Mrs. Poops-Too-Much
April 5, 2010 12:55 PM Subscribe
Help. How can I make myself poop less frequently?
I poop at least three times a day and sometimes more. They are healthy poops but it is annoying to keep having to stop work or play to go poop and I am ashamed to have to poop in a friend's toilet or a public loo. I would like to be able to poop just once and be done for the day. What can I change in my diet and my lifestyle to accomplish this? (I know this sounds like a joke question but I am serioius!! help me!)
I poop at least three times a day and sometimes more. They are healthy poops but it is annoying to keep having to stop work or play to go poop and I am ashamed to have to poop in a friend's toilet or a public loo. I would like to be able to poop just once and be done for the day. What can I change in my diet and my lifestyle to accomplish this? (I know this sounds like a joke question but I am serioius!! help me!)
I bet you drink a lot of coffee and/or other caffeinated beverages.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:59 PM on April 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:59 PM on April 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
I'm a twice a day pooper and I consider myself blessed, I would much rather be an eager beaver than constipated. That said, I have no fear of public and/or friends toilets, but I have found I can adjust my poop clock to being a morning and evening affair, not sure how I do it, but I do.
posted by ExitPursuedByBear at 12:59 PM on April 5, 2010
posted by ExitPursuedByBear at 12:59 PM on April 5, 2010
Eating lots of bananas and red meat can help slow things down.
posted by BusyBusyBusy at 1:04 PM on April 5, 2010
posted by BusyBusyBusy at 1:04 PM on April 5, 2010
I understand you are feeling pretty bad about this and that may have caused you to oversee the fact that knowing your current diet would have led to more specific answers from the hive.
Are you anxious about this pooping? If you get anxious a lot, it really leads to more pooping. The fact that you feel ashamed about pooping in public or a friend's house sort of tells me you are thinking about it a lot, which leads to uneasy feelings which could possibly lead to being anxious and hence pooping more.
Learn ways to relax and consider the fact that you are used to this and it's no big deal. Work on the anxiety part either using book resources for CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) (like this one)
Finally, change your diet up one by one and note the results and live your life everyday and do things you enjoy and say to yourself "I am working on this, I am tracking this" and keep notes on what you eat which days and see if that changes?
See a therapist if that does not work as well.
Try more bread and see if that makes a difference?
posted by iNfo.Pump at 1:06 PM on April 5, 2010
Are you anxious about this pooping? If you get anxious a lot, it really leads to more pooping. The fact that you feel ashamed about pooping in public or a friend's house sort of tells me you are thinking about it a lot, which leads to uneasy feelings which could possibly lead to being anxious and hence pooping more.
Learn ways to relax and consider the fact that you are used to this and it's no big deal. Work on the anxiety part either using book resources for CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) (like this one)
Finally, change your diet up one by one and note the results and live your life everyday and do things you enjoy and say to yourself "I am working on this, I am tracking this" and keep notes on what you eat which days and see if that changes?
See a therapist if that does not work as well.
Try more bread and see if that makes a difference?
posted by iNfo.Pump at 1:06 PM on April 5, 2010
I think you should discuss this with a doctor. Since you're anon and have provided us with no other info on your diet or lifestyle I think you should bring your concerns to a professional. Three times a day does seem prohibitive but, dude, do not try to constipate yourself. That's just a recipe for disaster and discomfort. A doctor might suggest a diet change, a lifestyle change, may suggest that perhaps you have an allergy and may suggest that you are on the very common end of the spectrum (I have no idea). See a doc.
posted by amanda at 1:25 PM on April 5, 2010
posted by amanda at 1:25 PM on April 5, 2010
Up your cheese intake. If anything will bind you up, cheese will.
posted by BostonTerrier at 1:29 PM on April 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by BostonTerrier at 1:29 PM on April 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
Go and talk to your doctor before you change your diet - as I understand it poop frequencies vary greatly between healthy individuals and this may just be what your body does. Chances are that changing your diet has other undesirable side effects if your diet currently is healthy and if you are haelthy.
Talk to somebody who suffers with constipation as well and it may just make you realise that the perceived drawbacks to your situation are ifinitely preferable to the problems they face.
Also, what's the not wanting to poop outside your home thing about? It's the one thing we all have to do and if you actually brought it up in conversation you'd probably find that neither your friends nor random strangers using a public toilet care.
posted by koahiatamadl at 1:44 PM on April 5, 2010
Talk to somebody who suffers with constipation as well and it may just make you realise that the perceived drawbacks to your situation are ifinitely preferable to the problems they face.
