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Problems with constipation and toilet use

Twohalves

Hi

I've been suffering bouts of what I think is constipation recently. It's been and off for a while and affects me both at home and when I have been in the office. My GP initially thought I had irritable bowel syndrome after medical tests ruled out more sinister possibilities. But I don't really get pain, just discomfort. From what I've read, it's probably 'functional' or chronic constipation and is largely affected by stress and anxiety which I have suffered from a lot in recent years due to issues at home and at work.

I have just been diagnosed as autistic in the last week and from what I've read, there may be a connection between my autism and my toilet problems.

I have been seeing a counsellor and he suggested I may be hyper focussing on my bowel/bodily sensations. I often have difficulty knowing whether I'm about to pass wind or need to pass a stool. When I get to the toilet, it's often just wind but my fear/anxiety is that I will poo myself and that in itself can lead to stool withholding temporarily. I wear incontinence pants most of the time for protection. I usually end up passing a stool at least once day, sometimes more but I need to relax more and not overthink it! I'm also taking a herbal tablet to help with the anxiety which does a bit with overall anxiety.

Sorry if this is rather long. It's a little embarrassing writing such personal information.

Does anyone else have these issues?

 

  • in reply to Alice-nice-Alice

    And lastly - I find it emotionally impossible to reconcile the (to me) disgusting outpourings of my gut with being (I think) a decent human being! It is at the root from childhood of my intense dislike of the colour brown in all its animal-vegetation-mineral permutations. I appreciate this is faulty thinking but knowing that does not give me a way of not feeling disgust at brown …..

    A

  • in reply to Alice-nice-Alice

    No idea what those random emojis are or where from ? Lol 

  • And I forgot to mention my nephew …


    Whilst not diagnosed we are 90% sure he is autistic. When he was younger he complained often of tummy and bowel pains. Talking to his mum its possible that he was mistaking the sensations with just actually being full. He has ended up with a very restricted diet in I think an attempt to avoid these sensations. Now at uni Im fairly sure he is losing weight away from the security of home and especially his mum. 

    Ths may not be relevant Shrug‍female sign️ 

    Alice

  • Well done Thumbsup TwoHalves, it is courageous of you to raise this important subject. 

    So yes I suffer similarly too. I have an acute sense of internal bodily functions and stimuli. Sometimes its utterly overwhelming but Ive no choice but to deal with it. My mind on waking is often bombarded by messages from the digestive tract, eyes, mouth, skin, and pain too as I live with fibromyalgia. This has become much worse since diagnosis, though had I known I would still have sought assessment. Like you theres nothing physically wrong with me, med side effects are probably a contributor but its one I need to deal with myself unfortunately.

    It is dreadful as you will know when out and about. I have a RADAR key for public loos though which can be a lifesaver (you can just buy them at pharmacies). We used to travel on a lot of driving trips round the UK and got to know wherthe cleanest loos were Toilet Joy. Im trying to include more fibre in my diet by way of vegetables and whole grain bread but it is so hard (unintentional pun Flushed) isn’t it.

    Thanks for raising this, despite my apparent confidence this is a problem I find extremely difficult to deal with both mentally and physically 

    Alice

  • Hey, yeah I did hear about how the whole Vagus nerve thing from one of Dr Neff's articles. It's weird how linked stress is to a whole lot of internal systems, and that autism and gut conditions can be linked apparently? I am not well read on this stuff, but you should be able to research it further! 

    The article I was reading was this one, https://neurodivergentinsights.com/how-to-improve-vagal-tone/ , it's more how to look after yourself, but maybe if you can de-stress and work on this side of yourself, you might find it helps with your gut? Good luck with it, I thought it was funny how all these things might be linked the more they research into it.


  • Hello Twohalves.

    There is no shame in being honest - I am glad you feel that you can share how you feel.

    Humans are complicated, knowing how the body and mind works in conjunction can be quite difficult to understand - I know for a fact, I have similar issues with my body, knowing what does and does not trigger me is quite frustrating.

    This is an interesting topic. While I know our fantastic community will have some fantastic feedback, I would like to share the following resources:

    Mental health and wellbeing

    Physical health


    I hope that you manage to understand your situation a little more, as time goes on.

    Thanks - Zac Mod.