It’s a myth that everyone should have a daily bowel movement and this myth has led many a man to a grave situation. After all these decades of clinical practice, I say that there is nothing more dangerous than a medical myth!!!
60-year-old businessman, Rajesh was a chronic constipation patient. Chronic constipation is the most common encounter in general practice. Every second or third patient, complains of irregular bowel movements.
But what makes Rajesh different from the other patients is his long history of constipation and his awareness and consciousness about the issue. He has read every book, and every article on constipation, and follows a very stringent lifestyle.
When he entered my clinic, the first thing he said to me was, ‘Listen’. He wanted me to drop the pen and just listen to him. After 30 years of knocking on numerous doctor’s doors, he was a bit frustrated with the regular grind.
I did as he said; dropped my pen and listened to him with all ears. He was on sleeping pills for the last 30 years, and whenever he takes senna-based laxatives, it disrupts his sleep. He tried all possible herbal and allopathic laxatives, purgatives, and enemas. His diet was rich in fiber with lots of fruits and vegetables. He drank over 3 liters of water and he was a religious walker.
After all his studies, he was already on the right track, but his constipation still persisted.
Once he was done talking, I asked him to add two glasses of buttermilk to his diet. He was already drinking warm water in the morning, but he finished his breakfast in a hurry as he used to rush to the office at 9:30 am.
That was another loophole!
It is crucial to go to the toilet 20-30 minutes after a heavy breakfast. It’s not the breakfast that comes out, but the breakfast stimulates the gastro-colic reflex resulting in the evacuation of colonic content. I suggested he take breakfast at 8:30 and then try going to the bathroom.
The third thing that I noticed was his big belly. People with protruding bellies lose their abdominal tone and this is one of the causes of chronic constipation, especially in women who endure childbirth. Due to repeated child bearing tone of the abdominal and pelvic muscles is lost in women. This is also the cause of chronic constipation
His diet lacked milk as he stopped all milk products for 10 years, fearing cholesterol. I told him to take a big glass of milk with one tablespoon of desi ghee at bedtime. This has a wonderful effect. Also, Indian seats are better than Western as it supports them with more force to evacuate.
The next thing I noted was that he was taking strong purgatives like castor oil, senna based laxatives. These purgatives compel the bowel to be completely empty, and it may take one or two days for the next bowel formation as there is not enough residue for a stool to be formed.
So, once he took the purgatives, he would get his bowel cleaned, but then for the next one or two days, he did not get a bowel movement and thus, he repeated the cycle. This became a habit. This is where the myth played its ugly role!!!
‘Everyone should have a daily bowel movement.’ – False!
A healthy person may pass stool once in 2-3 days, or 2-3 times in a day – Truth!
He listened to my words. Now he passes stool every alternate day and has no complaints of bloating or gastric. His system is working perfectly fine!!!
(NOTE: The name of the individual in this article has been changed to Rajesh to ensure their privacy.)
