I've noticed that when I urinate I cannot make my urine flow out faster as I used to do. Also when I have a bowl movement I notice the bowels are very normal looking and smooth and soft yet it comes out like a huge struggle. I am wondering if their is disease or any problems that anyody else has had or know of that the bowel muscles have stopped working. The colon seems to work as yes I can still have a bowl movement but it is a huge struggle sometimes and the bowel isn't huge and dry. Also I still notice how my LOWER stomach constanly buldges and then in goes a bit inward and then buldges again towards the middle section. I don't know if that is normal? I am getting scared thinking it may be cancer or some other problem that needs to have medical attention. I have been to the ER once, an internal medicine doctor, and a physician and all come up with that I've been food poisioned. I highly doubt that food poising would give me over 3 weeks of these ODD and strange symptoms. Do you guys have any clues??

First, regarding your stomach 'bulging' concerns, don't fret because unless your abdomen is -really-swollen then it is probably nothing. Probably you just begin to notice things or question things only because you're worried in the first place. So don't worry yourself about how your abdomen looks, unless you're 100% sure it looks different than it has before...

Otherwise, my only other question would be 'What other symptoms do you have?' Is there pain/cramps/aches of any kind associated with or relieved by your bowel movements or otherwise? Or have you been nauseous or vomited at all? If not, then don't be worried about constipation...at the worst it could probably be irritable bowel syndrome, although there is usually cramps/pain associated with that.

Do not worry about cancer at all. Unless you have family history of colorectal cancer, in which case you might be a little more concerned, then you shouldn't worry at all. If you did have colorectal cancer you would probably be seeing drastic changes, such as blood in your stools, diarrhea or longer and narrower stools, along with weight loss and possibly mild pain.

Hope I can help, and do please elaborate...many people at some time or another become worried of cancer or other diseases of the intestines, especially because altered bowel habits seem to be more noticable and worrisome than other types of symptoms (like a headache or something)

Oh, and I'm not aware of many (if any?) disorders where the muscles in your rectum stop working to help you expel the stools (as you described your symptoms..."struggle" I believe you used).

There can be intestinal obstructions, but again: there would be severe cramps/pain.

If there is any recent trauma (which I don't think you have) you can have something called paralytic ileus...it often happens after surgery too. Sometimes it can happen spontaneously with certain bowel motility problems, but that's not too common. The thing with this is, you have something called obstipation...you can't defecate, and you can't pass gas either. It's also relatively painless.

Also....how old are you?

You mentioned that you can't make your urine flow out faster? If you're over 40, that could mean that you are having problems with your prostate gland. It's actually pretty normal for the gland to grow somewhat when we are over 40, but sometimes it can grow too much, and since it's located around the proximal urethra, it can serious hinder urine flow. Also, if there is inflammation of the prostate, it can inhibit urine flow and it can also affect the rectum because, as you may know, the prostate gland lies on the outside of the rectum--that's why doctors often do rectal exams to see the status of the prostate.

One other thing....prostatitis can cause problems with defecation!

I am skinny and in my early 20s. I didn't think my stomach looked like that before having those two buldges. I can mostly noticed when I turn to the side and look in the mirror. Other than that my stomach may have looked like that all along but I don't know.

The only thing I can think of is that before this started I was doing very intense tennis work out and running all over the place and bending by body in all sorts of ways....sometimes uncomfortable. Could I have traumatized my insides??

As for other symptoms. Well I don't have cramps, nausea, or vomiting. For long periods of time my stomach feels like its been punched or like I've swallowed something real big and it went down the wrong pipe. I guess you could call it a cramp similar to a muscle cramp when it freezes up and feel really uncomfortable.

Don't worry...your workouts probably didn't do anything to traumatize your insides....well, that's unless you received some type of blunt blow to the abdomen during your workout!

A lot of the time, GI problems accompany stress. You haven't been stressed out lately have you?

Yes that's true your workouts most likely did not 'traumatize' your intestines. But they could have affected your digestive system.

When you work out like that, especially sudden increases (instead of slowly building up intensity of workout sessions) your muscles require more oxygen and you sweat more, needing more water. Many people will vomit after working hard, and also many people will commonly have diarrhea an hour or two after finishing an intense workout.

But in your case, your body might simply be slowing down your normal bowel patterns to supply the more water and oxygen...don't take this as definite medical advice, but it's a possibility. I would wait a week or two and see how you come along, and probably would not seek medical attention unless you notice blood, or intense pains and cramps.

My other suggestion would be to begin adding fiber supplements to your diet. You can get this in many forms...there are fiber wafers and other 'snack' types, there are others you put in any drink or soft food and it dissolves. The two brands that come to my mind are Benefiber and Metamucil. Adding fiber is very beneficial and healthy, and there are absolutely no risks I can think of. Only side effects some people get is gas and bloating which subsides usually within a week as their bodies become used to the change.

Additionally you may want to try lactobacillus acidophilus supplements which you can take before meals, or at any time of the day. They contain millions of the 'friendly' bacteria in your intestines and can also help. These are just some suggestions. You can buy these all at local health stores, many grocery stores/pharmacies and other places like Walgreen's (if you have one near you).