[isitIBS]

I have sort of a strange question. Bowel habits arent something you tend to talk about with most people...so I almost dont even know what is actually considered "normal." I was talking with my boyfriend and my best friend, and they both say when they have to have a bowel movement, they actually have an urge that lets them know they have to go. I started to think about this and I almost NEVER have this so-called urge? I dont really classify myself as 'constipated', but I am beginning to wonder if maybe I am somewhat. In order for me to have a BM 95% of the time, I actually have to make time, go in, and sit there for a good 30 minutes and just wait. If I sit there long enough, I finally go. I have to push alot, which i think ends up causing me more abdominal pain after.The times I do have an urge to go, which is RARE, is usually urgent.Anyway, so sorry for the graphic details of this, but I was just wondering if anyone else experiences anything like this (the lack of urge to go). The only reason I even try to go is I can feel a fullness in my intestines and I want to get rid of that uncomfortable fullness. Is this considered constipation, even though I can go most every day if I sit and try and make time? (If I didnt sit and try, I could go a week without a BM since I dont get the urge).

 

[Guest]

I believe that "urge to go" can be a separate issue from constipation.The colon has a natural rhythm and "talks" to the brain. Some people ignore the signals and natural rhythm long enough that they are no longer "atune" to the bodies signals. But like you noticed things can over-ride the lack of "atunement" and make you notice.Usually for constipation they look at bowel movement frequency more on the not every day (usually less than 3 a week) and the consistancy. Dry hard-to-pass may qualify, but I can't tell if your issue is the stool is hard to pass vs you have to do stuff to convince the bowels to move.There are some "retraining" tips that are used to try to get the "urge" back in people that over-use laxatives that might help, assuming your pelvic floor function is normal (more on that in a bit) Since the colon is most active in the morning and about an hour after meals it makes sense to do this during those times. Do your sit on the pot to go thing at the same time every day, preferably around one of the colon is active anyway times. Get the body used to that time frame. Try not to strain too much at these times, basically after 15 minutes get up, go about your busines until the next time (so you might want to schedule this 2X a day like morning and after dinner).But if you have pelvic floor issues this may not help. Some people when they strain do not relax the sphincters, but tighten them up so you end up both pushing and holding in at the same time. I don't know if this coorelated to lack of urge, but it could relate to pushing and pushing before anything comes out. They do tests for this (various put a probe in there and see what the muscles do under various conditions sorts of things) and you can do biofeedback to learn to relax. Now I do not know if you can do this as a do it yourself project, but people do Kegel exercises to exercise the pelvic floor and you might be able to start to get a sense of relax vs tighten. Start when urinating and stop and start the flow of urine. Once you can feel that well you can do it at other times. Tighten and then relax the pelvic floor. You might want to focus more on the relax aspect if you think you hold and push at the same time.K.