Why am I having unusual bowel movements at 22?

Question

Hi doctor,

I am a 22 year old male, and I have an unusual problem of bowel movements. Every morning, I feel I have incomplete motion. I cannot say it is constipation, but the stool does not come out completely.

Even after defecating, I still have an urge to defecate more. Then after taking breakfast and coffee, I need to hit the bathroom again. And the same problem repeats after evening coffee. Kindly help me with a quick solution.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Thank you for your question.

The feeling of an incomplete bowel movement that you describe is called tenesmus in medicine. Tenesmus, as well as urgency, has quite a few possible causes, but by far the most common is the irritable and inflammatory bowel syndromes.
Irritable bowel syndrome is a diagnosis of exclusion, which means that it is only diagnosed once more serious causes like the inflammatory bowel diseases (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease) have been excluded, typically by doing a colonoscopy and biopsy. The symptoms of these three syndromes can overlap and cannot be readily differentiated just based on the history and blood tests.
A colonoscopy is always needed to be performed by a gastroenterologist to ensure the correct diagnosis is made so that correct treatment can be given.
Typical symptoms are often tenesmus, urgency, bloatedness, cramps, diarrhea or constipation, intolerance to certain foods like spicy foods, milk products, blood in stools, etc. Although only a few symptoms can be present in some.
It is not possible to make an accurate diagnosis and exclude important causes like ulcerative colitis or Crohn's, which need long-term management by a specialist, without doing a colonoscopy. Certain things might improve your symptoms, but one should never treat something without knowing what you are treating first.

I would definitely advise you to make an appointment with a local gastroenterologist for workup and possible colonoscopy.

For more information consult an internal medicine physician online.

Thank you.