# blockbuster tragedy in the making



## manvstool (Feb 4, 2018)

hey all,

just a recap since my 15th birthday (now im 24) up until around my 18th birthday, my digestion was perfect, then i started having chronic constipation after taking isoretion (accutane) in order to clear my skin up. i stopped taking accutane early due to too much digestive discomfort then i spent 2 years taking miralax and metamucil daily and felt completely fine! i was a competitive powerlifter for 2 years and they were the best 2 years of my life, i had massive hope for the future and my lifetime passion of being a role model for strength and health was progressing very quickly. i had already set up a list of long term goals to compete in world-class events for sports like powerlifting, weightlifting and strongman (basically all the different ways to compete using strength and weights). Around my 20th birthday.. miralax stopped working for me..... which caused me to look around for other options, i tried every OTC remedy in the drug stores and came up with nothing, i had a point of minor relief by spending $$$$ on vsl3, which eventually failed. i proceeded to spend the next year and a half of my life completely dependent on a full size enema bag; it worked well for the first 8 months and then its efficacy wore off and i started getting much more prone to feeling bloated/backed up again. In all it took me close to 500 enema bag "sessions" for me to be able limp my way towards a finished bachelors degree.

this entire time i have (for example) had a physical therapist shake her head in confusion telling me there's nothing she can do for me, an ER doctor tell me i need a psych evaluation, and ever increasing expectations for me to make something of myself. I have gotten 2 x-rays showing "excess stool", and perfect negative scores on: colonoscopy, defecography, ano-rectal manometry, 1 week sitz marker study and 4 hour barium isotope transit study <-- all showing normal function. the most concrete evidence i have that something is wrong with me is that my bowel frequency drops to 1-3 straining stools/week if i take even a slight amount of fiber (Despite taking strong amitiza, or 290mcg linzess)

my symptom pattern over the past 5 years has been waves of ever-increasing intensity, the feelings of bloating/fullness/intestinal blockage are getting more intense every year and my precious hours of having feelings of sufficiently empty bowels are getting less and less. i am now approaching the 3rd time ive had to alert a manager at a part time job that i need some time off due to exhaustion, this is coming from someone that handled 10 swim practices a week, AP courses, and a serious relationship without issue.

Overall, these measurable decreases in stool/gas output have made me very inactive. My sleep is getting affected and my appetite is 1/3 of what it used to be because i'm so uncomfortable so frequently. The nature of the "downhill slope" of my well being has caused me to get into some more risky behavior; most of which im proud of because im much more satisfied with the life i have already lived. an example is that i drove from south florida to aspen colorado and back, in 6 days! Mental health is something i've never had an issue with but after thousands of hours feeling completely ill (many of which were at night) i am, justifiably, starting to feel mentally poisoned. the only thing that keeps me pushing forward is wanting to appear hopeful for my mom, she would be utterly decimated if she were to fully know my day to day physical and emotional state, and she is already a wreck from seeing my dying ambition and frequent explanations on how "im not feeling good today".

ill be complaining on here quite frequently, wish i could've opened an account here sooner









thanks for your time!


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## flossy (Dec 8, 2012)

Hi manvstool -

Sorry to hear about all your constipation woes. Read this when you have the time, I wrote it a while back, it has a lot of IBS-C info in it (click on below link to view):

http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/325690-the-abcs-of-chronic-constipation-aka-ibs-c/

Good luck & keep us posted!


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