Needing to toilet urgently

[LetMeLayAmongTheStars]

For the last 2 years I’ve had trouble when needing a poo.
Sometimes it’s normal but mostly it’s loose, quite smelly and gives me a really bad ache In my stomach and the feeling of needing to go comes quite suddenly and I find it difficult to hold, I can hold it but I need to find a toilet within a short space of time.
Does this sound symptomatic of anything? It’s starting to bother me as I feel uncomfortable using toilets at certain places (ie at work when I know someone may use bathroom straight after me)

Not the poo troll, Pom bear, naice ham, fat ball little Vietnamese lady etc

It's a bit of a pain,I know, I had a problem a few years ago where I couldn't be too far from a toilet.
The only thing to do is see your GP and find out exactly what is going on.

Could be an intolerance to something you eat or IBS. Best to see the gp

My anxiety contributes to a similar issue, but only first thing in the morning. Worse just before my period.

I’ve had this. For me it was a combination of two things- a very weak pelvic floor, so reduced ability to ‘hold it’ & increased urgency, plus bile acid malabsorption which meant I frequently had diarrhoea/foul smelling poo.
See your GP, it can get better.

It could be parasites. Please see your GP , two years is a long time to suffer.

Thanks for the quick replies.
It could be a pelvic floor issue as I have noticed mine is weaker.
I do suffer with anxiety so I’m a bit worried to ask GP as I’ve been for issues in the past (tiredness, chest pains, headaches) which have been easily explained away and I’ve been left feeling like a hypochondriac.
Will make an appointment with GP though and see how I go, I think she will probably tell me to rule out foods first

Could you try an elimination diet? See if you are eating something that is a problem

Go to your GP and ask for a Calprotectin test (it’s just a poo sample) but it tests for inflammation. If that’s clear id start an exclusion diet in the first instance x

Have you looked in the toilet bowl to check for any signs of blood?

I had symptoms similar to yours for a few months and then was finally forced to see my GP when I realised there was blood in there. I was eventually diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. If you want to look this condition up, stick with the NHS website for information.

No blood that I can see and nothing that looks suspicious.
I am going to start keeping a food diary (will probably be a good incentive to stop me snacking unnecessarily also) and will make an appointment with GP
Thank you for the quick replies and advice

Yes, I was going to suggest a food diary. Keep one for a couple of weeks, then eliminate certain foods, such as dairy, for a week or so, to see if it makes a difference.

Depending on your surgery waiting time for appointments, you could make one in the meantime. If it takes a couple of weeks to be seen, it means you can show the doctor that you’ve taken steps to try to get to the bottom no pun intended of the problem.

You can’t always see parasites in your stools, so a sample test might be a good idea, too. My late husband had Giardia and it wasn’t discovered until he had hospitalised with an unconnected illness.

About a 3 week wait for the GP so can definitely do a bit of trial and error before then

Good luck, OP. I suffer from IBS and that feeling of urgency and panic is horrendous when you’re out. Maybe see about getting a radar key, so you can use disabled toilets, in the meantime. Obviously I wouldn’t encourage you to continue using them if you get the symptoms under control. My youngest has disabilities and I wouldn’t have a problem with someone using the toilets in those circumstances, but suffering from similar probably gives me a bit more sympathy.

Whilst your waiting for your doctors appointment you could try the low fodmap diet. I have IBS and joined several low fodmap support groups on Facebook, the diet really does help people with all kinds of gut issues. I found dairy was giving me diarrhoea so gave up on that over 15 years ago. Also, don’t give up gluten until your appointment because if you are tested for coeliac disease you need to have been eating gluten for it to show up on the blood test.