# rectal pressure and ache



## adam147 (Feb 16, 2014)

Hi all. I have this strange feeling in my rectum and anal area. It feels like there is pressure there. Like there is gas or poop in there and its there all day. I am not constipated and sometimes go 2 or 3 times a day. I have been diagnosed as having anxiety. This problem is worse the more I consentrate on it. I can't stop thinking about it. Iv had it for 5 years. Basically I have had loads of rectal exams and all sorts of meds. I am a major hypochondriac and I am starting out with cbt. I do have periods where I have no problems at all. If I am on holiday, have another medical problem or when I am drunk. I know that if I have something else to think about my problem eases off. It feels like I have rumbling gas in my anus. I feel ache in tailbone and sometimes the pereneum. I have been told so many things by so many different people. I just really want to know does anyone have this problem? I also feel like I need to poop more after I have been but there is nothing there. When I fart or poop the pressure does ease off for a few seconds but comes back. It also goes away when I'm asleep. This is my only real symptom of ibs. Does this sound like it could be ibs??? I have always had a nervous stomach. If I am anxious I can give myself the runs or gas. I know its not serious because it wouldn't come and go like it does. Its just annoying and can make me feel very upset sometimes. I just don't understand much about ibs. I'm going to see a colorectal specialist in a few weeks to see what they say. I have had mri scans, proctoscopy etc but all seems fine. No blood in poop. If I have a period of time with no symptoms I can think to myself I haven't had that pain for a bit. As soon as it enters my head it comes back. I have also been diagnosed with hypochondriasis. My brain just seems to be over active.


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## nigol (Jul 7, 2012)

i have the same exact thing, its terrible. The problem for me is how on earth can i get help for that? Its not so severe as to make doctors care but it messes with your confidence and cant act normal.


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## adam147 (Feb 16, 2014)

I think the worse thing we can do is to keep searching for answers as it just keeps the problem active in our minds. Its just this is my only symptom of ibs and I just wanted to know that I am not alone with it. It can drive me mad sometimes. Do you sometimes feel your heart beating in your anus??? Wierd I know but I do. Its like my whole back passage is tight somehow. I can feel brief flutters as if it relaxes for a few seconds but it comes back. Like I say it does go away for a few days or weeks sometimes if I have something else to take my mind off it


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Sure I have had many sensations that seem odd with my IBS. Specifically yes I have had what you describe. I just attributed it to my over reactive GI system... Please keep your appt with the CBT therapist. I am sure once you get this anxiety treated you will feel much better!


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## nigol (Jul 7, 2012)

I feel same way but i need an answer as its completely ruined me and i have to think about it constantly. there must be a solution, all i need is something to kill the connection between it and my brain.


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## adam147 (Feb 16, 2014)

I know its hard but the key is to stop searching for answers. The more you keep doing this the more it is always going to be on your mind. You know you have nothing nasty wrong with you. You are still alive and you are a healthy person. My cbt says the best way to help yourself is to stop searching, googling and just carry on as normal. I have been doing this and I'm a lot better. Yes I have a few days or weeks where I am suffering but I also have a few days or weeks where I am fine. I'm worst at work or any stressful situation but I have just had the last week off from work and I have been almost 100 percent better. I'm back at work tomorrow and I can feel it coming back but hey ho. Serious illness does not go away and come back like this. Its the hardest thing in the world but this is who we are. We just got to try and carry on. I would advise cbt theropy. The problem is muscle tension. Its our rectal muscles trying to push out something that isn't there. Do not fear this situation. Many people have much worse problems. I will keep you posted.


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## adam147 (Feb 16, 2014)

The way to kill the connection between the brain and gut is to try and carry on as normal as possible. The more you look for answers the worse it will be. It sounds strange but my cbt theropist would kill me if he knew I was on this forum. Its just feeding the problem. I bet at a point in your life where you were happy and relaxed you had no problems. I also bet that when you are asleep it doesn't bother you.


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## pete68 (Feb 25, 2014)

Hi,i have suffered from IBS for some years now & my main symptom has been severe stomach cramps until recently when i have experienced the rectal pressure mentioned in your posts.It's very hard to describe it really but it feels like the whole area inside the rectum is about to burst.It started a few weeks ago when i felt this slight pressure which actually made it quite hard to walk due to the vibration which goes to that area.I then started to go to the toilet more frequently at work/home but after each session i still felt like i needed to go again because of this bearing down pressure.The feeling i get is the same as just before you empty your bowels but the feeling never goes so it seems to be the same as mentioned in the various posts made on this subject.My Doctor's have not been so helpful really which makes you feel a little isolated & going mad.I eventually got to see my own DR who i have known for years & he made an internal examination which was all clear.He suggested i use some suppositories to calm the area down a bit which i did but the next day after using the suppositories the pressure & feeling inside just didnt ease & i ended up going to my local urgent care unit as it felt so bad.!Another examination showed the same results & i was sent home.Just to add to this i had a series of blood tests all done recently which all came back as normal.Last Sunday was my worst day so far as i went to the toilet about 5 x in the space of 3hrs!!!I got to the point that the pressure inside was so tense i was tempted to go back to the hospital again but i resisted & saw my Dr again on Monday.My Dr is trying to indicate that this is all part of anxiety which has built up in my life.If that's the case how on earth do you go about getting rid of the symptoms??? I am also being treated for acid reflux which again can be down to anxiety/stress etc...& general consensus is that the anxiety is moving to different areas of the body. Whilst of course I am driving my whole family mad its a very debilitating condition & unless you are going through it or have gone through it its difficult to really understand the extreme symptoms it shows.


