To be too embarrassed too see the GP

[sawbucks]

I have a problem.

For the past 6 weeks I have been severely constipated. Prior to this I was regular but historically there have been periods where I've only pooed once a week. When I say severe constipation I mean pebbles once every 3 days and twice an impaction that I did clear but the size was just
I also have internal piles. Every time I do go, it's painful pebbles and then painful piles.

I have tried:

• taking magnesium
• taking hemp seed oil
• eating chia seeds
• eating high fiber fruits such as pears and apples

-drinking coffee

• natural laxatives

Things work for 3-4 days then, even though I continue to eat/take supplements I get backed up again. I am drinking a minimum of 64oz of water and exercising 4 times a week with yoga an additional 2.

I'm too scared to go to the dr. Partly because I'm worried it's something serious and partly because it's too embarrassing. Should I be worried? What else can I change diet wise??

Tbf it's usually runny poo squeezing past a blockage buy of you have pebbles it needs to be softened, you can drink a lot of sachets in a day if you are close to a loo, my then 4 year old was on ten sachets a day for five days!! That was an interesting few days 😂

If you're too embarrassed to go to the GP OP there is only one option for you, embarrassing bodies! That programme is full of people too embarrassed to go to gp so only option is to go on national TV and show the world their bum hole

But in all seriousness, I really feel for you OP. I don't have any magic fix it solutions for you other than suggesting a cigarette. I know that always helped me when I smoked (but wouldn't smoke one now just to go to the toilet) I honestly think your best bet is just going to the GP. Yanbu to be embarrassed though and I hope you get better soon, there is little worse than being severely blocked up!

Doctor here. Def go and see your GP. Bottoms are an everyday occurrence for us. We really don’t mind. But please don’t ask for an emergency same day appointment (and I appreciate you didn’t suggest this, but many pp have) unless your symptoms significantly change today. Emergency same day appointments are for emergencies. Something (unpleasant as it might be) that has been going on unchanged for 6 weeks is not an emergency. Please use your precious NHS wisely. But DO go.

This was the first s9gn of my friends bowel cancer. Go and see the gp today. Remember she had probably just looked at someone's rash or in their mouth up their bum
SHe doesn't care she is their to help

A glass of prune juice to you diet really helps

Stop with the chia seeds and excess fibre!!!! You're making your poo harder when it needs to be softer! More fruit, less fibre

Lactolose is a godsend

Book a GP appointment, even if it's not for a couple of weeks.

Then go to a pharmacy and speak to a pharmacist (they have private consultation rooms) and take whatever they recommend.

If all has been resolved by the time your GP appointment comes round, you can still discuss underlying reasons etc and at the very least have a plan for the future.

YANBU to want to see a doctor, but this is a common issue and YABU not to try the many over the counter treatment options.

My aunt had constipation for years and refused to see a doctor, last year it became so bad that she was doubled over in pain and we rushed her to the hospital. It turns out that she has stage four colon cancer and is terminal. Her surgeon told us that she has probably had this cancer this for about ten years and cancer would have been treatable had she gone to the doctor when her constipation first started.

OP, the likelihood is that you are and will be completely fine but please do not let your embarrassment over something as basic as this keep you from seeking help.

You asked about diet changes, what is your typical diet on a daily basis?

Have you tried movicol? It's not a laxative but works by bringing water to the bowel to soften the stool to help you pass it. It is really effective.

An acute change in bowel habit is something we take seriously please don't be embarrassed. Go along to your GP asap.

Flaxseed oil in Orange juice and a stool softener!!! Works a treat. Put a good old glug of flaxseed in your OJ it doesn't taste too bad.

Have you tried Epsom salts in solution?

Bowel cancer is my number 1 fear. It doesn't come up when you google chronic constipation though so I am trying not to wind myself up. Will call Dr and see when I can get in and/or go to walk in for temporary help while I am waiting.

OP please don't let fear of the worst case scenario keep you from going to the GP and taking care of yourself, because as I said in my post if my aunt had just gone to the GP when her symptoms started she wouldn't be in the position she is now.

Diet is so important too when it comes to constipation (and preventing bowl and colon cancers) so I would be staying away from processed and packaged foods and eating a diet high in green leafy vegetables and berries (not sugar bomb fruits) and fish.

You will not get dependent on Senokot but it may clear the blockage. If you do still need it after a few days then that's when to see a GP. You really need to bury your embarrassment and book an appointment. The doctor probably deals with several shit related problems a day and will barely register it as embarrassing.

As an adult you can get Movicol over the counter. It's probably what gp would prescribe initially.

I would make a GP appointment for the next available one. Then I would go to the pharmacist and take whatever over the counter medication they suggest until you feel you are back on an even keel.

You said you are drinking plenty of fluids which is good, what is your diet like, what do you eat on a normal day ?

Oh and don't be embarrassed

Just go go Boots and ask for Movicol over the counter.

Thing about constipation is that if you haven't solved the cause, it will keep coming back and back. So one dose of Movicol will never be enough.

Also of your list of things you have done, a fair few are really ineffective and might have made it worse.

Drinking water - prob doesn't make that much difference. The longer poo stays in your bowel, the more water you remove from it and the harder it gets. Drinking more water doesn't help push it along.

Apples and pears - not really high fibre. There's a reason lots of people eat prunes for breakfast everyday.

Coffee - makes no difference.

Magnesium - can actually make you more constipated bitter personal experience as I take magnesium tablets

And so on. From your GP's perspective, this is a normal consultation about a very normal problem and there is loads you can do to improve it. You may think you have tried a lot, but from your bowel's perspective you have barely started.

My daughter has a problem with constipation and has been on long term meds for it. I mentioned to the nurse that I was worried about her being reliant on meds for it. She said that it’s so much better for the body to get into a regular routine again WITH the help of drugs, rather than her body be in such a mess and unable to get into a regular routine with her bowels.

It’s a very common problem and you really do need something that works.
Lactulose or movicol are useful and I think both can be bought over the counter.

I hope you’re feeling better soon.

You need lactulose for the immediate problem, but in the longer term adding dried apricots to your regular diet will definitely help.

As for the cause (and I always fear the worst with anything that I get) - the dr has said to us that some people are just more prone to constipation than others. My daughter eats very healthily but she’s just someone who is prone to it. The longer you leave it, the longer it will stay with you

You really should see someone because the straining will be making your piles worse, and constipation can increase your risk of certain cancers. It’s reallt worth getting it sorted now.

A quick google of chia seeds ( not my thing, I am old and not with it) also rapidly showed a load of articles showing that they can cause as much constipation as they cure.

They stick together in a gel and for some people - and I would guess you, as you are constipated - the gel is hard to pass round the gut and digest and slows everything up. Articles suggest either starting with v small amounts of 1-2 teaspoons and building up, or if you still are constipated just giving up and accepting you are not a chia seed person.

Either way, at this point I would ditch the seeds.

Dulcoease stool softener capsules - not an irritant laxative, just draws water into the stool so no pebbles or hard motions. The only thing that worked well post surgery for me.