Too much soluble fiber?
#300585 - 02/23/07 08:04 AM
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I have had full blown IBS symptoms for about 2 1/2 wks now. I did a harsh one-day juice cleanse in Nov which apparently triggered it, but I didn't know what was happening. My stools became mush, and I didn't recognize the implication, and my doctors didn't comment. In Jan the frequency increased suddenly, then the urgency started, the sounds in my bowels, and the increased nausea/anxiety.
(So I am newly full blown on IBS. I had been eating fruits/veggies, mostly raw, soaked nuts, and whole grains. I got sick from eating and didn't know why.)
My sleep is worse than it was, which was pretty bad. Sounds and spasms keep me from sleeping as much and as well as I could.
Then I found this website. I have been working up on Acacia powder from 1/2 tsp 2X day as recommended, to 1 tsp 2X day. However, about 10 days ago I started getting stable foods. About four or five days ago, my abdomen got big and firm--bloated, right? It at least was not that way before.
My theory is that when I started the soluble fiber foods, it may have calmed my gut -- which it did, my stools became firm, however, I strain a lot now--constipated, but maybe it was too much for my system.
I would dearly love to get rid of this tight distended abdomen which causes discomfort all the time. It is a huge firm lump. I had started massaging lavendar (in castor oil) into it and my stomach for relief before it became bloated.
Is it possible I getting too much soluble fiber between the food and the Acacia? How much is necessary to eat of soluble fiber before eating insoluble fiber?
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I think it's really impossible to eat too much soluble fiber in theory. How much INsoluble fiber are you eating? Insoluble fiber is necessary for digestive (and general!) health... if you're not getting enough of that, decreasing your soluble fiber intake alone probably isn't going to help much.
How much soluble you need to cushion the insoluble, unfortunately, is something you're just going to have to experiment with on your own - it's different for everyone. For example, I find my insides are very stable eating mostly insoluble and very little soluble, but a diet like mine would have a lot of IBS sufferers in agony. (I'm an anomaly! Heh.)
Introduce insoluble fiber foods slowly, and if you've been eating them all along, increase them gradually. It's probably going to take a while, but you'll eventually strike your perfect balance. 
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Yes, I too felt that way after I got more stable and I think I was eating too much SF along with the Acacia. How often are your bms? I find that if I don't have one at least every other day, I am bloated and have that distended belly too...very uncomfortable. The odd thing is that when I had by full blown IBS-D, a friend noticed my "rounded", pregnant looking belly and suggested that something might be wrong. Turns out I guess that it was bloating plus I lost about 8 pounds since on this diet so I think I still had some post-baby fat in there. Anyhow, I decreased my Acacia only after I tried eating more IF. Like Atomic Rose said, try to get as much IF as possible, as it is very healthy for you but if you are eating a lot of it and still feel a bit c, I would suggest decreasing your acacia by just a little bit. Or...make sure you are not eating heapings and heapings of SF at your meals  which I tend to sometimes do since I love rice and pasta!! Good luck. You'll figure it out. Just do it all gradually.
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Originally IBS-D for a million years!
Then IBS-A, Now a transformed slightly C
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I am going thru exactly the same thing after being on the IBS diet now for about one week. I used to eat practically ALL ISF and no SF and when I first took 1/2 tsp of Acacia twice per day I blew up like a baloon, worse than before. Same thing happened when I ate rice, quinoa, millet. I decreased the Acacia to only 1/2 tsp at nite which seemed to help at first anyway. I've been eating SF at every meal and snack for the first time in my life and then I felt all "bound up" by it. (but good in a strange way I should mention). Sometimes I bloat and sometimes I don't after eating??? I've also had an appetite for the first time in my life. So I increased my ISF the other day after feeling so much more C. I still haven't been able to take even 1/2 tsp of Acacia twice per day. I seem to only be able to stand it once per day at nite or I get too bloated. But I hate how I feel all the time now. I have one decent day and one bad day - very up and down. Can anyone suggest anything? I"m not sure what to do next. How can I increase the Acacia as recommended when I can't even get 1/2 tsp in me twice per day. Is it better to eat the SF foods or to take the Acacia? Should I go back to eating more ISF since I was used to that? It seems I have eliminated alot of the pain symptoms though already from decreasng ISF especially fats and raw veges. But the bloating hurts terribly today??? Please help and thank you all.
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To answer your questions about decreasing/increasing acacia and/or your IF...sounds like you need to be systematic and keep a journal for a week on what you are ingesting. If you are increasing your acacia, then you need to be increasing your IF too. The acacia is what allows you to eat the IF safely...it works as a "cushion." If you're eating mostly SF and trying to increase your acacia, then yes, you will become bloated. You didn't mention how often your bms are?? Some people do not take an SF supplement at all but just stabalize on diet alone (eating sf and if at each meal). Perhaps you might be one of them. Or perhaps just 1/2 teaspoon of acacia daily along with if will work for you. Try to go at least 3-4 days of the same regime so you do not get confused as to what is working, giving you gas, etc.. And just eat the IF foods or other substitutions that you know your body can generally tolerate (for example, don't eat soy if you're not sure if it gives you gas). Are you d, c, or a??
