Problem with anal sphincter

Hi Pollyanna,

I don't have a lot to offer here...maybe just a few words of caution. Like prolapse, bowel problems develop slowly over time and not until they begin to create significant symptoms do women wake up to the fact that their guts have not been happy for a long time.

What makes the intestines happy are the same things that make prolapse less symptomatic: good food, low stress, posture (the bowel is also suspended from the spine), firebreathing and nauli, and no straining against the toilet seat.

Be careful of medication and understand that your anal sphincter is an irreplaceable and marvelous muscle system that cannot be improved with surgery. Repeat the radiologist's words to yourself, "The messages my brain sends are not making the muscles do what they should". Do you really believe this? If so, how might you improve your brain-body connection in ways that do not include toxic medication? I have no way of knowing what you are dealing with, but I do know that common chronic conditions are often treated in drastic ways by the medical system.

We tend to be very protective of the perineum and anal sphincter here. This is an area of the human body that should be highly valued and protected - at least as much as the testicles! Please proceed with caution.

Christine

but what do you think? Do your symptoms speak to this diagnosis more than to a rectocele? A damaged AS is a big problem- if yours is in good shape, just not working well due to a brain body communication error then I am sure 100% that you can sort it out. If you have actual physical damage to your AS things won't look so good :)
Many times physical therapy can help the brain/body connection. Maybe they will prescribe some pt for you? It can't hurt to ask.
I'm sorry your tummy trouble has gotten worse over the last 10 months. I know I've said it before, but we have had great success over here at our house doing an elimination diet. 10 months is too long for things to get worse. There is so much you can do to try to heal.
What have you done so far?
There are also some CRAZY severe things you can do- one lady I know put herself on a fast for 3 days- only drinking a special tea she brewed- then she ate only fermented cabbage for 3 days- then she added back 1 food every 2 weeks- starting with eggs.
She's better.
Are you on a high quality probiotic?

Hi Pollyanna

I would like to address your ironic comment about "it's all getting better and better :-( "

It sounds like it is all getting more and more complicated. What is happening is that the doctors are telling you more and more about what could be causing your problems. Your body is not getting worse and worse. You are just hearing a lot of medical description language, ie they are getting more specific. More tests may yield more information and either confirm or negate their current opinion. As long as the tests are not too invasive, what do you have to lose, except some more sleep?

No medication is absolutely necessary. They all have effects and side effects. It is up to you, not them, to say whether or not you will try it. I suggest that you find out what drug it is, and do some research on it, so when the discussion comes up you can all discuss the potential benefits, having read about the risks as well. Sometimes medication is just the ants pants, and you *may* be able to just use it when you need it.

Don't close any doors before you have had a peek behind them.

Louise that thought never crossed my mind- but you are so right! My body is doing what it's doing- having someone tell me about it doesn't change what is going on. It is so hard when given a diagnosis to just accept it for what it is. Having a name for things sometimes give them quite a bit of power. On the other hand, having a diagnosis often helps move forward in healing.
For years my back has hurt. I always thought it was my SIJ. When I finally had an MRI and was diagnosed with DDD it was so freeing. I spent so many years trying to heal a bad SIJ- now that I know it's DDD I have been able to reduce my symptoms significantly in a very short period of time.

There are studies that prove PROVE! that visualizing healing speeds healing time. It's important to do it regularly- and to know on a cellular level how healing actually works in that area of the body. Meditation on healing is a powerful thing.
Think about how often we spend thinking about how bad it all is, how uncomfortable, how painful. Spending conscious energy and thought towards healing really does help break that negative self thought cycle.
I have experienced in my life that positive gains occur after time spent visualizing these gains. When I used to high jump if I spent time visualizing myself clearing a certain height it would almost be effortless.

Hi there,
I'm thinking through your symptoms, and a few things strike me. LIke alemama, I would start with food. cut them out and start again. Keep a food diary for a week, with all your symptoms. then try to see if there is an obvious one to cut out first--maybe what you eat a lot of? gluten & dairy are the obvious ones to start with. but beware, they are in everything--so start reading labels on everything. if that doesn't have any impact go onto the less obvious ones--i think it's faster to cut out a few at a time, and if something works reintroduce stuff to see what is causing the problem. you have to cut it out for a few weeks to know for sure.

Also, osteopathy might help. Children with bowel problems are often helped with this as it can retune the body, but can take a few months. this didn't happen overnight.

i'm of the try everything approach, and if something works huuray! i'll figure out what worked later...but i'm also not patient enough to wait ages.

Your symptoms of going to the toilet in the morning, bits of stool getting stuck, and then it filling up as the day progresses sounds pretty normal rectocele to me, based on my experience and what we hear here. for me what helps if eating pulses at lunch + veg and a good walk--that helps. i also eat lots of raw veg during the day. i don't eat any dairy, gluten (been allergic for ages), or chocolate. i eat minimal refined carb.
but that isn't always enough...sometimes i get what you get and it is sooo annoying. magnesium citrate 2x a day helps. before my period it is worse, so lots of Vitamin C also helps get things moving. flax seeds soaked in water do too.

but going 6 to 8 times a day, not normal. but that is a common alelrgy sign.

also, i'll say that with Louise's position i also find that things can stop halfway, so absolutely fabulous, but can stop complete emptying. a gentle splint when i feel that starting to happen can help, or moving position then.

hope that helps...glad DVD nearly with you!!!

Kiki

PS What is DDD?

Yes, Pollyanna, flax seeds are persistent little buggers. I, and most others here have found that grinding them in an electric impact-type coffee grinder is the only sustainable way to moosh them up so your body can get to all the goodies inside them. They still swell up with mucilage the same way but they don't have that nasty little point on the end. Don't ever put them through a stone or burr type mill, because they are quite oily. YOu can grind them fresh, each time you want them, which keeps all the enzymes intact, rather than buying linseed meal at the supermarket, which may have been ground for weeks or months and will be quite dead.

I used to grind 2 tbsp a day in a mortar and pestle, but they are very slippery, so they jump out all the time, and are quite hard to pulverise. It was very hard on my wrists. I have just purchased a Breville coffee grinder that has a removable, washable grinding chamber. Brilliant! It cost about twice as much as the cheaper brands but I hope it will go for a long time. The cheaper one I bought only twelve months ago died only a few weeks after purchase, was replaced under warranty, and the second one did the same thing. Bin job! Very p*&&ed off!

Louise

Hi everyone, Heavenly here. Read the posts everyday and usually 3 times, I learn something new every time. I use a coffee grinder to grind my seeds every morning. The fresher the better! Also make a shake most mornings with soy milk, fresh maple syrup, bananna, strawberries, blueberries, ground pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds etc. I blend well. Make enough to last 2 days but no more. What a difference in my BM's.! I am not a fruit eater so this is what I have to do. Also fruit should be eaten in the morning as it acts as a cleanser according to my Naturapath from a few years back.

Love you all!!
Still Praising and thanking our Christine for this site. One of the biggest obstacles to overcome for me was my fear!! We were not given fear when we were created, I don't believe. To me , we were given power, love and a sound mind. So I have to continually cast down the fear that creeps in on the not so good days.

Blessings to you all
Heavenly

Just wondering where you are? Schools are quite cheap, but I know that is not always doable money wise, even if there is a school nearby. But just a thought--students are overseen by the tutor, so you can ensure they being properly supervised.