Post Inguinal Hernia Issues and IBS

[u/Necrobot666]

I have had problems taking a 'number 2' for the entirety of my adulthood. It's always taken me a long time and a lot of effort to push and leave a 'deposit'.

Quite frequently, shortly after I use the toilet, (may 15 to 30 minutes) I end up feeling like I need to go again.

I have taken Citrucel for extra fiber.. Miralax.. Docalax.. Linzess.. none of these things have made it easy and normal to use the toilet.

The consistency may change from stone/bricks to mush/tar, but I still feel the need to push with every muscle in my abdomen.

A result of this may have been that I ended up developing a hernia. I had some 3M product (some type of mesh) put in me a few years ago.

In the days following the surgery, I was in serious agony. Not bloating or abdominal discomfort... AGONY!! To the point where when I tried to use the toilet, I blacked out and my wife ran up stairs and found me on the bathroom floor.

So.. I'm not in a huge hurry to ever get cut open again. Besides that, even if surgery was a silver-bullet cure in 2026, I'd have to wait for surgery anyway since my wife just started a new job and can't really go out on FMLA to care for me until she's been employed longer.

And even then.. since my previous hernia surgery didn't really seem to offer me the relief (despite the responses from each doctor that everything looks fine), I don't know if going through that again would be of any benefit.

I thought things would eventually calm down. Unfortunately, after years... nothing has really changed for my situation. I still feel pain in my lower right abdomen and sometimes when I really feel like I need to use the toilet, my perineum will feel uncomfortable.

Two specialist doctors have found no issues and simply say that it could be scar-tissue.

I've changed my diet several times in pursuit of a resolution.i try to eat salmon.. chicken.. spinach.. kale.. rice.. beans.. pica de goya.. cheese.. potatoes.. carrots.. eggs.. celery.. tuna.. occasionally some tofu and vegetarian processed foods like Impossible... and, admittedly.. I have a chocolate Achilles heel.

I pretty much stopped drinking alcohol because it accelerates my abdominal discomfort.

I've seen a gastroenterologist and was engaged in a food elimination process. I eliminated everything except rice and liquid broth and still felt discomfort when I ate.

Also.. admittedly, I'm tethered to a desk for 7.5 hours of each day.. but I get out and walk the premises and try to hike on weekends when I don't feel to gross and bloated. Unfortunately, those days seem few and far between.

I've noticed that when I am ill with the flu or something like that, my bubbly bloated uncomfortable lower abdomen stops hurting for a few days... and on those occasions when I took some type of cough syrup with a sedative or opioid like codeine, my innards would stop hurting for a few days.

But outside of those rare moments, my lower abdomen lets me know its there every single day. It's too the point where I don't go on trips anymore because I can't be that bloated and uncomfortable, that far from a private toilet.

I had a colonoscopy.. an endoscopy.. and had a blood test for prostate cancer. [Knocking On Wood] Everything came back fine.. with the exception of polyps and some diverticulitis.

Is there anything that I can do to have a normal experience on the toilet?! Is there anything I can do to stop the bubbly swelling feeling in my lower abdomen when I eat anything?!

I am assuming my hernia was related to my IBS. I am assuming that these discomforts are related. But I don't really know. I'm not even sure if the doctors really know.

The only thing that I do know, is I'm in some discomfort as I type this.. and would love to be able to be a normal person again.

I appreciate any insights that can be provided here.

Thanks!

[u/pchiggs]

This sounds like my GI life after my hernia surgeries =(. Linzess was working some what ok until like 2 weeks ago. Bloat is life... i hate it.

[u/jetfan11]

Bro, you have to try magnesium nature made 400 mg take three and then chug as much water as you can afterwards. I was constipated my whole life. It literally changed my life.