# Feels like poop stuck in rectum



## mossflower (Jan 21, 2017)

I think Annie had some advice on how to use an enema --- Annie, please reply. what i want to do is take out the sodium solution and replace it with water. is that what i do? is it warm water? what do i do then? do i keep laying down for a few minutes? how long before i get up.

I was doing well for 8 weeks after my colonoscopy and polyp removal. in the past few days the poop

isn't coming out easily even with alot of magnesium: it gets stuck for hours before it finally comes out.

Now it pretty much emptied but I feel like my rectum is full and can't poop.

I am miserable.

I am trying to get in to see a doctor to do a rectal exam and see what is going on. I thought

once i had the polyp removed it would be clear sailing and it was for a while.

Thanks for your help


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

oh Mossflower--so sorry you are having problems! i was dx'd with pelvic floor dysfunction and i remember well that feeling of having poop stuck in the rectum. it's miserable.

regarding the fleet enema: i used to empty the sodium solution out of the bottle and replace it with warm water. to administer the enema, i used the "butt up" position (putting a folded towel under my arthritic knees) but yes, you can also lie on your left side with your knee bent, too. then i would squeeze the bottle and try to get as much water in my rectum as possible. i've read that there's more liquid in the bottle than you need so don't worry if it doesn't all go in the rectum. the instructions tell you to stay in that position for 1 to 5 minutes until you get the urge to go.

i do hope you can get an appointment with the doctor soon.

good luck with the enema. hope it works well for you.


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## mossflower (Jan 21, 2017)

Thank you Annie for your response: it may be there is no poop in there, or maybe there is- i tried to get a GI doc to see me today to do a rectal but noone would get me in. they said go to the ER; this is not an ER issue. sigh


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

oh my goodness: "go to the ER" ?? of course you're not going to do that. like you said, it's not an ER issue.. to say nothing of the long ER wait time (and expense).

wish they could have worked you in. it wouldn't have been a very long appointment--rectals don't take very long.

and yes, you're right. it could be that there isn't any poop in there. sometimes it just feels like there is, but then there isn't. i think that's called tenesmus.

good luck with the enema.


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## mossflower (Jan 21, 2017)

Well there is poop in there: I tried to go again and a teeny tiny piece came out so I know it is poop. What scares me is I had the colonoscopy and polyp taken out, so why am I having this horrible problem--- it started about 4 days ago. I take the magnesium and then around 1 pm I have to really go but can't until around 3:30-- and then I went again and again at 6:30, a pretty full watery BM. I went a few times after that and thought I was fine and then it stopped and I am stopped up.

My concern is why, with the polyp out of there, am I having this all of a sudden horrible problem? I keep thinking maybe the path report was wrong, that it really is cancer and they missed it. what the hell else could it be- I have never ever had this problem before

even with the polyp.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

is the magnesium taking longer to work than it used to ?

hopefully you can get in to see your doctor (preferably a gastro doc) soon and you can discuss all this with him/her.

if you think that the path report might be wrong, you could call the office of the doc who did the colonoscopy and talk to a nurse about your concerns and symptoms. ideally, you could make an appointment to see that doctor --i'm guessing he's in michigan?? maybe you could make an appointment now to see him when you get back (which hopefully is soon).

hopefully the enema will get the rest of the poop out.

good luck with everything.


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## flossy (Dec 8, 2012)

Mossflower - I would try taking something else every day to help you go besides (or instead of) the magnesium.

Good luck & keep us posted!


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## mossflower (Jan 21, 2017)

annie7 said:


> is the magnesium taking longer to work than it used to ?
> 
> hopefully you can get in to see your doctor (preferably a gastro doc) soon and you can discuss all this with him/her.
> 
> ...


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## mossflower (Jan 21, 2017)

flossy said:


> Mossflower - I would try taking something else every day to help you go besides (or instead of) the magnesium.
> 
> Good luck & keep us posted!
> 
> ...


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## wgbutler (Mar 15, 2018)

Mossflower I really feel for you. Please know that you are not alone with these problems. I have very similar issues but the main difference between us is that the Linzess/Trulance usually works for me (although taking those meds is a generally unpleasant experience.)

Let me know what the GI says. Other than prescribe Trulance/Linzess/Amitiza there's just not a lot in their arsenal for this horrible problem. If there is I'd sure love to know about it.

I don't know what is holding Shire up from releasing the Motegrity drug but its driving me nuts. That's my next best hope for getting some kind of normal life back. I keep checking on the status of that drug and it keeps on not being released. I don't know what the hold up is. They have been selling this drug in Canada and Europe for years. Seems to me like once it was FDA approved it should have been commercially available in the US within a month. I suppose its kind of appropriate that its taking a constipation drug forever to come out.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

mossflower  glad the poop finally came out the other day.

good luck with linzess 290. hope it works for you.

and good luck with your gastro appointment friday. hope he is helpful. and yes, unfortunately i know what you mean about having a doctor that you don't really trust. i do wish you could find a better gastro in florida. sadly, good doctors can sometimes be hard to find.


