# Chest Pain from Bran or Psyllium



## Cordy (Jul 1, 2002)

I REALLY NEED RESPONSES ON THIS QUESTION. Has anyone ever had chest pains several hours after either taking psyllium husks, metamucil, or / and eating a bowl of bran cereal? I have been constipated lately, and recently got fed up with it, so I took some extra psyllium, plus ate a bowl of Fiber One yesterday evening. Went to bed around 9 or 10, and around 4am woke up with chest pains. I got up and drank some water and walked around for a while, then felt better and went back to bed. I got up at 9this morning, feeling fine (except very tired), and took a shower and got dressed. Then I felt too tired to do anything, so laid down. After 10 minutes of laying there, I got pain across my chest and rib-cage again. Got up and after about 20 minutes, drank some water. Got immediate relief. Pain went away for about 40 minutes. Every time I feel the pain again, I drink some water and walk around, and it seems to give relief.

My situation is: this has happened before with Citrucell. And it says right on the bottle of Citrucell, "if you have chest pains, discontinue use..."....so I stopped using citrucell and switched to Metamucil. As long as I only take 1/4 teas. at a time, I don't have chest pains, but when I take a teaspoon of Metamucil, that night I get chest pains. SOOOOO.....I decided to switch again, and try Yerba Prima's Colon Care Formula which has psyllium and other things. BUT taking 1 teas. of that yesterday, along with the bran, is causing this intense ribcage/chest/back pain. I am surmising that I am either allergic to the ingredients, or I am taking too much with not enough water and exercise at the same time.

SOMEBODY, please tell me you have had this same experience. THANK YOU.!


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## HipJan (Apr 9, 1999)

personally, I think it could be gas - from the sudden intake of fiber in a concentrated form. I rarely take that kind of stuff, but the last time I did, I felt pretty bad. you probably do need to take a lot of water with it. also, perhaps you can only tolerate a very small dose at a time.if it still bothers you, perhaps you should concentrate on getting your fiber in other ways - such as through fruit and veggies, brown rice, etc.? you could also try a bit of ground flaxseed - e.g., on your cereal or salad - every day.


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## cloverleaf (Dec 18, 2001)

Cordy~I am not sure what your problem is, but I don't think it's an allergic reaction. I am not a doctor, but I think allergic reactions to psyllium or bran would be in the form of wheezing, hives, congestion, etc. My first thought after reading your post is that you have heartburn as a result of the fiber. Perhaps it sits in your stomach and refluxes into your esophogus when you lie down. It only happens when you lie down, right? One of the suggestions for people with acid reflux disease is to not eat 2-3 hours before going to bed. And yes, chest pains are one of the symptoms of acid reflux. Many people visit the emergency room thinking they are having a heart attack when it's acid. A good indicator is that it's probably acid if A) you are lying down, and standing up and drinking something helps, and







you don't feel your breathing is labored or difficult and you do NOT feel anxious about getting air (these might be signs of heart trouble). My advice is to see your specialist.


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## Paula J. (Nov 23, 2001)

Could be gas. If it continues, or gets worse, see a doctor. Could have a blocked artery. If it gets worse, or doesn't go away see a doctor.


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## Cordy (Jul 1, 2002)

So how many people out there with constipation take psyllium for it? After my experiences yesterday, I am now very gun-shy of the stuff. A nutritionist I used to see used to tell me to get 2-4 cups of steamed vegetables a day, and he NEVER put me on psyllium. I'm going to try to do the vegetables, and I will try to find a source for buying flax-seed...I used to grind up a tablespoon of that and put it in yogurt--someone on this board had suggested flax with hot cereal and a cup of tea every morning---and that has really helped me in the past.....it's just that I ran out of my flax seed and moved to a new area, so far haven't found a health food store that carries food items....I've also found that for curing my constipation, I have to be so faithful to a number of things that help me, doing each of them every day: lots of water, flax or flax seed oil, green drinks, trace mineral drops or enough salt, fiber from vegetables. I will try eating more fruit and vegies and brown rice, thanks for that tip.The chest pains have gotten better. I had some real painful bouts again yesterday, but during the night last night, only a minor one. I surmise that this will stop completely once the bran I ate on Sun. pm passes thru my system...I have a very slow system! Thanks for everyone's help and advice...I agree about the allergic reaction...it's probably not, since there's no wheezing, etc. I am really reticent to see a doctor, since i seem to know more about my system then they do, and have gone in for chest pains in the past, and it was always nothing.


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## Cordy (Jul 1, 2002)

Add to that list of things I have to do to keep my constipation at bay:Exercise, Pro-Biotics. [ooops!-another thing i just realized I have run out of ....I always think...it's so expensive, I'll wait.....and look what trouble that gets me into!]What do you all need to make sure you do to keep from being constipated? Maybe we could start a list here.I'm going to go search this board and see what other things help. Talk to ya'all later!


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