# Feeling like I have something in my rectum... IBS?



## rebecca jones (May 10, 2012)

Hello guys!

I have been diagnosed with IBS a few years ago, but this is a relatively new symptom.

For the past month I've felt like I have something in my rectum, like I haven't emptied it completely and I have a piece of something stuck in there. Sometimes I can even feel a sort of tickling there, it's very annoying and disturbing. It's like 1-2 inches up inside the rectum.

I feel it more when I focus on it and this symptom started after I've been paying attention to my BMs because I thought I saw bits of red in it (which were proven to be food). But the feeling of fullness, tightness and foreign body inside persists. Some days it was better, but lately it's almost constant.

I don't have diarrhea or constipation, just some gas and minor bloating in my colon. I go around 2-3 times a day but the feeling persists even after a BM. And it's more noticeable when I stand up.

I also had this feeling last October after a bout of diarrhea and it lasted a couple of weeks and disappeared. And it started again this January after being stressed over my BMs.

Is this feeling common to IBS? Or maybe hemms?

I'm a huge hypochondriac and worry about having a polyp or a cancer there. My last colonoscopy was 4.5 years ago and there was nothing found. I am 29 yo.

Thank you for any help!


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Hi Rebecca it sounds like it could be hemorrhoids. if you're worried, why don't you get it checked out by a doctor? that way you'd know for sure plus it would alleviate your worry.

focusing on something like that--like you mentioned-- does make you feel it more.

i know it's hard but please try not to worry so much. worry just feeds on itself, creates stress and makes bowel problems and everything in general worse.

take care, wishing you all the best.

oh--ps--love your avatar! too cute


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## rebecca jones (May 10, 2012)

Thank you Annie 

Can hemorrhoids just appear within 4 years? There weren't any at my colonoscopy.

Anyway I did make an appointment with a gastro this Thursday but it will be a long wait for me. Anxiety makes it all worse. I'll try not to go mental about it, most likely it's not the big C - there are many other possibilities.

I've no idea, can a gastro perform a digital rectal exam too? Or would that be weird if I asked for one lol.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

oh yes--hemmies can show up any time. straining can cause them or chronic diarrhea or constipation etc.

and no, it's not likely it's the Big C. you can discuss that with your doctor as well. i'm sure it will make you feel better to have a professional opinion on that.

oh yes--a gastro doc can perform a digital rectal exam. it's not at all weird to ask. it's part of their job. he/she can also use an anoscope or a proctoscope for a more thorough exam.

when my hemmies got bad, I went to my primary doc because I could get in to see her sooner--same day. the wait for my gastros is about six weeks. my primary did the rectal exam and used an anoscope as well and then rx'd me some prescription suppositories and cream to help.


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## SheLikesCats (Feb 3, 2015)

Hey Rebecca, I am having the* EXACT *same thing right now. In fact, I was just about to post about it. Essentially I thought I was severely constipated and was a dummy and used my full arsenal of glycerin suppositories, MiraLax, saline enemas, etc. When nothing was returned from those items except under the use of MiraLax, I freaked out hardcore which made the symptoms worse. Also the use of the suppositories and enemas made things further irritated which perpetuated the perception of something down there and created pressure and pain. I ended up having two visits to urgent care last week. The first visit they wanted to rule out an impaction so I had a rectal exam - only to have it prove two things: 1) I have no stool down there, 2) My rectal area is really irritated. The sensation didn't get any better and I stopped wanting to eat from worry. Finally I went to urgent care again and they did an abdominal x-ray. There was nothing but a tiny bit of stool making its way to my descending colon and a ton of trapped gas. The doctor said "sometimes IBS makes you feel like you have to go, when you really have nothing". I searched online to see what this sensation could be and I found a term for it... tenesmus.

It's a very irritating feeling. A little bit of gas or stool down there triggers a pressure sensation which makes me feel like I have to go, when I really don't. In the past I was giving anucort suppositories for a fissure and hemmorhoids so I am using that hoping it might help calm the irritated tissue. I'm contacting my doctor to see what else I can do because the sensation is very irritating and is driving me bonkers. I'm not in a lot of pain, I'm just tired of feeling like I have to poop when I clearly don't. I'm not even constipated!


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## lemonleen (Feb 28, 2015)

Hi all, newly diagnosed new member. I went to the doctor for the same thing. After a bowel movement there is always stool left in my rectum. This leads to such irritation, which can even cause trace bleeding, that I've stopped exercising.

I thought for sure that the poop was getting tangled with hemorrhoids and that's why it wasn't coming out, but my doctor couldn't find any hemorrhoids. He did detect what he thought was a fissure, which he said causes a stinging sensation after going, and prescribed a topical ointment. That definitely helps with the stinging, but it doesn't prevent the poop from not fully evacuating, which is what causes the irritation in the first place.

Colonoscopy found two polyps, but otherwise I'm "fine." Any suggestions on how to treat this?


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Lemonleen--hi and welcome to the board !

a few thoughts:

have you tried putting your feet on a footstool or something like that while sitting on the toilet? elevating your feet on something like a footstool, shoebox, overturned waste basket or squatty potty etc while sitting on a toilet helps straighten out the anorectal angle and allows a more complete evacuation, so you're not left with stool still sitting in the rectum.. i've been using a shoe box for years. now i use a squatty potty.

using a plain glycerin suppository can help get stool out that is stuck in the rectum. my gasro docs have all told me that these are safe to use--they just contain glycerin (soap).

if you have incomplete bowel movements and keep feeling like you need to go all day, you could have pelvic floor dysfunction. have you been tested for that? with pfd, the pelvic floor muscles don't coordinate and/or relax properly to allow easy passage of stool. ineffective pelvic floor muscle coordination results in inadequate relaxation of the pelvic floor while attempting to have a BM. the puborectalis muscle tightens and contracts when it is supposed to relax to allow passage of stool. so you can't get it all out (incomplete) and keep having that "have to go " feeling all day.

a defecatory proctogram test will show if you have pfd as well as reveal if you have any other outlet problems like a rectocele, vaginal prolapse, rectal prolapse, etc. an anal manometry also helps diagnose pelvic floor problems.

biofeedback and physical therapy can be effective in correcting pfd. it teaches you how to relax and coordinate your pelvic floor muscles. i have taken a couple courses of biofeedback and found it very helpful.

you might want to mention this to your gastro doctor and ask to get tested for it. here is a good link explaining it all:

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases_conditions/hic_pelvic_floor_dysfunction


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## lemonleen (Feb 28, 2015)

This is great feedback. Thank you.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

thanks







so glad you found it helpful.. good luck with everything.


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## bomba575 (May 31, 2016)

Hi Guys..

Please tell me someone has found a remedy for this?

I had it 10 years ago, got colonoscopy, sgmoidoscopy, manometry, xray, ct scan, US scan, everything was ok.

doc said it was IBS.. went to a psych. gave me xanax+seroxat that worked after a month or so.. 95% or the symptoms dissapeared.

Now.. 1 year ago, it was back, in much greater strenght. this tightness feeling just alittle above my rectum.

I have lost over 30lbs (thought it was that) nothing, tried the same xanax+seroxat combo... nothing... muscle relaxant from low dosages to very high dosages, nothing and i mean NOTHING helped.

I don't know what else can i do, tried also acupuncture, massages, yoga, meditation, hypnotherapy, reflexology..

DESPERATE


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