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Benefits of flaxseed

donnellysdogs

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Type of diabetes
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Just to let you know.. Although some people can't eat flaxseed...

I have had flaxseed since being diagnosed with slow colonic transit (this gives absolute chronic blocked bowel from impacted faeces). It is excruciating pain when it is so chronically constipated.

Well last week I ran out. I forgot to order it off the website. So Friday and Saturday I went without. On the previous Thursday my hubby gave me his mixed flaxseed. Not pure ground flaxseed. I got some more flaxseed from Waitrose on the Sunday.

Anyway. Yesterday (weds) I was so blocked that I had to have morphine from paramedics and admitted to hospital. That experience wasn't nice but I eventually came home 6lb lighter!!!! Taking a break from pure flaxseed caused this and despite having more the flaxseed when I used it again was just not enough to break through the 3 days of food that had backed up in me.

It just goes to prove the benefit of flaxseed.

I spoke to GP today and explained that I had run out of flaxseed and he was quite happy to let me carry on without having to have "chemical" based laxatives. That I had learnt to never run out of flaxseed again!!

To me my flaxseed was my way to naturally keep my stomach but I really didn't realise until yesterday how good it was.

I had carried on taking my chia seed so it is definitely flax seed that is the food that keeps my stomach chugging along....
 

That's horrendous DD. When did all this crisis kick off?

Thankfully, my bran and plenty of water keeps my system moving nicely.
 
The slow colonic transit was diagnosed December 2013.

The full crisis started yesterday morning!! Pure agony. I should have noted the days when I hadn't gone to loo... But I didn't. I felt rough on Tuesday night and my stomach was hard and bloated but I thought that the flaxseeds would work even though I had missed 3 nights of them.
Yesterday morning my blood had shot up to 18 and this used to happen previously before my diagnosis and when I got up I was in discomfort.

I have small microlax enemas at home as a back up so gave myself two of them. They didn't work but caused me real agonising pain.

To be honest I was screaming so loudly on the toilet floor that a stranger knocked on our front door!!

Hubby had called ambulance but got told they were busy and he had to phone again 20 minutes later. This time the operator could hear me screaming and got a paramedic to us 10 minutes later. He called an ambulance after trying to get me off the loo to bedroom and then me going back to the loo. Then he gave me morphine..then another 15 minute wait for the ambulance.

Then at hospital the normal nurse to do the triage and a hook up to a paracetomal iv drip then a long wait, then eventually an a&e consultant, then an xray, then eventually saying I would have enema. Then a change of mind and a surgeon had to see me. Then after waiting for surgeon he wanted me upstairs in the "admittance ward".

Each time being off my head with morphine (x2), paracetomal drip and still in pain and having to explain myself and my probs to everybody time and time again.


And when a change over in staff I had to explain again.

During this time I looked at my notes... They had me writtendown as a type 2!! They didn't consider anything at all regarding my diabetes. Even when I said my levels were dropping they did not offer me any food but suggested a drip as I was not allowed drink or food but the drip never arrived so I ended up eating my sugar cubes. Not forgetting it was 35 degrees and I could have been dehydrated!!

The hospital enema fortunately worked and another different surgeon discharged me. It is a truly disgusting, embarassing time to go through.

My hubby went home to get clothes as I was taken away from home in knickers and tshirt. He texted me to ask if I'd passed anything. I texted back to say I'd given birth to a 6lb 18" alien!!!

Lesson learnt well and truly.

I hope that others will never have to go through this.

My GP phoned me this afternoon and said twice that I was slurring my speech... Once he asked if I was hypo... Then realisation that it was the morphine still in my body.

Brain back to normal now at least... Bit of trial and error to know if my bum is-lol!!!
 


Sounds like you packed all that lot into a few hours? Horrendous.

I'm assuming the hotter weather won't have helped either, with everyone having a tendency to dehydrate a bit, without the other issues going on. Not a great combination for you.
 
This info definitely helps, I suffer on and off from constipation especially since starting lchf and to be honest I hate flaxseed only tried then once and the rest of the packet is all intact still, but I will definitely give it a try. Thanks a lot for the info.
 
Had constipation issues and was on Laxido sachets daily for a year but since the daily consumption of one of the Lidl high protein rolls my problem has resolved itself. Still don't go daily but every couple of days there is a clear out.

