be cautious about fiber

I went over my fiber yesterday. Am I going to die?!?!

I try to get 30g a day, and it had only positive effects ... the OP's condition sounds more like a severe allergic reaction or food poisoning to me (had both before, not pleasant!). OP, feel better!

I'm kinda suspicious of super high fiber intake but 33 grams isn't that big of a deal, at least not for my body.

I eat between 30-50g a day. I've never gotten sick from it. I'd guess something else caused your illness.

If it was 33g of fiber mostly from Fiber One type bars, I could see being in pain. Those things turn me into a Fart Factory. It's the sugar alcohols in them that upset my stomach.

I've had way more than 33g of fiber from fruits and veg that didn't cause any digestive upset.

Hmmmm . . . I generally get between 10 and 15g of fiber a day and have gone as high as 45g, but I've never gotten sick from it. Am I immune to fiber?

OP could be sensitive to fiber but it still seems really unlikely that fiber alone caused vomiting and an ER trip.

Per my Dr's orders I'm supposed to stay under 20g of fiber per day - my stomach is really sensitive to it. I get bloating and horrible stomach aches easily, and limiting fiber helps prevent that. However, I've never had anything like what OP described.

Timorous_Beastie wrote: »

If it was 33g of fiber mostly from Fiber One type bars, I could see being in pain. Those things turn me into a Fart Factory. It's the sugar alcohols in them that upset my stomach.

I've had way more than 33g of fiber from fruits and veg that didn't cause any digestive upset.

Oh those things tear my stomach up. Which sucks because I really love the cinnamon bars.

The only thing eating too much fiber does to me is bind me up.
I like to stick in the mid to high teens.

It helps me detox 2-3 times/day

So, my neighbor just had this happen........I was taking the kids to school a couple of days ago and noticed an ambulance in front of their house. When I got back, I texted her and her husband to see if they were OK and if there was anything they needed (they have 2 young kids that I thought they may need help with).

About 8 hours later she called me to say that she had recently gone onto a "clean eating" no sugar, high fiber diet (her words, not mine). She ate so much fiber, she got HORRENDOUS gas, and was having intestinal distress and chest pain! She thought she was having a heart attack and called 911. They did an EKG and some other tests, but determined it was from gas, which was caused by the sudden flood of fiber.


I can also attest to having gas that will make you think your going to die, lol. After my first c/section I had HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE pain in my back from an air bubble that was trapped during the surgery. The pain came on 5-6 days after the surgery when I was already home (Dr said it was likely trapped somewhere else but moved and the new location was painful). My Dr. just told me to take gas X (which was laughable and didn't work). I was in so much pain I couldn't stand on my own, and stayed in the fetal position for over 24 hours. It felt like something was trying to rip its way out from inside me.

I can handle pain. I didn't take a single pain med (tylenol, IB profen....nothing) after the c/section and also later delivered an almost 10# baby who was positioned sunny side up, naturally with NO pain meds, gas, nothing). I have also had 10 stitches in my hand without anesthesia or pain meds of any kind.


So I'm not saying that fiber is bad...that's obvious But going from a very small amount to a large amount CAN produce HORRIBLE gas that can, indeed, send you to the ER. Gas pain can be HORRID.

mkakids wrote: »

So, my neighbor just had this happen........I was taking the kids to school a couple of days ago and noticed an ambulance in front of their house. When I got back, I texted her and her husband to see if they were OK and if there was anything they needed (they have 2 young kids that I thought they may need help with).

About 8 hours later she called me to say that she had recently gone onto a "clean eating" no sugar, high fiber diet (her words, not mine). She ate so much fiber, she got HORRENDOUS gas, and was having intestinal distress and chest pain! She thought she was having a heart attack and called 911. They did an EKG and some other tests, but determined it was from gas, which was caused by the sudden flood of fiber.


I can also attest to having gas that will make you think your going to die, lol. After my first c/section I had HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE pain in my back from an air bubble that was trapped during the surgery. The pain came on 5-6 days after the surgery when I was already home (Dr said it was likely trapped somewhere else but moved and the new location was painful). My Dr. just told me to take gas X (which was laughable and didn't work). I was in so much pain I couldn't stand on my own, and stayed in the fetal position for over 24 hours. It felt like something was trying to rip its way out from inside me.

I can handle pain. I didn't take a single pain med (tylenol, IB profen....nothing) after the c/section and also later delivered an almost 10# baby who was positioned sunny side up, naturally with NO pain meds, gas, nothing). I have also had 10 stitches in my hand without anesthesia or pain meds of any kind.


So I'm not saying that fiber is bad...that's obvious But going from a very small amount to a large amount CAN produce HORRIBLE gas that can, indeed, send you to the ER. Gas pain can be HORRID.

That's true...I recall hearing that things made with psyllium can cause a lot of gas like that as well, and psyllium is in a lot of high-fiber products.

Many diet authorities will suggest you ramp up your fiber levels slowly because it can cause gas and constipation in people, or other bathroom issues. I don't know how it could cause vomiting.

apfei wrote: »

Hmm... Thanx for the replies, everyone. I see my doctor on Tuesday on another matter and will follow up with him on whether it indeed was food poisoning.

They didn't tell you/talk to you about the reasons you'd be throwing up at the ER??