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Originally IBS-D for a million years!
Then IBS-A, Now a transformed slightly C
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Long Post- sorry won't make a habit of it, I'm new to this Board.
I have some questions about the Acacia Fiber and Peppermint Caps. I have been taking the Fiber for about 12 days now since severe IBS-"D" flare-ups kept me on BRAT for several weeks. I started off as suggested with 1/2 tsp twice a day and it seemed to be bulking me up, no more sudden outbursts,but,after my evening meal(started back on a regular IBS type diet)I noticed I got lots of bloating and gas, I upped the dose to 3/4 tsp which seemed to make the bloating worse so I went back to 1/2 tsp. The Peppermint Caps helped with the bloating but should I take one before the Acacia Fiber, it is suggested that the caps be taken on an empty stomach an hour before eating, this is not always possible? I also have Heather's IBS DIet book, I love to cook and bake and have tried several recipes, they are so great. I eat a lot of chicken and her recipes for it are delicious plus my husband can't stop eating the breads and cakes I have made.
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Thanks for the posts. Since my previous post on this thread, this is the first time I have been back. (To recap, I did a juice cleanse in November that apparently triggered ibs, though I didn't realize what was happening until it became full blown in January. After starting acacia, soluble fiber, I went from three months of mushy stools to constipation, and a bloated abdomen overnight.)
My condition has remained the same, except that now I am regularly impacted, getting hemorrhoids I'm sure, and have had to resort to an enema bag about 6 times. Still have a hugely distended abdomen, and since three days ago, I now also have a distension in my stomach, above the navel. It goes across horizontally, and I'm wondering if I have a bowel obstruction of some kind. I dread getting a colonoscopy, but it looks like that may be where I'm headed.
I wish I had gotten back to this site earlier to read the additional comments. I think the problem is too much acacia/soluble fiber food, though I quickly added isf with no change. I have only got to 2 level tsp acacia twice a day, and didn't think that would be too much, but maybe it is.
I'm wondering if I should quit the acacia altogether for awhile. It can be that or sf foods but not necessarily both, right? Can you stop cold turkey?
By the way, take a look at Woman's World magazine--the weekly, dated Mar 13. Maybe you can find it on the internet. The article is entitled, "the little pill that melts belly fat" (fish oil). It talks about processed foods causing belly fat, and if you get on inf (plus fish oil, I guess), you can get rid of it. Not good for ibs though, I wouldn't think, but I was wondering if that is the price to be paid to get symptoms under control, except that mine aren't. I think I'd rather go back to mushy stools than this terrible constipation. And my abdomen adds at least 3 inches, I'm not kidding.
Isn't a distended abdomen a symptom listed for ibs? But I did not have it before I started to try and get the ibs under control.
Has anyone had this exact same scenario happen to them and resolved it?
Edited by figure8 (03/25/07 10:30 AM)
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First of all it sounds like you haven't had testing done, so you cannot get an IBS diagnosis with getting the proper tests done including a colonoscopy. There are many serious illnesses that can mimic ibs symptoms.
How stictly are you following Heather's diet? Have you eliminated all trigger foods? Are you getting enough IF in your diet? Do you exercise regularly?
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I second Gracie
#303088 - 03/25/07 11:32 AM
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Sand
Reged: 12/13/04
Posts: 4490
Loc: West Orange, NJ (IBS-D)
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Please get some testing done - what's happening with you just doesn't sound right. You definitely need a colonoscopy and make sure your doctors eliminate celiac also. Here's a list of what conditions should be ruled out and what tests should be done before you're diagnosed with IBS: web page
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Quote:
Still have a hugely distended abdomen, and since three days ago, I now also have a distension in my stomach, above the navel. It goes across horizontally, and I'm wondering if I have a bowel obstruction of some kind. I dread getting a colonoscopy, but it looks like that may be where I'm headed.
Hi Figure8,
I'm bloated pretty much every day and when it's at it's worst I get the same horizontal distention that you described there, so I know exactly what you mean. But I had severe bloating even before I started the IBS diet, unlike yourself.
For me I haven't noticed an improvement either with or without the acacia, but that may just be down to me not eating enough IF.
I, too, have never had a colonoscopy...in fact, I've had no tests done whatsoever! I wanted an abdominal x-ray to make sure everything was ok but trusted the doctor when she told me that it wasn't needed. I'm beginning to think now that I was just diagnosed with IBS because they either didn't know what else to say was wrong with me or couldn't be bothered to test me?! It is worrying.
I hope things improve for you. I wish I could be of more help, but I'm kind of in the same boat.
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