I was going to try flaxseed - I have seen it mentioned here quite ofter.

When I went on line to search info on it - there are several articles that state it can cause stomach distress, diarrhea, gas, as well as influence menstrual cycles

has anyone had any issues or are there any side effects you experienced?

Thank you

IMHO flax is a miracle food - I've suffered from IBS problems for nearly 10 years and in a matter of days they all but disappeared by adding flax. Flax is high in fiber though, so if you don't normally eat much fiber you'll want to add it slowly to your diet to avoid the gas, bloating, etc. It's also very important that you drink lots of water, again because it's high in fiber. I'd suggest just starting with 1 tbls a day and work your way up to a maximum of 4 depending on what you're trying to accomplish. Because of the high fiber content, it will help you feel full longer, so if you have 2 tbls at breakfast and another 2 at lunch you'll still feel full in the evening and will be less likely to want to snack.

A friend told me that in order to get the nutritional benefits from Flax Seed (Omega 3's etc) you have to grind it. She uses a coffee grinder. I eat food with flax seed added (bread and cereal) and it never caused any digestive disturbances for me and I do get IBS trouble with dairy. YMMV of course.

Eating too many flax seeds led me to get pretty bloated but REGULAR! ha ha!! It was both amazing & distressing at the same time - now I just have flaxseed oil dressing on my salad which just keeps me regular without the bloat! :)