The rolls are covered in seeds, I can only assume that these are flax seeds and thus the benefits.
 

Honest. Even in a small glass of milk.. Swirled round you won't taste them really.

Sometimes I could have taken 8 packs of laxido and that wasy yuck stuff.. Much nicer if you have say peanut butter to mix it in..

They are so good....

Still took 9 hours of exceuciating pain and discomfort from the time ambulsnce was called to going home.....
 
You are very brave divulging all this, RRB. It was obviously a complete horrendous nightmare for you, and I'm pleased all is now resolved.

I take milled flaxseed every morning with my yogurt and berries (a very large heaped dessertspoon) and swear it keeps me regular, along with a considerable amount of water throughout the day. I sprinkle it on the yogurt and sort of make a pasty mash out of it before adding the berries. I can't say it's wonderful, but it isn't awful once you are used to it.
 

Just didn't realise how good it was... Would never risk running out of it again.

Being a T1 I sprinkle it over fruit that I have each evening which has liquid apple & mango juice to mix it with or I sprinkle it over my soup and stir it in.

I definitely need to have it with my main meal of the day. Not say in a glass of milk during the day. I think its the seeds that help the food to travel thru my less active stomach.

Learnt my lesson well n truly.

Had years of laxido and still ending up in hospital regularly. It is awful...

Would have been better if they had actually treated me quicker rather than just showing iv drips of "off my head" painkiller in. They could have freed up bedspace a lot quicker.

I was shocked that they wrote me as a T2 and not a T1 and didn't give a **** when I was saying my bloods are going low.
 
Sounds horrendous. How you are feeling much better. I take a daily supplement as understood it was good for joints, and hadn't heard of the otter benefit before now. Might have a look for a less processed version as my current supply is coming to an end. Appreciate the tip and just hope you never run out agsin
 
I use Linwoods flax seed as its cold pressed and ground and can be purchased direct from them online cheaper than shops and no postage.
They do a lot of different varities ie with nuts etc but I eat it without any additional stuff.

Trouble is today... I gave one if my packs away to a neighbour to try!! So one pack less already from my supplies!!-lol.
He has difficulty with chronic constipation from painkillers n treatment for cancer. He heard how I was taken in from running out of flaxseed and wants to give them ago!!

Flax seed is also meant to be good for cholesterol. Hubby normally takes a cheaper mixed version from Lidl but he is now eatinb mine too since my happenings this week!

If my pain and experience can only help one person It will help me believe it was worth it. So I'm hoping my neighbour and others will benefit from my experiences.

Believe me.. I will never run out again...lol!!
 
Costco .....the wholesaler, do Carrington Farms organic milled flaxseed in 32oz bags. Cant remember the exact price as I bought some a while ago but think it was around £6
 
Think flaxseed definitely works better than movicols!!

Think I just posted really because nobody should really fear talking about bowel or stomach problems. Especially as my gastro chap says he is seeing so many more diabetics nowadays!!

Just would really like people to know how good this natural product is at keeping stomach n bowels regulated.

I for one can now identify that it is the flax seed and not the chia seeds that keep things moving.

A horrible experience having this but just hope that others may benefit from my experience.

Are Carringtons cold pressed ground flax seed?

I didn't fully realise until today that if the seed isn't ground it just passes straight through the digestive system whole. I knew it should be ground but didn't realise the reasons why.
 
donnellysdogs, what an awful experience. Relieved you're okay now.

I have questions for you...

How much flax seed do you take a day and when? Also, now that you know you need to grind the seeds to receive its nutritional benefits in addition to it's fiber, are you grinding the seeds now? And do the seeds work as well for you ground as they did whole?

To my post, I'll add a caution...

I was using 2 tablespoons ground flax a day - (1 tablespoon whole seed made 2 tablespoons ground) - to make a daily 1 minute flax bun in the microwave for a month, and experienced my third, in 25 years, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) flare within a month's time of beginning to eat flax.

It's now been three months, and I'm still coping with daily mucus and bleeding. I began taking L-Glutamine this week. Hoping it will help me heal.

At the time, when I reported my difficulties here on the forum, I was told that when starting flax, it's best to start with small amounts and build up slowly.

