I've had infrequent and very hard bowel movements for over 10 years now. I have a bm every 4-6 days, and it's always very hard, and when I get the urge to go I get a very strong dull ache in my lower right side where my appendix would be (but it's gone). It feels like very very bad menstrual cramps, but only in that one spot just inside my right hip bone. I can't have a bm on my own except every 4 days or so, and sometimes I absolutely HAVE to take something, usually Senna tea, to help me go. It generally takes about a day or two even with the tea.
About 2 years ago, I started having abdominal pain when I ate certain foods. It was always on the right side below the breast bone, or under the right side or below my right shoulder blades sometimes. I would bloat VERY badly, to the point I looked 4 months pregnant. I'd belch and had gas. Eventually, it got bad enough that WATER made me bloated. I was told I have an ulcer and given Prilosec. I tested negative for h. pilori, however. The Prilosec helped a little, but I still had very bad bloating if I ate anything sweet, even fruit, and I'd be nauseous. If I had a rich meal I would have stabbing pains in my right side, BAD ones, I'd be dizzy and I'd be vomiting. I'm getting to the point yet again, even on the prilosec, where nearly everything I eat or drink makes me uncomfortably bloated. I eat whole foods, and even though I've been off plan a few times this week, I've eaten NOTHING rich, greasy or fried, or any of those other trigger foods. I had a plain turkey sandwich for lunch and THAT bloated me!
I went to the doctor. My doctor said I was bloated because of the constipation and I needed to start taking 1-2 tablespoons of mineral oil per day. Maybe long term. She said it was like blood pressure, and sometimes you just need medicine to make you go. I say she's full of it. I don't want to be taking a laxative every single day for the rest of my life. She never checked me for ulcers, just diagnosed based on pain, but did do an ultrasound of my gall bladder (when I wasn't having any issues, I might add) and it came back clear. I'm super frustrated because she literally blows me off and LAUGHS at my concerns. I can't get a referral to another doc unless it's through her. What could this be, and is my doc out of line or am I just being too sensitive?
Your doc is way out of line in my opinion. Reading your symptoms, my first thought was gallbladder. I had very similar symptoms (minus the constipation) when I had a gallbladder attacks. It was awful and your doctor should definitely be digging a bit deeper and listening to you a better. I would flat out ask for a referral to a gastro doctor and if you can't get one it might be time to consider changing primary care physicians.
No, I don't think you are being too sensitive. It's your body and you are the only one that knows how you feel. I think you should get a 2nd opinion and find someone who will actually listen to your concerns and not just brush you off - let alone laugh at you. I think that's very insensitive and unprofessional.
It does sound like something more serious that constipation- it seems like the symptoms are too severe and the fact that EVERYTHING makes you feel that bloated, that doesn't seem as simple as what your doctor claims.
I'm sorry you feel so uncomfortable I know it's easy for me to say since I'm not the one paying for it - I would keep going to different doctors until you find someone you trust and that will actually address your concerns.
Last edited by GreenTeaYum; 10-29-2010 at 04:54 PM.
I felt exactly the same way in high school - I was lucky to have a BM once a week! I actually got a colonoscopy, which sucked but ruled out something more serious like Crohn's. Eventually they diagnosed me with IBS, which imo is kind of a cop out diagnosis like "we don't know what's wrong with you so we're calling it this". I could also barely eat anything without having an episode. A friend of mine has ulcerative colitis and says there are drugs for that and for IBS that are better than they were years ago when I was having issues (I'm much more regular now). The main thing that helped me get through it was fiber supplements and a lot of Post shredded wheat. Definitely see if you can talk to a GI specialist, and one who listens to you! The doc is supposed to provide a service that helps you to feel better both physically and emotionally and if this person makes you uncomfortable, then a short chat with your insurance should be enough to switch primary care doctors. Good luck I hope you feel better!!
