Stool is too large and hard to pass.. Have not gone in almost 5 days.

Digestive health
1

[background info] - (can skip to problem if you like)

Hi, I'm 15 yrs/o and have been constantly constipated since I was (maybe 10/11 yrs/o). I have up to 2 BMs per week. It took me until this year to finally realize I need to eat healthier, however I realized this a tad too late and now it's like no matter what I do I can't get normal BMs again and it does get me really down. I've only gone to the doc twice and that was back when I was 12ish. I find it EXTREMELY difficult to tell my mom, (emphasis on EXTREMELY). My mom has seriously no patience and is usually busy and forgets about things i tell her and I'd much rather avoid telling her about the constipation(also very embarrassing). I'm super reluctant to ask for help until it gets really bad. Which is, very bad and I'm super aware of it. This is really stressing me out.

Extra info: I don't hold in my poop anymore (I did when i was younger due to extreme anxiety with using public/school bathrooms and sometimes even at home) but now I can't help but 'hold it in' as i get barely any urge to go(hence i can only go up to 2 times a week). I typically get the urge twice or less per week where I'd have a bowel movement. I also always have to strain whiile going (maybe not with almost liquidy stools) it's not full on straining but im definately pushing a fair bit to get it out.

[actual problem]

Stool is wayyy too large to pass (i managed to squeeze a small bit out, however i didn't strain too much because im terrified of anal prolapse). I feel very backed up. Wondering if there's anything i can do now? What would a doctor say/give me?? And about my problem with not getting an urge- will they want me to get a colonoscopy??(do not want under any circumstances)

Was also wondering if the stool will still be hard to pass and if I'll still have to strain if i use an enema?( not that i even have one ( ). How do enemas feel? Please describe in detail?

Sorry for all the questions and messy explanation, this is just stressing me out and idk i get real emotional and depressed due to it. Regardless, thank you for reading and i hope i can get some help!

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I am sorry that you are having this problem. I have found that taking a capful of Metamucil with 1 cup of water every evening has helped me . It has no taste and it keeps your stool from getting too hard to pass. Try to drink water as much as you can during the day. Add more fresh fruits and veggies to your diet. Try to stay away from processed foods they aren't healthy and can constipated people. Try to eat an apple everyday and a glass of 100% apple juice everyday. Drinking a cup of coffee 1st thing in the am can also help ! Try to eat fruit instead of junk food for snacks during the day. Try these few things and please let me know if it helps you. Good luck..

3

Enemas will soften up poop making it easy to go potty

4

The stool will be broken up by an SSE (soap suds enema), the type using an enema bag, and you won't strain to go.

Here's what I do and it's never, ever has failed me! It's  extremely effective without being especially uncomfortable, my adaptation from personal experience of old-fashioned standard nursing practice:

Use water a little above body temperature and add soap (I use Dr. Bronner’s) at the rate of about  a teaspoon per quart.  After filling, open the clamp to let the air out since taking that in causes cramps.

Hang the bag about 2 or 3 feet above the “insertion point”, lie on your side or back (stomach down puts too much pressure on the gut, unless in a waterbed), preferably with the knees bent as much as possible, or kneeling with your breast on the bed or floor or whatever your knees are on.

Then lubricate the last few inches of the nozzle (I use body butter, but any lubricant would be fine).  Then I insert it just a tiny way, since I found that fully inserting it straight off can clog it, hold the hose in place at this point so the nozzle doesn’t just  slide out once the flow begins, I release the clamp and, as soon as I feel the flow, then I gradually insert the nozzle the rest of the way, 3 or 4 inches, and then the hose usually doesn’t need holding any longer.

I take at least a quarter of the bag, but most times I succeed in taking more.  If I have great urgency before much goes in, then I just squeeze my buttocks, much as one does when, say, at a meeting or something where it’s necessary to wait to go, and when the urge passes, then take some more; I may repeat this if needed to get enough fluid up me.  After that, I’ll hold it until there’s an urgent need to go, squeeze to get the urge to go away, and try repeat that a couple or three times since I’ve found that the longer I hold the enema, the more thorough the result.  At some point I decide it’s simply time to go, but do that at a moment that there’s no terrible urgency, or something undesirable may happen.  And, just in case, I take a towel with me between my legs, although that’s never been a serious issue.

For a really stubborn case, say when I haven’t gone for nearly a week, then I repeat the above with the bag a foot or so higher which makes the water go all the way to the top of the large intestine, and gets out everything, and I mean everything.  When I do this, I find I can take more but not hold it as long and, also, may have to go to the toilet a second time a few minutes later.

5

This is incredibly dangerous. You need to see a doctor immediately to avoid permanent damage to your gut and your health! I know you are embarrassed but it is not worth it to ruin your future health over embarrassment, especially at such a young age

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I'm sorry to hear that your mother is not supporting you the way a Mom should.

Have you tried proping your legs up while attempting the bowel movement.

Amazon (and probably others) sell Squatty Potty. If you can convince your mother to purchase this for you ($30), perhaps it will help in frequent and complete bowel movement with minimal pressure.

7

I’m dealing with this too and need an answer ASAP.   I haven’t pooped in a couple days and I tried yesterday and it’s too hard and it hurts 

8

My daughter had this problem for years. Use Miralax, you’ll have to figure out how much does and doesn’t work for you. Don’t eat apples or bananas instead eat, pears, peaches (can be the canned type)prunes, peas, and apricots. MIRALAX definitely  works the best.

