Worried... no poop

[Nai7]

Hi All,

First I want to thank everyone on here for giving such great information and encouragement. I have not been diagnosed with anything but I know something isn’t right with my plumbing so to speak.

I am 34 years old, I eat pretty healthy (not a lot... no red meat or chicken), and I workout at least 3x a week. I recently started intermittent fasting where I eat between 12-8 daily. I normally have healthy bowel movements (4x a week), I pass a lot of gas (has always been the case since childhood) and had no weird symptoms until recently. A week ago my husband and I went to the county fair and I broke my fast with French Fries (not the best idea... usually break my fast with a balanced meal). I noticed the next day I was having really bad stomach pains but put it off to gas and took a Tums. All was well afterwards. I noticed two days later I was feeling a little backed up so I took a laxative tea and that seemed to do the trick for two days. Then I noticed I wasn’t going at all. Just gas, no urge to go or anything. I began to panic as to not poop is weird to me. I took some fiber and noticed only little turds coming out and could feel like I needed to poop but nothing would move. So I tried to manually disempact (sp?) myself (I know I shouldn’t have done that) then things got crazy. When I pulled the impacted bowel down there was bright bleed dripping from my finger and string of mucus came out. Freaked out is an understatement. I could also feel a bulge like something was blocking my poop. I called my aunt who is a nurse who assured me all was fine I have a hemorrhoid and that my body is in shock from my fasting regimen which is fairly new and not getting enough fiber and being dehydrated. She suggested that I take fiber. I took some fiber again and had some thinner than my normal fluffy stools and now no poop at all. I’m scared and it’s the weekend so this has been going on over the weekend. I will call my doctor to get an appointment.

Sorry for being long winded I’m just really nervous. My husband and I are starting IVF in November and I’m really scared that something terrible is going to be wrong that would prevent us from doing that. I have read the brave stories of everyone on this forum and was just looking for some encouragement, kind words, and knowledge as to what could be going on.

[CF_69]

Hi.

Get a colonoscopy done ASAP.

I was told I had hemorrhoids about 3 weeks before I was sent for a colonoscopy after a second visit to the doctor that I almost didn’t bother to do.

In retrospect I can identify symptoms that I missed, such as never feeling totally empty, and of course blood that was bright red and not actually in the stool.

I was sure I had an internal hemorrhoid, but I didn’t.

Blood isn’t normal. It needs to be checked out. I could have caught mine 6-12 months earlier if I hadn’t convinced myself that it was nothing serious.

[CF_69]

Just to add I also did some intermittent fasting and even experimented with the carnivore diet for a while.

I don’t think either would account for what you’re experiencing, but I’m not a doctor.

In my case, I think the carnivore diet helped me to get diagnosed since it backed me up pretty badly and I started to pass mucus. It gave me a pretty strong signal that something was up.

[Nai7]

Thank you CF_69 for responding to me. I’m going to call my doctors this morning to make an appointment. Can you tell me a little bit about your symptoms prior to diagnosis? This is all a shock to me. I’ve never had any real health issues or even had surgery in my life.

Hi.

Get a colonoscopy done ASAP.

I was told I had hemorrhoids about 3 weeks before I was sent for a colonoscopy after a second visit to the doctor that I almost didn’t bother to do.

In retrospect I can identify symptoms that I missed, such as never feeling totally empty, and of course blood that was bright red and not actually in the stool.

I was sure I had an internal hemorrhoid, but I didn’t.

Blood isn’t normal. It needs to be checked out. I could have caught mine 6-12 months earlier if I hadn’t convinced myself that it was nothing serious.

[boxhill]

It sounds to me like you have thrown your system into a tizzy. Why not return to eating small, balanced meals with protein and fiber on a regular basis, drink fluids, get exercise, and perhaps try taking a gentle stool softener/laxative overnight, such as Ducosate and Geri-kot.

What are you hoping to accomplish by fasting?

