Heather's Pepperming Caps - who takes them, when and how many
#342664 - 02/27/09 01:42 PM
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LtDanFan
Reged: 12/17/03
Posts: 588
Loc: Ohio
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I would really like to go off my prescription antispasmodic completely and was wondering if anyone takes the peppermint caps three times a day everyday or if just as needed, like when you feel an attack coming on. Sometimes I feel, once I get that rumble and queezy feeling and then cramping that even though I take one, it doesn't do much for the upcoming IBS war path attack, I wondered if it is safe to take them as a proventitive. Most GI doctors really know nothing about the benefit of peppermint for IBS, but I wanted to see if there would be a benefit to have it already in my system in case I get an attack? Make sense? Because once my attacks starts it seems like there is no releaving the colon spasm, until I finally go to the bathroom, for how ever many times that may be.......Thanks
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IBS-D, extreme pain and cramping - GERD - lactose/dairy intolerant, OCD, Fibromyalgia
DX: w/ Multiple Sclerosis 3/10
I can do all things through Christ who strenghtens me. Phil 4:13
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The caps have to be taken on an empty stomach, and they need at least an hour to pass through your stomach and reach your intestines, where they'll dissolve.
So, they are meant to relax the gut and head off attacks in the first place.
If you are already on the verge of an attack or in the midst of one, use the Peppermint Tummy Tea instead. It will work immediately.
So, use the caps (which are stronger) for prevention, use the tea (which works asap and on a full or empty stomach) for immediate help.
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Wonderful to know!! I just wanted to make sure they were safe to take everyday three times a day if I needed. I do usually take one as soon as I feel I'm getting an attack, which can be minutes to hours after I have eaten. So one capsules should work up to 8 hours when taken on an empty stomach? I stopped drinking the peppermint tea at night because it makes me pee all night........but I will remember to have my husband make me a brew fo tea when I start cramping and give the peppermint capsule time to disolve. I love the peppermint caps, I just didn't want to over dose on peppermint.....  Thanks Heather!!
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IBS-D, extreme pain and cramping - GERD - lactose/dairy intolerant, OCD, Fibromyalgia
DX: w/ Multiple Sclerosis 3/10
I can do all things through Christ who strenghtens me. Phil 4:13
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I know this question has been asked but I can I take these caps daily during pregnancy? TIA!
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Quote:
The caps have to be taken on an empty stomach, and they need at least an hour to pass through your stomach and reach your intestines, where they'll dissolve.
So, they are meant to relax the gut and head off attacks in the first place.
If you are already on the verge of an attack or in the midst of one, use the Peppermint Tummy Tea instead. It will work immediately.
So, use the caps (which are stronger) for prevention, use the tea (which works asap and on a full or empty stomach) for immediate help.
- H
I've found that the peppermint caps really help my pain! I also know that FiberCon seems to help a lot. I take 2 FiberCon tablets first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. I also take the peppermint caps one hour before eating (just lunch and dinner).
Here's the thing. My wife and I like to eat sushi. I can usually handle a bowl of white rice and a moderate amount of sashimi. However, I get a small stomach ache (the filling of fullness) after eating. I don't get this at all after having a bowl of pasta with a little fish and tomato sauce. So, to prevent the stomach ache, I take another bout of FiberCon and hour before eating a meal I know will not have any soluble fiber. Would it be better to just take a peppermint cap instead???
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Not really. If it is a meal like you say that has no SF you need SF and pep caps won't replace it. But pep caps can make an iffy meal more tolerable. I take them before eating out to help with fat.
Sushi and rice should be low in fat but the vinegar or the spiciness possibly could cause ouchiness.
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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Quote:
Not really. If it is a meal like you say that has no SF you need SF and pep caps won't replace it. But pep caps can make an iffy meal more tolerable. I take them before eating out to help with fat.
Sushi and rice should be low in fat but the vinegar or the spiciness possibly could cause ouchiness.
