Okay, this is weird, but let's talk anal sphincter.......

I've had IBS for a very long time. It was IBS-D for years and years, and I controlled it with calcium. Well, after hearing that calcium might build up in your coronaries, I backed off it..........and developed constipation. My doc said I may have messed things up by talking calcium all that time. Anyhow.....the constipation turned into something else a couple months ago. I could hardly go at all, even when the stool was extremely soft. Well, I could go, but I had to work at it.

I needed to put in a hemorrhoid suppository recently, and low and behold, I could barely get it in, the sphincter muscle was so tight.....even when I tried to relax.

I've read up on it and it sounds like anal stenosis. I also have fibromyalgia and all my muscles have been hurting for awhile. No pain in my anus, but I'm thinking this might be why I can't poop.

I saw the PA at the Gastro docs office about 4 times this year, but I didn't know about this newer problem, so he just treated it all like constipation........even though I told him I could barely go, even when it was almost liquid.

I insisted on seeing the doc this time, but have to wait a month.
Just curious if anyone else has ever heard of this problem, as making it hard to poop?
Geez.........I get the weirdest stuff!
Thanks for listening.

Cathy, I don't think the content of your post is the problem at all. This forum is very slow. Some days there will be a couple of new posts then it goes for several days with nothing. We have several forums here at HW with little to no activity.

I do hope your dr can help you out though. I think there is probably testing that can be done to see what the culprit is. Take care.

I also think you are smart to insist on seeing your gastro doc, I would advise going in with exact details like you have provided and hopefully GI will have some answers. Have you had any recent tests run?

I have a similar issue with the feeling of stuff either liquid or hard being stuck and not coming out. So I tried many things. This is what worked for me.

A probiotic that survives stomach acid....culturelle
Regular use of Preparation H.
Water...lots of it.
Prunes etc
Beans and veggies
less dairy
less meat

Cathy,
I'm new to this forum so I just saw your post. Very interesting as I've had IBS with constipation for at least 7 years but probably longer just wasn't diagnosed until then. Last year my OBGYN commented I had very tight sphincter muscle. I don't have problems with hard stool but just feeling like I have to go but can't make it happen. Since your post, have you heard if there is a connection between a tight sphincter and constipation? I took Amitza for years and could not tell a difference. However, I have noticed that since I stopped taking it, I no longer feel nauseous in the mornings.

Hi KYgirl.........No, I haven't heard of a connection yet, but it makes sense to me. I saw a pelvic floor physiotherapist and she thought it was tightly constricted too. Frustrating that the GI doc wasn't interested in checking it out.

Hi lamb.......Would it require a special test? I had a pelvic CT scan, but I'm not sure that would have showed anything. Seems like if yours was "fried"......wouldn't it be too loose? I wonder what causes it?

To both of you.....my physiotherapist brought up the possibility of using a "Squatty Potty". Have you heard of that? It's something you set in front of your toilet and it elevates your feet/legs up about 7" and keeps them outward a bit. She said that this straightens out your colon, allowing stool to come out more easily. If you read the reviews of it on Amazon, it sounds like it can really make a difference in people who feel like they just can't "evacuate". What's curious is that I began having this problem after I started to use one of those elevated toilet seats, to save my bad knees from getting so far up and down. The physiotherapist said that that could kink the colon a bit and cause problems. She said that there's a lot involved in having a B.M.....like how you sit on the pot, etc. Interesting!