# Serious Question About Pooping **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 29, 2001, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631 "2001-06-29T16:08:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MrO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/50afbb/32.png) [@MrO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrO)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/21 "2001-06-30T13:02:33Z")
**Qadgop** - Hear hear! Well said, Doc. **Bob Scene** - Well, uh, that was also well said, in its own way; it had a certain _earthiness_ in its tone, putting the reader at ease. Still, if you want to work _this_ into a first-date conversation, you might want to, uh, sort of reconceive your _ethos_, so to speak. Please forgive me. I’m a university writing instructor, and criticizing writing styles is second nature to me, especially when the topic is so fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![MrO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/50afbb/32.png) [@MrO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrO)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/22 "2001-06-30T13:09:29Z")
**jarbabyj** - A _ **sea pickle??** _ Beautiful imagery. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/23 "2001-06-30T13:31:13Z")
A related question for the women – Do any of you find that your hormonal cycles seem to mess with your pooping habits? About a week before my period, I get diarrhea for two or three days. I up my water intake but nothing seems to help it, so I just live with it until it goes away. I never heard of it, but it seems logical, somehow. Hormones are…weirdly powerful. ---
**Author:** ![smaft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@smaft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaft)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/24 "2001-06-30T14:27:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jarbabyj \* > we could just say ‘hangin’ a monkey tail’, ‘drownin’ a rat’ or ‘launching a sea pickle’ Dropping the kids off at the pool… ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/25 "2001-06-30T15:10:08Z")
There was a guy on Survivor who didn’t poop for two weeks (Dirk?). If you don’t poop & the doctor wants you to, then he can do a manual decompactation, in which case he takes the poop out with his hands. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/26 "2001-06-30T15:18:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\*There was a guy on Survivor who didn’t poop for two weeks (Dirk?). > > If you don’t poop & the doctor wants you to, then he can do a manual decompactation, in which case he takes the poop out with his hands. \*\* Handy, I’ve gotta want the guy to poop real bad to order a manual disimpaction, & even then I’ll order the nurse to do it most times. But if the stool ain’t in the rectal vault, but stuck up higher, neither of us will reach _that_ far for it. ---
**Author:** ![fnord1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ad7895/32.png) [@fnord1966](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fnord1966)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/27 "2001-06-30T15:36:38Z")
/Ants singing on a turd floating in the toilet If the log rolls over we will die we will die, If the log rolls over we wil die we will die /Ants singing on a turd floating in the toilet ---
**Author:** ![Chickenhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Chickenhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickenhead)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/28 "2001-06-30T16:39:24Z")
there is a French expression that translates as “parachuting a Senegalese” ---
**Author:** ![bunnymom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c4cdca/32.png) [@bunnymom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bunnymom)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/29 "2001-06-30T16:51:15Z")
**whiterabbit** - Me too. Since I started menstruating at age 11, I have regularly had very soft stool to diarrhea about three days before my period. Its actually the only indicator of my period that I can rely on. Hey, Qadgop - Any proffesional opinion about this? I always blamed it on the uterine cramps stimulating my intestines. It would be interesting to know the real reason. 3Bunny ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/30 "2001-06-30T17:32:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by whiterabbit \* > \*\*A related question for the women – > > Do any of you find that your hormonal cycles seem to mess with your pooping habits? About a week before my period, I get diarrhea for two or three days. I up my water intake but nothing seems to help it, so I just live with it until it goes away. I never heard of it, but it seems logical, somehow. Hormones are…weirdly powerful. > \*\* Yup, and appearently it’s pretty common. I really wanted to know why about 1/2 of my periods involved diarrhea(every month for that) \* and\* nausea, so I was happy(?) I found the answer in Our Bodies Ourselves last year. " A particular constellation of symptoms, including cramping and often nausea and diarrhea, may be caused by an excess of a certain type of prostaglandin found in the uterus and perhaps ‘leaking’ into the intestines. (one form of prostaglandins, which are substances found throughout the body, causes contractions of the uterine and intestinal muscles.)" How lovely. I now have a perscription for muscle relaxers for the worse months, so I won’t have [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=76046) happen again. ---
**Author:** ![douglips](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@douglips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/douglips)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/31 "2001-06-30T17:44:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Blueberry Buckle \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by wishbone \* > > \*\*I heard that the little girl from _Poltergeist_ died because she had some kind of condition which made it impossible for her to poop. Could be a rumor. \*\* > > She died from TSS (Toxic Shock Syndrome). \*\* Questions like this are not that hard to find the answer to. From the [IMDB entry for Heather O’Rourke](http://us.imdb.com/Bio?O%27Rourke,+Heather): > [@](#): > > During the filming of Poltergeist III, Heather suffered flu-like > symptoms. She was taken to see a specialist, but still no one caught > the intestnal blockage that would eventually claim her life. > > ``` > On the night of January 30, 1988 she woke up and crawled into bed > with her parents (Globe Magazine, Feb. 16, 1988) complaining that > she didn't feel well. She got up the next day, trying to eat some toast, > saying that she was going to school. She then fainted, her fingers > turning blue. She was flown to the Emergency Room, but it was too > late. Heather died on the operating table at 2:43 P.M. on Monday, > Feb. 1, 1988. > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![bunnymom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c4cdca/32.png) [@bunnymom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bunnymom)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/32 "2001-06-30T18:06:36Z")
elfkin - Thanks for the answer! Holy cow, you are fast! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Blueberry\_Buckle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3bc359/32.png) [@Blueberry\_Buckle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blueberry_Buckle)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/33 "2001-06-30T18:30:44Z")
\*\* [/QUOTE] Questions like this are not that hard to find the answer to. \*\* [/QUOTE] Douglips, my most humble apologies. Guess one shouldn’t always listen to their mama’s haha. Thank you for the link. ---
**Author:** ![choosybeggar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2001, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/34 "2001-06-30T19:27:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\*There was a guy on Survivor who didn’t poop for two weeks (Dirk?). > > If you don’t poop & the doctor wants you to, then he can do a manual decompactation, in which case he takes the poop out with his hands. \*\* [nitpick] It’s a manual _disimpaction_[/nitpick] More precisely (and from personal experience) the **med student** takes the poop out with his/her hands. And such patients get many enemas and laxatives before the final option is contemplated. ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/35 "2001-07-01T00:15:42Z")
The med student?? Usually it’s the nurse who has to work on getting the poop out, whether it’s an enema, suppository, or manual disimpaction. You think a doctor or med student would “sully” his or her hands with such a task? Nah!! Well, maybe a med student if a doctor is really pissed off at them and wants to teach 'em a lesson. Super"yes I AM a nurse, thank you" Lorie ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/36 "2001-07-01T02:32:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfkin477 \* > \*_Yup, and appearently it’s pretty common. I really wanted to know why about 1/2 of my periods involved diarrhea(every month for that) \* and_ nausea, so I was happy(?) I found the answer in Our Bodies Ourselves last year. > > " A particular constellation of symptoms, including cramping and often nausea and diarrhea, may be caused by an excess of a certain type of prostaglandin found in the uterus and perhaps ‘leaking’ into the intestines. (one form of prostaglandins, which are substances found throughout the body, causes contractions of the uterine and intestinal muscles.)" \*\* Great, it’s not just me. I KNEW the two were related because the timing is just too perfect each month. I feel much better now. At least I don’t get nausea! ---
**Author:** ![choosybeggar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/37 "2001-07-01T03:10:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SuperLorie \* > \*\*The med student?? Usually it’s the nurse who has to work on getting the poop out, whether it’s an enema, suppository, or manual disimpaction. You think a doctor or med student would “sully” his or her hands with such a task? Nah!! Well, maybe a med student if a doctor is really pissed off at them and wants to teach 'em a lesson. > Super"yes I AM a nurse, thank you" Lorie \*\* Definitely true that nurses get more than their fair share. Hats off to all of them. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/38 "2001-07-01T03:23:35Z")
Not only do I get the fun of the runs a few days before, after it comes I get constipated. Nothing like trying to cram a tampon up yourself when you’re already feeling _full_ from a nearby orifice… **Cranky notes people shuddering, making faces, poising their fingertips over the keys T, M, and I…** I also want to say that I believe some quadraplegics need to have regular manual disinpactions, too. Part of their regular care. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/39 "2001-07-01T07:43:39Z")
one of the funniest things I ever heard was a San Francisco dj. He had to go to the bathroom so bad, he said he was “crowning”! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2001, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631/40 "2001-07-01T08:42:42Z")
I crap once every ten days. I know you all wanted to know that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-question-about-pooping/70631.md?page=3)