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Incomplete bowel evacuation. What could be causing this? Advice?
In fall 2020, I started feeling constipated when I ignored the urge to have a bowel movement. I didn’t seek relief afterwards, and I didn’t do anything to try to relieve the constipation. Since then I’ve felt constipated, but I’m not sure if constipated is the right word because I’m going most days.
Most days I’ll have decent sized bowel movements, but when I go I feel like there is more stool in me, and like I’m not getting total relief when I go. I don’t know if constipation is the right word because it’s not like I’m not going, but when I go I feel like I’m not letting everything out, or like there is stool in me that is too hard to get out on my own.
It seems like I’ve gone through cycles with my bowels, like I’ll be constipated for a few days and don’t go much, and then I’ll be consistently going most days for maybe a week or two or more, and then I start feeling like there’s something /more stool in me that I need to get out but it’s either too hard to get out on my own or like it would hurt too much. Usually after I get that feeling, I won’t go for maybe a few days or so, and then I’ll slowly start getting back to going everyday, and the cycles repeated.
I saw a nurse practitioner spring last year, and she mentioned to try taking meta mucil everyday for a month and see if that helps, and if not then follow up with a GI doctor or someone like that. I didn’t take the meta mucil, but I’ve been hesitant to do that because I don’t know if it’d make how I’m feeling worse. I’ve been hesitant to try the meta mucil because I don’t know if it would cause me to feel like I need to go but nothing comes out. In the past I tried prune juice and maybe drinking a lot of water at once, and after I did that it was like it softened some of my stool, but like it didn’t completely solve the problem and I felt like there was stool that was maybe too hard for the prune juice to affect.
Does anyone have advice about this, or know what could possibly be causing this? I feel frustrated with this because I’ve let it go on and haven’t dealt with it, but also because I don’t know what’s wrong, and if somethings wrong. I don’t even know if constipation is the right word because I am going most days, but I feel like something else isn’t right.
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Could you have a rectocele? When stool is stuck in it I get that sensation. It’s very frustrating.
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1 ReactionKeep drinking water*
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3 Reactionsbest see a doctor .......ASAP!..........then update us
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3 ReactionsHave you tried a squatty potty? The idea is to reposition your body to make a BM easier. You don't have to buy one if you have a small stool or something else that would work.
I understand your concern about Metamucil making things worse. But if you use it every day and drink a lot of water, it can help. Most of us don't get enough dietary fiber.
If you try the Metamucil for 30 days or so and get no result, that's helpful information for a gastroenterologist.
A pelvic floor specialist could tell you if you have a rectocele or some other issue with your pelvic floor that makes this difficult. They are likely to suggest Metamucil and a squatty potty.
Have you tried putting a finger in your vagina to see if you can feel poop? Sometimes that's helpful, depending on your condition, to complete a BM.
There are tools you can use instead for this technique known as "splinting"
Again, a pelvic floor specialist could help with that.
You may have a wait to get in to see either a gastroenterologist or pelvic floor specialist. That would give you a chance to use the Metamucil consistently for 30 days. Plus a chance to use the squatty potty. The results could be helpful to both doctors.
Take a look at Reddit, searching topic you used here. You should see a lot of stories there, and some might be helpful. But it's still important to see a doctor. I hope you find some relief soon.
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5 ReactionsI have a rectocele and suffer from incomplete evacuation. 4 years ago my urogynecologist suggested using a tool developed in the UK called Femmease.
He ordered it from the UK (not sure if it’s sold here). That helped a lot for a while, now sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. In any case constipation makes things worse. MiraLAX has helped me for that.
Good luck to you!
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1 ReactionCorrection: the correct spelling for the rectocele tool is ‘femmeze’. The other one (femmease) refers to some medication for PMS.
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3 ReactionsDon’t eat ANY fibrous foods for 2 weeks. Or at least as little fiber as possible. Try it.
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1 Reaction@member8675309
And, if you have not yet introduced fermented foods to your diet, that can be a tremendous help. This is a helpful fermenting website....also on YouTube:
Cleanfoodliving.net
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1 Reaction@member8675309 thank you for the reply. I haven’t really used a squatty potty, but I’ve heard of it. Sometimes when I have a bowel movement I’ll try and position my knees to be higher than my hips, kind of like I was on a squatty potty, but I’m not sure if that has the same effect
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1 Reaction@emilystewart30
We tried that too but the height of the squatty potty is either 7 or 9 inches depending on your toilet height. It made a huge difference.
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