Feeling exhausted after bowel movement

[Artorias]

I've had ME for almost 10 years now but this has only been happening for about the last few years. Basically what happens is around 20 minutes or so after a bowel movement I will begin to start feeling very tired and weak, to the point where I will have to write off the next few hours and just sit/lie down. After several hours I return to my normal level of functioning. I don't have a bowel movement every day.

Is this some sort of PEM? I suspect it's not, because it hits me quickly and it's gone in a few hours. If it's not PEM what could it be?

 

[MeSci]

I've had ME for almost 10 years now but this has only been happening for about the last few years. Basically what happens is around 20 minutes or so after a bowel movement I will begin to start feeling very tired and weak, to the point where I will have to write off the next few hours and just sit/lie down. After several hours I return to my normal level of functioning. I don't have a bowel movement every day.

Is this some sort of PEM? I suspect it's not, because it hits me quickly and it's gone in a few hours. If it's not PEM what could it be?

I sometimes find that my bowels have a very strong influence on my physical and mental energy levels. I suspect that it may be related to the vagus nerve. After a bowel movement I am sometimes more energetic and sometimes less so. In the early days of ME, I sometimes had difficulty standing up after a bowel movement - my legs became so weak and wobbly.

 

[maryb]

Yes @MeSci is spot on, its connected to the vagus nerve, a lot on the internet if you google.

 

[minkeygirl]

@Sushi just posted something about the vagus nerve. I know it was in the thread about low dose antigen therapy.

 

[natasa778]

Syncope/fainting after bowel movement is also linked to vagus nerve (over)stimulation

 

[Sushi]

Basically what happens is around 20 minutes or so after a bowel movement I will begin to start feeling very tired and weak, to the point where I will have to write off the next few hours and just sit/lie down.

You could also be unknowingly doing the Valsalva maneuver, which can affect the autonomic nervous system. That article describes the breathing aspect but there is also a "bearing down" aspect that is similar to a bowel movement.

 

[MeSci]

Another possibility I have considered relates to the gut microbiome. I have noticed that many aspects of my health (even dermatitis, sleep, anxiety and sinus congestion) are improved when gut function is better. A bowel movement will often change things like pH in various parts of the gut, along with the mix of micro-organisms, which in turn can affect many other systems.

 

[Artorias]

Thank you for your replies. I wasn't aware of issues regarding the vagus nerve, lots of interesting stuff to read about that.

 

[Insomniac]

I also get weak immediately after a bowel movement. Not 20 minutes after.
I also have to lie or sit down after a bowel movement. But with me it lasts just 1/2- 1 hour, 2 maximum.
I have been too embarrassed to tell a doctor or anyone about this symptom.

I've occasionally wondered what percentage of M.E sufferers have this problem.

I don't think it is the valsalva maneuver.

So if it is connected to the vagus nerve, then I suppose that means it is connected to NMH or POTS or the low blood pressure problems we have with M.E.

 

[MeSci]

I also get weak immediately after a bowel movement. Not 20 minutes after.
I also have to lie or sit down after a bowel movement. But with me it lasts just 1/2- 1 hour, 2 maximum.
I have been too embarrassed to tell a doctor or anyone about this symptom.

I've occasionally wondered what percentage of M.E sufferers have this problem.

I don't think it is the valsalva maneuver.

So if it is connected to the vagus nerve, then I suppose that means it is connected to NMH or POTS or the low blood pressure problems we have with M.E.

I don't know what my blood pressure was like exactly at the time when I have had this symptom, but I don't think it has been related in my case. Around the time when I first had this symptom, my bp was normal. Now it is high. But I still sometimes get the post-bowel-movement weakness (or indeed increase in strength).

I will try the Valsalva manoevre next time I get it and see how it affects me!

I don't have POTS, or NMH.

Maybe it has different causes for different people.

 

[loakley001]

So I get dizzy, light-headed and short of breath before a bowel movement. I feel like I am crashing, and then I have the sudden urge to go. The symptoms are mostly relieved afterward.

Is this totally weird, or do others experience this too?

 

[Battery Muncher]

So I get dizzy, light-headed and short of breath before a bowel movement. I feel like I am crashing, and then I have the sudden urge to go. The symptoms are mostly relieved afterward.

Is this totally weird, or do others experience this too?

No, I get this too. I think it has something to do with blood sugar levels, but I have very little evidence to back this up.

I remember reading about gastroparesis (where the gut/ bowel movements are abnormally slow). I've seen people write about sudden drops in blood sugar levels.

