There are a many reasons why you are not able to completely empty your bowels.
To help you to correct the problem:
1. Make sure that you have a healthy and well balanced diet that consists of plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit. Cabbage, sprouts, sweet corn prunes, oranges, apples may help your bowels move better. You can find more info on the web. Cut out or cut down on junk foods, processed and sugary foods. Eat wholemeal or seeded bread instead of white bread.
2. Porridge, Wheetabix and Shredded Wheat contain no added sugar and these are good roughage carbs that you can eat for breakfast. You may like to try and have a couple of Wheetabix with milk and/or natural yogurt and some fresh fruit like strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries (a mix or any that you like).
3. When consuming high roughage foods that are not fruit and veg, you also need to ensure that you drink enough fluids. 2 litres is usually recommended (preferably water), more if you work out at the gym and perspire a lot. Your doctor will advise you on the amount of fluids that is appropriate for you. People with urinary problems may be advised to drink a bit more. Bear in mind that drinking too much can be as dangerous as not drinking enough. Space your drinks out over the day.
4. Exercise - any type of exercise and movement will also be beneficial to help your bowels to move. Walking is a good to get things moving.
Do bear in mind that some medications that you take may cause constipation. This is because the fluids are drawn away from the faeces.
Taking laxatives long term is not very good, they can make your bowels to get lazy and rely on having the laxatives empty your bowels.
Straining is also no good and can cause small blood vessels to rupture. It can also cause fissures (breaks in the colon) which are very painful, uncomfortable and can bleed a lot. Straining with hard faeces can also cause haemorrhoids - these are very itchy and painful too.
Make an appointment to see your doctor so that he can examine you to rule out any bowel problems that may be causing your problem.
It may be that your bowel problems are purely due to your diet and exercise.
Your doctor will give you advice with regard to your diet and may also prescribe fibre drinks or medications that soften the stools.
You can purchase some high fibre drinks and also stool softeners (these are not laxatives) from the pharmacy. The pharmacist will also be able to give you advice.
When you wrote "drink more water 8 liters a day" is this correct?
8 litres works out at approximately 16 pints. And that is, to say the lest, a very large quantity of fluid.
When I was under the care of a Urologist (specialist in urinary and prostate problems) he advised me to drink 2 to 3 litres of water every day and that was because I had kidney stones. Once the stones had been removed, his advise was 2 litres per day. Obviously someone loses a lot of fluids from sweating a lot would require a bit more so that they did not dehydrated.
Drinking lots of water can be just as dangerous as not drinking enough.
Hey hannahbob69,
If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you several questions in order to help possibly find a cause. I would also like to just add that anxiety can commonly cause digestive and intestinal problems.
1. Before these symptoms started, how often did you have bowel movements on average, per day?(It may be hard to recall, but just try and give your best estimate)
2. Any past or current use of laxatives or enema?
3. And recent or current blood in your stool?
4. Caliber of stool?(Meaning the texture, for example, small pellets, thin and narrow, etc.)
5. Any unintentional weight loss?
6. Past medical history?(List any previous and/or current medical conditions, and surgeries you have or still have experienced, if any)
7. Any medications?
8. Any illicit drug use?
9. Do you have a fever?
10. Do you have symptoms such as weight loss, muscle loss, fatigue, weakness, and appetite loss?
11. Do you have symptoms such as abdomen distension, nausea, and vomiting?
12. Do you have symptoms such as abdominal pain and disordered bowel habits?
13. Are your symptoms acute or chronic?(Acute means a more sudden onset, while chronic refers to a gradual onset that may last a long time)
14. Do you excessively strain when having a bowel movement?
15. Do you have prolonged bowel movements and a feeling of incomplete emptying of stool?
16. Do you occasionally have cramps, and pass watery mucus or stool that appears as if it is diarrhea?
17. What is your diet like?
I had the same problem back then. do you work sitting for long times ? if you do plz take alot of liquid and "lactulose" two spoon 5 mints after meal walk for atleast 15 mints after dinner in a constant speed not very fast not very slow and take fiber diet at daily bases its not a big problem now but if not treated on time it can be a big problem. Anxiety is one of the the reason of incomplete bowel movements as my doctor told me. Relax its not a big deal to handle this problem , drink more water 8 liters a day take " lactoulose" syrup after meal and breakfast and walk you'll feel better after few days one more thing my doctor give me was " ciprofloxacin 500 mg" twice a day but don't take it on my advice talk to your doctor first. regards.