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## flossy (Dec 8, 2012)

mossflower said:


> flossy said:
> 
> 
> > Mossflower - I would try taking something else every day to help you go besides (or instead of) the magnesium.
> ...


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## wgbutler (Mar 15, 2018)

Flossy,

At the risk of getting overly personal, can you tell me what your experience is like with the IF #1? When you go to the bathroom is it a normal experience or does your stool come in out small pieces and/or D?

As you know, I've tried the IF #1 with varying degrees of success. There have been days when I tried it and it basically cleaned me out and I felt great. But even on those days I didn't have a "normal" pooping experience. It was basically just a large pile of mud. Other days when I've tried it its helped very little or not at all. So it doesn't consistently help me and I can't rely on it.

There have even been days when I overloaded on pills to force it to work and all I did was give myself a horrible case of cramps and it seemed like my entire GI system just shut down and curled up into a fetal position.

These past few months I've just been getting up at 3:00AM and taking 72mg Linzess. That usually does the trick but as a long term solution I find it extremely unsatisfying.


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## flossy (Dec 8, 2012)

wgbutler said:


> Flossy,
> 
> At the risk of getting overly personal, can you tell me what your experience is like with the IF #1? When you go to the bathroom is it a normal experience or does your stool come in out small pieces and/or D?
> 
> ...


I go normally on I.F. # 1, but still have incomplete evacuation every day. (Incomplete evacuation seems to usually go hand-in-hand with IBS-C.) Rarely do I ever have D.

If one has IBS-C I think most constipation meds & supplements aren't made to overload on and are best taken daily, IMHO. If you don't take something every day or don't go every day you risk getting fecal impaction or at least somewhat "clogged up" down there and that might be giving you the problems you mentioned?

I'm thinking it might be the senna that doesn't agree with you? I've heard others say it's too rough on their systems to take.

When you take the I.F. # 1 are you taking it by itself or with something else?


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## wgbutler (Mar 15, 2018)

flossy said:


> I'm thinking it might be the senna that doesn't agree with you? I've heard others say it's too rough on their systems to take.
> 
> When you take the I.F. # 1 are you taking it by itself or with something else?


I've done both. It doesn't seem to make that much of a difference for me either way.

When its worked for me, it has worked VERY well. Basically gave me complete relief and I thought I had found the magic bullet and that now I just needed to be careful to avoid getting dependent on it.

But it never lasted. After a day or two it would stop working or work very little. I'm sure I'll try it out again to see if anything has changed.

The only thing that consistently works for me are the Linzess and the Trulance. And when I say consistently I really mean they work about 80% of the time. I hate taking those drugs though. They give me horrible D and my rear end is often raw as a result.

My life basically sucks. I'm only 48 and I can't imagine going the rest of my life like this. I often wonder if I would be better off with an ileostomy bag.

I have an appointment with a colorectal surgeon next month and I'm going to go ahead and tell him he can do those other tests on me that he wanted to do last year (balloon expulsion test, defocography, anal manometry, etc). When he wanted to do them last year I freaked out and said no, but it looks like nothing is getting any better and I have to keep trying things to get back to some type of nominal existence.

My other hope is that the Motegrity drug will make a difference, but I've talked to several people on the forums. Some say it helped them alot but others say it didn't make any difference at all, so that's no guarantee either.

Sometimes when I just need a break from the hellish routine I water fast, but that's no picnic either. It's good for me spiritually though. I think I'm going to water fast this weekend and probably some more times between now and Easter.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

wgbutler said:


> My life basically sucks. I'm only 48 and I can't imagine going the rest of my life like this. I often wonder if I would be better off with an ileostomy bag.
> 
> I have an appointment with a colorectal surgeon next month and I'm going to go ahead and tell him he can do those other tests on me that he wanted to do last year (balloon expulsion test, defocography, anal manometry, etc). When he wanted to do them last year I freaked out and said no, but it looks like nothing is getting any better and I have to keep trying things to get back to some type of nominal existence.
> 
> My other hope is that the Motegrity drug will make a difference, but I've talked to several people on the forums. Some say it helped them alot but others say it didn't make any difference at all, so that's no guarantee either.


it's good to go ahead with those tests. i've had them all. they weren't painful or anything like that (well, the sitz marker test was sure not fun, since i was laxative dependent). they are good diagnostic tools. if the tests show that you don't have pelvic floor dysfunction, then as far as surgery is concerned, you could have a total colectomy. that's where they remove the colon and connect the small intestine to the rectum. you don't have a bag, like you do with an ostomy. i desperately wanted a total colectomy but unfortunately i had PFD so i had to get the bag.

good luck with everything. i really hope that motegrity will help you.


