Connect
Various bowel issues, feeling I’m not emptying correctly. Ideas?
In fall of 2020, I started feeling constipated. It started by continuing to ignoring the urge to go. Since then I’ve been going most days and some days I’ll go decent amounts, and there’s also days I’ll skip and won’t go. I feel like I’ve been going through cycles with my bowels, where I won’t be going for several days, and then I start going consistently for days/weeks, and then when I’ve started getting more out, when I’m on the toilet I feel like I need to go more, but like it’s too hard, painful, or like I couldn’t physically push to get out what feels like more stool in me. When I’m like that, I feel like there’s cramps and kind of like pressure, like I want to push to go but if I did nothing would come out or it’d be loose. Sometimes I’ll have a bowel movement and then feel like I need to go more but can’t, and it’s like a cramps feeling at times.
In I think 2022, there were times when I’d either have a bowel movement or didn’t have one but felt like I needed to, and then all that came out was stool that wasn’t formed. It looked like a pile of unformed stool, and in my mind thought of it as looking like coffee grounds, but it was brown and not tarry. Earlier this year I was walking a dog and after walking, it gave me the urge to have a bowel movement, but when I went at least some of the stool was unformed like it was in 2022. It worried me to see my stool like that because I don’t know if it meant I had internal bleeding, even though the stool wasn’t black or tarry looking.
Around I think summer 2024, there were a few days where it looked like there was a line of blood on my stool. I thought it lasted for a few days, and I was thinking it came back a couple or few weeks later, but I don’t remember for sure. I also thought something similar happened later that year, like In October.
Towards the end of 2025, I started having what looks like mucus sometimes when I use the bathroom. Sometimes I’ll just urinate and there’s mucus in the toilet bowel or what looks like a white stringy object, and sometimes there’s been mucus hanging down the front of me, either after urinating or having a bowl movement. I’ve been worried about this because it’s been happening somewhat often.
I saw a nurse practitioner for some of this in early 2024, and she mentioned to try taking meta mucil everyday for 30 days. I haven’t done that and have been hesitant to because sometimes when I’ve done things to try and get a bowel movement, I start feeling like I have cramps and need to go, and either can’t go or all that comes out is loose or unformed.
I’m not even sure if constipation is the right word to describe what’s been going on because I’m going normal amounts and at times my bowel movements are consistent. I thought constipation can also mean a feeling like I’m not getting everything out, and I feel that way often. Sometimes I think I feel that way out of my toilet habits or stress, and like sometimes it seems like I’m not relaxing enough on the toilet to get more out. At times it’s felt like there’s something more going on besides a feeling like I’m not getting everything out, and like sometimes I’m not sure if I can get everything out on my own. I’ve felt confused at times because when I go, often it’s a decent amount and sometimes thick too, and I don’t really understand how I could be going like that and feel like there’s stool I can’t get out. I’ve wondered if I could possibly have a fecal impaction or hardened stool, or if it’s something else.
Has anyone else experienced something like this, or know what could possibly be going on?
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Digestive Health Support Group.
Connect
@llmartin I’m sorry to hear you’ve been going through that. Thank you for replying too.
It seems like most of the time my stool is like a 3 or 4 on the Bristol chart, but sometimes it’s experienced both ends of the chart
@mbusch12 thank you for replying. I’m sorry you’ve been going through that too.
If it’s alright to ask, what were your symptoms like with a hiatal hernia before surgery? Sometimes I’ve wondered if I have that because there’s been times I’ve had pain kind of in the center of me below my chest.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@baguette thank you for replying and the advice.
My water intake hasn’t been great, and most days I think I have around 24-48 oz. I’ve been drinking that amount consistently for years, but the mucus or white stuff started more recently.
By a whole food diet, do you mean just eat food at home that isn’t really processed or home cooked?
I have a tortuous colon with chronic constipation. How can this be corrected?
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionHi @hellene - here are a couple of Mayo Clinic Connect discussions on tortuous colon you may want to check out and participate in:
- Anyone else have a Redundant / Tortuous Colon? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/redundant-tortured-colon/
- Serious constipation, tortuous colon, diverticulosis: How to defecate? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/serious-constipation-tortuous-colon-diverticulosis/
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@nicole19
My hh was found in 2025 with a chest Xray. My hernia was 5 cm. I was able to mange it nine years before surgery. At the beginning I had issues with acid reflux and short winded off and on. By 2024 my issues became more severe with heartburn, chest pain, upper respiratory infections, stomach pain. I started having issues with aspiration which put me in the hospital for 10 days. I was put on cardizem and started the process of testing to determine what surgical procedures was needed. Leading up to surgery I was on the acid free diet which actually prepared me greatly for recovery. I had nissen fundlication , no mesh, loose wrap for 8.5 cm para esophageal hh. Hope this helps.
Sometimes my stool is loose and unformed, and I think it has to do with the amount of magnesium I take in the evening to help me sleep. If I take more magnesium, it’s less formed. Perhaps you’re eating foods that have a lot of magnesium them some days and that causes some of the issue. The mucus is another thing but you should certainly talk to a doctor about that and if you’ve never had a colonoscopy might not be a bad idea. I just had one a few weeks ago and it was not anywhere near as bad as I expected it to be and despite some odd symptoms, everything was fine no polyps no problems.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 ReactionsFirst and easiest, increase water intake to an amount for your body size and get regular exercise, reduce stress (there are ways to retrain your stress response) and get decent sleep. And stop straining to poop-- it causes its own set of problems. Check out "splinting" for incomplete evacuations, it works for some. These are some of the factors affecting pooping. Also, if you are eating factory meals or fast food, I would switch to more real food meals. I can give you ideas if you need them.
As I am sure you know, the internet will tell you all about everything that matters. Just type terms, or a question as you would say it verbally,into the search box. To avoid AI choices, x out (delete) the AI answer and choose "Web" at the sliding bar at the top of your search results for less screening.
It could be Irritable Bowel Syndrome (can result in mucus, soft or hard stool and stool left in the colon) or a more narrow food intolerance. That can be checked out by keeping a diary/chart of what you eat, your exercise, your sleep, your stress level (it matters) and how your pooping frequency and appearance. It doesn't have to be fancy. There may be App's, so you just speak this information. Keep in mind that with IBS, the result of what you eat could show up in 48 hours rather than the next day.
It does make sense to prioritize seeing a Gastro MD. Insurance usually paves the way for this option. Blood in the stool is a red flag as others have noted (note google AI says a blood streak is usually, but not always of course, from hemorrhoids) . Gastro MDs are able to rule out cancer and give you information on any abnormality in your colon structure (like a redundant colon) with a colonoscopy. There is also an in-office sigmoidoscopy option which could be useful and requires less prep/time. Gastros may or may not be able to "see" a rectocele (mine couldn't), but a urogyneocologist could.
If you are inclined to food solutions, there are foods that osmotically draw water into the colon and help many clear out -- I think some are prunes/prune juice, spinach, kiwi, and rhubarb; and, there are foods with fiber that could bulk up/normalize your stool - lots of products and produce/whole grains can help with that.
I do not recommend stimulant laxatives regularly. I keep them for "definite consitpation/resets." Osmotic laxatives draw water into the colon, which are suitable for frequent use could help move all of your stool out and don't risk dependency.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@ldoran06, sorry to hear you are also having the same issues. What symptoms have you been experiencing? Have you consulted with a gastroenterologist?
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@nicole19 I managed my hh for nine years. However, once I started struggling with aspiration it became a nightmare. I was hospitalized for 10 days. I have been healthy my entire life! Crazy how fast things can happen!
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction