# How regular are your bowels? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 1, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929 "2008-07-01T17:48:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/41 "2008-07-02T12:45:14Z")
Regularly between 6:30 and 6:45 every morning. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/42 "2008-07-02T13:16:30Z")
Slight hijack: Are you more-than-once-a-day-poopers all thin? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/43 "2008-07-02T14:09:58Z")
[QUOTE=Merkwurdigliebe] I thought women didn’t poop at all 😕 [/QUOTE] We poop, but it smells like roses. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/44 "2008-07-02T15:16:50Z")
[QUOTE=RoniaBorkason] Haha! My kind of TMI! Not regular at all. If I’m being good, eating normal people amounts, and avoiding milk products, every 2 or 3 days. If I go all-I-can-eat, every other day. Milk products, every 3-4 hours. Isn’t cheese supposed to, well, bind one up? I have a real love/hate relationship with it. [/QUOTE] Maybe you’re lactose intolerant? Well, since I’m here, I’m pretty regular. About 10-15 minutes after my morning coffee. The big problem is the only day of the week when I have to be at work at 8am and don’t get my coffee until I’m at work. I have shy bowels and can’t always go at work so it will try to wait until afternoon with a lot of grumbling, often as soon as I get home I have to go. Even if I have my morning “constitutional” I occasionally will have an extra afternoon one depending on what I had been eating the previous day, for example something with a lot of fiber. I also have problems like Ronia mentioned with dairy, only for me it’s just whole milk. No other dairy products bothers me, although the 2% milk is starting to cause problems, too. So I keep some Lactaid on hand for when I want cereal. I don’t use milk for much other than that. And if I am really stressed about something, well forget it, I just don’t leave the house. ---
**Author:** ![N.Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@N.Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N.Sane)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/45 "2008-07-02T15:17:56Z")
[QUOTE=Surly Chick] Slight hijack: Are you more-than-once-a-day-poopers all thin? [/QUOTE] I’m not. Wish I were. And it doesn’t seem to matter whether I’m eating healthily or if I’m eating junk food. The volume and frequency tend to be about the same. I just poop a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/46 "2008-07-02T15:19:37Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] We poop, but it smells like roses. [/QUOTE] Roses that have been composted with manure. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/47 "2008-07-02T15:41:18Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] Bingo. Actually, I am having a colonsocopy \*and \* an endoscopy at the same time, bright and early tomorrow. [/QUOTE] Good time, good times. You’ll have a blast (or twelve). 😃 I am a morning person, almost everyday around 9-10 am. Unless I really rip er up on the weekend then all bets are off. Or if I travel. I think there have been times when abroad that I haven’t gone for 3-4 days at a pop. Flying, driving or just staying at a lodge or friends house can offset the normal rhythm. BTW, there seems to be missing a reply from a certain poster…can’t place the name though… ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/48 "2008-07-02T16:18:00Z")
[QUOTE=Gatopescado] Strange side-note: I’m “retired” and don’t do much around the house, so as a result, hang out in my garage/shop alot. Pretty much like clockwork, within 3 minutes of walking out there, be it morning, noon or night, I gotta run back to the house and pinch off some rope. It’s uncanny and frankly kinda weird. Sometimes, I’ll think about going out to start a project, and **BINGO!** Turtle’s head!. [/QUOTE] Bookstores do this to me. I swear, walking into a bookstore is like an intestinal seismic event. Smell all that paper: gotta go, gotta go, gotta go. Jerry Seinfeld, in his book, I think, described that he was the same way. Until then, I thought I was unique. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/49 "2008-07-02T16:36:16Z")
[QUOTE=Belrix] Bookstores do this to me. I swear, walking into a bookstore is like an intestinal seismic event. Smell all that paper: gotta go, gotta go, gotta go. Jerry Seinfeld, in his book, I think, described that he was the same way. Until then, I thought I was unique. [/QUOTE] Shopping in general can do this to me, but you’re right that it’s bookstores in particular. “We can’t take this back; it’s been flagged!” ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/50 "2008-07-02T16:49:10Z")
