Has anyone read "The Fiber Menace"? If you Google it, it is online.It is under gutsensedotorg. Or U can buy the book..it makes alot of sense

[Eliana5]

I read about how bad and misleading and the wrong information that Gastroenterologists have been saying to take "more Fiber" and 8 glasses of water. Fiber just adds too much weight to the stool..creating too much bulk to come out of a small 3.5cm anal canal creating fissures, Hemmorrhoids, bloating, etc. Said stool has to travel up the colon and can not do that if being "bulked" up by Fiber and fiber supplements. We are also harming when drinking the recommended 8-10 glasses of water..because we lose much needed potassium, salt, magnesium urinating so much. They say research has proven little to show increase fiber consumption and more water helps with constipated participants in large research study. So..now just feel very confused. 😕

[Linley]

Hi!

I have read a book called "Take Control of your IBS" by Professor Peter Whorwell and I believe he's got it right about intake on fibre. Believe you may be from the USA but sure you should be able to get a copy of this from a well known on line company

[Eliana5 in reply to Linley]

Does it say if fiber is good or bad? Very confused right now. I will take a look for the book..thanks! ☺

[Linley in reply to Eliana5]

For me personally with IBS-D its bad, we all need to eat some fibre but we should be able to get that from daily foods no extras. I concluded from what I read that for me-

1. fibre causes gas and I have enough of that already.

2. fibre can act like a laxative which will only irritate my already sensitive gut and I already have quite enough bowel movements already.

Hope this helps

[EOLHPC]

GREAT POST, thanks Eliana!

After a lifetime of relying on a high fibre (high residue), Low FODMAP Diet to coax my chronic slow transit dysmotility along, i’ve developed inflammatory bowel disease and can no longer eat “food” especially food with any soluble, fermentable fibre content. Gastroenterology has me in my 11th week on Crohns Care Protocols via prescribed EEN (Exclusive Enteral Nutrition) + the only available UK insoluble, non-fermentable bulking agent (Methylcellulose, Celevac). Next they’ll try me on the Crohns LOFFLEX Diet, but we think it’s very unlikely i’ll be able to reintroduce “real food” any time soon. Meanwhile Gastroenterology investigations are making sure i don’t actually “have” Crohns, but, whatever, seems i more or less do “have” it!

i’m in tertiary care with a multidiscipline team at my internationally respected NHS University hospital. This team includes gastroenterology + my rheumatology & immunology consultants, whose meds are also considered part of my daily oral prescription combined therapy treatment plan (these include the immunosuppressants prednisolone & mycophenolate + the antibiotic coamoxiclav). My primary diagnoses are hEDS (Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome) + SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) + PID (Primary Immunodeficiency Disease). I am 64. The concensus of my multidiscipline team now is that all my life i have been living with progressive Crohns-like mouth to ass GI tract illness caused by my underlying primary illnesses. Previously, Gastroenterology had been calling my GI tract manifestations IBS-like (which is why i joined this winderful forum) - but no way are they calling my manifestations IBS-like now!

For obvious reasons, like you, I’ve been feeling concerned & confused too...so for 2 years have looking into the “official” take on dietary fibre. And i have found that up to date establishment medics are now extremely cautious about dietary fibre.

This official link helped me a lot to get my head around dietary fibre. It gives a clear, concise, reasonable official take on why patients like me can eventually become totally intolerant of fibre, and why the intake of dietary fibre needs to be very carefully judged in the course of of a lifetime managing any type of chronic GI tract “dysfunction” or “illness”:

aboutibs.org/what-is-ibs-si...

And this link (actual accessible via the above link, but am including it cause i nearly missed it originally) goes into more detail re fibre:

aboutibs.org/ibs-diet/dieta...

Am off to get hold of “fibre menace” now....thanks again, eliana! Apologies for the lonnnng reply, but this subject is close to my heart

🍀🍀🍀🍀 Coco

[Eliana5 in reply to EOLHPC]

Hi, thanks so much for replying. You can also read about "Fiber Menace" (the whole thing on gutsense.org. let me know what you think. For some reason, I couldn't pull up the actual link, but if you Google "Fiber Menace" or type in gutsense.org on chrime it will get you there. Excellent read. I think I have gotten worse from Finer and am reducing my intake. The whole fiber thing came from Cereal...from the makers of Kellogg..John Kellogg..when cereal first introduced bran, etc. No scientific fact about Fiber "helping" with digestive issues. Let me know what you think..