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I am literally on the toilet trying to poop. I didn't know bananas would stop me up. This is horrible. I cannot imagine being 15 and going thru this. I'm so sorry. Try to find a motherly figure to help you. I'm sure your fine now, but for future events. I feel bad for you. I signed up just to talk to you. You poor thing. Your mother should not make you feel bad.

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4 enemas later....OMG I feel horrible. My butt hurts so much and it feels like the grand canyon. Like things are just going to be coming right out ready or not. I hope I'm done. 😢😢😢

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I totally understand how you feel 

Ever since I started taking psi pills for 2 bad hips my bowls have never recovered ! I think the OxyContin damaged the nerves that aids motility !!

Anyway the only way I can go daily and not be in pain with Ibs-c is taking a natural laxative and taking calm magnesium ... 

I suggest you try the magnesium it really gets things moving naturally !!!

It desovles in hot water and just drink it down , it tells you to take it bowl tolerance. 

You will def go !!

Best of luck 

12

did you use mineral oil enemas ??those type are best for softening up hard compacted poop ,it makes them as s oft as marshmellows,my mom had to give me mineral oil enemas from age 13 to 21 when i had chronic mega colon

13

Same situation, please let me know if u find any remedies or helpful solutionz

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I'm really upset to hear you felt horrible!

But, did enemas at least fix your problem?

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I hope your problem has gotten better. I was like you at your age and now at 48 I still struggle with the same problems. You must talk to a Dr and don't hold back. Avoid fiber as that just makes your stools bulkier and if you have constipation you don't want bulk. Fiber is for people that are not like us. I have to take a stool softener daily and still struggle. But I am hesitant to talk to a Dr too and always have been. I don't want you to end up like me so please talk to a Dr.

16

I am in the same situation, although I do take a tablet called Dulcolax,It starts by softening your stools,to the point where you can then hopefully pass your stools with no pain. You start by taking 1 per day, but if you, yourself think that 1 tablet is not enough, then you can start to take 2 per day. I have never, ever felt the need to take ANYmore, in fact I don't think that it is recommended to take anymore at all.

I hope that I have explained this correctly and it is easy to understand, also good luck and I really hope that this method helps to sort you out

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Kinda worrying when people say "avoid fiber" as once you solve the immediate problem, more fiber will probably help.  Fiber is not digested by the human digestion so it gets passed in your poop, and provided you drink enough fluids a reasonable amount of fiber in your diet will help to retain water in the colon (the fiber holds the water) making your poop softer.

If you don't fancy enemas, you might not know that there are different kinds of laxative.  You can get stimulant laxatives, e.g. Senna or Senna-containing products which stimulate the muscles in your colon/rectum.  That's not so helpful with the "massive poo" problem, better is to use an osmotic laxative such as lactulose.  Lactulose reduces the amount of water that's re-absorbed into your body from your colon.  Part of the normal function of the colon is to re-absorb water from the gut contents - it's vital, when taking lactulose or other similar meds to drink plenty, because if you're dehydrated, there's not enough water in your gut to begin with and this can make the problem worse.  You can look up different types of laxative online, and most are available OTC.

  If you have a long-term problem with this, chances are your rectum has become enlarged and the muscles weak, so you don't feel the normal urge to poop, which is caused by your rectum getting full.  Solving the problem of an enlarged/weak rectum is, I believe, a long haul.  Once you get the impacted poop out of the way, you need to adjust your diet so your poop is not too hard/dry and then make sure to poop regularly, even if you don't feel the urge to.  You need to get your body back in the habit of pooping more often, and that takes time.  If you can avoid taking stimulant laxatives regualrly, that's good too as they can suppress the normal operation of the lower gut: your body becomes accustomed to them and doesn't work on it's own.

Have to say, I don't really like the sound of mineral oil enemas, I'd have thought that warm mild saline solution would be good - and poop is not really an oily substance; more water in the colon should be absorbed into the hard, dry poop making it softer.  Mineral oil isn't that healthy to have inside your body, although presumably if you get stuff that's sold for the purpose it's not so bad.

Lastly, if you're not confident working on the problem yourself, please do get specific medical advice.  You're not going to gross out your doctor, as doctors have seen and heard it all before.

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Hello. I am going through a very very similar situation! I am also 15, 16 in a month. My issue started around 12. I didn’t think much of it until it started to get worse around 14. I went to two different specialists about it. And they didn’t know what was wrong. I now take 4 doses of Murilax a day and that helps sometimes/a little bit. Currently nothing has changed for the better. I think it is actually getting worse and i’m terrified. I had my first trip to the ER for this issue in 2017. It was one of the most traumatizing things i’ve ever been through. My advice to you... Go to a specialist! It may help you more than it helped me. Oh yes, I also forgot to mention that at the ER they gave me an enema, it felt fine, and it helped. 

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Hi daa00906,

Our in-house GP has taken a look at your question and written an article looking at how to treat hard to pass stools and constipation.

Take a look:

https://patient.info/health/constipation/features/how-treat-severe-constipation-and-hard-to-pass-stools

Hope it helps!

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