[CF_69]

Intermittent fasting is pretty common these days. I’d say anyone with bad LARS should give it a try. Probably some end up doing it unintentionally just to manage their bowels.

The quick version of it is to skip breakfast and don’t eat after dinner.

I didn’t have a whole lot of symptoms. I felt bloated a lot but I also drank a lot of beer, so I just figured that was why. My poop did change as well, but again I wrote it off as a byproduct of beer drinking or something I had eaten. I traveled a lot with work so I was always eating in different countries.

I do remember thinking one day that it had been a while since I’d had a satisfying dump.

I occasionally had blood when I wiped, but not a lot and not every time.

I felt fine physically. I worked out at least 3 days a week on average. No weight loss. No blood in stool. I was always looking to make sure there wasn’t and checking for the dark maroon blood as well but never had any.

I though my diet and beer consumption was irritating my hemorrhoids, which I’m now unsure ever existed in the first place.

When I finally did go to the doctor for it, he sent me home with some preparation H and told me what I had was common. He didn’t do a rectal exam, he just looked.

The colonoscopy was easy for me. They put me out and when I woke up I had no pain or discomfort. Just the bad news, but at least it was found and I was able to start treatment.

Hopefully you’ll get the all clear, but if not, try to be positive.

What’s there is already there. They need to find it to get rid of it. The staging process was extremely stressful but it’s a necessity.

Thankfully in my case there wasn’t any evidence of the cancer spreading. I had 2 suspicious lymph nodes that turned out to be clear of cancer too, so I was ultimately staged at 2A.

I’m in Canada so my oncologist originally had told me that I wouldn’t need chemo and just needed follow up scans every year.

I was visibly confused since I was expecting a 3B diagnosis and the full FOLFOX regiment. After stewing on it for a few weeks, I decided to take 4-5 cycles of Xeloda (capecitabine) just to give myself every percentage point I can. The Dr said that doing the adjuvant chemo would give me a 2-3% lesser chance of recurrence, which he said was about 15%. So when I’m done, maybe 12% but you never know what will happen.

Hopefully you don’t have to go through any of this, but if you do, you are in the right place for advice or to learn from others experiences. Lots of people have been through this and can really help.

Best of luck to you.

[Pyro70]

The OPs symptoms are non-specific. Lots of relatively benign things could cause these symptoms. You should get checked out by a qualified doctor, but stressing about cancer is premature.

[boxhill]

The OP hasn't been diagnosed with anything, much less has surgery, so obviously she isn't using intermittent fasting to help with LARS. Moreover, her problem is apparently not diarrhea, but constipation.

So what is supposed to be the point of intermittent fasting in this case?

[CF_69]

People do it to lose weight.

[Nai7]

Thank you boxhill. My mom says the same thing. I ate 3 small meals yesterday and took some miralax with pedialyte before bed. I was gassy most of the night and was finally able to poop, however the first two poops I had to push really hard which isn’t normal for me. The second two times the poop came out and it was varying in size. So idk. I’m a bit worried again. I’m making an appointment to see my doctor tomorrow. I don’t have any stomach pain or even rectal pain it’s just in having to push my movements out and them not being normal size. Two came out thin and two came out fluffy. This just happened out of nowhere which is even more scary for because I’m vigilant with my health and am always checking my stool for color and shape changes.

I am doing the intermittent fasting to lose weight and to regulate my hormones as we are going to begin IVF soon.

It sounds to me like you have thrown your system into a tizzy. Why not return to eating small, balanced meals with protein and fiber on a regular basis, drink fluids, get exercise, and perhaps try taking a gentle stool softener/laxative overnight, such as Ducosate and Geri-kot.

What are you hoping to accomplish by fasting?

[Nai7]

Thank you CF_69. I was doing OMAD intermittent fasting which is when you eat one meal a day. I also work out about 2 hours a day to the point my sweat isn’t even salty anymore.