[QUOTE=Merkwurdigliebe] I thought women didn’t poop at all 😕 [/QUOTE] We don’t. I was just making an observation about prescription pain meds. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/51 "2008-07-02T19:11:12Z")
[QUOTE=Indistinguishable] This thread is giving me that impression, but it always seemed natural to me. The rule of thumb I’ve heard is that anything from three times a day to three times a week is considered normal, so… I guess it’s right at the top of that. [/QUOTE] Oh good, I was wondering about that. I go…lots. ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/52 "2008-07-02T19:13:33Z")
[QUOTE=Dung Beetle] Oh good, I was wondering about that. I go…lots. [/QUOTE] Well if you stopped rolling it into balls and making gifts of it, maybe you’d lose the incentive. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/53 "2008-07-02T19:28:24Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] Shopping in general can do this to me, but you’re right that it’s bookstores in particular. “We can’t take this back; it’s been flagged!” [/QUOTE] Yeah, I have the same problem with shopping (not for groceries) and especially bookstores. Since so many bookstores have coffee shops I figured it’s a reaction to the smell of coffee, but that doesn’t explain why the urge hits in department stores. My shy bowels also extend to traveling, also. Not fun. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/54 "2008-07-02T19:38:35Z")
[QUOTE=Belrix] Well if you stopped rolling it into balls and making gifts of it, maybe you’d lose the incentive. 😉 [/QUOTE] Say, that reminds me…when’s your birthday? ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/55 "2008-07-02T19:39:54Z")
[QUOTE=Wile E] My shy bowels also extend to traveling, also. Not fun. [/QUOTE] I’m fortunate to be the opposite. When I travel my bowels clench harder than a Civil War soldier on a musket ball. On flights I always take the inside seat and usually only have to go once per 4 hours. I probably wouldn’t have to go at all if I didn’t drink lots of extra water to combat dehydration. ---
**Author:** ![Seeker\_of\_Truth\_and\_Beauty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Seeker\_of\_Truth\_and\_Beauty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seeker_of_Truth_and_Beauty)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/56 "2008-07-02T21:41:31Z")
I am a fairly regular person; usually between 6 and 6:15 am I’ve moved. However, the last couple of days, I’ve been going every twelve hours. Not sure why, either. It’s a bit loose. This seems to happen once a month or so (I’m a guy). ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/57 "2008-07-02T21:47:32Z")
[QUOTE=Dung Beetle] Say, that reminds me…when’s your birthday? [/QUOTE] Umm. February 30th. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2008, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/58 "2008-07-02T23:52:49Z")
I have severe IBS, so I’m actually not very regular at all. I have had days where I have to go every half hour all day long. I have had days where I cannot leave the house. Except… something happened that changed this all very much for me. I started eating lots of fiber. I wouldn’t exactly call myself regular now, but I function. I don’t often have to plan trips around bathroom stops or cancel plans with friends anymore. Stomach pain is greatly diminished as well. Honestly, what you eat makes such a huge difference in how you feel. I wouldn’t have believed it, but I almost feel like I’m running around with someone else’s bowels now. Fiber rocks. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/59 "2008-07-03T00:49:26Z")
I’m not regular in the sense that I go at the same time every day, but I’m regular in the sense that I go often and it’s rarely an “effort” on my part, as it were. You can generally count on me to go 2-3 times per day, the first time almost always being 20-30 minutes after I wake up…whether I wake up at 6 AM or noon, 20-30 mins later I gotta take a dump. After that, all bets are off, but I will go at least once more before the day is out, I can assure you. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929/60 "2008-07-03T01:10:24Z")
Those of you with IBS or such things, I’m curious, what were your patterns like before you got IBS (I presume it hasn’t been a life-long problem)? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-regular-are-your-bowels/454929.md?page=4)