Suddenly constipated? Me? Actually yes. What to do?
June 22, 2012 4:38 AM   Subscribe

Dear Penthouse Forum, I never thought I'd be writing about - oh wait. Dear Metafilter, I never thought I'd be writing about GI issues but here goes. After a three week bout with perhaps GERD, for the first time EVER that I can recall and I do mean EVER, I am quite constipated.

I am, or was, a man with a cast-iron stomach, could eat crap at will and not have any issues. Third-world water? Bring it on! Age 49. weight could lose a few but not obese.

About 6 weeks ago I had persistent heartburn - like I had never had in my life. Woke up with it, went away after eating bread/food. Went to doctor about three weeks ago, about when the symptoms went away. She did the normal exam, couldn't find anything, and said it could be GERD (which can come and go) and that she wanted a fecal occult smear because that is actually the most accurate way to check for H. Pylori, which causes ulcers and they now think has a role in GERD as well.

All well and good, but since my symptoms ended, I have had very bad constipation. Never happened before to me that I can remember. I am a regular cuppa coffee, big shit in the morning, and carpe diem kind of guy. Now 2x/week, feeling like I have to strain enourmously to get it out. It is like peristalsis no longer exists in my colon. When I do crap the craps are HUGE. Like a week's worth of - em - crap is coming out. They are also more stinky than my usual crap, like they've been festering in there too long.

My eating habits are OK, a fair amount of crap but also a lot of fiber-rich healthful foods, but they have not changed pre-constipation vs. post-constipation nor has my water intake. I am thinking if that was the problem then I should have been constipated pre-GERD as well as post-GERD.

One more interesting factoid; I NO LONGER FART!

I used to be a prodigious farter. I regarded it as a feature, not a bug, of my digestive system. My wife might beg to differ. But now, no farting - not after meals, not in the morning, not in the evening, never. Even after eating such gas culprits as cruciferous veggies, potatoes, onions, etc., etc. My ability to make beautiful butt music is gone.

Working hypothesis is that whatever I had knocked out my normal intestinal flora. I read somewhere that dead gut bacteria is actually a large part of feces and that is why people who fast still crap. So how to get it back?

Yes I am calling my doctor today but yes, I am asking the collective unconsciousness of metafilter if they ever had similar experiences of sudden constipation coupled with no farting after never having had that problem ever.
posted by xetere to Health & Fitness (19 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
You can help get gut flora back by eating probiotic yogurts and the like.

One simple suggestion I'd offer you, in the absence of any info in your post, is to make sure you are drinking enough water. If you don't, one way it can show is the sort of symptoms you're describing.
posted by MuffinMan at 4:45 AM on June 22, 2012


Response by poster: MuffinMan appreciate the water advice, which I normally roll my eyes about but which is sage advice for constipation, but I already drink a lot of liquids. And as I did mention in my post, neither my eating nor drinking habits have changed so if I am not getting enough water now, I wasn't a month ago, and was able to shit like no man a month ago.

Probiotic yogurts might be the way to go but besides the Greek Fage yogurt, which I eat a couple of times a week, I really can't stand yogurt. To processed and tasteless - even the plain "natural" ones. Can I make the Greek yogurt probiotic? Just how does one do that?
posted by xetere at 5:04 AM on June 22, 2012


You can get probiotic supplements at the drugstore in pill form, if you don't like yogurt.

You could also go the fiber supplement route. Psyllium husk gets things moving along for folks with occasional constipation.

You may also just try a regular old stool softener, too.

But water (and lots of it...a lot more than you might normally drink) is usually a good idea if you're constipated.
posted by xingcat at 5:16 AM on June 22, 2012 [1 favorite]


Seconding the probiotic supplements. I've had my own minor GI issues all my life, and the supplements have been the only thing that made any damn bit of difference. You may have to give them a few days to really kick in, but hang in there.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:22 AM on June 22, 2012


Drink plenty of water or fruit juice more than you are, or go for the traditional prune juice it's traditional for a reason. Go for a nice half hour or so walk every day, that will help move everything along and is why they get you up and walking in hospitals so quickly after operations it helps keep everything functioning.

If the gas can't get past the blockage it's not going to come out with any force, but the gas can still seep out so I don't think you are going to explode and I don't think you are suddenly not producing gas, a lot of gas production come from the bacteria in your stomach, so less bacteria means less gas so probiotics can have you farting up a storm in no time. Find a good brand of yogurt/probiotic tablet and take those, I am partial to a drink called Yakult, but it can be hard to find in the US, the tablets work fine too.

A lot of OTC stuff for heartburn can make you constipated if you took anything or still are that might be the culprit.
posted by wwax at 5:23 AM on June 22, 2012


Good advice above--but also: stop straining!!! You could give yourself hemorrhoids! Work on this slowly--yogurt and water help a lot, but don't strain on the toilet anymore.
posted by sundaydriver at 5:31 AM on June 22, 2012


Are you a coffee drinker? It has a laxative effect. And definitely probiotic pills -- they're much more effective than probiotic yogurt anyway (my doctor said something like a lot of the yeast dies by the time you eat the yogurt because of the high amounts of sugar in there). Just make sure you keep the pills refrigerated.
posted by DoubleLune at 5:48 AM on June 22, 2012


Nthing the probiotic supplements, and though I've never tried prune juice I do find that the mushier dried fruit like prunes and apricots help a lot. Also, chia seeds, which you can sprinkle into pretty much anything you're eating (in soft food or thick drinks like oatmeal, soup, smoothies you won't even notice it, and in salads I find it adds a nice extra crunch).
posted by bettafish at 6:13 AM on June 22, 2012


Spinach. Eat lots and lots of it, any way you want, I prefer it microwaved for a few seconds, but it's also nice creamed. YMMV, but this has always been my go-to in cases of, er, need... Although sometimes if I eat too much, it makes my tummy hurt. This goes away though.

