We’ve all had weeks where our system was a little slow.
But for one man, the delay in going to the toilet lasted not weeks, but months: three in fact.
Doctors said his bloating was so extreme that his stomach resembled that of a woman carrying triplets.
The case was described by doctors on an online forum, who said the patient was so extremely constipated that the waste products had hardened and become stuck in the colon – a problem medically known as fecal impaction.
Doctors treat it by removing the mass manually or via an enema – when fluid is passed into the colon to loosen stool, which can then leave the body in the normal way.
The above shows the inside of the man’s body from the side. Dr. Justin Shafa, from Los Angeles, shows how the granular part of the colon is made entirely of feces. The lighter part around the edge is the side of the body.
A second scan of the patient – a bird’s eye view – shows the grainy area on the scan, which consists of a large collection of tools
The doctor revealed the case on Reddit, writing: ‘I had to ask the patient after the scan when was the last time he had a bowel movement.
‘He said the last “real s***” was three months ago.’
The doctor also revealed the patient’s CT scan, which showed a large and granular mass in the center of the body, which was all feces.
Commenting on the post, one user said: ‘that’s an impressive turd,’ while a second added: ‘Oh lord! A poop baby!’.
Another added: ‘Oh god I’m sad I missed two days… I can’t imagine three months.’
Fecal impaction can be caused by chronic constipation, dehydration, or a low-fiber diet that can lead to the formation of hardened masses that then block the digestive tract.
The stool initially accumulates in the rectum, but then gradually accumulates in the large intestine or large intestine.
While the stool remains stuck, the body continues to absorb water and fluid from the mass, causing it to become hard and calcified.
Symptoms of the condition include abdominal pain, swelling, feeling the need to defecate but not being able to do so, and abdominal pain.
It is especially seen in older adults, such as those living in nursing homes, where almost half will experience fecal impaction.
Dr. Oreon Gottfried, a neurosurgeon in North Carolina, said further X: “If you hate not going number two every day, imagine the sheer pain of not going for months.”
And Dr. Justin Shafa, a radiologist in Los Angeles, shared the images, saying, “This is fecal matter, this is fecal matter… this is impressive… this is probably consistent with a triplet pregnancy.”
People normally use the bathroom about one to three times a day for a number two, expelling an average of about 14 to 17 oz of feces per day.
But chronic constipation, a condition that makes it difficult to empty the bowels, can interrupt this normal cycle.
If a person were unable to defecate for three months, this would result in the equivalent of as much as 95 pounds of feces becoming stuck in the body.
Doctors can remove the stool manually, which involves a doctor reaching toward the rectum with gloves and lubricant to remove the blockage.
They may also use an enema, which releases fluid into the rectum and colon to loosen the contents and allow them to pass.