Holing in BMs as a kid = problems now?

When I was a kid I used to hold in my BMs. I think it went unnoticed by my parents because my last memory of doing it I was round 9 or 10. I can't clearly remember when it stopped or why but I have a feeling it was before I was in grade 6 or 7. I've been browsing the internet and most cases of this seems to be in young kids between 2 and 4 so obviously I kept doing this a lot longer than is normal.

Anyway, I remember always having problems with bloating in high school but I never felt constipated. I remember only having a BM about once every 3 days. The bloating went away when I was about 16/17 and I felt great all the time. Then after I graduated I literally woke up one morning constipated and very bloated. This lasted for 2 years worth of unhelpful doctors appointments until finally I gave a stool sample and they found a parasite. I took antibiotics for 2 weeks and it got much better, not perfect though. I kept going to the doctors and eventually they just threw in the towel and said I have IBS, a diagnosis I don't agree with. Anyway, over the past 2 years or so I've learned how to make myself the most comfortable, but it involves me getting up at least 2 hours before I need to leave the house in the morning (which can be quite early as you can imagine) to sit at my computer and wait until I can BM. If I don't BM before I leave the house I am horribly bloated and gassy all day. I usually BM when I return home, but not always.

I never mentioned this BM holding behaviour I engaged in as a child to any of the doctors and now I'm wondering if maybe I should have. I told my boyfriend about this yesterday and now he has me very worried that I've done permanent damage. I'm just thinking about all of the years that fecal matter was sitting in me waiting to come out... all of the toxins that likely entered my bloodstream, maybe muscle damage or stretching in my lower bowel... I have no idea.

Should I be going to the doctor with this information now? Is there anything serious I should be worried about? Even if this has caused damage is there anything that can be don to fix this and bring my life back to normal??

[whisperwolf]

It probably didn't cause permanent damage. It hurt to go potty because of the parasitic infection so you avoided the bathroom.  Could you still be avoiding the bathroom subconcously(sp)?  IBS can cause quite painful BM.  

Have you ever had a colonoscopy to check for other diseases of the colon?  

I also recommend you take probiotics and fiber to help keep you regular.  I take acidophilis capsules and sacchromyces capsules to help keep up the good bacteria and yeast populations in my digestive tract.