17rs old and very worried!

I have been constipated my whole life (17yrs). It has come and gone but I've always felt some sort of struggle to go. I took movicol when younger and sometimes when constipation got really bad. Movicol is a powder laxative that you mix in with water. It dissolves and helps naturally soften stools in the intestine. I'm not sure how effective it would be for me now but I've taken 2 sachets on thursday (on thursday night i felt my bowel moving and was able to fart. Gross but i haven't farted properly for ages!) and 2 sachets today (sunday). I was out with friends friday night through saturday so couldn't keep up daily doses which i really wish i could have, i feel in a really bad state right now. (I consumed no alcohol by the way in case youre wondering-if that would even affect anything I'm not sure-)

Anyway, In the past 2 months I've had blood in my stools and my stools often do not pass without some sort of strain. Sometimes the stools didn't have blood, other times there were drips in the toilet pan and also streaked in my poop. Sometimes my stools were easy and soft to pass with just a little bit of strain. it varied but the fact still remains: i had blood in my poop and clearly my constipation is worsening. i ignored this though...

I usually drink diluting juice and around 3 to 4 glasses after school. I hardly get through one 500ml bottle of liquid for the 7 hours i'm at school. However, just before getting the feeling of worsening constipation about 2 months ago i changed my drinking watery juice to drinking milk. I have growth hormone deficiency which affects the development of my bones and i also have terribly messed up periods. I had a period after 2 months without one and my mum got me back on a daily intake of feroglobin liquid (iron, folic acid and vitamin b12 which contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue) and while on the subject of increasing my health she thought it would be good to try and increase my calcium intake for my bones so one way was to drink more milk. I struggled drinking so much (i started off drinking both a glass of milk next to juice) so i ended up just drinking milk.

I've researched and apparently increased calcium can worsen constipation. So i stopped that about a week and a half ago. i went on a dairy free and wheat free diet for a while at one point last year. it helped to a certain extent for a short while but i ended up getting clogged up again on that diet. it was also difficult to maintain and really not complimentary on my taste buds. it also was quite expensive and my mum had to cut costs and i disnt feel it was worth it so we stopped it.

I didn't go to the doctor about the blood in my stool because i thought I'd wait and see what a change in diet (stopping increased calcium) did. Considering i don't even eat that much (no breakfast, a fajita wrap but with cheese, chorizo slices lettuce and tomato sauce in for lunch then whatever for dinner.) I didn't think it was anything i eat so i didnt change what i eat. Plus notes: I take less than the rest of my family who are all adults minus my younger sister of 13 but she takes adult portions. we've always eaten the same sort of meals and my food diet has not changed drastically for it to make my constipation worse so i thought it was most likely dehydration.

I think i realised this a bit too late though. For the last 2 weeks I haven't been able to poop very well at all. Last time i did was a couple days ago- lots of straining while in a squatting position and only a few small hard blobs came out. Between then and now, my toilet time for number twos have been horrid. Lots of straining making myself feel weak. When i don't strain and relax it slowly eases out but my butthole ends up automatically tensing up and my body feels incredibly weak at the same time. The stool just will not come out. I go to wipe or see if i can break off whatever has come out and it feels really hard but then my butt sucks it back up. Disgusting, i know, but it's what happens.

I've had times where I've not been able to go before but usually a few movicol sachets later it eventually comes out, or if it starts to come out when i sit on the pan it comes all the way out. This time, though, it starts to come out and the rest won't budge. And it feels like the bit thay does come out is connected to the rest that is too big. As if there's a smaller clump that can fit out my anus but it's connected to a huge rock in my intestine that definately won't come out.

I want to know if anyone has experienced anything similar, or if anyone has any advice. should i try a wheat free dairy free diet? my mum says she will and i suppose it wont do any harm.

When I feel like im having a bowel movemtn and sitting on the toilet i fear the worst and think i have an impacted stool. i just really dont want that though. i feel as if my small intestine is pressured because i need to pee when i drink but then nothing really comes out when i go.

Does poo sit in the rectum? and if it does it feels like thay os what is happening to me but perhaps it is not. can stools in the rectum be softened by consumed liquids/movicol or is it too late for that because it's already gone through the intestine??

[patientj]

Well done for reaching out and don't worry about describing the details: we've all got our stories to tell!

I guess the first thing I'd say would be to relax, although I appreciate that's easier said than done. I sensed a lot of unease in your post and I think that's only going to exacerbate things.

Secondly, if you still find you have blood in your poo, go and get it checked out with a doctor. Again, I don't think it's anything serious to worry about, and it might just be the result of too much straining, but even in that case I suggest going to see if the doctor can provide any further help. If anything, it might put your mind to rest if you think you have an impaction.

You also mention about going wheat and dairy free. If you are going to do this, I would recommend waiting until after you've seen your doctor (in case he wants to order some blood tests) and I'd also be concerned about you not getting enough calcium, especially since you already have problems with bone development. In your position, I'd recommend speaking to a dietician before making any substantial changes to your diet.

I also had a quick look online and I can't find any evidence for calcium itself causing constipation, but a few things I read suggested that calcium supplements may make constipation a little worse. I would say that this is more likely to be down to the other compounds in the supplement.

