Really embarrassing poo question

Omg! I am so glad you posted this as it's been happening to me. GP looked at it and was puzzled. Had no explanation for it.

I've been leaking since having my 2nd child 10 years ago (labour 4 hours beginning to end). Child was 9lb with a big head!

It's definitely got worse in the last couple of years since menopause.

One food that I've noticed leads to a nice clean bum after pooing: simple home-made vegetable soups.

Things like onion and broccoli, cauliflower, celery etc. Funnily enough it works best if you do properly process the soup once cooked, with a stick blender.

When that's my main food intake, I find I barely have to wipe at all. Might not work for everyone.

Thank you for thatThank you for sharing the info.

I've not RTFT sorry
I will take a bet that its your pelvic floor which is the issue. See a specialist PF physio (my cousin paid privately) do the exercises and (possibly) get some oestrogen pessaries (from the GP) for any vaginal atrophy

That’s the thing though, define “should”. Isn’t it common for women’s bodies to change after giving birth?

I have piles, having had no piles before kids. My body is as it should be, in that it’s normal for its age and experiences. I struggle to wipe clean now in the way I did before but short of having surgery, I’m not sure what I can do. It’s not always practical to have a shower after using the toilet.

I think it’s refreshing to see it’s a common issue - us women should be able to be honest and open about what our lives look like as we age (as should men).

In a few decades, I’m sure I’ll be wetting throughout the day, needing pads. Again - not nice but completely normal!

GPS are atrocious for diagnosing pelvic floor issues. Even my OB couldn’t. I went to a pelvic floor physio who diagnosed mine. They cannot be fixed by exercise alone (bladder prolpases can benefit hugely from exercise if not too seveee) but rectoceles are nearly impossible to fix without surgery. Highly recommend reading up on it. Make sure you’re assessed standing and bearing down as when laying down everything gets artificially pulled back up. I’m hoping to have pelvic floor repair in a few years. I also got mine from a very fast labor.

GPS are atrocious for diagnosing pelvic floor issues. Even my OB couldn’t. I went to a pelvic floor physio who diagnosed mine. They cannot be fixed by exercise alone (bladder prolpases can benefit hugely from exercise if not too seveee) but rectoceles are nearly impossible to fix without surgery. Highly recommend reading up on it. Make sure you’re assessed standing and bearing down as when laying down everything gets artificially pulled back up. I’m hoping to have pelvic floor repair in a few years. I also got mine from a very fast labor.

I’m in Australia and my son is a plumber. He won’t install anything that is not up to code because it could mean losing his license. I’d assume it’s the same for the UK plumbers.

I am going to get my gp to have a look next week because I suspect I have a rectocele. The front of my vaginal wall feels a bit different than it used to I think. Also my last two birth experiences were very short and much more intense than my first labour of average length. - I hadn’t realised that could be a cause for rectocele.

I do have IBS and it may be that.

I did have weak pelvic floor muscles but have been doing the exercises for 6 months / daily pelvic floor exercises (Tik Tok is handy for that. There’s a few female physics I follow on there - the Female Physio Co comes to mind but the are others) and they got me started in a regular routine. They solved my bladder urgency problems but not this problem.

I agree with the posters who have warned movicol can make this problem worse. That was my experience.

I do know after menopause a whole lot of inconvenient difficult health problems occur - at least in my case.

These look like the ones everywhere in Korea, where they don’t flush toilet paper either. I did struggle to get the hang of it, shooting water everywhere.. Is that why you don’t drink the tap water there, even though technically it’s fine ? Maybe theirs are properly plumbed in though, as everyone has one. They have them in Italy too.

Firstly - never be embarrassed. I poo through a hole in my tummy. Hours of entertainment.
Secondly - perhaps the Movicol is making the poop a bit too soft. Our sphincter muscles can become weaker with age. Maybe you leak.
Good luck.

From what you describe i also think it is overflow from constipation.

Our friend is a colorectal surgeon (so you can imagine our dinner party conversations). He says you should barely need to wipe at all if everything is working as it should.

My friend is one too and said the same! The point being when you poo the sphincter opens & the inner surface extrudes slightly, then closes with that back inside. With well form stools, not overly fatty or soft etc, there shouldn't be much at all to wipe.

Too much movicol for too long makes it like you've got like angel delight consistency up there, hard to pass completely! Sorry for that image. Try taking a little less of that and see if things get better?

You know this is pretty offensive and not helpful to the OP at all. This is not the OP’s issue, it will relate to her digestive and bowel heath and not her hygiene.

This is all so interesting! OP, I’m only early 30s and for the last year or so I struggle to get clean after a bowel movement. I go like clockwork, same time every morning, but more often than not I can wipe and wipe and wipe, then use the toilet at work a couple of hours later and still have some residue! I’ve never had piles or any of the things suggested above, aside from the quoted post; I did have a quick birth! I’ve also had a bowel cancer screening (unrelated problem to this) and that was clear. Let us know what the doctor says!

I had this problem for years. I would make myself sore trying to get clean. No real medical explanation. I became paranoid over the issue. I installed a toilet with a built in bidet years ago and wow what a difference. Clean every time.

As someone has said, it sounds like a rectocele. Can be caused by a quick birth which is what I had. Have had a scope years ago. Sometimes have to go back to the toilet quickly after having been.

Maybe try using a Peri bottle?

It will be the movicol causing leakage

Google rectocele along with her symptoms is what I said. This is textbook for it. And if is the cause then she can go in with knowledge to her GP.

I haven’t read the whole thread.

Here’s my process for a clean bum.

The budget way that I use is to buy a new empty spray bottle and put a little gentle body wash (preferably thensoapless type) in it, and fill with lots of water. I keep it near my toilet and when needed grab about 4 squares of toilet paper (I need the strong stuff for this - which is usually the luxury brand - others disintegrate too quickly), spray the toilet paper 3 or so short sprays, and wipe. Do it a couple of times then wipe with a little dry paper.

Don’t use the toilet wipes unless you are out (not at friends place - by out I mean shopping mall etc if you need to use the toilet) as they are really bad for our sewerage systems. And a plumber told me they block toilets frequently. He gets lots of call outs to fix this problem. Plus they are expensive.

I had a Japanese electronic bidet toilet. Very expensive and great while it lasted but the bidet part fucking broke just out of warranty. So I’m using the spray bottle method until I work out something that works better.

Movicol can make your stool sticky too (as water is drawn into it to make it softer and easier to pass) which can make getting clean tricky. Wet wipes is your friend.
May be worth having a check with a urogynae physio to check all is working as it should! Don’t be embarrassed OP, everyone poos, even the king!

It could be if fed from a separate tank with an air gap.

I suffer from diverticulitis and alcoholism (though I am hoping to address the latter in a few days time). The toilet is a matter of considerable urgency on a number of occasions (thank you, Tesco). I am so tired of blood and diarrhea.