# How bad is your pain with constipation?



## LuSmith (Dec 15, 2011)

I'm currently suffering constipation, which is my norm, but it's much sharper pains than I'm used to. I just had a flexible sigmoidoscopy yesterday so I don't know if this is a reason for it but I hope it's just excess gas that I'm still suffering from or just constipation pain :/

Either way I can't go at the moment. How bad is your pain with constipation and where do you generally feel it? At the moment it seems to be in my lower abdomen and my upper abdomen as I'm suffering right where my transverse colon is too? The stabbing pains are radiating through to my back. I'm also suffering a lot of rectal pressure and I know there's something there as I sometimes can go tiny tiny amounts.

Anyway, just curious as didn't want to find that this is pain that I should be getting checked out or something.


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## marleyma (Aug 13, 2014)

I always have a pain in my lower left abdomen.. it seems to be constant and sometimes reaches around to lower back aswell.


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## vanshika mahajan (Jan 14, 2016)

Well i always have pain in upper abdomen just below the ribs and is constant. Sometimes radiates to the whole abdomen. But I have alternating diarrhoea and constipation.


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## itsjessicaanne (Jan 18, 2016)

My constipation settles in the lower left quadrant. If I do not tend to my constipation right away, my pain can actually become worse than the appendicitis I had when I was a teenager. When I am constipated I have pressure- it almost feels like I swallowed a golf ball and it is trapped in my colon.


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## shubham2911 (Apr 16, 2015)

Having alot of constipation, pasimg a lot of mucus without stool, bloated and seriously i can get pain anywhere in abdomen and stomach


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## brookemcclellan (Mar 10, 2015)

I completely feel your pain. I relate to every bit of it. I have my pain exactly where you are saying you feel it. The lower back pain I've been told by several doctors that it's sympathy pain (your back just wants to feel the pain your abdomen is feeling because hey why not right?). I have't found a way to avoid it so i resort to 3 things. The first is a heating pad, second a hot as you can stand bath. The heat helps relaxs the muscles in return gives you a little bit of a break. The last thing I've discovered is peppermint tea. It is a natural antispasmodic for your system and it generally works in 10 minutes. I've been trying to get more involved in our community by creating a channel to be more personal and to build awareness, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjt5NErojbROgsj0eLrn6RA it just a place for people in our situations to know that we aren't alone. I hope this information I've given helps you out a little bit. As always I'm sorry for your pain.


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## LuSmith (Dec 15, 2011)

Thanks for all the responses. I guess IBS can be very unpredictable at times.

I'm currently having some severe constipation as haven't really had a proper bowel movement in a couple weeks. Had a flexible sigmoidoscopy just two weeks ago but came back normal as far as I'm aware. Have struggled to go properly since and haven't really wanted to go back to relying on laxatives again.

Thanks for the tips. I already try and use a heating pad, which is the best relief I can get for the time being. Unfortunately I can't drink peppermint tea as it irritates my acid reflux but I know it's one of those that is supposed to relieve spasms so I'm a bit disappointed I cannot try it!


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## cremefraiche (Jan 19, 2016)

I feel the pain exactly where you are talking (right side, under the rib cage area, sharp-stabbing-like pains?). I've been having this issue ever since I went to the ER 5 weeks ago, have only passed water recently and feel pressure all around my abdomen. Wish I could help but I still haven't passed through this yet myself. Do you sometimes notice an unusual lump under the rib cage area?


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## LRThomas (Jan 28, 2016)

Hi im new on here and ive been looking to chat and get advice from others with the same or similar problem as myself. I was born with what the doctors called a lazy bowel (cronic constipation) i was under a doctor until i was about 11yrs old. After that i had to manage it myself with the support of my mother. I was doing ok until july 2014, since then i have been struggling to the point i needed hospitalization, it wasnt until january 2015 that i was put under a consultant and that was only because i said i would purferate my bowel myself if they didnt help as i was at 43 days with no movement, i hadnt had pain relief for a few days so they couldnt blame that, i couldnt hold down food or water and i hadnt slept in nearly 4 1/2 days and they were going to send me home. I cant pass water to this day with out help from a catheter and no mater what i do with meds,diet and exercise im am in a lot of pain, im always full and ive put on nearly 4 stone in 7 months, i cant work at the moment but they dont class this a a valid sickness, im under investigation and today im going for a test that they refused to do on the last appointment as they said there is nothing wrong. I would really appricate any words of advise


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

so sorry for all your problems. being chronic constipated is truly miserable.

it sounds like you have slow transit constipation (colonic inertia) --the "lazy bowel" the doc was talking about. there is a test to diagnose this--the sitz marker test (colonic transit study) sometimes it goes by different names--in the uk i think they sometimes call it the shapes study. i do hope your doc will give you that test. slow transit constipation can be managed with diet and medication: constella (which it looks like you've tried) and also resolor (prucalopride). there's also amitiza. and miralax (movicol)

for those of us who don't have success with prescription meds, there are stimulant laxatives such as senna and bisacodyl (dulcolax) which were what my gastros recommended to me when prescription meds didn't work well. and there's osmotic laxatives too which sometimes help.

