# HOLY CRAP! (Pun intended, lol) People like me exist!?!



## mjfanatic7 (Nov 12, 2015)

I am OVERJOYED that i found this forum!!!!! No...REALLY. I feel like i found my long lost twin or something!!!! Anytime I've told people my bowel issues they either say "Oh yeah, i get constipated for a day or two sometimes and i can't stand it" and i'm like, "A DAY OR TWO?? YOU'RE KIDDING ME, RIGHT?!?!?" Or they say, "Oh, i go 3 times a day, like clockwork!" and i want to punch them in the face! i really am at the end of my rope, and experts and medications are costly. I was hoping my peers could give me some advice or point me towards some tests i could take...or at least let me vent! Let me give you a rambling back story...my name is Beverly and I'm pleased to poop your acquaintance









I have had issues with my stomach and "going to the bathroom" my whole life. My mother had to start a reward system with me as a toddler because it was so difficult for me that* i had to be bribed to go*. I suffer from debilitating, yet controlled, anxiety and depression. I spent half my life feeling nauseous on a daily basis and was on prescription stool softeners and antacids at a very young age. I am 31 now and have been on psych meds since i was 15. I started taking probiotics in 2010 and they helped, but needless to say my bowel issues have never left me. I eat a lot of salad, yogurt, veggies and fruits; my proteins are chicken, turkey and peanut butter (my boyfriend says its like "spackle" for my digestive tract, lol). I have a wicked sweet tooth, but its not as bad as it used to be!...when i'm not around them, that is ;-).

For as long as I can remember, i have not been "regular". *I do not go once a day. I do not go once a week. I do not go every two weeks. I BARELY GO ONCE A MONTH.* And when i do, it is a big struggle for a handful of little bunny turds. I wish i was exaggerating. It's the whole "incomplete evacuation" thing. But i never FEEL like i didn't completely go...i just KNOW i didn't completely go because OBVIOUSLY there's got to be more in there when i haven't gone in a WHOLE FREAKIN' MONTH! I don't feel pain or like i'm constipated, which is a miracle in and of itself. I'm never too full to eat or feel like i lack the room for more food. I'm ALWAYS fatigued and ready for a nap. My stomach is ALWAYS distended and i know i carry around an extra LITERAL 6-8 pounds of CRAP with me at all times. I just never have the URGE to go! Of course i've gone to the doctor over the years, but to be quite honest, my anxiety and depression- and the nausea they caused- were the most consuming issues i had; the fact that i never pooped didn't bother me. Until it would hit me like a ton of bricks....the nausea, the pain, the sweats...

I suffer a "mass exodus" *every few months* or so where i get sick beyond explanation and spend a whole day on the toilet going through labor essentially (or what i'm assuming labor feels like since i've never had a child, lol) *sweating and crying and breathing and bleeding and ripping myself a new one* until there is literally nothing left inside me. Then there is the aftermath!! About a week's worth of suffering HORRIBLE GAS PAINS when i move, breathe, eat...it basically hurts to LIVE due to the massive amount of empty space inside a gut used to functioning on FULL at all times. Once my system fills up to a normal level of "stuff" again, the process starts anew and happens over and over again and again. and again. and again. and...well...you get the picture.

So at the end of 2014 i finally got fed up and went to a GI doctor. I explained my situation to him. He was immediately convinced that I had IBS with Constipation. But i told him, i don't FEEL constipated, and i don't EVER have the urge to go! On the VERY RARE occasion that I do, its a huuuuge inconvenience for me. I don't know what it's like to have to work having to poop into my daily schedule...in fact...it scares me. I have lived my life like pooping isn't "a thing" and I'm ok with that, you know? Then he changed his tune and said he thinks i have IBS with CIC...that my bowels are lazy and there's no real reason why. He showed me the pamphlet for LINZESS with the little "rocks in the stomach" (bunny turd) picture and it was like i had an epiphany!!! I was so excited to try this pill that could change my life!!!

Then i actually DID try the pill that could change my life. And it gave me horrible diarrhea. Every day. For 3 months. So i gave up on that!!!! I decided to try to gradually work in stool softeners every few weeks to prevent the seasonal "mass exoduses," like dulcolax especially formulated for women with sensitive stomachs...and yeah. All that did was turn the monthly bunny turds excursion into mini exodus episodes with labor pains and lamaze breathing to boot!

WOW, this is long! I got so carried away!! I'm going to shut up now, lol. I hope everyone who reads this is open to helping me and can give me some kind of advice. Tests? Medications? Supplements? Exercises? Experiments? Recommendations? Holistics? Trials? Surgeries? Tummy transplants lol?? Anything at this point is welcomed and appreciated!!! Thanks a million


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Hi 
so sorry for all your problems.

Find a good gastroenterologist.

Tests..not going much for long periods of time could mean you have colonic interia. A sitz marker test aka colonic transit study will dx that. Your doc can help with a treatment plan.

No urge to go ... could be rectal hypo sensitivitY. An anal manometry will dx that as well as other related problems.

You can google these terms for more info. You might want to spend time reading the board here as there is a lot of info Here on all these things, managing constipation, meds,diets Etc

And hopefully you'll get more answers to your post Here as well.

Good luck. Hope you can find relief. Take care


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## dlind70 (Aug 7, 2015)

I sent you a pm


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## Nuffa (Sep 12, 2014)

Annie i just prayed for u!


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## Dave Smith (Sep 20, 2015)

thanks for sharing mj


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Thanks so much nuffa. Your prayers really do helps and they mean a lot to me. 
Keeping you in my prayers as well, always. Hugs.


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## LuSmith (Dec 15, 2011)

Firstly, Annie I hope you are okay! And are recovering!

Wow though, I would say alot of the symptoms you suffer with sound like me but I do still however get the urge to go, and when I do need to its really painful as I can't go alot of the time. But yeah, I understand the whole anxiety, Nausea, bowel problems thing and the absolute frustration and hard time you must have been through.

Since I've yet to find an absolute cure, I'm sorry I can't give you the best advice but I'm sure there are plenty of people who can help! I have found this forum to be quite therapeutic and understanding at times when I've needed advice and reassurance.

I can tell you that the only thing that's helped me to go sometimes without completely causing me absolute pain (as I get the same cramping, Nausea etc you do when I take certain stool softeners) is Lactulose but it may well be different for you. I've had stuff like miralax and fybogel that have really made me feel awful.

Otherwise I guess eventually my system gets it out one way or another. I also have times when I get sick and feel utterly terrible but I've also been diagnosed with acid reflux.

Hoping you find something that helps you and I hope you feel better soon!


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