[EOLHPC in reply to Eliana5]

Thanks! This morning i ordered the “fiber menace” book direct from Amazon

[Eliana5 in reply to EOLHPC]

Hi..have not heard from you in a while. Have you been okay? Missing your posts. Did you ever order the book..what did you think?

[EOLHPC in reply to Eliana5]

Hello again....yes thanks i have read it...am glad you introduced us to it...sorry but am feeling a bit low today after a day of hospital appts...but, for what it’s worth:

yes i agree with pretty much everything in the book - i just find it depressingly true to my lifelong experience of relying on fibre + LOW FODMAP exclusion diet to manage my segue from immune dysfunction disease + connective tissue disease-related intestinal imsufficiency into the intestinal failure i’m now diagnosed with ....

NB Am 65: WAY WAY down the line...i’ve been living with chronic GI tract condtiins mouth to a*s all my life. I’m just SO GLAD books like this one are out there helping younger folk to be more informed than i ever could be...

Basically, my generation really had no choice, because in my lifetime there has been no alternative way of manging my kind of intestinal insufficiency - especially people with my incurable severe immune system & connective tissue disease...

so, knowledge advances and future generations hopefully benefit...but i’m stuck unable to eat food for the rest of my life because my small intestines have now permanently failed to be functional - well, i count myself VVVVVV Lucky to be in care with my univ hospital gastro nutrition & dietetics team and able to take their special unique EEN by mouth ...i try to focus on the positives!

Basically: i’ve given what i can to this forum...not much point in posting more of the same over & over...i don’t have IBS: i have intestinal failure. It is what it is

Take care & good luck...i greatly admire your positive courageous open minded attitude to all this: i’m sure you’re finding the best way to manage your version of this XOXOXO

[Eliana5 in reply to EOLHPC]

I hope you are okay. Praying for you. Miss you on the boards. Please stay in touch and let us know how you are doing. It's not the same on here without you. x

[EOLHPC in reply to Eliana5]

Thanks dear: means a lot that you say this! XOXO

[Hidden]

As a child I was severely constipated all the time. My GP's solution was to give me fibrogel and tell my mum to sprinkle bran on everything - and she did put it on EVERYTHING! I understand now that this line of treatment has been found to actually cause more problems. I'm finally being investigated by a gastro to see if my issues have been IBS or something else all along. Aged 18 I developed diarrhoea, every day, multiple times. Did the extra fibre contribute to this? Who knows?!

[Eliana5 in reply to Hidden]

It may be..you can go to gutsense.org..and you will find "The Fiber Menace" it explain a why people have so many problems with high fiber diets..

[rozwalts]

That's me to a 'T' folks. I didn't find that out until the five days I was on the low residue diet before my colonoscopy. In less than two days I was free from pain, bloating, and all the other stuff I had been suffering from. I am now on a low fibre diet, which seems to be working well.

I have added a few extra items over the past few weeks, but there are some foods I definitely have to avoid. Fruit with seeds/skins, although strawberries a couple of times a week are ok. Nuts and green leafy vegetables are out, as is any seeded bread and oats. White bread, pasta and rice are ok.

I know the 'latest thinking' is low carb/high fat, but if I go down that route then most of what I eat would be on the forbidden list. So I do it my way. As for the water, I do drink quite a lot as I seldom have tea, had a cup today, the first time for nearly two weeks. Don't like coffee any more, can't remember the last time I had any. My daily treat is one of the low calorie white chocolate drinks, other wise I drink water.

[Eastbourne11]

Hi I can only read your 1st line of message, but if you have IBS D , the FODMAP wsy of eating is almost normal eating. You have to read the book. I do not think most gastros read the whole thing. Nothing (apart from onions) is off limits, just you have to be careful. No special diet, just no sugars. But again you have to understand not to eat hidden sugar items together. Good luck

[Eliana5 in reply to Eastbourne11]

Hi..unfortunately LOW FODMAP does not work. I have chronic and severe constipation. My gastro said this is not a good diet because it is very restricted and limited..so can't do this. Thanks for replying. x

[Eastbourne11]

You have to hsve IBS Diarrhea to do Fodmap. Does not work for IBS C.