i do hope you have a good, proactive and knowledgeable gastroenterologist who will find an effective treatment plan for you.

sometimes, when the constipation is extreme, causing repeated obstructions, and is refractory to meds, they will do surgery--a colectomy. it's a last resort. there are a number of tests required to see if one is a good candidate for this type of surgery. not everybody is. for one thing, there cannot be any problems with your pelvic floor--ie pelvic floor dysfunction--or any other severe, uncorrectable outlet problems.

there is a lot of information here on the board about how to manage chronic constipation, so you might want to look around a bit and do some reading.

good luck. wishing you all the best. take care.


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## LRThomas (Jan 28, 2016)

Thank you very much for your reply, in the last 18 months ive been on alot of the meddication you have mentioned with no result, ive just got back from my appointment and they are pushing for an operation, they want to cut a portion out and put a sleave on my stomach. 
But in the mean time i need to find a short term resolution


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

yes, perhaps an operation is necessary. i do hope your doctors can come up with a short term resolution for you in the meantime. ask them. my gastro doc had me doing colonscopy preps (the miralax/dulcolax prep and the prepopik prep ) weekly til i had surgery.

you could always get a second opinion, too, from another gastro doc who might have more ideas for you.

good luck. wishing you all the best. take good care.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

do enemas help you at all? or you could ask your gastro about trying the peristeen irrigation system which is supposed to be much more effective than an enema.


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## LRThomas (Jan 28, 2016)

Enemas havent helped so far, i have to take moviprep or clean prep which are vile and havent made much difference unforunately. 
I have to admit ive tried a numerous amount of medication some old remidies and some new the majority of them worked for a ahort period but it didnt last. I dont want to have the op but there really isnt much left to try. 
It has helped relax me a little being able to chat with you all on here as i have not been able to speak/chat with anyone (other than my partner who suffers with IBS) who understands and knows what its like
So thank you very much x


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

so sorry you've had such bad luck with everything. and oh yes--those preps--i've tried them all--are truly vile and miserable aren't they. and my gastro wanted me taking them once a week. not a good way to live.

and yes, it is so good to be able to talk about our problems here. when i first found this board years ago, i actually cried---i had thought i was all alone with this--and that it was all my fault because, as some people told me, i wasn't eating right (not true) or people would say i just making too much about it. it was such a relief to finally find people who had similar problems and who understood.... and it was so good to read and get information. and support.

sorry that you---or any of us-- have to be here, but you've found the right place







take good care. xx


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## Dave Smith (Sep 20, 2015)

on scale of 1 to 10 mines a 9


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## LuSmith (Dec 15, 2011)

annie7 said:


> yes, perhaps an operation is necessary. i do hope your doctors can come up with a short term resolution for you in the meantime. ask them. my gastro doc had me doing colonscopy preps (the miralax/dulcolax prep and the prepopik prep ) weekly til i had surgery.
> 
> you could always get a second opinion, too, from another gastro doc who might have more ideas for you.
> 
> good luck. wishing you all the best. take good care.


Sorry for jumping in here... Annie, how long was it before you were finally given surgery? and what's it been like for you after (like has it been successful, do you still suffer as bad with C etc?)

I was just curious as someone who seems to constantly have a hard time with constipation. :/ I don't really want to go through something like that but guess I'm figuring out what kind of options are out there as a last resort if it came to it. (I'm still not sure what my condition is 100% and seeing gastro in a couple weeks again for follow up)


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

very very long story short---i had colostomy surgery in june of last year. in november, adhesions from my hemi colectomy in 2013 strangled out the colostomy so i had emergency surgery--lysis of adhesions, removal of what remained of my colon and an ileostomy.

and no, no constipation any more now that i have a bag..

my situation --ostomy surgery--was a very extreme, last resort case.


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## Patrick ibs c (Mar 5, 2016)

Really bad lately


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## LRThomas (Jan 28, 2016)

Hi everyone, hope things are improving for you x
I had another appointment with my doctor who has now changed his mind about the opperation and wants to go with special exercises. Im now offically signed off work which is getting me down, im now at my wits end and feel as thought im in a very long and dark tunnel with no way out. I dont know what to do anymore


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

oh so sorry you are feeling so bad and are signed off work and everything. that's hard.

please try not to lose hope. are the special exercises you mentioned biofeedback and/or pelvic floor exercises? have you been diagnosed with pelvic floor dysfunction? if you are having problems with tight pelvic floor muscles, these exercises are definitely worthwhile and can really help. pelvic floor physical therapists are wonderful to work with. they are very helpful and really know a lot.

good luck with everything. please do keep us posted. PM me if you want to talk. xx


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## LRThomas (Jan 28, 2016)