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## adam147 (Feb 16, 2014)

I know how you feel. As soon as you wake up you can feel it building and you think to yourself oh here we go again. I have had this for 5 years. Yes I have the odd few weeks without it but most of the time its there. I did have a period of about 6 months without it but it came back during a stressful time in my life. The trouble is its hard to think of anything else and this is the problem. Its always in the mind so the mind will cause the problem. I thing its a sort of tension thing. The internal anal sphincter is too tight. We ourselves can relax the external sphincter but the internal sphincter is controlled by our brains. Its our brain trying to stop ourselves from pooping ourselves when stressed. I can sense myself clenching without me realising I'm doing it. Its amazing what the brain can do to our bodies. Like I have mentioned in previous posts I do not have a problem if I am completely relaxed when I'm away from work. Or when I'm drunk haha. I was convinced I had cancer or some sort of illness. And that's the trouble with looking for information about it. Even using this website. Its fueling the anxiety and is stopping us from letting go. Its soooooooo hard to stop I know. Try just pressing against your anus and see if that helps. I get that flutter and vibration too. Its muscle spasm.


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## Anela (11 mo ago)

Hello , I have two months the same symptoms. I visited two doctors ,they examined me and told me that all it is normal , no any pathological issue . I suffer many years by psychosomatic issues. I read all your post about the rectal pressure . I absolutely feel the same . When I defecate or pass a gas the pressure goes away for a few minutes and back again . Did you find any solution about this issue ? I hope you did ! 🙁🙁🙁
Thank you !


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## Silviegee (Jan 12, 2021)

I get proctalgia fugax, but I think that is a different thing to what you mean. That is a really horrid pain right in the anus which comes on all of a sudden, at any time, day or night, If it comes when I am asleep it will wake me up. It lasts maximum about 20 minutes, usually less and is SO painful. I think that is a muscle spasm though, possibly connected with pelvic floor muscles.... I get those in lower back too. They may be related.
It really is a killer of a pain but disappears completely and may return weeks later. I've had it for years. Passing gas (if I can) usually relieves it. But the one thing I find helps more than anything is one shot of an alcoholic drink. There isn't enough time for painkillers to work.
I can't bring that on though by worrying or thinking about it.

But I think what you are referring to is different. You mean a pressure like you need to "go"?


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## Michael Long (11 mo ago)

Silviegee said:


> I get proctalgia fugax, but I think that is a different thing to what you mean. That is a really horrid pain right in the anus which comes on all of a sudden, at any time, day or night, If it comes when I am asleep it will wake me up. It lasts maximum about 20 minutes, usually less and is SO painful. I think that is a muscle spasm though, possibly connected with pelvic floor muscles.... I get those in lower back too. They may be related.
> It really is a killer of a pain but disappears completely and may return weeks later. I've had it for years. Passing gas (if I can) usually relieves it. But the one thing I find helps more than anything is one shot of an alcoholic drink. There isn't enough time for painkillers to work.
> I can't bring that on though by worrying or thinking about it.
> 
> But I think what you are referring to is different. You mean a pressure like you need to "go"?


I was gonna say i have this as well, but then reading on, mine never lasts THAT long. It is this horrid pain that you describe, feels almost like the anus is "cramping" but it always eases up in seconds to minutes at most. I mean it BETTER, or else i couldn't bear it. This seems to be a different pain to what OP is describing though, as theirs seems more like a pressure that is constantly there hmm...


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## Anela (11 mo ago)

Silviegee said:


> I get proctalgia fugax, but I think that is a different thing to what you mean. That is a really horrid pain right in the anus which comes on all of a sudden, at any time, day or night, If it comes when I am asleep it will wake me up. It lasts maximum about 20 minutes, usually less and is SO painful. I think that is a muscle spasm though, possibly connected with pelvic floor muscles.... I get those in lower back too. They may be related.
> It really is a killer of a pain but disappears completely and may return weeks later. I've had it for years. Passing gas (if I can) usually relieves it. But the one thing I find helps more than anything is one shot of an alcoholic drink. There isn't enough time for painkillers to work.
> I can't bring that on though by worrying or thinking about it.
> 
> But I think what you are referring to is different. You mean a pressure like you need to "go"?


Hello Silviegee, I am so sorry about you suffer from this pain you described. At least you have periods when you are ok.
Yes my issue is different to yours . I feel like my internal sphincter wants to relax , it feels like the feeling of having a gas or a feces there that needs to go out. So when I pass a gas, the place there is relaxed and I don't feel any pressure or the feeling of the something needs to go out of there . The relief lasts 2-3 minutes. When I defacate the relief lasts longer, it is about 20 minutes . And after that time of relief, the feeling of that something exists inside my rectum returns again back . But the most of my day time it is impossible to have always a gas or feces as all the people !! So I get relief only when there is a real gas there or real feces . I mean that when I pass a gas- get a 3 minutes relief and then the pressure /feeling that something exists comes back . Then I push again in case I have another gas but I don't have any other . The same happens about defecation . I defecate normally without conticipation . Then I feel relief about 20 minutes . Then the strange feeling comes back . I push to pass a gas or again to defecate but there is nothing else.
I feel like I have to pass gasses or feces all the time because that is the only temporary solution can relieve me. Also when I go to bed and close my eyes and relax completely it goes away . Also it goes away when I am asleep.


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