Research Outline

Metamucil and bloating

Goals

To determine whether metamucil helps with bloating or causes bloating and to understand how long bloating from metamucil lasts.

Early Findings

Metamucil side-effects

  • Metamucil is a "fiber laxative that is used to treat occasional constipation or bowel irregularity." It mainly uses psyllium fiber as its core ingredient.
  • Metamucil takes about 12 to 72 hours to work.
  • Unfortunately, bloating is one of metamucil's biggest side effects.
  • This is not surprising considering that metamucil forms a psyllium gel that moves through the digestive system, trapping the waste as it moves down.
  • As the laxative does not work immediately, the substances that are trapped can release gases and cause bloating.
  • Usually it takes several days for the stomach to adjust to the drug and to stop the bloating.

Patient Reviews