6 replies to this topic

[oceannir]

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Now ive just noticed I have been doing something ridiculous for a long long period of time.When I first started taking metamucil as a teenager for my constipation, I always assumed it was just kind of no big deal and that more was better. So I would take 2 TABLEspoons worth. I thought that was just a normal dose and would help me. I'd often do this twice daily.Now I have been looking over my medication and I told doctors this recently and they stared at me with amazement that I was taking this much fiber. But the problem is i've been doing this for years and years. I never bothered to discuss doses with them.Now I feel this could have bloated my bowel abnormally or made it lazier than it already was.... sigh.Edit - due to the high sugar content of metamucil a bit of research shows this only 7-8g of psyllium. Which isn't even abnormal actually.

[Kathleen M.]

I don't think the fiber damaged your colon, although excess fiber can make anyone feel overly full and bloated.USRDA is a minimum of 25 grams, and many recommendations will say as high as 35. Over 50 grams of fiber a day tends to be uncomfortable, but there are humans that eat this every day as part of their normal diet.A lot depends on how much other fiber you are eating, but many people in Western cultures only eat 12 grams a day to start with so 8 won't even get you up to the recommended minimum.For cholesterol lowering they will recommend 1 Tablespoon (the sugar kind) or 1 teaspoon (the sugar free) 3 times a day so I'm not sure where this shock you take 2 tablespoons of the kind with sugar a day thing is coming from.That being said, people who have slow transit constipation sometimes do better on less fiber, not because the fiber continually damages the colon, but if people really feel most comfortable with 3 days or less of fiber in there (so 75-150 grams) and you only have a BM once a week (and some go less often than that) and have 7 days of fiber in there, you want the total to be equal to or less than the amount a person going 3X a week would have in there. Since you have more days worth in there, reducing the amount per day evens it out. With less fiber they usually need to take osmotics (which also do not do a darn thing to the muscles of the colon which is where the concern is with stimulatory laxatives that make the colon muscles contract--but funny enough in some health food products the same herb that in a laxative supposedly destroys the colon is said to promote the tone) um that was a long digression....anyway osmotics just help to keep the stool wet. Fiber does some of that, so if you have less fiber you may need more other "wetting" agents to keep the stool easy to move after being in there for a week or two (in slow transit constipation).

[Sean]

Oceannir, Kathleen makes some excellent points. Based strictly on my personal experience, I do not think that you have damaged your colon or made it lazier by taking large doeses of fiber over a long period of time. When I was a teenager and my doctors were trying to figure out how to deal with my chronic constipation and stomach aches, they loaded me up with tons of fiber. That went on until my mid-20's. What they did not realize is that I had slow-transit constipation. The fiber was not helping, but was actually making me feel worse. The gas pains, the bloating and the fullness caused by all of the fiber that was backed up in my colon were awful. If you have slow transit constipation (also called colonic inertia), fiber may not be the answer. If you are like me, you may need something to stimulate the activity of the colon. I have felt a lot better since I stopped taking fiber supplements and decided to simply get a normal amount of dietary fiber through what I eat. Unfortunately, the only thing that seems to work well for me now is stimulant laxatives.

[oceannir]

I don't think the fiber damaged your colon, although excess fiber can make anyone feel overly full and bloated.USRDA is a minimum of 25 grams, and many recommendations will say as high as 35. Over 50 grams of fiber a day tends to be uncomfortable, but there are humans that eat this every day as part of their normal diet.A lot depends on how much other fiber you are eating, but many people in Western cultures only eat 12 grams a day to start with so 8 won't even get you up to the recommended minimum.For cholesterol lowering they will recommend 1 Tablespoon (the sugar kind) or 1 teaspoon (the sugar free) 3 times a day so I'm not sure where this shock you take 2 tablespoons of the kind with sugar a day thing is coming from.That being said, people who have slow transit constipation sometimes do better on less fiber, not because the fiber continually damages the colon, but if people really feel most comfortable with 3 days or less of fiber in there (so 75-150 grams) and you only have a BM once a week (and some go less often than that) and have 7 days of fiber in there, you want the total to be equal to or less than the amount a person going 3X a week would have in there. Since you have more days worth in there, reducing the amount per day evens it out. With less fiber they usually need to take osmotics (which also do not do a darn thing to the muscles of the colon which is where the concern is with stimulatory laxatives that make the colon muscles contract--but funny enough in some health food products the same herb that in a laxative supposedly destroys the colon is said to promote the tone) um that was a long digression....anyway osmotics just help to keep the stool wet. Fiber does some of that, so if you have less fiber you may need more other "wetting" agents to keep the stool easy to move after being in there for a week or two (in slow transit constipation).

I done the maths and currently I eat about 35 with the metamucil included. I used to eat alot more back in the day but and alot more fruit, so that could have been as high as 50. I can't help but wonder if doing what I thought was reducing my constipation could actually be making it chronic and prolonging it (nerve damage on intestinal wall and all that). Whats done is done now so theres no stopping it, and i'll never likely get a good answer either so its best I just drop it

[oceannir]

I must admit, http://gutsense.org gave me significant scares about the Fiber I was taking. Up until I read that I viewed Fiber as a very harmless substance. I never considered that it could be iritating your colon wall and causing chronic constipation.

[oceannir]

Oceannir, Kathleen makes some excellent points. Based strictly on my personal experience, I do not think that you have damaged your colon or made it lazier by taking large doeses of fiber over a long period of time. When I was a teenager and my doctors were trying to figure out how to deal with my chronic constipation and stomach aches, they loaded me up with tons of fiber. That went on until my mid-20's. What they did not realize is that I had slow-transit constipation. The fiber was not helping, but was actually making me feel worse. The gas pains, the bloating and the fullness caused by all of the fiber that was backed up in my colon were awful. If you have slow transit constipation (also called colonic inertia), fiber may not be the answer. If you are like me, you may need something to stimulate the activity of the colon. I have felt a lot better since I stopped taking fiber supplements and decided to simply get a normal amount of dietary fiber through what I eat. Unfortunately, the only thing that seems to work well for me now is stimulant laxatives.

When you were on the fiber long term was it producing Bowel movements for you? I had pretty normal bowels all through high school taking copious amounts of fiber for them. Its only once I got to college things all seemed to stop (and by stop I mean get hit by a bus, it really was that sudden)

[Sean]

When you were on the fiber long term was it producing Bowel movements for you? I had pretty normal bowels all through high school taking copious amounts of fiber for them. Its only once I got to college things all seemed to stop (and by stop I mean get hit by a bus, it really was that sudden)

No, it wasn't helping produce bowel movements. I was just as backed up. I just felt worse because of the volume of backed-up stool was so great. I still usually had to take laxatives to make me go.