be cautious about fiber
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What did you eat? Did you log it? If so, can you open your diary so we can see? Are you sure it wasn't food poisoning? Did a doctor actually tell you that you got sick BECAUSE of the fiber?
I've eaten 25-45g of fiber and never got sick because of it specifically.0 -
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/day0 -
Just a quick note to remind everyone to be cautious about adding fiber to your diet. I wasn't and ate 33 grams on Wednesday and wound up in the ER with vomiting and diarrhea. Yuck! It was pretty grim and i don't want anyone else to have to go thru it. The Canadian guidelines call for only 15g of fiber and i will be going by this from now on. The American number of 25g seem excessive. Be safe everyone!
So the doctors in ER put it down to fiber intake? Or are you making an assumption?0 -
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.
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That actually sounds more like food poisoning or a stomach flu, OP, are you sure it was the fiber?0
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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.
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Right, gas sucks. But it doesn't make you vomit and crap your brains out, which is what the OP was in the ER for.0
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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.0
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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.0
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I think the crucial point here is not the absolute amount of fibre consumed, but the rapid increase in quantity above that which the OP usually consumed. Whist mainly posters have stated that they comfortably tolerate higher quantitied of fibre, the key point is that they REGULARLY do this. The bowel can be trained to accept many things, but tends to react badly to sudden shocks.
And although I agree that the symptoms fit food poisoning, and that this should be excluded before definitively blaming the fibre increase, I CAN see how it could produce the symptoms described: an excess of fibre could put the bowel into stasis. If the OP then added more food and drink, then it cannot move on from the stomach, which eventually rejects the load - vomiting. Meanwhile, the bowel is painfully stretched - particularly if a lot of gas is involved,, resulting in violent spasms which are extremely painful, snd expel not only blockage, but the undigested food fron higher up - diarrhoea.
- Not nice. My sympathy to the OP.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »onelonelysocknoble wrote: »I think most of us have issues with getting enough fibre and water....
I wouldn't say "most". There are quite a lot of people on MFP who rock it nutritionally speaking and fitness wise.
Agreed.0 -
I regularly get 30, 40 or more grams a day. No problems here unless too many are from wheat flour, then I just get a bit plugged up. No horrible symptoms.
Sounds like food poisoning to me.0 -
From the National Institutes of Health, fiber guidelines:
nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002470.htmhttp://
And yes, too much fiber too soon after beginning to focus on it can cause some problems, but this article doesn't mention vomiting. Fiber needs also change with age, with older adults needing more.0 -
I did come across a reference to problems with uncoated Konjac root (soluble fiber) getting stuck in the esophagus. I think people should take care to drink enough water when consuming soluble fiber.0
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PikaKnight wrote: »
I know right.
But when in doubt make a thread on MFP saying it was something it's probably not.
Why on earth is this flagged?
And OP- that sounds like food poisoning. The ER should have given you a preliminary idea as to what it was. I sincerely doubt they said it was fiber consumption. I have NEVER seen a diagnosis of "too much fiber intake" on a patient who was vomiting in the 9 years I have been on an ambulance (both transport and 911). Intestinal blockage (from too much fiber supplement in nursing home patients) yes, but you would not have been released. That typically requires surgery. 33g isn't even that high. Did you perhaps take fiber capsules with a built in laxative? (They are rare but possible). Or was it all natural food?0 -
"Fiber and the Digestive Tract" references diarrhea as a potential problem for some and gives suggestions for less irritating sources of fiber.
University of California San Francisco Med Center patient education
http://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/fiber_and_lactose/
Hope you feel better.0 -
Just a quick note to remind everyone to be cautious about adding fiber to your diet. I wasn't and ate 33 grams on Wednesday and wound up in the ER with vomiting and diarrhea. Yuck! It was pretty grim and i don't want anyone else to have to go thru it. The Canadian guidelines call for only 15g of fiber and i will be going by this from now on. The American number of 25g seem excessive. Be safe everyone!
What did it say on your discharge paperwork? It almost sounds like a touch of food poisoning vs. fiber intake.0
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