# Is the whole fiber thing a scam?



## oceannir (Mar 6, 2012)

Earlier on in my teens when I started getting constipation, the doctors sole recommendation for me was fiber. So if it got worse "oh you need more fiber" etc.So for many years all I had to fight it with was metamucil, which im now not sure if it done more harm than it did good as it clearly wasn't cleaning me out.I'm just curious, why do doctors recommend this stuff? They say natural remedies = fiber and water. Yet ive never heard of anyone with chronic constipation benefiting from large doses of fiber. I always just took two teaspoons of psyllium of a night anyway because I thought it may help, but now ive cut this back and noticed no difference, so I assume it was doing nothing.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21332763Doctors tend to go with the evidence in links like the one above. There is some evidence that for some people in clinical trials fiber can help with constipation.However, statistics mean nothing at the level of the individual, but it usually makes sense to at least try something that helps more people than doing nothing does. If you notice it isn't 100% improvement in all things for all people or that people go from 2 BM's a week to daily BM's, but on average there is improvement, even if not all that big. But it also means it didn't help some people.Doesn't matter if X helps 95% of people if you are one of the 5% that it doesn't work for. That it doesn't work for 5% of people also doesn't mean it can't help anyone at anytime and no one should ever try it.Fiber and water is a low risk, low harm approach and since there is some data (would be nice to have a lot more but it isn't an area that gets tons of research) it can help some people it makes sense as a place to start.Unfortunately for a lot of doctors it is one of the only things they know to recommend as this isn't an area they get a whole lot of training on. They tend to focus more on the life and death things, if it kills you quickly and routinely they spend more time on it in med school than if it just makes you wish you were dead.We do need more doctor education on these things, but a recommendation to at least give fiber a try is really not unreasonable.The data do tend to show fiber isn't as good of a cure all for constipation as people want to think it is, but there is some date it probably does help some people at least a little bit. So doctors would still recommend it as one thing to try even if they take a more jaded view of it's healing properties.I will say that as a cholesterol lowering treatment (before we found out what was making it run high as a side effect) I was on 3 full doses of metamucil a day. Even before IBS there was a noticeable change in stool volume and frequency because that was enough fiber to make a difference in my system.


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## oceannir (Mar 6, 2012)

The reason I say im not convinced is that when I first started taking it I was never informed that eating a high fiber diet could actually make the constipation worse.I would be interested to see studies at what point does fiber intake become counter productive. Because that is the little asterix we are rarely told, that a little is helpful but there is a level that it weans off.Ive found over the years that 2 teaspoons of psylium is about the maximum you would want to take for effectiveness. Having said that ive never really tried 3 teaspoons of psyllium, but I find say 2 teaspoons gives me more consistent stools than 1 does.


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## oceannir (Mar 6, 2012)

' Whether this is of any benefit remains unclear.'also that is quite a statement to make for something that appears to be the primary line treatment that doctors employ for constipation.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

It isn't like the have a long list of treatments that are proven to be wildly effective that they are hiding from you and refusing to recommend.Unfortunately laxatives have their own medical myths about danger just as fiber tends to be believed to be more effective than it is.Still, I think recommending fiber and water as a first shot is reasonable for doctors. They do need feedback on how that worked, and hopefully at least some will move onto other things, once they know plan A didn't work, even if plan B and C are considered riskier.


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## Maple12 (May 25, 2012)

Kathleen M. said:


> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21332763Doctors tend to go with the evidence in links like the one above. There is some evidence that for some people in clinical trials fiber can help with constipation.However, statistics mean nothing at the level of the individual, but it usually makes sense to at least try something that helps more people than doing nothing does. If you notice it isn't 100% improvement in all things for all people or that people go from 2 BM's a week to daily BM's, but on average there is improvement, even if not all that big. But it also means it didn't help some people.Doesn't matter if X helps 95% of people if you are one of the 5% that it doesn't work for. That it doesn't work for 5% of people also doesn't mean it can't help anyone at anytime and no one should ever try it.Fiber and water is a low risk, low harm approach and since there is some data (would be nice to have a lot more but it isn't an area that gets tons of research) it can help some people it makes sense as a place to start.Unfortunately for a lot of doctors it is one of the only things they know to recommend as this isn't an area they get a whole lot of training on. They tend to focus more on the life and death things, if it kills you quickly and routinely they spend more time on it in med school than if it just makes you wish you were dead.We do need more doctor education on these things, but a recommendation to at least give fiber a try is really not unreasonable.The data do tend to show fiber isn't as good of a cure all for constipation as people want to think it is, but there is some date it probably does help some people at least a little bit. So doctors would still recommend it as one thing to try even if they take a more jaded view of it's healing properties.I will say that as a cholesterol lowering treatment (before we found out what was making it run high as a side effect) I was on 3 full doses of metamucil a day. Even before IBS there was a noticeable change in stool volume and frequency because that was enough fiber to make a difference in my system.


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## Maple12 (May 25, 2012)

I found out from my Johns Hopkins doctor that Citrucel is a fiber that doesn't attract intestinal bacteria to revolt. Others, Metamucil, etc, have a fiber that the bacteria get involved with, creating gas and cramps. The Citrucel is perfect, a vast improvement in my pain. I've been using it for 3 weeks now, and can't imagine life without it. BM everyday, effortless.


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## Pixna (Jul 24, 2011)

Maple12, how often do you take it, how much do you take, and how long did it take for you to experience the positive effects?


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## MYMESSIAH (Jun 2, 2012)

I tried Citrucel and it just made me bloated. My doctor prescribed me Amatiza which is designed to treat IBS-C and create bowel movements. I'm on 24mcg twice a day. It comes in small gel pills.


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## bdnshade (Jun 3, 2012)

I've tried Metamucil, Citrucel, Amatiza (which my ins didn't cove $800/mth) and several others. I find that if I take too much fiber I'm in horrible pain and that includes high fiber foods, beans, veggies and some fruits. I literally want to cry. Chia seeds are helping a little. Anyway, fiber doesn't help me at all.


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## Sean (Feb 8, 1999)

I have been prescribed fiber supplements for years, but they have never been of any benefit to my chronic constipation. Fiber is usually not helpful to people who have colonic inertia.


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## Dreyfuss (Dec 19, 2011)

I don't know if I would call it a scam but is totally overrated. Citrucel seems to be of some help to me but hardly a miracle cure


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