I’ve been suffering for over 3 months from abdominal distention and some pain in the gallbladder area (not necessarily linked to it). I underline this word “distention”, because I’m not bloated in the usual sense of the word (gas after certain foods). I know very well what being classically bloated and constipated feels like and this is not it. I have bowel movements several times a day and they are very narrow.
My dilated abdomen is SOFT. I had 6 doctors examine me and they said that they can’t feel anything apart from “some gas”. Two ultrasounds showed nothing.
Meanwhile, when I wake up, my stomach is distended , the moment I start eating, it gets even bigger! I drink a lot of sugar-free fluids (flat water and herbal teas, and 2 cups of green tea). I eat fruit and veggies and I even eat bran.
Doctors have been treating me mostly with laxatives which make my otherwise compacted stool softer. However, no matter how soft it is, it is still very VERY narrow.
I kept saying that I had some sort of an obstruction and kept asking for a scanner and colonoscopy. Finally I got the former, which showed that my colon is enlarged and the conclusion is that I am severely constipated. The doctor told me (but haven’t written it in his report) that I should do a colonoscopy.
I got an appointment with my GP in a few days, but with covid it will be almost impossible to get a colonoscopy. Hospitals are overrun here where we live.
If you are squeamish, please skip this part and go directly to conclusion:
I inserted my index finger in my anus and almost immediately I ran into what feels like intestine tissue behind which I can feel something hard (could be fecal matter that is obstructing my sigmoid bowel). I could barely feel a point where there’s a very narrow passage further up, but I couldn’t go any further. Nor did I want to force it. When I took the finger out there was some red stuff on it, like blood but only thicker.
I’ve never had blood in my stool. I’ve been asked that over and over again. I really don’t.
After it, I started feel pain in my lower right quadrant, close to the ovary.
CONCLUSION:
Is there anything I can do to help myself? The laxatives I’ve been given so far were osmotic and they didn’t solve the problem (if the mass is fecal, could be something else).
After having read about problems that may arise from using psylium husks, I told my doctor that I won’t take them - they are very dangerous if there is an obstruction (e.g. fecal matter to big to be expelled naturally).