Fiber And Constipation

[dtgirl]

I have a very strange reaction to fiber (most especially inulin/fos) and almost ALL carbs in general. I get very bloated (I look like I am pregnant..), retain a lot of fluid, get bubbles in my stomach (lower right side), joint pain, and very lethargic. Additionally, it makes me extremely constipated, for days. My worst offending foods are all fruits, especially apples, dates, berries, beans, sweet potatoes, and mostly all veggies. My diet is meat, oils, avocado, peeled and steamed zucchini, and the occasional banana or carrot when I am feeling brave. Most probiotics constipate me too. Does fiber constipate anyone else or does anyone else suffer from these symptoms?

[Matt007b]

I have a very strange reaction to fiber (most especially inulin/fos) and almost ALL carbs in general. I get very bloated (I look like I am pregnant..), retain a lot of fluid, get bubbles in my stomach (lower right side), joint pain, and very lethargic. Additionally, it makes me extremely constipated, for days. My worst offending foods are all fruits, especially apples, dates, berries, beans, sweet potatoes, and mostly all veggies. My diet is meat, oils, avocado, peeled and steamed zucchini, and the occasional banana or carrot when I am feeling brave. Most probiotics constipate me too. Does fiber constipate anyone else or does anyone else suffer from these symptoms?

yeah i'm the same exact way, for years I had doctors tell me my nausea/extreme constipation was caused by lack of fiber so I did everything they said...and felt worse doing it (basically it increases the size but not softens so it makes it worse)

I think i've learned is when you have an intolerance to something (soy..wheat) for me it causes constipation and the colon slows down digesting foods...then to add fiber to the mix that just causes more problems.

Only thing I can think of is trying miralax (it's safe long term) and maybe mixing it directly with citrucel (a non allergenic bulker) so you could *try* that..i'm only 2 weeks off soy/wheat/lactose intolerance so.. i'm not sure how long I should way or how long it will be until I get feeling better..hopefully soon!

[OptimisticMom42]

Hello,

Miralax is helpful to get me moving again after a mistake but long term ..... magnesium supplements, tart cherry juice concentrate (I use Kings Orchard, they have a web site) and pure maple syrup are way easier on my system. Big mug of warm water with two tbs of cherry juice and two tbs of maple syrup to wash down the magnesium supplement before bed and I'm good to go within a hour of waking up in the morning.

The cherry juice helps to reduce inflammation and swelling. The syrup has potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc and manganese. The magnesium supplements help with long muscle relaxation and contraction. It allows your muscles to relax and let it go....

Hope this helps

[dtgirl]

Thanks for replying! I was beginning to think I was crazy. No one ever believes me and when I eat fiber rich foods, I almost die.. and I drink 3 liters of water a day so it is not that. I fear miralax may cause me issues, but I will try it with caution! Interesting about cherry juice too, thanks for the tips both of you

[Megyn1]

I have a very strange reaction to fiber (most especially inulin/fos) and almost ALL carbs in general. I get very bloated (I look like I am pregnant..), retain a lot of fluid, get bubbles in my stomach (lower right side), joint pain, and very lethargic. Additionally, it makes me extremely constipated, for days. My worst offending foods are all fruits, especially apples, dates, berries, beans, sweet potatoes, and mostly all veggies. My diet is meat, oils, avocado, peeled and steamed zucchini, and the occasional banana or carrot when I am feeling brave. Most probiotics constipate me too. Does fiber constipate anyone else or does anyone else suffer from these symptoms?

I know you posted this a while back. But I just wanted to say...THANK GOD! You aren't the only one, I'm not the only one! It is so frustrating because after being diagnosed with Celiac while I was in BETTER digestive health, it wasn't perfect! I felt like I had a hard time completely eliminating, and or struggled WAY TOO MUCH! So like you I kept eating MORE FIBER! Then I had a hemorrhoidectomy (hemorrhoids were from two years of straining while undiagnosed with celiac) and the protocol for a smooth recovery is LOTS AND LOTS OF FIBER! I was probably only 6 months gluten free at the time, so one could argue not fully healed. But needless to say I COULD NOT go to the bathroom! I wasn't on pain killers (I suffered through it) I was drinking a gallon of water. I tried all kinds of fiber including prunes prune juice lots of Konsyl (sugar free gluten free psyllium) and even coconut fiber. Intuitively I knew the fiber was a menace for me, so I pulled my self off ALL OF IT! It worked! I went to the bathroom! To this day FIBER CONSTIPATES ME BAD! I think we should listen to our bodies! But it can be so hard when mainstream medicine keeps telling you otherwise. A list of foods that I tolerate fine on a regular basis are:

Quinoa,

all meats,

eggs,

soft steamed broccoli and green beans and other veggies

ice burg or romaine lettuce but not raw spinach or spring mixes,

red green peppers, almonds cashews and other nut butters, pumpkin, little bit of rice , white is better than brown. NO squash NO beans! Rarely potatoe! NO FLAX SEED!!! And I can't take pro biotics either! I did have SIBO after the celiac diagnosis or as a result of the celiac that was treated with a round of Xifaxan. But i still can't eat yogurt or take probiotics with out suffering severe constipation. I think we are just extremely sensitive to bacteria imbalances! Im just glad I am not the only one!

[c.ann]

I also have similiar fiber-tolerating problems. For so long I thought it would be the cure for my constipation!

Now I'm learning what foods I can and cannot tolerate: white rice, cooked vegetables in small amounts (brocolli, peas, carrots mostly), fish and eggs seem to be okay too but nothing has proven to help my constipation fully.

Something a little odd, chocolate seems to be the only thing that helps me go. Coffee makes my constipation much worse, but dark chocolate helps. Does anyone else experience this?

I'm curious about knowing what foods work for other people who are sensitive to

wheat/sugar/fiber/dairy? And how anyone else deals with these issues in general?

thank you!

[kareng]

Red wine helps clean me out.

[Megyn1]

Yes I think we have similar issues! Its so frustrating to be constantly told one thing, but respond to another thing completely! I think...for me at least, the answer lies in the rate of GI motility! or in other words how fast/slow food moves through the digestive tract. I have suffered from SLOW GI motility (Fast GI Motility would cause D)I have read that slowed GI motility can be caused by Celiac and causes constipation, bloating, etc. Its also called Gastroparesis sometimes. This is for sure what caused my initial Small Intestinal Bacteria symptoms (all related to Celiac). If you do a search for diets for Gastroparesis it pretty much confirms what we are talking about here. NOT A LOT OF FIBER, DAIRY, SOY, ETC. I hope that helps.

I wish red wine helped! I would drink more! I have noticed that I can't drink hardly any alcohol (certainly no whiskey, bourbon, gin, wheat vodka) and even Rum to a certain extent caused some issues. The grain alcohols make me feel like I have been glutened and shut down my system.

Honestly I think the sugar from the alcohol ferments in my gutt and causes some issues. I have looked into anti yeast/candida diets, even into taking coconut oil orally. But I don't feel like i eat a lot of that stuff since my carbs are from Quinoa and veggies predominantly. I drink green tea with stevia, not coffee! I know I shouldn't chew sugar free gum but I do sometimes. Maybe that should be cut out too! I tried coconut macaroons the other day made with egg whites, some sugar and unsweetened natural high fiber coconut! I was in pain for two days with a stich in my upper left abdoman. SO NO FIBER NO FIBER!!!!