Help ........more Fiber or is this normal?

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  • sunnyside1213
    sunnyside1213 Posts: 1,205 Member
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    If you add lots of fiber suddenly, your body takes awhile to adjust.
  • Neurokitti
    Neurokitti Posts: 13
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    Talk to your doctor in the first instance. It may be that you're still recovering (you'd be surprised how long this can take) and your doctor may want to prescribe something like lactulose or movicol. If you have a high fibre diet already, adding more fibre isn't going to make a difference.
  • jlemoore
    jlemoore Posts: 702 Member
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    Do you have lower back pain? It could be that you are out of alignment. I have similar problems when I am not adjusted.
  • amandainez08
    amandainez08 Posts: 87 Member
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    I'm not sure about the whole hysterectomy causing it, but I've had the same problem for almost a year now, if not longer. Mine was caused by my migraine medication. One of the side effects (which I did not know at the time) was gastrointestinal issues. Even though I got off of it, I'm STILL dealing with it. My OB-GYN said he thinks I may have IBS with a spastic colon. It has started to resolve ever since I changed my diet (which you probably already have anyway). No more sudden stomach cramps and no more sudden trips to the bathroom! Slowly, but surely. I'm not on any medication. Maybe you should talk to your doctor about it, though. See if changes in your body can affect your intestines/stomach, etc. I know your uterus is pretty close to all that, and with it not there anymore, maybe your stuff is just shifting around? I'm not a doctor, so I'd definitely go ask one! Lol!
  • MrsCCWoods
    MrsCCWoods Posts: 142 Member
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    I'm having that same problem so eating fiber one bars & even trying Metamucil and it doesn't work. So I tried Milk Of Magnesia it seems to work oh and prune juice but I try to stay away from prune juice because of all the sugar in it
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    1. Drink lots of water

    2. Eat both kinds of fiber. There are 2 types of fiber - soluble & insoluble. You need both, but insoluble helps keep you regular.
    http://www.webmd.com/diet/fiber-health-benefits-11/insoluble-soluble-fiber

    3. Low fat diets will back things up

    4. Exercise helps

    5. Antibiotics screw up the balance needed to process foods ..... Activia/probiotics attempt to right this.

    Chicory root (AKA Inulin) found in some Fiber 1 products .... really tough for lots of people. I'd steer clear just to be safe.
  • looneytoni
    looneytoni Posts: 4
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    WOW! ThanKs for sharing. It may be a icky subject but I'm glad u brought it up. BUT now I'm kinda worried. I have never been a 'regular' kind of person. I could go 2-3 days before I NEED to go. I'm only mildly active, I work a sit down job during the day and then online school work at night. If want to make myself go every day i have to use laxitives, and i've read that its not good to use too often. Now in my 40's, I have to take iron pills, which makes matters worse! UG!
    I've never brought this up w/my Dr. cause i figured this was normal as i'm always hearing women complain about this issue.

    But I did stuble upon the FIBER ONE bars, and do enjoy the taste, hate the gas, and thanks to the bloating I eat less and have lost weight. And the best part is that it does its job in about 4-6 hrs, so i have to plan accordingly.

    I do eat lots of veggies, but it seems lettuce slows things down for me for some reason. Is there a magic veggie out there that helps things along in a speedy way? I want to become a REGULAR kind of gal, but dont want to use pills or prune juice. Any other ideas?
  • mistigoodwin
    mistigoodwin Posts: 411 Member
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    Thanks everyone!!! I will definately have some ideas/resources to go to next. I am somewhat active. I sit at work for 7 hrs a day but spend about 2 hours a day (at least) cooking cleaning and walk/jog approx. 12 miles per week. I forgot to ask my doctor at my 6 wk check up about this, but kinda figured it would just take some time to straighten out.

    To answer some of the questions:

    I am not taking anything now for pain, took hydro's for the first 6 days and ibruprofen a couple times in the first two weeks.

    My back hurts sometimes (should probably go see a chiro), kinda just relate that pain with a horrible experience with the epidural I got when I had my daughter.

    I try not to rely on juice for the problem because of the high amounts of sugar in it.

    But I did just check out the fiber amounts in my diet and it appears I am allowed 14 and have only been eating 9-11 so maybe just uping it will make a difference too.

    Thanks again. I'm off to do some reading and research for a little bit! :smile:
  • jcpmoore
    jcpmoore Posts: 796 Member
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    Things to note about fiber- don't try to up it too quickly. Changing from a low fiber diet to a high fiber diet suddenly can lead to painful gas and constipation.

    The kind of fiber you consume makes a difference. I find fruits, beans and grains do better than fiber bars and supplements.

    Yoga is also very helpful in this regard, too.
  • lhulewsky
    lhulewsky Posts: 50
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    After my hysterectomy I had the same problem. My doctor said this was very common. Normally a womans intestines wrap up and around the uterus and with the uterus gone the intestines don't know what to do and just sort of flop around. She suggested Miralax but I never tried it. The advice nurse suggested warm prune juice which was helpful. If you are eating only 9 - 11 grams of fiber you are very low. I think the suggested fiber intake is around 30 which almost no one eats. I eat between 25 and 35 grams of fiber a day and I still have trouble sometimes. Drink plenty of water, this is vital. Increase your fiber slowly and see what happens. Miralax is probably also a good option. Hope you start to feel better soon.

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