I thought gall bladder too. That sounds like what mine did, but without the constipation. My doctor blew me off too, I was pregnant at the time and she just said it was normal heartburn from being pregnant. After I had my son I finally got her to schedule an upper GI, but before that happened, I was in the ER and had an emergency procedure to take it out. The ER doctors literally asked me how long I had been an alcoholic and IV drug user when they saw my blood results. My gall bladder was so bad that my liver had been shutting down. I called the doctor (who was NOT my regular one but my OB) and told her I needed to cancel my test and why. She chuckled over the phone and said "well alright then that is taken care of, I guess it was not heartburn" Now mind you I had told her this was kid number 3 a million times, I knew it was different. But nope, she did not want to listen. She was patronizing and condescending and just UGH.
Anyway, the point I am taking forever in making is that you need to have a doctor that you can trust will take you seriously. If you do not have that with your current provider, then you need to change providers. I work in healthcare and trust me, their feelings are not going to be hurt. People change all the time,and just because you are patient and they are doctor does not mean that you have to like them. Look around, interview different providers, find one you mesh with.
I have also had long-term similar problems re. the chronic constipation, bloating and lower hip area ache/pain. It's so frustrating because I have an extremely healthy diet.
I know sympathy is not what you need but I can't help but feel so sorry for you because of how trapped you must be feeling. If you can't get help from you're doctor who else can you turn to?
Over the last six months or so mine has eased a lot but that was due partly to taking "Movicol" 2 or 3 times a day. Obviously laxatives are generally awful things that I believe make the problem worse in the long run but Movicol is an osmotic laxative. This makes it very safe because it works by drawing moisture into the stool (I hate that word ) which eventually makes you able to go to the toilet. It doesn't stimulate the bowel muscles like other types of laxative which can be dangerous.
At first the thought of taking it every day made me pretty depressed and angry at the doctor but I gave it a go since they told me it wasn't harmful in any way. For the first couple of days it made me bloated and nothing "happened". Once I got into a routine though it started to work perfectly. It's a powder in a sachet that you mix with a certain amount of water and I actually quite like the taste.
Fortunately I now don't need to take it every day and only use it as and when I need it. For the first time in years I am going pretty much every day.
I still avoid certain foods I know will bother me - like bread which I hardly ever have and generally heavy foods like baked potatoes (I always pay for that) or beef etc.
One other thing you can try which is going to make me sound completely nuts...
I know that there have been tests to prove that our stomachs hold a lot of our stresses and tensions and personally I am quite an anxious person. Our stomachs are very connected to our emotions and react accordingly. Sooo... I literally spoke out loud to my stomach something like, "Okay stomach, listen up. I know we're pretty tense and all but I don't want you to worry about anything (oh my, can't believe I'm admitting this ) I want you to deal with all the food stuff and get on with your job. Leave the worrying to the rest of me."
So I know that sounds completely old-lady-lives-with-cats-crazy but I swear I noticed a huge improvement from then on. Who knows but I think it may have changed something psychologically. I imagined my stomach being soft and relaxed and it worked.
You know how on tv programs they often recommend you "keep a food diary" to show your doctor?
Well I meticulously kept a diary on EVERYTHING I ate for about six months, maybe longer so that I could take it to my much anticipated appointment with the so called specialist.
He was much like your doctor sounds; completely blasé, uninterested and unaware of how desperate I was feeling. He asked briefly about my fibre intake (gee, hadn't thought of that) and I handed him the diary. I only thought he might like to take a look at a couple of pages so he could see that my digestive system should be working fine. He didn't look up and when I asked if he wanted to see it he said. "Not particularly".
He was far more interested in a not very impressive bruise on my hip bone which prompted him to immediately begin interrogating me about my perfectly innocent and gentle fiance. I had no idea how I had got it but he was convinced I was being beaten!
This of course is an extremely long winded way of saying..... I feel your pain!!!
Last edited by PapayaMule; 10-29-2010 at 06:46 PM.
