# Chronic constipation, then going all in one day?



## mnk224 (Aug 31, 2011)

Ok, I have had issues with constipation for at least 10 years, but it seems to have gotten worse after I had children.. I also have OCD, Anxiety, and Phobia issues that are definitely adding to my discomfort.. I'm sorry if this is a long post, but I feel it is relevant to my problem..Back in 2007, I attempted to join the Coast Guard, and I was in boot camp for a total of two weeks, I couldn't make it through the physical training.. The whole 2 weeks I could not use the bathroom at all.. Probably because I was "scared sh!tless" literally! So I hardly ate anything at all while I was there because I kept getting scared thinking of all the waste just building up inside me without coming out, but when I came home from boot camp, I was able to go to the bathroom normally (it definitely was mostly a psychological problem) Ever since that experience, everytime I go a couple of days without pooping, I stop eating.. (Which has caused me to lose alot of weight) I think the episodes of semi-starvation that I have been through are contributing to the slower transit time of the bowel movements.. My dad always yells at me: "If you stop eating, how are you going to go!" Which is true.. Anyway I use to take psyllium husks daily with success, but now after my second child, about 15 months ago, basically I hardly ever go normally.. What I am concerned about now, is that I will go through a couple months, having a bowel movement maybe 2-3 times a week, never a normal stool, always hard, small amounts at a time, but I hardly ever have the urge to go either.. So I will be so constipated, then all of a sudden, one day I will have bad gas pains, I will hear gurgling sounds, then I proceed to use the bathroom like 5-7 times in a span of maybe 3 hours.. It feels as if a light switch gets turned on, and all of a sudden, BOOM! I will go so much, that I will lose 3-4 pounds! Would this be considered to be IBS? I also have an underactive thyroid, which probably contributes to constipation, plus my not eating 3 meals a day doesn't help either.. I also sometimes feel little twinges, not really pain, but kinda like a pulled muscle, on my upper left side, and when I push on it, I will hear all watery gurgling sounds.. I'm sorry this was so long!! I am just really scared!


----------



## BQ (May 22, 2000)

You need to go to a Dr and get a proper diagnosis. We can't tell you if anything "sounds" like anything over the internet hon. Write down your symptoms... detail their onset, duration and frequency. Kind of exactly what you did here. But do it with your Dr or go to a Gastroenterologist.Do you ever think to use a stool softener if you do not go?? You need to be treating any constiaption daily if it happens daily... So at least use a stool softener til you get to the Dr. Keep us posted if you want.


----------



## lindielou (Jul 11, 2010)

I agree with the moderator, you need to go to a doctor, preferably a gastroenterologist. If you can find one who knows something about treating the stress factors that are affecting your chronic constipation, that would be a good start.


----------



## QuiQui (Aug 15, 2010)

That sounds an awful lot like what happens to me. Although, I've never been officially diagnosed with IBS, but when I look at symptoms of other disorders, nothing else matches up like IBS does. Try not to be scared, especially if you know that stress makes it worse. But that's easier said than done! It's probably a good idea to follow the other advice here and talk to a real doctor about what's happening. I'm also in the process of trying to figure out whether I really have IBS and whether there's anything I can do to make it stop. I've pinpointed a lot of the same triggers that you experience. If it makes you feel any better, I'm about 99% sure there's nothing seriously wrong with me (and hopefully not with you, either). Just out of curiosity, when you get your explosive "BOOM!", is it after your period starts? I know there are some months where that happens to me.


----------



## mnk224 (Aug 31, 2011)

QuiQui said:


> That sounds an awful lot like what happens to me. Although, I've never been officially diagnosed with IBS, but when I look at symptoms of other disorders, nothing else matches up like IBS does. Try not to be scared, especially if you know that stress makes it worse. But that's easier said than done! It's probably a good idea to follow the other advice here and talk to a real doctor about what's happening. I'm also in the process of trying to figure out whether I really have IBS and whether there's anything I can do to make it stop. I've pinpointed a lot of the same triggers that you experience. If it makes you feel any better, I'm about 99% sure there's nothing seriously wrong with me (and hopefully not with you, either). Just out of curiosity, when you get your explosive "BOOM!", is it after your period starts? I know there are some months where that happens to me.


Thank you for the kind words! I think one time it happened to me after my period.. I have heard of many women experiencing bowel issues around the time of their periods.. I just made an appointment for my regular doctor, and then I will get a referral for a gastro, have you went to see one yet? I hope we can all find relief from this!


----------



## QuiQui (Aug 15, 2010)

mnk224 said:


> Thank you for the kind words! I think one time it happened to me after my period.. I have heard of many women experiencing bowel issues around the time of their periods.. I just made an appointment for my regular doctor, and then I will get a referral for a gastro, have you went to see one yet? I hope we can all find relief from this!


I just went in today to get the results of some tests I had done a few weeks ago, and the doctor suggested I see a GI specialist. Basically, my tests were all normal except that they confirmed that I was constipated and that I have unusually fast small bowel transit (less than 30 minutes) and "fecal stasis" in the ascending, descending and sigmoid colon. So it sounds like everything zips through the first parts of my system and then all of a sudden gets hung up on its way out. They didn't find any evidence of a bowel obstruction though. I suppose the next step is to see the GI specialist and probably get a colonoscopy done.


----------



## sleepy73 (Dec 6, 2011)

Hi..I have the same issues!I haven't been diagnosed with IBS or anything else other than anxiety,panic attacks but I have had gastro issues for as long as I can remember.I've been an anxious child of an alcoholic,scared to death by school and always having to hold my bowls in as in my past we didn't have toilet paper wildly available(I grew up in comunist era in Europe)..soo all of those facts I think added to my problems now in my mid 30's.My stools are always different,ranging from small rabitt like pellets to bigger round balls stuck together into one long mass to long snaky one or one that's really really long(that usually happens when I REALLY have to go and only every few months or when I travel,even 2 hrs from home,as I get anxious away from home.I can go 3x a week,once a day every day or 3,4 times in the span of 4 hrs.Those usually come out fast and easy.Today I had that happen to me..I've been constipated for a few days and then mom called me at 3am that my dad was having a heart attack so I had to come and help her,call 911 etc etc...3 min later I was having an anxiety attack with shivering jaws,increased heart rate and before you know,3 hrs later I got home and I pooped.Then 2 hrs later I pooped again,left home,pooped 2 more times...and my intestines are cramping all day.Thats the thing...sometimes I'm ok for days with no issued and then I poop myself out and I get BAD cramps where I'm on the floor in pain for minutes,and my abdominal discomfort usually lasts a few days and then I'm back to good again.I think my stressful and anxiety prone personality makes these cramps,stomach upsets,gas pains,loud gargling and especially when I'm hungry and then eat...I get sooo cramped!..sorry for a long post!Good luck to ya..


----------



## SarahLund (Aug 16, 2010)

At least you went to the bathroom normally, that's a much more positive than other results i keep hearing about. Sometimes i need to feel that certain kick in my abdomen, and that's how i determine whether i need to go to use the bathroom. As i get a certain level of pain. That's more or less my body telling me to. I've found that cutting down my food portions has helped immensly. Maybe the bowel is dependent in fluid, much more than any food.


----------

