Hello,

Okay! I am so sick of this. My roommate has constant bowel problems. She hates going in public places and if she travels, she wont go until she comes back home! It doesnt matter if it is a week or 3 she just "cant go." It is frusterating because, her stomach always hurts and she becomes lethargic every time it bothers her. She wont go out and will just sit at home. She takes Pepto and Tums and sometimes laxatives to make her go. Recently, its been like a week and she cant go and she is bloated and wont go to a doctor about it. What do i do! Her eating is stable and she exercises and stuff. Its getting old!

Lizbreth09

One of the most important lessons we learn in life is that we cannot make another person do what they are not willing to do on their own. I say you should just ignore it and go about your life and if she decides to address the situation, she will.

Thats sounds almost IDENTICAL to what is wrong with me.

I've been to 3 different Gastro's, and none of them did anything for me but piss me off and give me a bunch of pills that dont work. I'm still trying to find help, but unfortunately "modern" medicine just really doesnt have a clue yet how to tackle most GI problems.

Hate to be so blunt/negative about it, but i'm just speaking from experience. Tell your friend she needs to supplement with FIBER laxative, every day in the morning on an empty stomach. it will keep her bowels moving everyday, and help her feel a LOT better. A good probiotic will help with balancing out the bacteria in the digestive system needed to break stuff down, and glutamine is great for healing any tissue damage. Those things have help me much more than any "doctor" could at this point.

Good luck

Hello,

Okay! I am so sick of this. My roommate has constant bowel problems. She hates going in public places and if she travels, she wont go until she comes back home! It doesnt matter if it is a week or 3 she just "cant go." It is frusterating because, her stomach always hurts and she becomes lethargic every time it bothers her. She wont go out and will just sit at home. She takes Pepto and Tums and sometimes laxatives to make her go. Recently, its been like a week and she cant go and she is bloated and wont go to a doctor about it. What do i do! Her eating is stable and she exercises and stuff. Its getting old!

Lizbreth09

The problem is that if your friend has forced herself to not go to the toilet when she needs too then her bowel just isnt going to function normaly just because she is back home and tells her self that "now" she will alow herself to go.

Suggest to your friend that she allows time first thing in the morning after breakfast to go to the bathroom. Even if she feels that she cant open her bowels at that moment in time,tell her to sit there for a while. Eventualy she should get into a good routine and she wont have to worry about using public bathrooms through the day.

Unfortunatly,if she carries on as she is then she is asking for big prblems in the future. I also think that she should speak to her Doctor about her (what seems to me to be a )Phobia,of using the bathroom outside of the home.

I used to have this problem, it was the thought of the 'dirty' water in the bottom of the pan splashing on my skin that used to terrify me.
The chronic diarreah that I now have since my bowel resection has cured me of holding myself until I got home. It is impossible now!!! So I devised a coping strategy otherwise I would of soiled myself in public if I hadnt used the toilets outside of home.

I now always carry anti septic wipes to use on the seat and handle, I always flush the toilet before I use it and then put loo roll down into the pan to stop the splashing and also to hide any noises.
I know this probably seems a little extreme but it works for me.
best wishes
daisy