I would freaking call out that doctor in the moment that laughed. 100% not acceptable. At this point, Id write a detailed letter of your concerns to the dr, to their hospital and to your ins company. And then find a new dr pronto. Sheesh!!!
I have had MANY tummy issues. Generally called gastritis. I wanted to die. For periods of up to a year, I would be unable to eat due to extreme nausea...constantly backed up or diarrhea...massive stomach pain. And that was on a very, very controlled diet.
Drs gave me meds to MASK the symptoms. Basically to stop the overproduction of acid in my stomach. For some minor bouts caught early enough, the meds allowed the lining of my tummy to heal. But for bad bouts, they didnt even help. I seriously was so low.
I decided I would try anything, and all at the same time. Haha.
I found a couple things I highly, highly suggest you check out:
- acupuncture. I dont suggest it for many problems. I saw *immediate* results and I was a skeptic. Homornal issues and tummy issues can often be resolved with only relatively short series of acupuncture. I think I had about 8 treatments and was off meds, drinking coffee, drinking oj, eating tomatoes, having chocolate - all the stuff my tummy said no to. And 2 years later zero return of problems. I also took herbs from the acupuncturist
- Po Chai pills. These suckers have saved my life 10 million times. Google them or go to chinese herb store they come in a box and are very very cheap. If I had that want to die tummy pain, Id take some and in 45 min be 10x better. They have the added benefit of umm..sobering you up. I dont know how and I dont really use them for that purpose
- I dont know why you get tummy pain, mine was largely stress induced. Dealing with my stress thru acupuncture and other modalities also helped the issue not return.
I do not have problems with constipation, but for some reason I have a "slow" colon. I was having bad abdomen pains on my right lower, and left upper. The doctor took an X-Ray. The x-ray showed a LOT of stool stuck to the sides of my colons. Like, hard rocks just building up. I was not constipated, though, because I was still having normal bowel movements. It is just all of it was not getting out in time, and it was getting dried in my colon.
I was prescribed a prescription laxative to take the rest of my life. I don't want to take it the rest of my life. I think that is insane. So, I just take it when I feel I need to. If I start getting abdomen pain etc.
My point is you should look into it further. Did you have a normal x-ray of your colon done? Something could just be backing you. It is your HEALTH so if you think something else is wrong, then you should go see another doctor. I don't think it is crazy. If you do get prescribed laxatives, why not take them occasionally when you feel the need to?
I went to my GP with about my growly stomach, which would get growly when i was nervous (usually in a quiet classroom, cause i was nervous about the growling...very vicious cycle). She said that the same thing used to happened to her and that there was nothing she could do about.
6 months later the same thing was still happening, and it got to the point where i dreaded gonig to school because of it, so I went to the same practise, different doctor, spent 5 minutes with her and she said "oh yeah that's a pretty common problem, heres the name of a few over-the-counter meds for it" problemo solved.
facepalm!
I defs recommend finding another doctor, one that *wont* laugh at you =___=
Your doc was totally out of line. Mine said some extremely rude things to me, and the next day, I got a new doc. You should also file a complaint against that doc too.
you are not being to sensitive at all! Do you have a obgyn different from this doc? My GP is one in the same, and when I told her I was having problems in that area, she did a quick check for blood in the stool ( there was some ) and set me up an appt with one of the GI doctors.
I'd highly recomend trying to find a GI doctor. Once I finally had a colonoscopy done, and had a polyp removed and found out I have diverticulitous, and what to stay away from, I've been MUCH better. I still take psyllium ever now and then to help move things along, but nothing like I use to.
Good Luck, it's really important to know what is happening inside you when you can't have a BM but every 4 days or so, that's just not normal, esp if when you do go, it's painful and hard ( and prob would be, cause they'd been in your colon for days when they shouldn't be )
I HATE my doctor!!!! (TMI warning!)
) which eventually makes you able to go to the toilet. It doesn't stimulate the bowel muscles like other types of laxative which can be dangerous.
) I want you to deal with all the food stuff and get on with your job. Leave the worrying to the rest of me."