Some people have suggested that this happens when the gut suddenly dumps all the digested food into the small intestine (or something, I can't really remember), causing a sudden dip in blood sugar.

I don't have any links for that, unfortunately. But I think something similar is happening for some of us here - we take abnormally long to digest food/ for the gut to complete its movements, and then a lot is dumped into the small intestine at once (or whatever).

I've had ME for almost 10 years now but this has only been happening for about the last few years. Basically what happens is around 20 minutes or so after a bowel movement I will begin to start feeling very tired and weak, to the point where I will have to write off the next few hours and just sit/lie down. After several hours I return to my normal level of functioning. I don't have a bowel movement every day.

Is this some sort of PEM? I suspect it's not, because it hits me quickly and it's gone in a few hours. If it's not PEM what could it be?

Have you tried eating directly after? I have a similar symptom. I've found it gets relieved by eating straight after. I think this is due to blood sugar levels, which I wrote about at the start of my post (above).

 

[ScottTriGuy]

@Artorias

Sometimes I feel tired after a bm, can last for a couple of hours.
Sometimes I feel nauseous before and after, can last for a couple of hours.
Fewer times I experience anxiety before and after, also lasts a couple of hours. (I like this experience least.) I will also get a stuffy, runny nose.
Most times bm are okay.

I attribute it to food. Other than gluten, I haven't been able to discern other causative foods, but it happens less frequently since I've cut out gluten.

 

[loakley001]

@Artorias

Sometimes I feel tired after a bm, can last for a couple of hours.
Sometimes I feel nauseous before and after, can last for a couple of hours.
Fewer times I experience anxiety before and after, also lasts a couple of hours. (I like this experience least.) I will also get a stuffy, runny nose.
Most times bm are okay.

I attribute it to food. Other than gluten, I haven't been able to discern other causative foods, but it happens less frequently since I've cut out gluten.

I cut out all grains, sugar, and dairy. I haven't noticed any change. Been on this diet for three months. Although, I lost weight. I am at my pre pubescent weight. Silver lining

 

[Dr.Patient]

I also get this fatigue after bowel movement...don't know why...

 

[Kryzpo]

Same here.. Maybe could be a symptom of detox?

 

[Artorias]

So I get dizzy, light-headed and short of breath before a bowel movement. I feel like I am crashing, and then I have the sudden urge to go. The symptoms are mostly relieved afterward.

Is this totally weird, or do others experience this too?

This can happen to me too. I get an unpleasant feeling like I'm sliding into a crash but then I go to the loo and it's gone. But then soon after I get the tiredness.

About the blood sugar levels, for me personally I know that's not the case because I'm also diabetic and regularly check my sugar levels, and there's no difference after a bowel movement.

 

[tinacarroll27]

I get very drowsy just before and then immediately afterwards I get a boost of energy but about an hour later I feel like I am crashing! I wonder if its mitochondrial?My internal muscles are very weak and I always call the area around my stomach and intestines "ground zero" because the muscles are the weakest around my waist and lower back and internal as well. You need peristalsis to pass a stool and if your muscles are weak it might be like giving your bowels a work out every time you go on the toilet! I don't know why I feel a boost of energy just after though?Detox!?

 

[ME_guy]

YOU SAID, "Basically what happens is around 20 minutes or so after a bowel movement I will begin to start feeling very tired and weak, to the point where I will have to write off the next few hours and just sit/lie down."

This was how I STARTED with ME/CFS nearly 10 years ago. About 15-20 minutes after a bowel movement, a heavy weariness and deep muscle aches engulf me and I need to lie down. Brain fog severity matches the severity of my physical symptoms. The symptoms may taper off after 8 hours, or may taper over a day or two. Each BM response can have a different severity. (For the first minutes after a BM I feel normal.)

Activity, such as sitting upright, is a demanding task for a while after the symptoms set in. Also, any real activity, such as using a vacuum or walking, makes the used muscles intensely sore and painful in a short time. (Forearm, hand, back and leg muscles in the case of vacuuming.) This pain lingers after the activity.

 

[ME_guy]

Double Trigger:

It seems that BMs are a second way that post-exertion malaise, weakness and soreness kick in. So I have two types of triggers for increasing the intensity of ME/CFS symptoms. One is activity/exercise; the other is having a BM.

Both induce brain fog, body fatigue, muscle aches and pains, sweating easily or spontaneously (including when sleeping), a perceived rise in body temperature, and a great need to lie down (even on the floor if there is no couch or bed).

Is this familiar to others who have not yet chimed in on this thread?