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## wgbutler (Mar 15, 2018)

annie7 said:


> it's good to go ahead with those tests. i've had them all. they weren't painful or anything like that (well, the sitz marker test was sure not fun, since i was laxative dependent). they are good diagnostic tools. if the tests show that you don't have pelvic floor dysfunction, then as far as surgery is concerned, you could have a total colectomy. that's where they remove the colon and connect the small intestine to the rectum. you don't have a bag, like you do with an ostomy. i desperately wanted a total colectomy but unfortunately i had PFD so i had to get the bag.
> 
> good luck with everything. i really hope that motegrity will help you.


Yes. I'm going to go ahead and get whatever tests he wants to do over with. Do you think it would be a good idea to fast for a few days before the tests? Reason I'm asking is because I'm paranoid that if I have stool in my colon when they do the tests I'll do my business in front of everyone in the room and that would be pretty humiliating. If I'm just pooping out a balloon or some radioactive paste then that would be less embarrassing.

As far as the total colectomy - wow. That is a scary thought. I've talked to people who had that done that say its the best decision they ever made, but it still sounds terrifying. But I suppose if I had to choose between that or living like this for the rest of my life I'd rather do that. If I don't get surgery there's always a chance that I could get better on my own (like I did when I was a kid) or that somebody will come out with a new therapy that would fix me (maybe Motegrity?).

As things stand right now I'm going to try to hold out until at least my mid 50s before seriously pursuing surgery as an option to try to get better naturally or with an effective therapy. Unless a doctor tells me that I need to get it done sooner, at which point I would likely follow his advice.


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## mossflower (Jan 21, 2017)

well it is 3 am - i took my usual dose of magnesium-- passing some liquid and then now it is just gas---i have to keep running to the bathroom for 
explosive gas- i never had this happen before where it is all gas


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

wgbutler--no you don't have to fast a few days before those tests. there are prep instructions which tell you to do two fleet enemas a few hours prior to the tests. i forget exactly how many hours because i took all these tests years ago but you can google to find out if you want to know now. you'll be given these instructions prior to taking the tests.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

mossflower--so sorry to hear this. hope by now the magnesium is working properly and you've started passing stool. sounds like the magnesium you're using just isn't working well for you anymore and that it's definitely time to try something new. there are different forms of magnesium to try.  have you ever tried taking powdered magnesium like MagOx or Mag07 or Natural Calm?. i've heard a lot of people have good success with those. have you tried milk of magnesia?

and there's always linzess 290. hopefully that will work. if it doesn't, you can try trulance. good luck.


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## wgbutler (Mar 15, 2018)

annie7 said:


> mossflower--so sorry to hear this. hope by now the magnesium is working properly and you've started passing stool. sounds like the magnesium you're using just isn't working well for you anymore and that it's definitely time to try something new. there are different forms of magnesium to try. have you ever tried taking powdered magnesium like MagOx or Mag07 or Natural Calm?. i've heard a lot of people have good success with those. have you tried milk of magnesia?
> 
> and there's always linzess 290. hopefully that will work. if it doesn't, you can try trulance. good luck.


But who wants to live like this? Lets say he does try something that finally provides some relief. What's he going to do tomorrow? And the next day? And the next day? He's got to eat to live so this is going to be a recurring situation.

Living with this condition is so psychologically draining. Never knowing what to expect from one day to the next. That's why I usually take the Linzess/Trulance every day because they are somewhat dependable. Other solutions like magnesium/IF #1 work as well but they just aren't dependable.


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## flossy (Dec 8, 2012)

wgbutler said:


> But who wants to live like this? Lets say he does try something that finally provides some relief. What's he going to do tomorrow? And the next day? And the next day? He's got to eat to live so this is going to be a recurring situation.


When all else fails one could always get a stoma and colostomy bag. Taking something daily to help me go works for me (and for most of us), but personally, if I had to? I guess I would get the procedure.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

flossy said:


> When all else fails one could always get a stoma and colostomy bag. Taking something daily to help me go works for me (and for most of us), but personally, if I had to? I guess I would get the procedure.


acttually, if you don't have pelvic floor dysfunction like i did, you don't need to get an ostomy. you can have a total colectomy --where they remove your colon and hook your small intestine up to your rectum--instead.


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## wgbutler (Mar 15, 2018)

annie7 said:


> acttually, if you don't have pelvic floor dysfunction like i did, you don't need to get an ostomy. you can have a total colectomy --where they remove your colon and hook your small intestine up to your rectum--instead.


Yes, on the various forums on Facebook I often read comments from people who say that getting surgery was the best decision they ever made, and that they got their life back and wish they had done it 10 years earlier.