I like you pay attention to my bowels and they haven’t changed until this incident. They just changed so quickly. My poop is usually a nice size and fluffy, no blood, and brown. I poop every 2 days depending on the foods I eat. Every now and again my stools have been green which I was attributing to eating kale daily. I have no stomach pain, I pass gas a lot and lately my gas hasn’t had a smell at all; not sure if that is connected to something. The blood and mucus the time I tried to disempact myself really scared me.

Thank you for all the information that you’ve given me. You’re right that if it’s something there it’s no use in being scared as it’s there already. I’m going to my doctors tomorrow who will probably brush it off but I will insist on a colonoscopy. Thank you again!

Intermittent fasting is pretty common these days. I’d say anyone with bad LARS should give it a try. Probably some end up doing it unintentionally just to manage their bowels.

The quick version of it is to skip breakfast and don’t eat after dinner.

I didn’t have a whole lot of symptoms. I felt bloated a lot but I also drank a lot of beer, so I just figured that was why. My poop did change as well, but again I wrote it off as a byproduct of beer drinking or something I had eaten. I traveled a lot with work so I was always eating in different countries.

I do remember thinking one day that it had been a while since I’d had a satisfying dump.

I occasionally had blood when I wiped, but not a lot and not every time.

I felt fine physically. I worked out at least 3 days a week on average. No weight loss. No blood in stool. I was always looking to make sure there wasn’t and checking for the dark maroon blood as well but never had any.

I though my diet and beer consumption was irritating my hemorrhoids, which I’m now unsure ever existed in the first place.

When I finally did go to the doctor for it, he sent me home with some preparation H and told me what I had was common. He didn’t do a rectal exam, he just looked.

The colonoscopy was easy for me. They put me out and when I woke up I had no pain or discomfort. Just the bad news, but at least it was found and I was able to start treatment.

Hopefully you’ll get the all clear, but if not, try to be positive.

What’s there is already there. They need to find it to get rid of it. The staging process was extremely stressful but it’s a necessity.

Thankfully in my case there wasn’t any evidence of the cancer spreading. I had 2 suspicious lymph nodes that turned out to be clear of cancer too, so I was ultimately staged at 2A.

I’m in Canada so my oncologist originally had told me that I wouldn’t need chemo and just needed follow up scans every year.

I was visibly confused since I was expecting a 3B diagnosis and the full FOLFOX regiment. After stewing on it for a few weeks, I decided to take 4-5 cycles of Xeloda (capecitabine) just to give myself every percentage point I can. The Dr said that doing the adjuvant chemo would give me a 2-3% lesser chance of recurrence, which he said was about 15%. So when I’m done, maybe 12% but you never know what will happen.

Hopefully you don’t have to go through any of this, but if you do, you are in the right place for advice or to learn from others experiences. Lots of people have been through this and can really help.

Best of luck to you.

[Nai7]

Thank you Pyro70 my mom said the same thing. I should get checked and that cancer isn’t at the top of the list. I think the sudden change in bowel habits and blood when I attempted disempactment made me jump to cancer. I have a friend who’s 39 that was just diagnosed with colon cancer so my hysteria also stemmed from her and I having similar symptoms. I’m making a a same day appointment with my doctor for tomorrow. As while I am moving my bowels now they’re still sluggish and are varying in shape, size, and consistency. So that’s cause for concern.

You’re my age. Do you mind sharing some of your symptoms and how you were diagnosed?

The OPs symptoms are non-specific. Lots of relatively benign things could cause these symptoms. You should get checked out by a qualified doctor, but stressing about cancer is premature.

[zephyr]

So I tried to manually disempact (sp?) myself (I know I shouldn’t have done that) then things got crazy.

If it happens again, maybe try a glycerin suppository instead. You can buy them over the counter at the drug store.

[DarknessEmbraced]

I'm sorry you're going through this!*hugs* I would get checked out due to the bleeding. I would ask for a colonoscopy to be on the safe side.*hugs*