Well hello there everybody! Today I am here because I think I posses some very important information. I could not find my situation anywhere on the internet. The sheer anguish and hopelessness followed me up to this day as no doctor really helped me. I had to make all the moves. I will skip a lot of details, predictions and a lot of other things I thought it was. I don’t want to make this too long as it already is. As time passes I will be making edits but for right now I have to get this out on the internet just in case something happens to me. I posted this in hope that it will pop up on google when someone searches up my problem. I feel this will help ALOT of the spinal injured especially the ones that walk. I believe im the first person on the internet to post anything like this. To start off I am an L3 incomplete injury due to multiple gunshots. As time passed and I gained enough function to walk, I developed this extremely bothersome sensation that has tortured me to this day. Just like some quadriplegics complain of a mysterious “chest sensation” I would complain of a mysterious “rectal sensation”. It is as if everything was so tense in my rectum that stool would literally get trapped in my rectum and my body would literally make me use abdominal pressure to keep it going. I called it "voluntary pushing" I would explain my symptoms to my doctors all the time and all of them would simply say they do not know. The sensation was all day long every day. For a year I took more tramadol than what I was supposed to take and try to ignore the unbearable. Finally I asked my gastroenterologist for an anorectal manometry to attempt to diagnose ANYTHING. I literally had to lie to her to make sure she would prescribe me one. Which pissed me off because these damn doctors work for US! And the fact that I have to wait months or a month before appointments and procedures is outrageous and a complete disregard for the disabled! I mean what if I was alone and had no family to take care of me; I probably wouldn’t be here because I have felt so hopeless! Anyhow the results came back but I didn’t go to the appointment and I couldn’t understand my parents when they tried to explain it to me. I was referred to a specialist in motility and basically what was wrong with me was that my external sphincter was contracting constantly all day all the time sending the wrong messages to all the other muscles in the pelvic floor making them extremely tight. I did some research and it was set in stone that the puborectalis was connected to the external sphincter but now its being theorized or whatever that its connected to the levator ani because of new technology or whatever. Regardless its still being debated but the point is they all correlate together. At this point I was like AH HAH! So that’s the tenseness I feel!!!! I asked her why my sphincter was contracting constantly if it is voluntary? It must be nerves because im not aware of it I said. She said my nerves are perfectly fine (Even though I have a SCI) it is my muscles that are what’s wrong with me. I asked her why was it contracting and she simply said she does not know. I found it extremely peculiar that a muscle that is voluntary would contract without me knowing. Later it came to me. Suck in your stomach for me, your bottom tenses up whenever you suck in your stomach huh! Even if you don’t realize it your hole contracts every time you use your abdominal muscles! At that point it came to me that ever since I have walked and stood up from my injury I have tightened my sphincter to use my abdominal muscles to compensate for my extreme glute weakness. And since I go to therapy 6 times a week and stand and walk EVERY single day you can just imagine the tightening I was doing without realizing it. My diagnoses are Anismus, Obstructed Defecation, Paradoxical Puborectalis Contraction, and Paradoxical Sphincter Contraction. I didn’t ask the doctor herself what were the diagnoses but the nurse gave me them to me so im not quite sure (I have to ask the doctor to confirm). The anorectal manometry also pointed out something very interesting, normal muscles relax to defecate but mine does the exact opposite it clamps in tightness thus pointing out the paradoxical. The fact that it took me a whole year to find out my problem is mind blowing. I am currently undergoing EMG biofeedback to sort of retrain the muscles. The EMG showed that my muscle activity down there is TWELVE in rest when its supposed to be 2.5... It’s a huge difference! I know 100 percent that the biofeedback is not going to work. I know mine isn’t because my muscles will just clamp whenever I go to the bathroom. Doctors tell me that in all of their practice im the only patient to literally beg for a colostomy. Anything is better than this torture. After the biofeedback the next option is botox then it is a bag! In conclusion if you have the same problem as I do ask for the anorectal manometry to diagnose, use tramadol to numb the sensation, and above all try not to suck in your stomach when you walk. Use abdominal muscles as less as possible. Try to relax everything down there daily. Comply with the bio feedback and even though its not going to work for me, comply because I don’t know if is going to work for you. Wait for the next procedures. As I am still in biofeedback i will be editing to update. I hope this helped Farewell
Loading...
