My 13 yr. old son last night complained of diarrhea. This was the first time in his two weeks of Atkins LC. I've started him on sugar free Metamucil in the hopes this will help. Does anyone know what is the cause of this?

Sometimes people develop diarrhea when they first start low carbing. It's called "transitional diarrhea" and should clear up in a few days. How much fiber is your son getting in his diet? Adding extra bulk should help and try to get him to eat plenty of high fiber veggies. If the diarrhea is severe, make sure that he's getting plenty of fluids as well.

I've had this problem since January! I recently started taking psyllium husk capsules (no sugar, etc) and it has really done the trick. I wish I would have listened to everyone here and started taking them sooner.

Lisa:

Thanks for your information on this. I must confess I did get a bit worried, but I did just as you suggested, added extra bulk, (more low carb vegies) and upped his water intake to 8 glasses a day and the issue resolved itself within two days. Now he tells me everything is normal. He's only 13, so he gets a bit embarrased talking about this kind of thing. The good news and one he is so thrilled with is that he has lost 10 lbs (in about 3 weeks) and his peers at school now are commenting out loud to him that he is looking "way slimmer".

How many caps do you take?

thx

bob

I just wanted to throw in my two cents here - I've had this problem since I started LC and I drink LOTS of fluids and eat LOTS of bulky veggies ...