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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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I have the same symptoms . I was having a pain in upper left quadrant and saw a GI who suggested incomplete evacuation. Fiber and water were the main priorities . Try the psyllium powder( I also hesitated) in a big glass of cool water ; not right before bedtime. Mix very well and drink immediately. Don't take near your calcium supplements or there will be less absorption of them. Start with maybe a teaspoon. Hopefully you will see an improvement, I absolutely must eat one apple per day, some blueberries and 4-5 dried prunes. Exercise. I haven't had my gallbladder for over 20 years and cannot process fats well, so I fluctuate between diarrhea and constipation. I may take a little more than a tsp of psyllium powder if I eat a fatty meal or have things like cheese, pizza , creamed soups, icing. I also have internal hemorrhoids which can make you feel like you gotta go but dont need to. Don't strain ( water will help with this !) There is a mind and body aspect with this as well so try to establish a time to go if possible; it is not always possible but soon the stress of this natural routine will be alleviated for you and you will have useful tools to rely on ! Good luck! P.S * google "tenesmus" -it may apply to you as well .
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2 Reactions@emilystewart30 Did you ever have a colonoscopy? It might be a good idea to have one and also ask the consultant to check the strictures in your back passage as it may be a case that they may not be strong enough to push out the end of your bowel motion.
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2 Reactions@emilystewart30 I use a 6 inch high utility stool. It makes it much easier to have a bowel movement without straining.
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3 Reactions@sfe431
Psyllium isn't a good idea for everyone so beware! If you use too much it can cake up in your intestines. This happened to me and I ended up in the ER after 24 hours with fever, abdominal pain, and vomiting up (psyllium husks visible!). Miralax is also helpful because it helps make stool easier to pass. Avocado, string beans, zucchini, kiwi, and prunes are good sources of fiber and other nutrients. Some whole grains are okay even for those on FODMAP and ASID/CSID diets. But thanks for your mention of the internal hemorrhoids--yup, very unpleasant and confusing. Sometimes, they seem to be telling you that you have to go and sometimes it's a false alarm.
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2 Reactions@sfe431 the psyllium powder gels within seconds and hard to swallow after that. What is better is ground whole psyllium husk.
A high fibre diet, of course is even better - provided you don’t have a condition that is counter active to fibre …
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2 Reactions@rashida-True ! I mix very quickly and chug it down before it gets gelatinous ! After a certain age it seems difficult to negotiate all the things that are beneficial to our health around the medications we take. No fiber, calcium or magnesium near the thyroid med ! Spacing everything apart seems very daunting ! Added onto that are things like diverticulitis and what can cause a flair, osteoporosis and even more interactions. The old folks used to say " Don't get old ." I never felt I was old until facing these problems at age 68 but I agree - the natural route seems so good to me when /if possible. Thanks for the tip !
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2 Reactions@sfe431 prune juice keeps my stools soft and going in right direction. I was low in potassium bc of diarrhea and prune juice has natural K+.
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2 Reactions@sfe431 do you have diverticulitis? In that case, you should not be taking any fibre!
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1 ReactionI don't think our digestive tract is ever completely empty, except for a colonoscopy.
Incomplete bowel movements can be caused by
dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system that
controls our body’s “automatic “ functions like bowel and bladder.