AIBU to ask what might cause urgent morning bowel movements?

[Wahey79]

Sorry if TMI. Every morning for a number of years now I have needed a fairly urgent bowel movement, always with sound effects. It’s getting me down and I can’t understand it.

I’ve tried the mental health side in case it’s IBS (yoga, breathing, exercise, etc), removing triggers (my WellWoman multivitamin tablet was making it worse as I was taking it at dinner, so moved it to breakfast time and switched to a gentler brand). I’ve given up caffeine, reduced alcohol (mostly none), my diet is balanced with plenty of fibre (but not excessive amounts).

I am otherwise well health-wise, on well-tolerated HRT. If it was related to dairy/bread etc surely I’d have problems at other times of the day? Bowels normal otherwise.

Any advice or ideas appreciated. Thank you.

Good question, one I'd like to know the answer too as well.

I have the same issue, doesn't matter if I change my dietary intake either. Even when I feel no life stress, I've looked at all potential problems and can't find an answer apart from it's since peri menopause symptoms. I also would rather this than constipation but it can feel stressful if away from home!

Absolutely agree re: when away from home. Sorry you are experiencing it too. Have you been told it could be a peri symptom?

I wonder about something like long term giardia, but again the episodes only being in the morning surely wouldn’t be consistent with that…

I sometimes get this as I have ulcerative colitis. Go and see your GP and get it investigated to put your mind at rest.

Thank you I will.

It could be as simple as food fermenting overnight and upon waking it triggers your body to more to move things along.

Things that cause a lot of gas build up/noise for me in morning is mostly anything with sweeteners or late dinners.

My husband has a mild dairy intolerance, and only has symptoms for specific products like cow's milk or yogurt. Sometimes with ice cream as well, but other times not. He can eat things like butter fine, and is usually ok if i put a bit of cream in a dish.

It looks like it's a threshold, and when he reaches it he gets immediate and very bad bowel movements.

Not sure if it could be a combination of things you eat in the morning and not the rest of the day?

I had this and was diagnosed with IBS after having it investigated by GP

I've started having the same thing. I only go once a day but it's watery. (Sorry!) I had a bowel cancer check which came back fine. I assume it's another meno symptom for me as I'm in my 50s

When do you last eat at night? Do you ever fast, ie stop eating at 5 or 6 and find any difference in the morning?

Thank you for those comments, all very interesting. I suspect that if I gave up bread things might improve but I would (pathetically!) find that very hard. I switched breakfast from toast to porridge and it didn’t improve matters. Spicy food makes it worse so IBS feels like the most likely culprit. I will make a GP appointment.

I apologise if I sound silly, but I don’t see why this is an issue? Just do the morning poop. Is it painful or something?

Often 7-8pm sometimes 9pm, but on nights when I have dinner earlier I’ve not noticed it be any better the next day, sadly.

Could be IBS or IBD. Best see your GP for blood tests and maybe a colonoscopy.

Mine is coffee,since I had my gallbladder out but it’s not everyday

I would agree with you (and do just crack on), but it’s a bit demoralising making such a big noise, as well as then dealing with the toilet bowl (I’ll spare you the full details), every single morning.

I found that I was intolerant to the iron in the multivitamin and mineral supplement I took. It gave me terrible diarrhoea every morning.

I now take a gentle form and by itself and a multi vitamin with no iron in it and I don't deal with this anymore.

So sometimes it's something really random that is causing it.

Op my gut went bit weird from vagifem. Maybe other meds affect it too.

Why is it demoralising? (I’m not trying to be irritating, just think it might be helpful to reframe this.) Sometimes taking a shit is noisy. Are there loads of people about to whom you’re worried about being inconsiderate? Otherwise, what’s the big deal?

It sounds like you’ve massively changed your diet and dropped things you enjoy just because you’re doing noisy poos. Unless there are underlying health issues, I don’t think it’s a big deal. Certainly not a big enough deal to consider giving up food you like.

This is really interesting. I might give my multi vitamin a rest for a week and see…

I haven’t given up the food I like for longer than a couple of days, don’t worry! I’ve stayed off caffeine as it sorted my low level anxiety. The alcohol reduction is just good for me all round. I live happily.

My husband is the nearest audience and he’s lovely so no pressure there but if roles were reversed I’d not enjoy listening to it. The urgency is not a pleasant experience, nor is the smell, or the cleaning. I don’t think it’s me not being self-accepting enough, thank you though.

You’ve reminded me that my bowels were really affected by the iron supplements I took after first DC…

Is this before or after breakfast? I have had various versions of this, The post breakfast version (which I hated because it could be out etc) was definitely worse while I was on metformin but it basically felt like if I had anything rich, high in protein or of a low GI it would happen. Give me a piece of cheap, white, highly processed toast with a bit of butter and I was fine. Give me an egg or porridge and I was a mess. I have PCOS, no gallbladder and am insulin resistant so I always figured those things were combined and I did read somewhere that certain proteins can be difficult for some people to digest in the morning. DD is only 11 and loves eggs but no longer eats them before lunch time as they mess with her stomach and DS no longer eats porridge for the same reason.

I've also had versions first thing in the morning befre breakfast but that felt like a peri symptom and I didn't actually mind it so much, although I have noticed it happening less since I started WLI.

Look up bile acid malabsorption

massively underdiagnosed as usually everyone is fobbed off with ‘it’s irritable bowel syndrome’

Hope you get some answers

I agree with this, particularly if you have had your gallbladder removed.
I couldn't leave the house in the morning until I had been to the loo three or four times. A sehcat test showed severe BAM, and medication controls it most of the time.

I need a poo in the morning too. Never thought anything about it is strange