-PALEO: Oat Bran Fiber!! Soy Fiber!!! Rice Bran!!

I've found in my personal experience when adequate Vitamin C, magnesium, probiotcs, and nonstarchy veggies/berries are consumed I have no problems with poo!

Hunter gatherer cultures barely have constipation.

sarah-ann · Answer 4 · 2012-06-01 19:09:42Z UTC

1

Have you tried high dose vitamin C?

answered Jun 1 2012 at 19:09

sarah-ann
4,919●15●31

I haven't, I didn't know that would do anything. I do however have lemon water for every sip of drink I have in the day if that counts for much. – Sleepyhouse22 Jun 1 2012 at 20:14

2

lemon water wouldn't have the high dose vitamin C needed. Both Perfect Health Diet and gutsense.org recommend high dose C (more than 2g) for good stool formation. – sarah-ann Jun 2 2012 at 11:12

Thanks Sarah! I will look for good supplementation. – Sleepyhouse22 Jun 14 2012 at 14:06

Elunah · Answer 5 · 2012-06-01 19:25:04Z UTC

1

You should probably stop taking the probiotics, because it's not a stretch to suggest that they're causing your stupendous stools. It's simple: you started taking them, and immediately afterwards, you started having these problems. I imagine you didn't make any other drastic changes in the meantime.

I might suggest a change of mindset if you're focused on using fiber to improve digestion. Who tells you that you need fiber? Is it people with the assumption that you're eating three pizzas with four liters of soda a day? Sisson is incredulous that you actually need fiber, especially processed fiber.

So, what is your diet? Perhaps we can hack the root of this problem instead of trying to hack the hack.

answered Jun 1 2012 at 19:25

Elunah
2,547●1●14

1

At the time of the probiotics I also started drinking lemon water. Typically in a day I eat a shit ton of grapes, cherries, grilled chicken, steak, some vegetables, butternut squash or tomato soup, plantain chips, almonds, or a banana. I will throw back an entire sauteed onion, squash, or zucchini. I started the probiotics because people recommended it since coconut was killing my stomach (they suspected bad bacteria). I started fiber at the recommendation of my doctor after having fissures, a colonoscopy, hemorrhoids, and weird alien style barium xrays. – Sleepyhouse22 Jun 1 2012 at 20:03

1

Also, I agree about the mindset. I do not like supplements nor do I find much benefit from any medicine I typically take when ill. I do it because it's the normal thing to do and heavily suggested, but it's not ideal for me. If I can be flat out honest, I find most medicine to be a scam and supplements to be a money pit. I'm a strong believer in flavonoids and the healing properties of foods. – Sleepyhouse22 Jun 1 2012 at 20:20

pjnoir · Answer 6 · 2012-06-01 22:39:39Z UTC

LC and Paleo for over three years now and haven't used a fiber product in those yewars and I have better craps then when I did. I eat a lot of vegetables in season, some berries in seaon. The original study that found fiber to be healthy was fiber from eating vegetables and NOT from any package pulp or seed in a bag. Real food is always the answer. Eat some more fermanted foods. I like a teaspoon of apple cider vinger in a glass of water ( good for blood sugar) in the morning and evening, as very cheap quick way of getting go GUT.

crap on......

karmapolicia · Answer 7 · 2012-06-01 23:19:12Z UTC

1

what about a different method of probiotics - raw kombucha tea, maybe? they now make varietals that have chia seeds in them as well, which always soothes my sensitive stomach and gets things moving.

you might want to do an elimination of all your supplements for a week or two and then add them back in one at a time (spacing them apart by a week when you add back in).

answered Jun 1 2012 at 23:19

karmapolicia
548●1●7

	kombucha really sounds like the new thing going around. I've been afraid to have it, but maybe I need to look into it at least once! – Sleepyhouse22 Jun 14 2012 at 14:08
	some have too much of an apple cider vinegar taste/smell for me but i LOVE synergy kombucha. and they have some that have a dash of organic fruit puree for flavor that are a great starting point (especially the strawberry and guava goddess flavors). when my stomach is going haywire, i rely on the gingerade which is ginger juice and kombucha. – karmapolicia Jun 23 at 19:27

Hack my poop. Embarrassing.

7 Answers