Also, do you have any objection to stool softening tablets? You can find them at the pharmacy, and they are good if - as you say here - it's not that you're not producing poop, it's just that it's too hard to come out. Sorry for graphicness.

Straining is a baaaad idea.

And it's good that you're seeing a doctor. Good luck! It can be miserable.
posted by Ziggy500 at 6:16 AM on June 22, 2012


Response by poster: Thanks left msg at docs. Will get probiotics. Funny, much of the other suggestions I've done for ages. Spinach? favorite vegetable. Chia seeds? Almost every day with my oatmeal. Coffee? Probably too much as opposed to none. Water, not specifically mention it but generally drink enough, as a matter of fact, to beat this I drink so much I now pee once every 45 minutes and wake up 5 times/night to pee like an old man. Even in NY in this heat wave. It is on to recolonize my intestines.

Not to beat a dead horse but it is odd that a problem I had never once had in my life flared up after heartburn symptoms spontaneously disappeared. Jeez, I'll sure be nice to people who complain of constipation, that is for sure.
posted by xetere at 6:27 AM on June 22, 2012


Probiotics are definitely needed. I'll also suggest a healthly heap of ground flax in your cereal, yoghurt or smoothie . It works just like a stool softener without the other chemicals in it. Avoid processed foods and high carbohydrate foods until your bowel movements are back to normal.
posted by i_wear_boots at 7:42 AM on June 22, 2012 [1 favorite]


Prune juice is beloved by the olds for a reason.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:34 AM on June 22, 2012


Sudden changes in bowel function that are persistent and last more than two weeks can indicate serious problems. You might have a partial blockage or something bad going on in there. Get thee to a doctor who will listen to your bowel sounds and run a colonoscopy on you, dude. Don't fuck around with probiotics. If this is a serious problem that needs to be dealt with (and sudden constipation with the inability to pass gas IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM) you can find yourself in a bad situation quickly.

I'm not usually an alarmist in these situations because I live as a constant patient but that is why I say that this is something for you to check out now, not later, before you end up with a perforated bowel or some other horrible, life-threatening experience.
posted by Felicity Rilke at 8:45 AM on June 22, 2012


Also, all the tips to increase the fiber can really hurt you if you are dealing with a partial blockage, so don't change your diet to try to fix this, get it checked out first.
posted by Felicity Rilke at 8:47 AM on June 22, 2012


I also just read that you are getting up to pee 5x a night. Even with extra water, that is unusual and too much. Constipation and peeing 4-5 times a night were the only sign of my cancer. Doctor, now. And if the doctor shrugs you off, insist they rule out any abdominal mass that could be causing the increased urination/constipation.
posted by Felicity Rilke at 9:07 AM on June 22, 2012 [2 favorites]


One thing that might account for the sudden acidity is a hiatal hernia. Happened to me. You can have the old tube down the throat to get that checked out. Probably worth it.
posted by Decani at 11:55 AM on June 22, 2012


I'm afraid Felicity Rilke is right. I came in just to say this: do not ignore this, and get to a doctor ASAP. Have them check for obstructive abdominal mass as well. This can be very, very serious.
posted by VikingSword at 12:21 PM on June 22, 2012


You're puzzled that you suddenly have these problems, when you never had any hint of them before. You've never been almost 50 years old before, either. The body changes as the years go by, and it's full of fun little surprises like this. Even cast iron stomachs get rusty. Definitely follow up with a doctor until you get an explanation.
posted by Corvid at 2:30 PM on June 22, 2012


What have you been taking for your reflux? Antacids like Gaviscon and Mylanta contain aluminium, which can constipate. If you switch up with antacids that contain calcium and/or magnesium, you might have different results (magnesium goes the other way - it's a laxative).

I don't know if it's available easily where you are, but coloxyl and senna is available OTC and it helps start peristalsis (the senna) and soften the stool (coloxyl). It's not for long-term use, but it might help, er, clear you out, but it can take a few days.

Fibre like psyllium probably isn't the best idea while you are constipated right now, but it's good long-term to keep things smooth.

Water water, but you know that. Fruit juice?


she wanted a fecal occult smear because that is actually the most accurate way to check for H. Pylori, which causes ulcers and they now think has a role in GERD as well.

Now, I hate to slam on people's doctors, but this is so perplexing. Faecal occult blood tests just tells you that there is blood in the stool - which might be from H pylori, which might be from something else. H pylori might not be causing bleeding. There are other very cheap and easy tests to do for H pylori in the clinic that are so much more specific and sensitive for H pylori - it makes no sense to do a FOBT for that reason.

Since she did one anyway - you didn't mention results, but if it was positive it might be a good idea to have a colonoscopy.
posted by chiquitita at 6:00 PM on June 22, 2012


« Older Do I have bed bugs? pic attached.   |   Did a toddler break my speakers? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.