Insoluble Fiber Constipating?

Sometimes if there is an underlying problem (something more than simple constipation) eating more fiber does nothing but make things worse. I had colonic inertia and eating fiber simply meant my intestines would swell and bloat, and I STILL would not go to the bathroom. HAve you seen a GI? I reccomend seeing one. There are a lot of safe, prescription laxatives that can help.

If you're not already drinking lots of water with your fiber, over 64 oz try that. Also a fun way to get rid of constipation, eat $2 worth of sugar free jelly beans. The maltitol will clean you out. I was constipated for about a week and a half this did the trick in about 1 hour.

If you go to ...org (or is it .com?), you will see that Heather, who is a well-known IBS expert, says that insoluable fiber is bad for all kinds of IBS. I've found that eating Fiber One cereal and other stuff like that do make me feel worse -- definitely had that "stuck" feeling. Just eat lots of brown rice, fruits, and vegetables for your fiber, and you will probably feel better. Also, drink tons of water!! And be careful with high-fiber cereal especially. I wasn't measuring my dose, and when I finally did measure, it turns out I was getting over 100% of my fiber just from the cereal -- there was just too much in there for me to not be bloated. And I always felt really full! So eat a lot of fiber, but don't go overboard!

I know that soluble fiber is supposed to help with constipation, but if I eat a banana every day, it makes my constipation much worse. Has anyone else found this to be true?

A HUGE POSSIBILITY of the banana constipating you is that if they aren't fully ripe/soft with spots on they are hard to digest and result in constipation... when I was a kid they made me sick and constipated I couldn't eat them... when I was an adult my husband made me try one again but soft and ripe.. it was quite pleasant and not as bad results.. Are you eating them ripe?