MetaChat - Can we talk about poop for a minute?

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15 December 2005

Can we talk about poop for a minute? Poop is ruining my life.(Not for the weak stomached)→[More:]I have IBS. What typically happens is that I don't poop for like a week and then I spend a whole day doubled over.

I am seeing a specialist next month and I am supposed to start fiber therapy (Benefiber) which I did this week.

I don't even want to tell you how gross things are for me. And the gas pain is like someone is knifing me in the gut over and over again.

Its sick. Its embarassing. Its hell.

(All illusions of the hotness of Lola_G are now gone. Well, I enjoyed it while it lasted).

post by: Lola_G at: 13:31 | 38 comments

MeCha = Weak Stomached.

Kidding. I know it isn't a fun topic and I should have saved it for AskMe but I spent my question on Butler, TN.

I just hate being in hell alone.

posted by Lola_G 15 December | 13:41

I'm happy to talk about poop, but I'm not sure what the question is. Are you looking for other IBS sufferers?

posted by PinkStainlessTail 15 December | 13:46

I feel your pain. Have recently discovered that part of not being a kid anymore is appreciating the quality of your movements.

posted by selfnoise 15 December | 13:47

Just other poop complaints. I guess this crowd is very regular.

posted by Lola_G 15 December | 13:47

Sorry to hear that. I have IBS, too, although it's nothing like yours. You shouldn't be embarrassed about it, I mean, everybody poops. Some people just have the unfortunate luck to go through a lot of pain doing it.

posted by cmonkey 15 December | 13:48

I will not leave you in your time of need, Ms. Lola! I have no concrete advice. (My IBS takes the other form.)But once my doctor got it through my skull that "stress-related" does not mean "all in your head," things got better. Yoga, long warm baths, massages when I can afford them--they all help me chillax and feel better.

posted by jrossi4r 15 December | 13:49

All illusions of the hotness of Lola_G are now gone.

Nah, a touch of humanity only makes a woman hotter.

But I've been there on bowel troubles. I've had gastritis so bad that it felt like I was literally going to explode. And I've had all the attendant digestive problems related to my unhealthy lifestyle. Everybody poops. Nothing to be embarassed about.

posted by jonmc 15 December | 13:49

I frequently have loose stools. And one cat that I have to clean in her intimate places on a regular basis (which we refer to around here as "daddy-daughter special time", because we have other, non-poop related sicknesses).

posted by PinkStainlessTail 15 December | 13:50

Well, I'm there now jrossi4r. I'm not sure which is better. I just want to be a normal pooper.

We all have dreams. (Avoiding a million bad puns).

posted by Lola_G 15 December | 13:51

Oh, and my advice for those of you whose stomachs explode randomly: Immodium AD is a gift from god. Take it daily and be grateful that you can now function.

posted by cmonkey 15 December | 13:55

I thought the second movement came out a bit slow. But the Ode to Joy was memorizing! A solid performance, overall.

posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson 15 December | 13:57

"mesmerizing"

posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson 15 December | 13:59

I can't take the Immodium as it gives me the knife like gas pains. But the Pepto caplets are pretty good.

posted by Lola_G 15 December | 14:00

Mondays are generally hell on me, but the rest of the week I think my vegetarian status keeps ma bowels pretty happy. Weekends ruin it with beer, chocolate, cheese, and sundry snacks.

posted by tr33hggr 15 December | 14:07

Oh cheese...my great love. How I hate to love you so.

I remember once upon a time this thing called Ice Cream but I haven't had it in years.

posted by Lola_G 15 December | 14:09

I feel your pain, Lola_G. Literally. I have recurring bouts of diverticulitis, that has even put me in the emergency room once. I wish you all the best that drugs can provide.

posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson 15 December | 14:14

My sympathies, Lola_G. Seriously, that sucks.

But, in light of my user name, I'd like to dub my occasional bouts of anger here, "Irritable..." ah, forget it. It's not that funny.

Really, I hope you feel better.

posted by Hugh Janus 15 December | 14:21

There is hope for the weak of boweled. One benefit of a better diet is that things can get more regular. I found this out when I started the South Beach Diet earlier this year. I also found that when you go back off the diet and start eating crappy foods again, the lousy bm's return.

So my New Year's Resolution, for the second year running, is to go on the South Beach Diet. Again. (Hey, I stuck with it 9 months this past year; an all-time best for New Year's Resolutions for me!)

My advice, Lola, is to discuss all the ways to address this condition with your doctor. If yoga helps, do it. If diet helps, do it. If exercise helps, do it. You can beat this, or at least make it more tolerable. Good luck, babe.

posted by Doohickie 15 December | 14:25

aw, lola_g, I share your pain. mr. gaspode and I are at opposite ends of the spectrum: I'm like you and he has crohns disease. Our bathroom is a sad place. sympathy from here...

posted by gaspode 15 December | 14:27

I just picked up saltines.

Thanks guys. I'm trying with diet thing. I was so optimistic about the fiber supplements but I just don't know. I know it takes the body some getting used to but this can't be right either.

Levity is good. Then I don't have to be so insecure about this all the time.

posted by Lola_G 15 December | 14:35

I'm sorry, Lola. Now that I've begun eating high-protein granola every morning, I have the most awesome poops of all time. Some day, I can feel it, you too will share that glory.

posted by dame 15 December | 14:36

Yeah, there was a brief moment in history where I had a love affair with Shredded Wheat and Bran -- I guess I will have to get back with it.

posted by Lola_G 15 December | 14:40

Actually, considering the SBD is a low carb diet that limits starchy things such as grains, I'm starting to think that part of what get's my bowels in an uproar is wheat. No grains -> not too bad. Lots o' grains -> Break out the Beano. Maybe those saltines aren't such a good idea....

posted by Doohickie 15 December | 14:40

When you see your doc, perhaps ask them about taking bacterial supplements to alter your intestinal flora. The IBS might be exacerbated by the particular balance of commensal bacteria and altering that might alleviate some of the pain.