Also, I learned that for people like me who have a history of IBS, specifically a family history of ulcerative colitis, we should not use ground flax seed. It is an "illegal food" on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). Here's a link to the website for anyone who doesn't know about this diet and how it helps some people with IBD, also Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). I have the former, IBD... http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/legal/listing/F/ I can supplement with flax oil, but not flax seed.

All that said, flax seed, when ground, provides both fiber and nutrients, and is helpful for many people.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I use Linwoods Cold Pressed Milled Flaxseed. The recommended amount, if I recall correctly, is a tablespoon. I have a very heaped dessertspoon every morning, and have had no problems.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
I use Linwoods Cold Pressed Milled Flaxseed. The recommended amount, if I recall correctly, is a tablespoon. I have a very heaped dessertspoon every morning, and have had no problems.
Click to expand...

Snap I have always used lthe same as you bluetit1802.

I have a proper tablespoon measure and use two each day of them levelled off.

I did build up from 1 tablespoon.

Our stomachs n bodies are amazing aren't they? We are all so individual.
 
@Winnie53 are you sure the continuing mucus and bleeding is 100% due to the flaxseed?

I always had ground and always with my one meal of the day. Big mistake was not realising how much my body depended upon them.

I think its amazing just how different our bodies work.

Slow colonic transit can cause immense back up of solid faeces that is impossible to expel and yet IBS etc is so diffferent.

I suffered IBS at 16-28 YO. But that was stress related thru management jobs. It disappreared when I changed jobs. Stress still plays a big part with my stomach but now is the reverse!!
 

Am I "sure the continuing mucus and bleeding is 100% due to the flaxseed?"

Yes. And no. Only time and a lot of trial and error will sort this out.

I am confident in that eating ground flaxseed was the only dietary change I had made that could explain my IBS flare, my third in 25 years.

I believe the ground flax seed increased one or more "bad" bacteria in my gut - (remember, fiber is a prebiotic) - which lead to the erosion of the mucus barrier at the end of my colon, which significantly damaged the tissue in that area. This was suggested to me when I read this statement from Elaine Gottschall - (author of the book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet... http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Vici...pebp=1436032860824&perid=04T45KD9G9KE4M6531R2 ):

Flax seed is illegal.

From Elaine: "lignin is found when the whole seed (and its stiff coat) are ground up. I think it is harmful for people just starting out on SCD. I think some bacteria feast nicely on lignin - it is tough like bark."

Years ago, it was thought that fiber for UC patients was bad. It's now understood that fiber is good, but some fibers, may not be helpful, damaging even. With ulcerative colitis, the battle is inflammation of the intestines.

It typically takes months and months for my colon to heal. Now that three months have passed, I'm considering going on a liquid diet to rest my colon for three days to a week, described in the book, The Protein Power Lifeplan, by physicians Michael Eades and Mary Dan Eades. ("Healing the Breach - Plugging the Leaks", pp. 146-149) I thought all I needed to do was take L-glutamine, but upon further reading, I've since learned that Eades have their patient's take 20 to 40 grams a day for a brief period of time, along with cross-flow microfiltered whey powder (protein), 300 mg magnesium, 99 mg potassium, and a couple of tablespoons of cod liver oil, and a lifetime ban on grains. Luckily, I'm not on any medications, so don't need to consult my doctor first.

If this doesn't work, I'll have no choice but to see my gastroenterologist which will cost me thousands of dollars, due to the high deductible on our medical insurance. [Sigh...]

@donnellysdogs Most people, like you, not only tolerate freshly ground flax seed well - (be sure to store it in the refrigerator or freezer) - but also enjoy it's many benefits. That said, there's a small subgroup of us who don't.

I really appreciate you posting about your experience, and what's worked for you, because there are diabetics who share your slow digestion condition who will greatly benefit from adding ground flax seed daily to their diet. It's been a life changer for you, and I believe it will be a life changer for others who read your post too.
 
Just a quick note, Elaine Gottschall, author of the book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet, passed away, I believe in 2009, and her work with the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) has been taken up by Steven Wright and Jordan Reasoner.

I encourage anyone concerned with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), "leaky gut", or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) to explore their websites... http://scdlifestyle.com/ and http://solvingleakygut.com/ There's a lot of free information there in the form of articles, videos, podcasts, and at least one downloadable book.
 
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