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Bowel movements cause draining fatigue!

Dr.Patient

There is no kinship like the one we share!
Messages
505
Location
USA
This is happening every time for the last two months. I've put my feet up on a box ~8 in high to reduce the orthostatic effect. Also, lying down immediately after the bm for 10-15'. My doctor suggested squatting...so I use an inverted small trash can to put my feet up. Does anybody have any other ideas on how to have a bm, so it won't be so fatiguing? This is definitely the one thing that happens to us that is prolonging/preventing our recovery...
 

AndyPandy

Making the most of it
Messages
1,928
Location
Australia
@Dr.Patient I regularly have pain after a BM. This started when I became ill with ME/CFS. When my IBS and gut pain are worse, my fatigue symptoms and generalised pain are worse.

In the bad early stages, I felt more fatigued after a BM. I figured that this was because it was an "activity" for my body!

I think there is a connection between gut and fatigue but haven't looked into it. I try and keep my IBS under control with diet and probiotics.

Sorry you are going through this.

Best wishes, Andy
 

Dr.Patient

There is no kinship like the one we share!
Messages
505
Location
USA
In the bad early stages, I felt more fatigued after a BM. I figured that this was because it was an "activity" for my body!

Yes, it is a huge energy draining autonomic nervous system activity! Is your fatigue after BMs better now?
 

AndyPandy

Making the most of it
Messages
1,928
Location
Australia
Generally yes, but if the pain is bad after a BM then the fatigue goes up.

I am currently going through a rough patch with bad IBS, gut pain and fatigue as I have had to stop probiotics before a faecal microbial analysis test. It appears probiotics were helping me more than I realised.
 

Sushi

Moderation Resource Albuquerque
Messages
19,935
Location
Albuquerque
Yes, it is a huge energy draining autonomic nervous system activity!
You are likely inadvertently performing the valsalva maneuver, which activates part of the ANS and affects HR and BP in ME/CFS patients:
The place where the Valsalva Maneuver is carried out the most is the sitting toilet. It is difficult to evacuate properly on a sitting toilet because the colon is not supported and pressurised. There is also akink at the rectum and anus which obstructs the flow of waste.
The poor user simply have no choice but to strain mightily for bowel movements. This takes the form of holding the breath, and straining and 'pushing downwards' with the diaphragm in an attempt to evacuate waste.
Note: this website is probably selling something, but gives you an idea.
 

Richard7

Senior Member
Messages
772
Location
Australia
I don't know if this helps at all, but I think I used to get the same symptom.

I would pass a toilet-bowl-filling bowel movement and the feel cold and weak, often feeling a sort of shiver in my lower back or the the space in my body cavity just in front of it. I guess it was in or around the bowel that had just been emptied.

Sometimes this was associated with diarrhoea but sometimes it was with more normal bowel movements.

I don't know when it stopped, but it was probably about 12 - 18mnths ago. And therefore do not know why it stopped.

But I have I have done a lot of work with diet.

Weston A price >> primal >> GAPS >> ketogenic primal >> ketogenic Autoimmune Paleo. Working around the 3 ideas: that I need to avoid some foods I react badly to; that I need to eat a wide range of dietary fibres; and to take probiotics or probiotic foods.

I get the fibre and probiotics from food now, but have used commercial probiotics and isolated fibre.

I found that GAPS really did not work for me, I just fell into a mental fog so deep that I could not even understand what I was doing.

Having a very low carb but high fibre diet worked better, but I had some issues with fungal infections. These seem to have disappeared now that I am taking Betaine HCL to acidify my stomach.

My stools are not perfect, not even good, but constipation seems to only be associated with testing foods I don't tolerate (twice since Easter). Diarrhoea is more common maybe a day a week, and my stools are definitely not consistent, but I no longer have the symptoms you mentioned.

Oh, and this may be TMI but I wish someone had shared it with me. When constipation does strike I throw dignity to the wind and squat on the shower recess floor, use my fingers if need be, and clean it up when I'm done. Still painful, but less so, and there is rarely any blood.
 

AndyPandy

Making the most of it
Messages
1,928
Location
Australia
@minkeygirl thanks so much for your suggestion. I will look into it. I need to be careful as too much fibre causes me problems at the best of times and right now I have no trouble going! ;)
 

minkeygirl

But I Look So Good.
Messages
4,678
Location
Left Coast
@AndyPandy This is soluble fiber so it doesn't cause the issues that insoluble fiber does. I cramp if I look at fiber so I totally get where you are. I hate when I'm constipated and people tell me to eat fiber. That's the worst thing for us.

If you go to www.helpforibs.com she explains how this works for both C and D. There are some forums there that explain how it works.