Constipation is when you have stools that are hard to pass, you don’t feel like you pass all of your stool, or there are four or more days between one bowel movement and the next.

Constipation can make you feel constantly bloated or uncomfortable. You may also experience harmful side effects, such as bowel obstructions, due to chronic constipation.

An estimated 15 percent of Americans experience problems with constipation.

This Pritish Kumar article will explore what constipation can feel like and things you can do for it, including if you’re pregnant or have hemorrhoids.

It might help to first look at the path your food takes when it’s being digested.

Your digestion highway

The digestive tract extends from your mouth to your rectum. Some of the main organs involved in digestion are the:

• stomach
• small intestine
• large intestine, where stool ultimately exits via the rectum
  

  Digestive system

Along each point of the gastrointestinal tract, nutrients are absorbed and the wastes from food

breakdown are ultimately released from the body.

Special motions including churning in the stomach and peristalsis (a rhythmic movement) in the intestines help to propel food material forward through the digestive tract.

The softer and bulkier the stool is, the more likely it is to activate the movements of the intestines and move forward. When it’s time for you to go to the bathroom, muscles in your pelvic floor work together to help push stool out of the rectum.

What does constipation feel like?

Constipation can happen due to one or more breakdowns of the expected pathway where stool is excreted.

These can include slow-moving stool, hard stools, or experiencing a problem with the muscles and nerves needed to pass a bowel movement.

As a result, constipation can “feel” like many symptoms. Examples include:

• fullness in the stomach or pelvic region
• cramping of the bowels
• feeling like stool remains in the rectum but cannot pass
• feelings of heaviness or discomfort in the stomach and abdominal regions
• aching feeling in the back

Sometimes it’s difficult to distinguish between discomfort in your stomach and intestines. You might feel cramping or bloating in your intestines that pushes upward on your stomach.

As a result, you could feel stomach discomfort while the area of constipation is really in your intestines.

When can constipation be an emergency?

Seek immediate medical advice and treatment if you experience the following:

• symptoms don’t get better or they become worse even after trying self-care measures at home, including laxatives
• continued pain after trying to have bowel movements or pain that gets worse
• constipation that alternates with diarrhea

These symptoms can be a sign of bleeding in the digestive tract or that you are experiencing an intestinal blockage. These can be life-threatening emergencies.

What are the treatments for constipation?

Constipation treatments can range from lifestyle to medication treatments. If you have an obstruction or scarring that is blocking the movement of your stool, you may require surgery.

Some at-home, self-care measures you can use to reduce the incidence of constipation include:

• Drinking plenty of water to where your urine should be pale yellow in color.
• Eating at least 25 grams of fiber a day through sources such as vegetables, whole grains, and fruits.
• Engaging in regular physical activity, such as walking, riding a bicycle, or dancing. These physical activity elements can mimic the natural movement of the stool and help stool move more quickly.
• Talking to your doctor about medications you may be taking that affect constipation. However, you shouldn’t stop taking your medicines without talking to your doctor first.

There are also over-the-counter (OTC) medications that can ideally reduce constipation, such as fiber supplements.

What does constipation feel like when pregnant?

Pregnant women experience constipation at a higher rate than the general population. An estimated 11 to 38 percent of pregnant women have problems with constipation.

Some of the factors that make it more likely pregnant women will have constipation include:

• increased progesterone levels and reduced hormones called motilin that slow intestinal movement
• increased water absorption in the intestines that causes stool to dry out
• increased calcium and iron supplements that can increase constipation risk
• enlarged uterus that presses on the intestines, slowing their movement
  

  Constipation during pregnancy

• decreased physical activity

Constipation may be difficult to recognize initially if you’re pregnant because you may be uncertain your symptoms are related to pregnancy. Examples could include bloating or feelings of abdominal fullness and pressure.

When you’re pregnant, you can’t take the same medications you did when you weren’t expecting, due to concerns the medicines could affect the baby.

Also, there isn’t a lot of data about the safety of using laxatives to promote bowel movements during pregnancy.

However, some treatments that do not seem to be associated with adverse side effects include:

• bulk-forming agents (although these can cause gas, cramping, and bloating in some pregnant women)
• lubricant laxatives, such as mineral oil
• stool softeners, such as docusate sodium (Colace)

Sometimes laxatives can lead to electrolyte imbalances that could cause you to feel ill and potentially affect your baby.

For this reason, it’s important that if you’re pregnant you take these medications for a short time and try lifestyle techniques, such as more fiber, increased water intake, and more physical activity (if tolerated).

Treating constipation with hemorrhoids

Taking steps to treat both your constipation and hemorrhoids can help reduce the incidence of both conditions. Examples include:

• Cleansing the anal area gently and thoroughly after going to the bathroom. Some people may find using baby wipes or rinsing the area may help.
• Drinking plenty of water to make stool less hard.
• Applying anti-inflammatory creams (e.g. steroids like OTC Preparation H) to the area to reduce itching and skin irritation.
• Eating a high-fiber diet, such as fruits, vegetables, and cereals to help add bulk to stool naturally and make it easier to pass.

How can I prevent constipation?

Use the same home-based methods you used to treat constipation to prevent it from becoming a chronic problem:

• Eat a well-balanced diet with plenty of fiber. Good sources of fiber are fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole-grain breads and cereals. Fiber and water help the colon pass stool.
  

  Constipation prevention

  Most of the fiber in fruits is found in the skins, such as in apples. Fruits with seeds you can eat, like strawberries, have the most fiber. Bran is a great source of fiber. Eat bran cereal or add bran cereal to other foods, like soup and yogurt. People with constipation should eat between 18 and 30 grams of fiber every day.

• Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. (Note: Milk can cause constipation in some people.) Liquids that contain caffeine, such as coffee and soft drinks, can dehydrate you. You may need to stop drinking these products until your bowel habits return to normal.
• Exercise regularly.
• Treat mild constipation with a dietary supplement like magnesium. (Not everyone should take magnesium. Check with your doctor before taking.)
• Move your bowels when you feel the urge. Do not wait.

Can constipation cause internal damage or lead to other health problems?

There are a few complications that could happen if you don’t have soft, regular bowel movements. Some complications include:

• Swollen, inflamed veins in your rectum (a condition called hemorrhoids).
• Tears in the lining of your anus from hardened stool trying to pass through (called anal fissures).
• An infection in pouches that sometimes form off the colon wall from stool that has become trapped and infected (a condition called diverticulitis)
• A pile-up of too much stool/poop in the rectum and anus (a condition called fecal impaction).
• Damage to your pelvic floor muscles from straining to move your bowels. These muscles help control your bladder. Too much straining for too long a period of time may cause urine to leak from the bladder (a condition called stress urinary incontinence).

Does not having regular bowel movements cause toxins to build up in my body and make me sick?

Don’t worry, this usually isn’t the case. Although your colon holds on to stool longer when you are constipated and you may feel uncomfortable, the colon is an expandable container for your waste. There is possibly a slight risk of a bacterial infection if waste gets into an existing wound in the colon or rectum.

Reference

1. https://www.healthline.com/health/what-does-constipation-feel-like#constipated-with-hemorrhoids
2. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4059-constipation