But for every seven or eight glowing testimonies I read there is always one horror story where someone had surgery and things went horribly wrong and now there is nothing anyone can do to help them and they have to live every day in excruciating pain.

So that prospect is kind of scary. I suppose I'll be willing to give it a try at some point, but I'd really like to exhaust every other option first.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

wgbutler said:


> I suppose I'll be willing to give it a try at some point, but I'd really like to exhaust every other option first.


oh yes. you want to try everything else first. and you'll definitely know when it's time for surgery if and when the time comes. surgery is definitely a last resort.

for me, things finally got so bad that my gastro doc was having me do half a colonoscopy prep once a week in addition to my daily laxatives so i wouldn't get too backed up. i did all that for about 6 months but it was really a miserable way to live--no quality of life at all. plus i had an electrolyte crash after one of the preps and ended up in the ER and then in hospital for 24 hours under observation. and despite all these preps, i was still getting backed up. so i finally decided to talk to my colorectal surgeon about surgery.

good luck with everything. take care.


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## wgbutler (Mar 15, 2018)

Here's an example of one of the messages I sometimes see in the forums on Facebook. This was just posted a few minutes ago. I've removed the name of the poster to protect their privacy:

//Hello everyone, I have posted my story before, but it's been a long time, so I thought I'd post it again. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anything.

I was having a lot of abdominal pain and constipation, I missed a lot of school, and I went to numerous doctors and had numerous tests, and they would pretty much all come back normal, which was very frustrating, in fact, one doctor suggested that the pain I was having was all in my head, and my mom had to be hospitalized because she was getting so stressed and worried for "believing me" needless to say we never went back to see her. I finally went to a wonderful pediatric gastroenterologist (Dr ***** ***********) and she had me do a Sitz Marker Study (it's where I swallowed a clear capsule with 20 rings in it that show up on x-rays) and so after I had an x-ray every day for a week, the X-ray showed that all the rings were still in my colon, so I was diagnosed with Colonic Inertia, I was 13 years old, so we found a surgeon who knew a lot about Colonic Inertia (Dr ******) he was so awesome, I wish that he hadn't retired! So I had my total colectomy (my colon was removed) and the small bowel was attached to my rectum. I was fine for a while but eventually all the pain came back, it turned out that the cause was my rectum, they called it Rectal Inertia, so at about 16 years old, they removed my rectum and made a j-pouch, and I had a temporary ileostomy until that healed, then he connected the small bowel to the j-pouch, unfortunately it wasn't very long before the pain came back again, so I had to have the ileostomy again. After a while I wanted to try to have it reversed because I didn't really like having it, well obviously my surgeon thought/knew it wouldn't work, but I really wanted to have it reversed, so he told me that he would do it, but if it doesn't work and all my pain came back, he wouldn't reverse it again, so I agreed, so of course after having it reversed, it wasn't very long before the pain did come back, so I now have a permanent ileostomy. I'm 37 now, and I pretty much have inertia throughout my entire digestive system, and I also live with chronic abdominal pain.//


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

that's interesting that they told her that the cause of her pain was the rectum and they removed it but she still had the pain. i wonder if she has functional abdominal pain.

and yes, i have heard of people who have inertia in the small intestine. that's why they require a lot of tests prior to a colectomy so they can make sure that the small intestine works properly before doing the surgery.


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## wgbutler (Mar 15, 2018)

Also, if she had some of these surgeries 15-20 years ago, its possible that the surgical techniques have improved since then and there would be less likelihood of complications if they were done now.

But I really don't know. I'm grasping at straws. I just wish all the suffering would end.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

oh yes--i'm sure that surgical techniques have improved since.

plus that was a awful lot of surgeries that she had. much more than most people have. she is definitely the exception to the rule. i've never read (and i've read a lot) of anyone having that many complications and surgeries. she had the colectomy, then the rectal removal and j pouch and temp ileo, then they connected the small bowel to the j pouch, then she had the ileo surgery again. .

yes, i do wish all your suffering would end. it's miserable to have to live like that.


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## Donna Ann (Jul 7, 2017)

"Feels like poop stuck in rectum" sounds like my rectal prolapse.


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## camera~shy (Mar 17, 2019)

Donna Ann said:


> "Feels like poop stuck in rectum" sounds like my rectal prolapse.


Curious if the symptoms of prolapse came on quickly for you? This week has been miserable for me. I was going fairly well for two weeks, not taking anything but some fiber supps. And then this past thursday, I felt like what was a "misfire" in the bathroom and ever since then I can't seem to get things moving again. It's been three days now, so frustrating. I have been taking the Canadian equiv to Mirolax I think for two days and nothing.

But I have noticed that I am also having some bladder troubles that I am thinking might be pelvic floor dysfunction related (going for a physical this week to ask if this might be my issue). I don't see physical indications of a prolapse but I am wondering if this is what is happening to me.


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