Emotional Support Sisters

Let’s talk poop. I have irritable bowel syndrome, so I think about pooping more than I should. I happen to have IBS-M, which stands for irritable bowel syndrome mixed.

IBS is a syndrome diagnosed by symptoms and ruling out other diseases like celiac or colon cancer. Symptoms include diarrhea, constipation, bloating, and tummy pain for long periods of time (think months, years, lifetime).

As a teenager/young adult, I started experiencing something I have labeled as nervous poops, my kids, who also get them, call them slimy poops. If I had a big test, a job interview,  was excited about traveling, or anything else that could be anxiety or excitement inducing I would do a large bowel movement that was almost diarrhea, not quite to Hershey squirts level, but almost there.

Fast forward a few years to the end of my 4th pregnancy. Twice I had diarrhea so bad I thought I might die. The cramping was awful. I pooped so much that there was nothing left to poop, but my body still tried to poop. After my 4th baby was born I had 2 additional rounds of near-death pooping. The last round caused a severe panic attack, and even to this day, I get highly anxious if anyone in the house has diarrhea. I also get a little panicky any time I think about ever needing to do the pre-colonoscopy bowel cleanse. 

After my anxiety-inducing hormones calmed down I became mostly constipated. My version of constipation is what my family has termed bum nuggets. I just have little rabbit poop and some days it takes many trips to the toilet because they don’t come all at once. I would much rather have this than the nervous poops or death-diahrrea that I still get occasionally. Before you ask, yes I drink enough water (almost 90 oz a day), and yes I eat my fruits and veggies. 

Another cool symptoms I have with IBS are period poops, which are painful because everything is more extreme when I’m on my period. I also can randomly feel the waste working its way through my intestine and it feels like a small ball of barbed wire is rolling around.

Occasionally I’ll have a golden day where I have a normal-sized poop with a normal consistency and a normal amount. These days are unicorn days. My stomach feels good. I feel relief after pooping. I then try to recreate all the things I did the day before hoping to recreate the magical unicorn of normal poop, and it never works.

Now you know way more than anyone ever wanted about my pooping habits. You’ve also gotten a sneak peek into my family’s awesome naming abilities.

Hope you have a great week and some successful pooping!

Missy