Possible rectal tightness - tips/tricks?
Hi everyone!
I joined this sub just today because I’ve had the most unusual symptoms start off this week and my doctors appointment isn’t until next week so in the meantime I’ve just been trying to figure out what is going on and if I can help myself at all.
As a background, I’ve never suffered from constipation, maybe the off chance once or twice in my life I’ve had a hard stool issue but it was always corrected quite quick with upping my healthy foods etc, doesn’t last. I have a BM everyday, if I eat too much the night before I can have maybe 2 in a day, but I’m regular with once a day for sure, in the morning hours.
So about 5 days ago, I came home from a road trip and tried to go poo as soon as I got home. It was about a 4 hour drive, and I think even during the 3 day trip my BMs maybe weren’t as consistent because it wasn’t my home toilet etc. I found when I got home that I was able to go but I didn’t feel like I emptied fully. I strained a bit more than usual to pass what was medium to soft stool and figured I was just a bit backed up thanks to the trip and eventually whatever was backed up would come out.
By the next day, I had another BM but again this was soft formed poop that took more straining that poop of that consistency should take and I still didnt feel emptied out, so as you can imagine that is quite the uncomfortable feeling. I had started taking prenatal the week before and I immediately clocked that the Iron in the prenatals might have created some hard stools as I’ve heard they can do that, I just didn’t put two and two together before. So I’m still not worried I just think I’ll eventually pass the harder stool out.
Next day, still no luck passing any of the stool that feels stuck right at the rectum, I have a BM but again it’s not hard and it doesn’t relieve the pressure I’m feeling but it’s a decent amount of poop but it’s semi soft and smallish pieces.
That night, I really start to get frustrated as I hate the feeling of having to go, I try to push pretty hard a few times and nothing. it feels like it’s at the end of the rectum. I eventually tried to digitally disimpact but I’m unable to feel anything up there in terms of stuck poop, so maybe it’s further up than it feels like. Rectum feels fairly tight i notice.
the next day, I end up wiping quite a bit because I’m trying to push out this stuck poop and instead keep pushing out regular soft poop and maybe poop that wasn’t even ready to come out. I think the vigorous pushing and wiping end up causing inflammation so I have to stop, apply Vaseline and let the burning stop. I ended up taking a Tylenol later that day to help with the painful burning and it provided great relief. I also note that the sensation of stuck poop was also decreased by almost 90-100% after taking the Tylenol.
the next day (yesterday) I come to the conclusion that there probably isn’t any stuck stool at all. I feel like at least some hard pebbles would have come out by now, and I don’t feel anything when I’ve gloved up and tried to take some out. I just feel that there is a fullness and incomplete evactuation as I’m sitting/walkinf around etc. I at this point think I could have internal hemroids that are causing the sensation of fullness. again like I mentioned, my doctors appt is next week so I don’t know for sure, this can still be the culprit.
it was today that I read a little bit about tight rectal muscles and tight sphincter and right now I think my symptoms most feel like this. by yesterday, the feeling of fullness/tightness in the rectum was very very uncomfortable. Not painful necessarily but distractingly uncomfortabl, like I couldnt concrentrate on work or even watching TV. I felt like I was sitting on a hard ball of stool.
today, I realized that massaging around the anus and rectum opening really felt nice. it was a temporary relief but massage those areas made that pressure feeling subside a bit which was so great. It was then that I had the thought, are my ass muscles just really freaking tight? from the earlier attempts to digitally disimpact myself, I knew my sphincter is SUPER tight as well. I gloved up again and just sort of tried to massage it loose with a lubricated finger and that felt really good, relieved the pressure for a few minutes for sure, but it quickly came back once the massage stopped. I also took a really hot shower and that also relieved a lot of the pressure feeling/feeling like there was poop there. Finally, I remembered how nice the Tylenol worked for relieving the pressure feeling and took another one today and wow, it’s all gone. I feel back to normal completely. I don’t anticipate this to be a permanent solution, obviously, but wow, no feeling of impacted poop, no tightness of the anus when sitting on toilet even to pee (that had started to happen earlier today before the Tylenol, my pee was coming out a bit slowly for the first few seconds because I just felt TIGHT near my anus as soon as I sat down to pee). All those symptoms completely gone with Tylenol, I no longer feel constipated AT ALL. I don’t feel like I’m sitting on a hard piece of poop at my rectum.
also to note, this entire time I’ve had no other GI symptoms other than the feeling of hard to pass poop at the rectum. No bloating, gas, uncomfortable guts, anything that would accompany constipation, and I still had a BM everyday, although they have been soft and not as formed as my usual BM, but that could be due to the trip I took where I wasnt eating my usual homemade food.
My inkling is that because all feelings of constipation disappeared with Tylenol, hot showers and massage feeling good, and the fact that prior to Tylenol sneezing and coughing would create an unpleasant sensation at the rectum muscles, that this could be a tight muscle issue. I’ve never had anything lile this before but I will note I’ve been extra stressed this year and constantly feeling like I’m in fight or flight? i just hope whatever switched on 5 days ago and made my ass so tight will eventually switch off because passing even soft BMs is straining, which i think is creating a negative feedback loop of making my muscles even tighter because I’m afraid of the pain, peeing is slower and feels slightly strained to get it going, and the feeling of tightness and pressure on the rectum is distractingly uncomfy.
like I said, I still have a doctors appointment to get a professional opinion, but in the meantime, has anyone experienced something like this? Did anything at home help? stretching? I know a PFPT would be the next step if it turns out I’m right.
As of right now, I feel perfect and so relieved. the Tylenol has sorted me completely but I haven’t had a BM while on the Tylenol…since I already had one this morning, but I have no pressure or feeling of stuck poop at all. I’m thinking of taking a Tylenol tomorrow morning before my usual BM and see if it comes out nice and smooth and without strain.