Also, what's the not wanting to poop outside your home thing about? It's the one thing we all have to do and if you actually brought it up in conversation you'd probably find that neither your friends nor random strangers using a public toilet care.
posted by koahiatamadl at 1:44 PM on April 5, 2010
Are you lactose intolerant? I am and didn't realise it until quite recently, and it seems to make a difference in this area for me!
posted by ukdanae at 1:52 PM on April 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by ukdanae at 1:52 PM on April 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
An alternate course of action could be to change your attitude about pooping. Many people love a good poop - carry around a small pocketbook mystery and read it a poop at a time. Use the time to think. Play games on your cell phone. Invent a game involving your belt buckle. Make faces at yourself in the mirror. Try different pooping stances.
posted by ORthey at 3:32 PM on April 5, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by ORthey at 3:32 PM on April 5, 2010 [2 favorites]
Up your cheese intake. If anything will bind you up, cheese will.
Unless you're lactose sensitve/intolerant.
That wasn't me in the bathroom at the Cheesecake Factory. It was someone else.
posted by dogmom at 3:59 PM on April 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
Unless you're lactose sensitve/intolerant.
That wasn't me in the bathroom at the Cheesecake Factory. It was someone else.
posted by dogmom at 3:59 PM on April 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
How much are you eating? If you eat a lot, you will poop a lot.
posted by teedee2000 at 4:00 PM on April 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by teedee2000 at 4:00 PM on April 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
Embarrassing to say, I have bowel problems mostly due to strong stress.
posted by sanskrtam at 4:22 PM on April 5, 2010
posted by sanskrtam at 4:22 PM on April 5, 2010
Pepto Bismol or the generic, which will act gently, plus you can keep the stuff around as an antacid so it's not a waste of money.
posted by Countess Elena at 5:07 PM on April 5, 2010
posted by Countess Elena at 5:07 PM on April 5, 2010
There's nothing wrong with pooping 3+ times a day if they're healthy poops (as you indicated). Since normal, er, processing time is about 12 hours you should expect to poop 3 times a day if you eat 3 times a day.
You can test the time it takes from eating to pooping by eating a spoon full of sunflower seeds without chewing them up. If everything is as it's supposed to be you should see them, uh, resurface around 12 hours later.
My advice would be to be happy about your reliable digestive system running so smoothly and not attempt to constipate yourself.
Making poop stay inside of you longer is bad for you.
posted by Hairy Lobster at 5:43 PM on April 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
You can test the time it takes from eating to pooping by eating a spoon full of sunflower seeds without chewing them up. If everything is as it's supposed to be you should see them, uh, resurface around 12 hours later.
My advice would be to be happy about your reliable digestive system running so smoothly and not attempt to constipate yourself.
Making poop stay inside of you longer is bad for you.
posted by Hairy Lobster at 5:43 PM on April 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
While not disagreeing with the merits of much of the advice above, I did find a diet tailored to your wishes. Iron supplements are also notoriously constipating.
posted by lakeroon at 6:46 PM on April 5, 2010
posted by lakeroon at 6:46 PM on April 5, 2010
I used to fry cornbread for breakfast made from home grown and ground maize, when I did this I would always have one big crap within 20 minutes of getting out of bed the next day and that was it for the day.
posted by Iron Rat at 7:52 PM on April 5, 2010
posted by Iron Rat at 7:52 PM on April 5, 2010
Don't be ashamed to have to poop in a store or at a friend's house. Everyone has to do it. If you are really embarrassed, carry a small bottle of Poo-Pourri in your purse. (Link offers 2oz bottles or if those are too big, a 10mL refillable atomizer.)
posted by IndigoRain at 12:44 AM on April 6, 2010
posted by IndigoRain at 12:44 AM on April 6, 2010
I have the same symptoms but not the shame. Your friends understand that you have the same bodily functions that they do. If you're really self-conscious about the smell, carry some matches with you and light one afterward. The match smell will cover all but the most horrendous smells.
Also, your body has its own rhythm. Attempting to interfere with it could give you problems later. A healthy, working colon is something to appreciate.
posted by JV at 5:27 AM on April 6, 2010
Also, your body has its own rhythm. Attempting to interfere with it could give you problems later. A healthy, working colon is something to appreciate.
posted by JV at 5:27 AM on April 6, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by stormpooper at 12:58 PM on April 5, 2010