It is pelvic floor exercises, they will help but wont solve the problem as both the doctor and incontinance nurse has said, she also said the opperation would be benifial to me. I feel as though im being fobed off by the doctors, they do this all the time


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

i wonder if the doc is having you do the pelvic floor exercises in the hopes that you can train those muscles to work better. then, if the pelvic floor is working properly, you'd be able to have a total colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis which should take care of the slow transit problem ---unless your small intestine has slow transit as well. i know people who have gone this route.

but yes--i agree--i'd feel the same way you do too, especially since the doc and the nurse said what they said plus at your earlier appointment they were pushing for the operation, too. did the doc explain why he'd changed his mind? it's truly a terrible shame that they just decide to fob patients off like that because living with chronic constipation is truly miserable.

can you go to another doctor for a second opinion? or just go to a colorectal surgeon and see what he/she says? that's what i did. after so many many years of suffering and trying everything, i just wanted to have an ileostomy--the bag. i wanted a better quality of life. i went to a colorectal doc and he wanted me to try biofeedback and pelvic floor exercises first, which i did. i worked hard at it, too--even bought my own biofeedback machine. i worked with it daily for over a year. biofeedback did teach me to relax those muscles but i still could not coordinate them properly to have a good BM. so then i went back to the colorectal surgeon, updated him on my story, told him i'd had enough and wanted the bag. that's when he agreed to do the surgery.


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## oceannir (Mar 6, 2012)

annie7 said:


> =
> 
> can you go to another doctor for a second opinion? or just go to a colorectal surgeon and see what he/she says? that's what i did. after so many many years of suffering and trying everything, i just wanted to have an ileostomy--the bag. i wanted a better quality of life. i went to a colorectal doc and he wanted me to try biofeedback and pelvic floor exercises first, which i did. i worked hard at it, too--even bought my own biofeedback machine. i worked with it daily for over a year. biofeedback did teach me to relax those muscles but i still could not coordinate them properly to have a good BM. so then i went back to the colorectal surgeon, updated him on my story, told him i'd had enough and wanted the bag. that's when he agreed to do the surgery.


Did you go through with the story Annie7? How are you going afterwards if you did? hope its improved your quality of life drastically.

Edit - I had a dig through some posts of yours and it sounds like you did have the surgery as an emergency procedure. I hope life 'on the other side' is much easier, or more predictable at least.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

HI Oceannir







good to see you. how have you been doing?

my colostomy last june was a planned surgery and all went quite well until it prolapsed seven inches in september. . i had a stoma revision surgery in september and another one in october when it prolapsed again. then in november adhesions from my hemicolectomy in 2013 strangled my colostomy as well as what was left of my colon so i had emergency surgery--lysis of adhesions, removal of the colostomy and rest of my colon and the creation of the ileostomy.

but yes, my quality of life is much better because i no longer have to take lots of laxatives to go. it all had become so bad that in addition to the daily laxatives i took, my gastro was having me do colonoscopy-type cleanouts every week as well which was a totally miserable way to live. now i no longer have to worry about pooping. and i don't have to take all those laxatives.

hope you have been well. take good care.


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## oceannir (Mar 6, 2012)

annie7 said:


> HI Oceannir
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hey  I've been doing well. I had a couple of pretty bad years on here, but I managed to push through it, find full time work, get myself into a morning routine as most do and truthfully I find 'things working' tends to lead to 'things working'. Its cyclic. And thanks to you and Sean who encouraged me to take the laxatives when I needed to, when it gets bad I have a backup so when I feel bad I don't feel bad for long, so that stops the cycle of negative feelings, stress, further bowl issues etc. I'm still probably taking the laxatives once a fortnight, but only for one or two nights and in a low dose and truthfully outside of that, I don't really think about it much. When you say things like that people go 'see it was in your head', but of course, you can only not think about it when you're not in constant agony.

I'm sorry to hear your surgery wasn't as simple as you may have hoped, that sounds like one of the 'worst case' outcomes, multiple surgeries, by the sound of them going poorly







I assume now you have the full pass through, it has eliminated a lot of the pain of being so backed up? You obviously have the bag maintenance, which isn't pleasant at all. But if it works independently that can be a positive in some ways. My grandmother had to get an illiostomy bag due to cancer of the large intestines, its not pleasant for her, but she's tough as hell and doesn't seem to let it slow her down. So I've witnessed first hand what its like to live with them now. I hope yours is one of the more pleasant examples like her, who is able to 'reclaim life' with it as opposed to being weighed down.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

oh so glad to hear you are managing your constipation so well! good for you.







and that's terrific that you now are working full time--wonderful









yes all those surgeries-- especially the last one--and all the days spent in hospital took a lot out of me but i'm getting my strength back.

and yes--now that i have the bag i don't get backed up any more and don't have all that pain and misery. i feel much better--like i finally have my life back. there definitely is a learning curve with bag maintenance etc but it's all do-able. no problems. that's good to hear your grandmother is doing so well--good for her.


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