Just like you I have combed the Internet about this problem. I have even read somebody's suicide note because of this problem.
Mine started like that. I was infected with parasites which i could feel wriggling down in my anus. So i bought albendazole. I was constipated at the same time, I was thinking like a stupid; if i dont poo, all the dead parasite might stay inside. So, i bought an enema and pooooed... but that enema ruined my rectal-anal health. Using that enema allowed to poo diarrhea. I was relieved all parasites came out. It was all psychologic.
The next day I could hard push a stool. I could feel my rectum was hard, swollen and shut. If poop came out, it was pencil-think size. I was frustrated, scared and hopeless.
I knew that enema has caused some kind of damage inside there. I thought i was constipated. But, i somewhere it was not the real case.
I asked my parents and friends about the problem, they would tell me, its stress and that i don't socialize too much. But, i don't think it was the case. Can u imagine it; a cheap shitty enema could change my life.
I waited for the swelling to go, waited for 3 days, during which i did not poo at all. First, I think it was internal hemorrhoids due to previous constant hard straining..
The Doctor put a finger in my anal canal saying there were no hemorrhoids... but the problem was a bit above the anal canal.. between the rectum and the beginning of the anal canal up.
Then i opted for a colonoscopy which was not of course a pleasure or fun to do. Nothing came out as serious.
Then I try different healing foods like cinnamon, ground fennel, black mustard seed, turmric, Apple vinegar, consuming them, thinking they would shrink the swelling inside.. they did in fact.
The problem did not get solved here. i noticed when I have constipation or when i have diarrhea the rectum become tight again.
Try to include Yogurt in the diet, drink 750mL, it might help, prunes, oats, I know it might sound not helping, but plz be patient with it. Trust me, I wanted to die, but I have to live for others.
I did a sigmoidoscopy and an anal dilation recently, it did not really help.
I can conclude, I have to care of this by watching my diet, activities and level of stress.
Exercises and yoga, practice them.
Sometimes, do some Kegel, pelvic floor relaxation exercises.
My friend told me to contract my anal sphincters and then release it... do it as exercise while squatting.
Keep any kind of stress away.
I have made enormous research about this too and I am surprised I have a problem that perhaps 99.9% of people on Earth dont have and i have to deal with this on my own.
I did research from constipation to puborectalis release surgery... And I across various medical terms.
I was crazy and hopeless.
My friend, be patient... I have sciatic problem too, often constipated, diarrhea sometimes..
Many thoughts come in the mind, driving me mad, that may be a tumor is compressing my rectum, endometriosis, or my pelvis is not in the right axis, my puborectalis is hypertrophied, scarred and contracted way too much.
Sometimes, I would cover one finger with a glove and soaked in olive oil and put in my anus, I could feel about 8cm up, a stool was stuck...
Go swim... Meditate, Practice deep breathing, Drink probiotics containing Yogurt... Keep stress away
You yourself, mentally, relax your pelvic muscle...
And you poop, plz, I know you may be using a European toilet, take a little stool chair and put your feel on it so that knees are at the level of your chest. This known as the Squatting posture [Indian posture] to poop. The puborectalis get relax in this way.
Do squat exercise lightly everyday.
And, wake up 5am - 6am, when you are still in semi-conscious state, try poop at that time, with gentle breathing in and out... strain lightly... gently...
Drink 2 glasses of warm water... one of my told me to drink Olive oil in the morning and then 1 glass of water [ i have not tried it ]
Post soon plz. Thank you. Your well-wisher
Loading...