Remember, bacteria can be our friends - as well as foes.

(currently on a very strong antibiotic and it's killed off some of my "good" gut bacteria and I'm gassy but afraid to flatulate knowing that it's going to be wet)

posted by porpoise 15 December | 14:41

get's? Damn. teh intarnets are making me ignurrent and a moran.

posted by Doohickie 15 December | 14:41

You ever take a dump, made you feel like you just slept for twelve hours?

posted by Divine_Wino 15 December | 14:46

You have my sympathies, Lola. My ..er.. bowel situation is a bit different. I'm diabetic and have to take metformin to help keep my blood sugars down. One of it's side effects is diarrhea. I always have to be near a toilet. Bleh.

posted by deborah 15 December | 14:55

Poor poopy schmoopie!

I myself had an attack of colonitis a couple weeks ago, brought on by an enormous serving of fried things. I was bloated beyond belief for two days, and couldn't do anything. Sudden intestinal cramps are the pits, man.

And cheese... Oh cheese, I love you so much, why you wanna do me this way?

I'm at the age where I can no longer eat what I want, when I want. I have to have green vegetables, fiber, and fats in moderation. Sigh.

Feel better, poopsie.

Oh yeah, porpoise is right: acidolphilus yourself.

posted by Specklet 15 December | 15:01

ah, you have zaftig poop.

posted by quonsar 15 December | 15:34

I was trying to figure out what eating bacteria was called... probiotics.

<generic announcer voice>
As your doctor whether probiotics is right for you. Side effects may include dry mouth, blurred vision, drowsiness, sexual dysfunction, restlessness, insomnia, headache, nausea, vomiting, mouth sores, and turning purplish-green
</generic announcer voice>

(Just kidding about the side effects - and if you're interested but unable to get the full article in the link I can grab it and mail it to you)

posted by porpoise 15 December | 16:14

Divine_Wino, YES!

Y'ever take a dump, made you feel like sleeping for the next twelve hours?

posted by Hugh Janus 15 December | 16:18

Although the status of intestinal microflora in the irritable bowel syndrome remains unsettled, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (as detected with breath testing) and increased fermentation of foods with gas production, provide indirect evidence that microflora may contribute to symptom generation in irritable bowel syndrome. The potential benefit of antibiotic and probiotic therapy is currently under investigation and opens new perspectives in irritable bowel syndrome treatment.

Why yes, yes I am procrastinating from doing something(s) thankyouverymuch.

posted by porpoise 15 December | 16:19

I have heard good things about this.

I am trying it for my weird problems and I have not been taking it long enough to know what it is going to do for me. I noticed nothing immediate, for good or bad.

I started having a really fucked up digestive system in junior high. It has gradually improved over the years and now most of my problems are not as bad as in the past. But I still have diarrhea sometimes for no apparent reason (as opposed to almost every fucking day for weeks at a time when I was a teenager) and the most annoying problem is when I feel like I need to go to the restroom desperately bad and... nothing. Or almost nothing. Sometimes it seems like Imodium Advanced will help that, sometimes not. Pepto does nothing.

Maybe this IBS stuff will help it. Who knows.

posted by weretable and the undead chairs 15 December | 16:25

Sewage just backflowed into my basement. Does that count?

posted by puddinghead 15 December | 17:12

this pakistani restaurant near the house wrecks me for like a week afterwards. but it is teh delicious and cannot be denied.
also: food poisoning. i'm not talking about that bullshit when people tell you they had food poisoning but really they just had a stomach virus. i'm talking about when you have food poisoning for a month. this will change you. you will become different when your doctor tells you that you can only eat jello and saltines for weeks on end.
also: i lived in a refugee camp in nicaragua. imagine ameobic diarrhea + projectile vomitting every morning. see, you think you know what projectile vomitting is, but no, no you don't. projectile vomitting is when the gut spasms and your whole body shudders and the vomit hits the back of your throat so hard it REBOUNDS out your mouth in like the high speed spray.

uuuuuuuuuuuuh. memories.

posted by sam 15 December | 17:49

Lola_G I totally understand. I don't have IBS, but during Cigar Season* I do get extremely painful gas that lasts about a day; it's trapped and really really painful. As in praying for the biggest farts you've ever passed. Last month I tried spinach just before my period and it seemed to avert the gas pain altogether. I wish I had more answers for you, but I can offer sympathy - it is NOT fun.

*Cigar Season = my period, if you missed the previous Euphemism Thread.

posted by chewatadistance 15 December | 19:21

I have had all kinds of issues since spawning my second issue (so to speak, in a roundabout way), mostly including bunged-upness and the hemorroids one would associate therewith. Damn kid's almost 6 months old and still I have a dread of teh poop. On the upside, I haven't had to worry about Cigar Season now for 15 months.

If you don't read her blog already, Ms Dooce speaks often and amusingly about her chronic constipation. She always makes me feel better.

posted by tracicle 15 December | 20:20

I had composed a song about the poop in my basement (the real basement, as in sewage coming up through the drain, GAK), but it's so horribly horrible that I'll leave it up to your imagination. Suffice it to say that it's titled, "Basement Poop" and is sung to the tune of "Oh, Christmas Tree".

IBS wise, that is a condition that sucks bad. My mom has it and it's always something- can't go or goes all the damned time. Zelnorm helped a lot, as does a complicated regime of laxatives. I feel for you, I really do.

posted by puddinghead 15 December | 20:49

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