Thanks for the quick reply. Now the confusion is how can I take both. Or, when should I take the SF supplement and when can I take the Peppermint Caps. I know the Peppermint caps should be an hour before but I thought I have to take the SF supplement an hour before also. Also, I just have the sashimi sushi so its just fish by itself w/ no spicy stuff or sauce. I'm just not brave enough to eat a non SF meal without a supplement yet.
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Another poster had mentioned today that you could take fiber in the morning and pep caps only before lunch and dinner, then a second dose of fiber in the evening. BUT if your meal is going to be low on SF you need some with it. In that case take the pep caps one hour before eating and the fiber with the meal. Taking fiber with a meal is generally recommended.
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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Thanks so much! I'll try that.
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Ok, another question. Since most, but not all IBS sufferers must eat several small meals a day, when exactly is my stomach empty? Does that mean completely empty. And, yes I know my stomach is empty when I get up in the morning, but I generally put my citrucel on my tummy with my mixed acacia fiber water mixture. Always first thing, then I eat breakfast. Now, I guess when I read that you should always take fiber with your meals, is this pertaining to one's fiber supplement. I have devised a system that I mix my Acacia in my bottles of water and that way I am getting fiber throughout the day instead of one big clump at once, there for my tummy is rarely completely empty. Is this making sense?
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IBS-D, extreme pain and cramping - GERD - lactose/dairy intolerant, OCD, Fibromyalgia
DX: w/ Multiple Sclerosis 3/10
I can do all things through Christ who strenghtens me. Phil 4:13
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I don't know if anyone answered you and I do not have a definitive answer. However; I would take your bottle to your OB doctor for him to read what is in them and let him tell you if they are safe.
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IBS-D, extreme pain and cramping - GERD - lactose/dairy intolerant, OCD, Fibromyalgia
DX: w/ Multiple Sclerosis 3/10
I can do all things through Christ who strenghtens me. Phil 4:13
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From what Heather has said the reason for taking pep caps on an empty stomach is so they reach the intestines before the coating gets broken down. They work better that way and cause less heartburn. I don't get heartburn at all so I take them whenever I feel gurgly. To me it doesn't matter if they dissolve in my stomach. BUT the less liquid is in the stomach the better for taking them. I agree that there is very little time my stomach is truly empty; I may feel it is empty but it isn't.
So if you take one an hour before lunch and an hour before dinner you can probably get through that time without eating. It is sort of a conundrum though since you don't want to go for very long without drinking. To really have little liquid in the gut when taking them you would have to stop drinking one and a half hours before meals, take the pills an hour before, and then resume drinking a half hour before the meal, resuming the fiber too.
I don't have the answers; this is my guess. 
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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Yeah, the problem I also have is that if a take my SF supplement before an non-SF meal I'm not sure when to take the Pep Cap. The reason is that my SF supplement (FiberCon) requires me to drink 8ounces of water. I assume its best to take this an hour before eating so the water doesn't inhibit digestion. But then, I don't know when to take the Pep Cap. Any suggestions?
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Yes. Don't eat non SF meals. Learn to eat a good SF base and you won't need SFS before meals. Or switch to a SFS that doesn't need so much water. I think fiber choice doesn't, but I only really know about acacia now. You could still stop drinking 1.5 hours before a meal, take a pep cap at 1 hour before. At .5 hours before take the fiber since the pep cap may have moved on by then. .5 hours before eating should be fine for your fiber.
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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Yeah, we are going to a chinese place (they don't use msg). It's a nice restuarant and I've found food that doesn't bother me very much. Hard to get a SF meal though. I just have a bowl of white rice and some steamed chicken dumplings. I might just try taking the pep cap like you say then doing the SF supplement 1/2hr before. Thanks.
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Ok now I am totally confused! The white rice is SF and your meal is perfectly safe. If you are eating rice why do you need a SFS?
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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Sorry to confuse. I have a thing of white rice at home and the fiber content says 0. However, it is basmati rice. Maybe the nutritional facts are wrong. Maybe the Chinese rice has some SF?
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Just because fiber isn't listed on the rice doesn't mean it can't be considered a SF source. We have had some past discussion on this and why the nutrition facts don't give the whole picture. It is best to just assume that white rice, bread and anything starchy like that is SF.
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IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
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