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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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@rashida I do have diverticulosis (pouches in my colon) and triggered an-almost-attack of diverticulitis (inflammation of the pouches) when I made the mistake of taking the psyllium husks. Now trying to get my fiber from vegetables, sour-dough bread, and prunes. The psyllium experience was so horrific that I'll never take it again!
@heyjoe415 Yes, and if you have dyssynergic defecation it's best to get the idea that your colon needs to be completely empty out of your mind because if you don't you will constantly be obsessing about pooping. It's okay to have some poop in you and even to feel a little constipated. Better that than to keep running to the bathroom and straining. Aim at moving your bowels once a day, perhaps after coffee and breakfast. If I go 2 days with no poop or a few days with only tiny poops, I increase your laxative dose before bedtime. My usual dose is 1 8.6 mg Senna but when needed (every month or so) and magnesium (500 mg) I will supplement it with a low dose of Docusate Sodium. (My gastro told me this was safe to do.) This, in addition to my usual Miralax in the afternoon. Still, sometimes things get bad and then I will have a day where I have 4-6 (!) different defecations after a period of partial constipation.
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2 ReactionsThere are many causes for this, some worse than others…good idea to get checked out if it persists.
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1 Reaction@rashida does Metamucil work a bit better than psyllium powders ?
@rashida After a colonoscopy the doctor told me I had diverticulitis. When I asked him what to do about it he told me to eat plenty of fiber!
Doctors always tell you to get lots of fibre in your diet and also keep hydrated, the fibre is best when it comes from your diet. We need to avoid using instant fibre in a container and now they come in gummies too, these products are made for convenience because we want everything to be quick and convenient. We lose out on essential nutrients and vitamins when using them regularly.
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4 Reactions@rnewman12 my husband was diagnosed with diverticulitis after his last colonoscopy and he was told not to eat too much fibre - especially corn and other indigestible grains. He too cannot take psyllium husk or Metamucil.
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1 Reaction@nycmusic Metamucil is the brand name for the generic psyllium fibre, and you can buy it in various flavours as well as in capsule form. Both forms very expensive. If you get the Metamucil capsules you will need to take several at one time - and Metamucil is expensive enough.
The generic psyllium fibre comes in two, only unflavoured formulations: psyllium husk powder (the key word is “husk” on the label) and fine ground psyllium powder (“powder” is the key word here because it is the consistency of flour) so if you opt for the generic psyllium fibre (much cheaper, and only available in health food stores) make sure it is the “psyllium husk powder” (the husk is coarse ground), not “psyllium powder” (very fine ground). It is the fine ground that could choke you because it gels faster than you can take the first swallow! I made the mistake of buying the fine ground powder (didn’t realize there was a course ground form available too!) and almost choked on it! Now I make sure it is the husk powder and have no problem getting it down my throat - if I swallow before it gels of course and that is possible to if you swallow it down fast (always must be mixed in eight ounce glass of water, followed by another equal glassful of plain water). If you don’t like unflavoured psyllium you can take it mixed in a glass of juice. I prefer taking it unflavoured so it’s not a problem for me.
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2 Reactions@christina3444 that is so strange, because my husband was diagnosed with diverticulitis after a colonoscopy and his surgeon told him to avoid fibrous foods - especially grains like corn, and seeds!
We are in Canada … I guess Canadian doctors think differently …? 🤷🏼♀️
@rashida I have come to think all doctors think differently!
I had the colonoscopy at Cedars in Los Angeles about 18 years ago. Clean as a whistle but heard about diverticulitis for the first and only time.
The doctor laughed when I told him I am a Latina and ate more fiber since childhood than most people. And, I probably still do. I confess however the chile I eat now and much less frequently I pay for😂
And, my favorite “healthy” snack is popcorn.
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