As for your specific questions: laxatives work in one of two ways. Some, like movicol, draw water into the gut to soften the stool and help bulk it up. It is thought that this bulking action then helps to stimulate the gut into forcing the faeces out. The second type of laxative is designed to irritate the gut, forcing it to expel its contents. The rectum is supposed to store faeces until you're ready to go. I don't think any movicol will reach whatever is stored, but it could help to get other parts of the bowel moving which will help to shift what's ahead. But, I'd say it's still important to drink plenty of water, whether you're on movicol or not. I reckon you should probably be drinking a bit more while you're at school and I'm surprised you manage to get through the day on so little (food and water!).

Something else you might want to consider is getting a proctogram. This will help to gauge how strong the muscles are in your back passage and if they are particularly weak, then there are products and exercises you can use to help strengthen them. Others on here have spoken quite positively about them.

If laxatives aren't having the desired effect, you might also want to explore psychological causes. Constipation can be associated with depression for instance, and maybe there are underlying issues you aren't even aware of that could be a contributing factor.

[Hidden in reply to patientj]

Thank you so much for your advice and research! i am just quite terrified because my bowel is moving and pushing but it's just really stuck there. I terrified that I'm gonna have to get it manually removed if it is impacted. i suppose i just really should visit the doctor. it is free here so it can't hurt. unless of course i Am Impacted and need a manual removal of some sort

[DTH123 in reply to Hidden]

It's unlikely you'll need to be manually disimpacted. I would recommend you insert two glycerin suppositories and leave them in for at least half an hour. Alternatively use a Microlax mini-enema which you can buy at the pharmacist or order online. These break up the poo lodged in your rectum making it easier to pass and work very quickly.

[Hidden in reply to DTH123]

My mum bought some glycerine suppositaries. it's currently 11 mins past midnight: safe to say no school for me tomorrow. I'll maybe try one tomorrow if I'm no better

[DTH123 in reply to Hidden]

Just one suppository won't be enough if you are really constipated. It says on the box to use one but in hospital the nurses always give two. You may need to hold them in for half an hour or longer for them to melt completely.

[mistydawnh in reply to patientj]

Be careful with the laxatives as my sister had a bowel resection of her lower bowel and she started with your symptoms. Please do a lifestyle change. Her resection has gone to a life threatening stage with her organs shutting down and she is now fed thru her heart with a pic line. Her nerve stopped functioning in her lower bowel and the doc missed it every time. Get the testing down immediately and the drastically stop processed foods and switch to whole foods. I swore to tell anyone who would listen about her experience. She's my baby sister and I would not wish her life on anyone.

[hollypeg]

Water water water !! drink lots of it and as its been said dont be relying on laxatives as they can cause as much trouble again !! i have always been constipated all my life i have only done no 2 once maybe twice a week , the docs said at the time thats me and its ok

then at the age of 57 i developed serious pain and dull aches all around my abdomen which really got me down and depressed , i have since had all the tests and procedures and have been diagnosed with ibs , after taking advice from someone elses post i now take magnesium every day , it keeps me going without any adverse effects , when i dont take it i get constipated again and the pain returns , try magnesium capsules 100 mg and see how you go , if you pardon the pun xx

[Hidden]

Once this one poop comes out i will definitely do a lifestyle change and properly monitor when i poop and what i eat and how much i drink. i will take two water bottles to school and always have one on my desk so it's always there. this is a serious wake up call for me and I'm so ashamed i didnt do anything before.

mistydawnh i am so so so sad to hear about your sister. i dont knlw if its something that can be fixed but i hope to god it is and i really hope your sister can be better. i hope her suffering can be eased because that sounds truly horrific. thank you thank you for sharing her story with me and i will do all that i can to improve my health through my lifestyle. i will never forget about you and your sister <3

[mistydawnh]

Thank you. Blessings.

[Hidden]

You do need to see your doctor about the blood because that's not right

[Hidden]

Update:

Taking laxatives and the movicol. seems to be working to an extent. i can at least push then break off (i get too weak to finish)

I get bpwel urges every 10 or so minutes with breaks in between for a longer period of time. It's hella stressful on my muscles but the suppository is just too uncomfortable to insert just because it feels absolutely gross.

Anyway, increased movicol seems to be doing something so I'll keep taking more and drinking and hopefully i can be flushed of this brick at some point today (tuesday 15th)

[sickandsore]

Hi yes I have experienced the same as you and still do occasionally unless I take something to soften my stools and increase my fluid intake. I take movicol, as had tried lots of other things over the years to no avail.

The blood is fresh im assuming? its most likely to be through straining and tearing in the rectum, I developed a tear/fissure in my rectum through too much strain. Worth just popping to GP tho talk about the bleeding you may get referred to a consultant to check things out.

Have you tried suppositories? they can help relax the rectum to release the stool, I know how uncomfortable it is when no matter how much you strain it wont budge! get some disposable gloves and use a little petroleum jelly/vaseline to help you get the suppository far enough (apologies for being graphic) its not the most pleasant thing but i think it might help you, try dulcolax 10mg suppositories, do keep with the movicol even tho you have passed some stool, chances are you still have some further to get out. As you are young def see GP as you could have all this on prescription, so you dont need to worry about cost.

[sickandsore]

Also gonna nag about drinking...at least one large cola bottle sized amount of water based fluids a day (not fizzy drink tho!!)

Look at diet you eat some spicy food like chorizo, how much fibre do you eat? fluids, fibre and exercise are your new best friends...then you wont need laxatives I hope. Inflammatory bowel disease runs in my family, particularly diverticular disease, my mum died this year due to a bowel blockage causing blood poisoning, its serious stuff, looking after your diet, keeping your bowel healthy is so important. and as another post suggests stress is linked too, if you are worried about school work or other personal things try and find someone to talk to. Hope things get better for you